Junior Urban Planner, Consultant

Result of Service

Implementation of UN-HABITAT ROAf activities in the Sahel including the finalization of the Spatial Development Strategy for the Sahel (SDSS) in its second phase and the elaboration of a National Urban Housing Strategy for Mauritania.

Work Location

Nairobi, Kenya

Expected duration

7 months

Duties and Responsibilities

Background and justification

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the agency for human settlements mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities. UN-Habitat has been working in human settlements throughout the world, focusing on building a brighter future for villages, towns, and cities of all sizes. The Regional Office for Africa supports African countries developing human settlements projects to address fast urbanization of the continent and achieve sustainable development by focusing on challenges faced by cities in Africa.

The current portfolio of UN-Habitat is expanding in West Africa and more specifically in the Sahel. For almost a decade, the Sahel region has been suffering from different conflicts which originated from indigenous populations claiming independence (Mali, spread into Burkina Faso and Niger) or caused by Boko Haram (North-East Nigeria, Northern Cameroon, Western Chad). This crisis is complex: Islamic groups carry out terror attacks in the region that exacerbate existing tensions between ethnic groups competing over access to natural resources – themselves scarcening due to the impacts of climate change – or over precious metals and minerals. As a result, approximately 14 million internally displaced people (IDPs), refugees, or returnees have been displaced, with no possibility to return, through the rather porous boundaries of the Sahel.

These massive movements of population have profound impacts on land tenure, property, and on recipient urban settlements which have sometimes doubled or tripled in size in a few months. Local authorities are ill-prepared for such a rapid increase in population, with great challenges emerging in terms of basic services delivery, housing, and fragile livelihoods among others, increasing not only the vulnerability of the population, but also conflict between host and displaced populations and violence within households. As most displaced seek refuge in urban areas, UN-Habitat’s vast experience in designing strategies and carrying out concrete actions in urban areas of conflicts/post-conflict countries is very relevant. UN-Habitat aims at strengthening the Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus in the region and to mobilize its spatial planning tools and multi-scaled territorial approach to understand the system of cities of the Sahel to help make the fast-growing Sahelian urbanization a more sustainable, inclusive, safe and resilient one.

Mauritania, one of the Sahelian countries, has experienced since independence (1960) rapid and uncontrolled urbanization due to the rural exodus caused by successive cycles of drought. The demand for land and property are estimated for the next 10 years at more than 10,000 housing units and 20,000 plots per year, apart from the need of restructuring vulnerable neighborhoods and urban renewal. However, the system of production, sale or hire purchase of housing is weak: 60% of household housing is the work of self-construction. The literature, which is not lacking in this sector, recommends several strategic orientations and action plans which have yet to be implemented.

As part of the strengthening of its housing and urbanization policy, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (IRM) has signed a Contribution Agreement to finance technical assistance from the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) over a period of twelve (12) months, the objective of which is to develop a new National Urban Housing Strategy (NUHS) including the improvement of mechanisms for the production of decent and affordable housing for the vast majority of households. This Agreement is intended to extend the collaboration initiated in 2016 and which has enabled both parties to conduct several studies in the urban housing and development sector. The main deliverables are a participatory diagnosis of urban housing and a National Urban Housing Strategy (NUHS).

Support is needed within UN-Habitat’s Regional Office for Africa (ROAF) for undertaking the implementation of its activities in the Sahel including the finalization of the Spatial Development Strategy for the Sahel (SDSS) in its second phase and the elaboration of a National Urban Housing Strategy for Mauritania.

Activities and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision Senior Human Settlement Officer for West Africa (SHSO) and the Programme Associate for West Africa, the consultant will carry out the following duties and responsibilities:
- Assist the Senior Human Settlement Officer (SHSO) in implementing the activities of the second phase of the project ‘’Inclusive, Safe, Resilient and Sustainable Human Settlements in the Sahel”, by coordinating and planning the activities, facilitating the recruitment processes, drafting content and report documents and providing technical support to the consultants;
- Contribute to the dissemination of the Spatial Development Strategy for the Sahel (SDSS);
- Preparation of the national consultations for the presentation of the SDSS and the high-level meeting in coordination with the country teams and UNDP;
- Assist the SHSO in the implementation of the activities for the National Housing Strategy for Mauritania and provide technical support to the consultants;
- Provide guidance on the integration of projects under the scope of UN-Habitat’s programmes in West Africa in the Integrated, Planning, Management, and Reporting (IPMR) platform, including planning and monitoring;
- Provide inputs and contributions to concept notes and project documents, and guidance for the internal project validation procedure;
- Translation of English and French relevant documents regarding the projects’ implementation.

Qualifications/special skills

Master’s degree in urban design, architecture, environmental studies, sustainable development or equivalent is required.
•At least 2 years of experience working in architecture, urban planning, project management, social science or related fields is
required;
•Experience working on urban resilience.
Skills
•Ability to work in team and individually;
•Capacity in research and information analysis;
•Good communication and writing skills;
•Proficiency in oral and written French and English is required.

Languages

English and French are the official languages of the United Nations. Fluency in both English and French is required. Knowledge of another UN language is an added advantage.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.