UN-HABITAT Cities and Climate Change Expert, International Cooperation Jobs in Kenya

UN-HABITAT Cities and Climate Change Expert, International Cooperation Jobs in Kenya

Background to UN-HABITAT

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements development and the achievement of adequate shelter for all. For close to forty years, 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.

One of the four focus area under the new Strategic Plan 2020-2023 is Strengthened Climate Action and Improved Urban Environments. UN-Habitat's Global Solutions Division is overseeing the Agency's operational work as well as the institutional and programmatic relationship with climate initiatives and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Background to Consultancy

UN-Habitat supports countries and cities address the climate challenge in many ways, through (i) advisory services and policy support, (ii) climate action planning, and (iii) technical assistance, and (iv) support mobilizing climate finance for investments into urban and human settlement focused climate action in three focus areas:

Reduced greenhouse emissions and improved air quality

Improved resource efficiency and protection of ecological assets

Effective adaptation of communities and infrastructure to climate change

The Climate Change Team is leading several workstreams under the subprogramme area, among them:

The Climate Change Team supports UN-Habitat's engagement in several global level multi stakeholder initiatives (such as the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, ICLEI, CCFLA) the team's national and local engagement also supports portfolio development with multi-lateral climate and environmental funds, particularly the Adaptation Fund and the Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Facility

The climate change team also coordinates UN-Habitat's engagement in the international climate agenda, namely the participation in UNFCCC COPs. At COP27 and COP28, UN-Habitat coordinated the Ministerial Meeting on Urbanization and Climate Change in collaboration with the COP27 Presidency and supported the development of the COP27 Sustainable Urban Resilience for the Next Generation (SURGe) Initiative.

This year the climate change team, in collaboration with the Global Covenant of Mayors for Energy and Climate is organizing the Innovate4Cities conference, taking place from 10-12 September 2024 in Montreal, Canada. The Innovate4Cities Conference (I4C Conference) is a global and regional event that convenes science, innovation, policy, and practice united by a common objective: enabling cities to take accelerated and more ambitious climate action.

Underpinned by key themes from the Global Research and Action Agenda on Cities and Climate Change Science (GRAA), the I4C Conference is focused on urban solution-oriented discussions across sectors and levels of government. In addition, the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report has highlighted the role of cities and communities as critical for responding to the climate crisis.

As part of the Seventh Assessment cycle, the IPCC will also feature a Special Report on Climate Change and Cities. This Special Report will also be informed by the ongoing efforts to close research gaps under the Global Research and Action Agenda (GRAA), the Cities Research Innovation Agenda (CRIA) as well as the Innovate4Cities Conference.

The climate team also oversees the mainstreaming of climate change into the agency's normative and operational work of other sections. Objectives The Climate Change Team is currently preparing the Innovate4Cities Conference, in close coordination with the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. The main objective of the consultancy is to facilitate UN-Habitat's engagement in the lead up to and during the Innovate4Cities Conference.

Duties and responsibilities

The consultancy is located in the Programme Development Branch of UN-Habitat, under the direct

supervision by the Sub-Programme Coordinator for Climate Change and Urban Environment, Bernhard Barth. The consultancy will involve the following typical main duties leading to the ultimate requested outputs:

Conference programme:

Co-develop the Innovate4Cities 2024 Conference programme for in-person and hybrid audiences, in collaboration with partners o Ensuring regional representation and relevance of conference speakers

Coordinate with UN-Habitat's senior management and regional office(s) to ensure alignment between the Innovate4Cities Conference and UN-Habitat's strategic priorities as well as to secure high-level global participation

Governance and stakeholder coordination:

Devise an engagement strategy (for participants) to attract a diverse range of stakeholders, including researchers, policymakers, industry representatives, NGOs, and community leaders.

Coordinate with the Conference Advisory Committee and conference partners

Stakeholder engagement and community development:

Develop and implement a comprehensive stakeholder coordination plan to ensure seamless coordination among speakers, sponsors, and partners throughout the conference.

On-the-ground coordination o Coordination of Innovate4Cities conference in Montreal o Oversee the recording of all activities during the Innovate4Cities event.

Knowledge product management:

Coordinate a report which synthesizes key findings, identify priority areas for intervention, and outline concrete steps for strengthening collaboration between researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and other stakeholders.

Coordinate a short paper that synthesizes the findings of Innovate4Cities for the linkages for the upcoming IPCC Special Report on Cities and Climate Change

COP29: Ensure linkages between Innovate4Cities and COP29 o Prepare an engagement strategy to ensure that Innovate4Cities findings are linked to the third Ministerial Meeting on Urbanization and Climate Change o Coordinate with UN-Habitat and other partners to link priority discussion points for the Ministerial Meeting

Draft proposal lining out the conceptualization of a cities and urbanization day at COP29, taking into consideration the findings and network of the Innovate4Cities conference and the upcoming IPCC on cities and climate change

Organize side events that position the findings of Innovate4Cities at COP29 o Coordinate mission report of UN-Habitat post-COP29 and ensure that learnings are being fed into institutional learning

Coordinate and draft post-COP29 UN-Habitat engagement report, building on a debriefing meeting

Qualifications/special skills

Minimum advanced university degree (M.Sc. or equivalent) in business administration, management, environmental management, economics, international development or relevant field is required. A first degree with 2 additional years of experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.

A minimum of five years of experience working in stakeholder engagement, community development and event organization, ideally gained at the international level is required of which working on climate change mitigation and/or adaptation issues.

Demonstrated experience in developing projects in a participatory manner is an added advantage.

Demonstrated experience in coordinating research reports is desirable.

Experience working with international multi-partner initiatives and projects, demonstrating experience delivering outcomes with diverse set of partners and governments on climate projects and climate/urban policy is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this consultancy, fluency in oral and written English is required. Fluency in other UN languages is considered an advantage.

How to Apply

For more information and job application details, see; UN-HABITAT Cities and Climate Change Expert, International Cooperation Jobs in Kenya

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