UN-HABITAT Communications and Event Management Consultant Jobs in Kenya
Background
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, is the UN agency for human settlements. It is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all.
The Knowledge & Innovation Branch (K&I) of UN-Habitat has the mandate to promote local capabilities of local governments to develop innovative instruments in a variety of areas to keep pace with the demands of rapid urbanization. UN-Habitat’s 2020-2025 Strategic Plan considers innovation as both a cross-cutting and substantive issue and emphasizes capacity-building in local government as crucial to ensure that the use of digital technologies in urban planning, design and regeneration improves the quality of life of urban residents.
The UN Innovation Technology Accelerator for Cities (UNITAC) is a partnership between UN-Habitat with UN OICT and the HafenCity University, launched in Hamburg, in 2020, with financial support from the German Government. It provides digital tools and capacity to help national and local governments achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 11, implement the New Urban Agenda and build people-centered smart cities.
UNITAC provides technical expertise on urban digital transformation, data strategies, digital governance and builds, tests and accelerates the deployment of digital tools on public participation, spatial analysis, mapping and visualization. UN-Habitat’s People-Centered Smart Cities flagship programme: In 2020, UN-Habitat launched its flagship programme ‘People-Centered Smart Cities’ which produces technical guides, implements projects, builds capacity and provides digital tools to help cities transition to people-centered smart cities.
This programme has a clear mandate to support colleagues in the delivery of their operational and normative work. The objective of this flagship programme is to ensure that the smart cities field is focused on ensuring sustainable development outcomes aligned with human rights, ensuring that no one and no space is left behind, and that cities reduce carbon emissions.
International Guidelines on People-Centered Smart Cities: In June 2023, 193 countries adopted a resolution HSP/HA.2/Res.1 during the second UN-Habitat Assembly which mandates UN-Habitat to develop International Guidelines on People-Centered Smart Cities through an inclusive and consultative process. The pathway towards International Guidelines includes practical case studies and perspectives of key stakeholders while stressing the significance of multilateral and cross-sectoral collaboration.
The aim is to equip key stakeholders to proactively participate in global, regional, and thematic consultations, while fostering a commitment to collaboration and partnership. The World Urban Forum (WUF) is a non-legislative technical forum convened by UN-Habitat every two years since 2002.
The Forum gathers a wide range of experts from every walk of life. Participants of the Forum include, but are not limited to, national, regional, and local governments, non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, professionals, research institutions and academia, professionals, private sector, development finance institutions, foundations, media, United Nations organizations, and other international agencies.
It is recognized as the foremost global arena for interaction among policymakers, local government leaders, non-governmental organizations, and expert practitioners in the field of sustainable urban development and human settlements.
Responsibilities
Under the supervision of UNITAC’s Technology and Innovation Specialist, the individual contractor will be responsible for the following tasks:
UNITAC Conference for the International Guidelines on People-Centered Smart Cities:
• Update communication assets package with latest project information
• Designated focal point for all speaker and moderator management related activities.
• Liaise and
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