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.

Organizational Setting

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Senior Programme Officer (SPO)/Head of Secretariat (HoS) of the Local2030 Coalition and under the overall guidance of the Chief of the Urban Practices Branch and UN-Habitat senior focal point for SDG localization and local governments. In addition, the consultant will work in close coordination with the SDG Localization and Local Governments Team within the Urban Practices Branch of UN-Habitat and with the relevant UN-Habitat’s Regional and Country Offices.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will carry out the following tasks and responsibilities:

• Liaising with the National Liaison Officers and UN-Habitat Country Offices in the pilot countries to provide overall technical assistance in connecting relevant Ph.D. students and university courses with local administrations.
• Mapping and producing engagement strategies for the relevant Ph.D. and Masters’ programs in the pilot countries, including facilitating dialogue with university coordinators.
• Setting up the cluster on SDG localization, including selecting PhD students and young researchers in pilot countries.
• Identifying priority thematic focuses related to SDG Localization to build the research activities of the Ph.D. cluster.
• Providing technical expertise to organizing workshops and events contributing to the global “Knowledge Community”. This includes developing background material, concept notes, and talking points as well as the mobilization of relevant partners towards the Knowledge Community.
• Systematizing the experience and the knowledge produced by the Ph.D. cluster and transforming it into key policy recommendations for local administrations.
• Provide technical expertise to the preparation and implementation of “On-Demand SDG Localization Trainings” at CeSPI.
• Provide content for the development of communication material on the activities of the Local2030 Knowledge Hub.

Deliverables

• Mapping of university courses and stakeholders in Jordan and Tunisia
• Stakeholder engagement strategies for the two pilot countries
• SDG localization Ph.D. cluster ToRs, workplan and selection criteria
• “On Demand SDG localization training” ToRs, training material and workplan.
• Report on priority thematic focuses for the Ph.D. cluster
• At least four (4) workshop concept notes and agendas
• Two (2) systematizations (one per pilot country) of the Knowledge Hub experience, including policy-oriented recommendations.
• Two (2) Report on progress activities on engagement between the Ph.D. cluster, the academic network and the local administrations

Requirements

Qualifications/special skills

• An advanced university degree in International Development, Social Science, Development Cooperation, International Relations, or a related field is required.
• A minimum of 10 years of working experience in Sustainable Development, International relations, Development cooperation, or a related field is required.
• Demonstrated professional experience with relevant universities or think thanks, and specifically in relation to international university networks, is desirable.

Languages

• Fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of French and Italian, oral and written, is desirable.