BACKGROUND
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, is the United Nations 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 Urban Legislation, Land and Governance Branch (ULLG) supports the development of adequate land management tools, urban laws and urban governance approaches and institutions as a contribution to sustainable urban development. It provides policy and technical assistance, through normative work and operational projects, to national and sub-national governments, including local authorities, and other Habitat Agenda partners with respect to urban regulatory frameworks, affordable and equitable land tool and cutting edge urban governance thinking, including urban safety;
The Land and GLTN Unit, located within ULLG has the objectives to develop, test and disseminate pro-poor and gender responsive approaches in regard to land development, innovative residential tenures, affordable land management/administration systems, and land related regulatory/legal frameworks and tools. The Unit hence focuses on research and tool development also to supply technical advice to Member States and backstop the Regional offices and other sections of UN-Habitat. Land tools provide a unique pathway for enabling action in urban governance and improving rural livelihoods including food security. While there has been extensive global discussion around land policies that work for the poor and quite some progress in developing policies, implementation of the same has lagged behind due to lack of affordable, equitable fit-for-purpose and gender responsive land tools that are accessible to all sections of the population in countries around the world. Work has already started on developing these tools both for developing and post-conflict societies. Incremental expansion of this work over time, as capacity is developed, will take place through the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN, the Network), the Secretariat of which is located at UN-Habitat.
The Global Land Tool Network – The goal of the Network is the development and adoption of pro poor and gender sensitive land tools and approaches. The core themes on which the Network focuses on are: access to land and tenure security, land management and planning, land administration and information, land-based financing, land policy and legislation. The Network also works on cross-cutting issues, such as capacity development, land governance, youth, capacity development, land and housing rights in Islamic contexts, human rights, food security, conflict/disaster, environment, gender, and grassroots. GLTN has developed a global partnership on land issues pulling together global partners, as well as many individual members. These partners include international networks of civil society, international finance institutions, international research and training institutions, donors and professional bodies. The GLTN takes a more holistic approach to land issues by: improving global coordination on land; establishing of a continuum of land rights, rather than just focus on individual land titling; improving and developing pro-poor land management, as well as land tenure tools; unblocking existing initiatives; assisting in strengthening existing land networks; assisting in the development of gendered land tools which are affordable and useful to the grassroots; and improving the general dissemination of knowledge about how to implement security of tenure. In implementing GLTN Phase II Programme, UN-Habitat has an existing agreement with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the contract shall be managed by the Agency. More information on GLTN can be found on www.gltn.net.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The Consultant shall report to the Land and GLTN Unit Leader or any authorized staff with the following roles and responsibilities:
On Capacity Development
Lead the coordination and provide technical support and guidance of the partnership programs and activities with the African Land Policy Initiative (LPI) including the following:
Development of training resources development in Transparency in Land Administration (TLA) including translation work;
Organizing and facilitating three good practice training in TLA involving Anglophone and Francophone African countries;
Coordination of the conduct of capacity needs assessment of LPI stakeholders with regard to land policy development and implementation;
Coordination of the finalization of background document for Capacity Development Framework for LPI;
Coordinate the process of finalization, translation and publishing of the Capacity Development Framework; and
Managing other new or potential capacity development and partnership programs between UN-Habitat/GLTN and LPI e.g LSLBI training resources development, etc.
Liaise with and support partners and stakeholders that will be involved in implementing capacity development activities within the framework of LPI and GLTN; and
On Tool Development
Provide substantive support in GLTN-related tool development activities including on finalization of the publication of the Costing and Financing of Land Administration Services (COFLAS) tool, Participatory and Inclusive Land Readjustment (PILaR) source book and Land based financing training resources
Provide substantive support in the implementation of activities related to the Gender portfolio of GLTN/UN-Habitat including providing support in the refinement of the concept note of the Multiverse of Women and Tenure, documenting the experiences and lessons of the piloting and implementation of the gender evaluation criteria tool in addition to providing support to other gender and land work streams. .
Provide technical support to GLTN country level engagement activities and development of other GLTN tools as may be assigned; and
Coordinate and provide substantive support in the implementation of the GLTN-related work with urban civil society cluster ;
On Knowledge Management and Advocacy
Contribute to the research and knowledge management activities of the IFAD supported project (TSLI-ESA project) and other GLTN-supported projects.
Contribute to communication, knowledge management and advocacy related activities related to the above activities.
Other Tasks
Coordinate GLTN-related work and activities with partner-organizations including with the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), Slum Dwellers International (SDI) Urban cluster work and Regional Centre for Mapping and Resource Development (RCMRD);
Provide substantive support in project-related activities including organization and/or facilitation of events/meetings, conducting related missions/travels, building partnerships and planning, monitoring and reporting on the above activities.
Perform other related work as maybe assigned.
COMPETENCIES
Professionalism: Knowledge of concepts and approaches relevant to the capacity and knowledge development in the land sector in an African context; ability to conduct independent analysis, identify issues, formulate options and make conclusions and recommendations.
Communication: Excellent written and oral communication skills and ability to articulate ideas in a clear and accurate manner including the ability to prepare and edit a variety of written documents, reports and briefs.
Planning and organizing: ability to work under pressure, establish priorities and plan, coordinate own work plan, use time efficiently and apply judgment in the context of competing deadlines.
Teamwork: Good interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.
EDUCATION
Advanced University degree (masters or above) in a subject (or combination of subjects) of which the major ones are Surveying, Land management, Land economics, Land use planning, or similar.
WORK EXPERIENCE
A minimum of 5 years of land related experience including land administration systems in developing countries particularly in Africa
Knowledge and experience on capacity development on land is preferred.
Knowledge of the African Land Policy Initiative, land administration systems and land institutions in developing countries in general and in Africa in particular is preferred.
Previous work experience with the UN System is desirable.
Demonstrated ability to manage capacity development initiatives, research and knowledge management projects and produce normative products such as policy and practice guides.
LANGUAGE SKILLS
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations. For this consultancy, excellent proficiency in spoken and written English is required.
OTHER SKILLS
Very good computer skills, including Word Processing, Excel and PowerPoint
Ability to be flexible with changes in timelines
REMUNERATION
Payments will be based on deliverables over the consultancy period. There are set remuneration rates for consultancies. The rate is determined by functions performed and experience of the consultant. The fees will be paid as per agreement.
HOW TO APPLY:
Applications should include:
• Cover memo (maximum 1 page)
• CV in the PHP format, accessible through the INSPIRA website (inspira.un.org) Please note, if using INSPIRA for the first time, you need to register in order to activate your account, which will allow you to log in and create a personal History Profile.
• The PHP should be attached to the application as a PDF file.
• Summary CV (maximum 2 pages), indicating the following information:
Educational Background (incl. dates)
Professional Experience (assignments, tasks, achievements, duration by years/ months)
Other Experience and Expertise (e.g. Internships/ voluntary work, etc.)
Expertise and preferences regarding location of potential assignments
Expectations regarding remuneration
• Cover memo (maximum 1 page)
Please also be advised that since April 15th 2010, applicants for consultancies must be part of the
UN-HABITAT e-Roster in order for their application to be considered. You can reach the e-Roster
through the following link: http://e-roster.unhabitat.org
All applications should be submitted to:
Mr. Danilo Antonio
UN-HABITAT
P.O. Box 30030, 00100 Nairobi, Kenya
Email: danilo.antonio@unhabitat.org
Deadline for applications: 27 May 2015
UN-HABITAT does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process. If you have any questions concerning persons or companies claiming to be recruiting on behalf of these offices and requesting the payment of a fee, please contact:recruitment@unon.org