Consultant, Urban Basic Services Trust Fund Strategic Plan 2019-2024 - Supporting the Implementation of SDGs and the New Urban Agenda - Deadline: 08 April 2019

CONSULTANT VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

Urban Basic Services Trust Fund Strategic Plan 2019-2024
Supporting the Implementation of SDGs and the New Urban Agenda

ORGANIZATION:

United Nations Human Settlements Programme

DUTY STATION:

Home-based with missions to Nairobi

FUNCTIONAL TITLE:

Consultant, Urban Basic Services Trust Fund Strategic Plan 2019-2024 - Supporting the Implementation of SDGs and the New Urban Agenda

GRADE:

POST DURATION

2 months

CLOSING DATE:

17 April 2019

A. Background

The Urban Basic Services Trust Fund is a Technical Cooperation Trust Fund set up by UN-Habitat to support member states in addressing the increasing deficit in urban basic services in the face of rapid and unplanned urbanisation. Every day, close to 180,000 new urban dwellers need access to energy, water, sanitation, transport, waste management services, healthcare, education, and need to earn a living in cities in the developing world. To meet this growing demand, at least $70 trillion of global infrastructure investment is needed from 2016 until 2030. An additional $14 trillion of infrastructure investments is required by 2030 to meet minimum climate change targets of the COP 21 declarations.
UN-Habitat established a Water and Sanitation Trust Fund in 2003, in response to two major international calls: Millennium Development Goal 7, Target 10 which aims “to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by the year 2015”; and an appeal in 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which added a target on “reducing by half the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015”. The Trust Fund was a fast track financing mechanism aimed at bringing in new investment and innovative ideas to the urban water and sanitation sector, expanding service coverage for poor urban dwellers, and help in building momentum behind the attainment of water and sanitation Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets. This was achieved through city-level demonstration projects, institutional strengthening of service providers and engagement in normative work, including national policy and reform processes.
The Governing Council of UN-Habitat, at its 24th Session held in Nairobi, Kenya from 15-19 April 2013, adopted Resolution 24/2 on “Strengthening the work of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme on urban basic services”, which among other things, calls upon UN-Habitat to gradually expand the scope of the Water and Sanitation Trust Fund and rename it as the “Urban Basic Services Trust Fund” in support of the implementation of the Agency’s work programme on basic services including sustainable solutions for water and sanitation, energy, mobility, waste management and drainage.
The Governing Council resolution was reaffirmed by the General Assembly resolution A/RES/68/239 adopted in December 2013, which among other things, invites the international donor community and financial institutions to contribute generously to UN-Habitat through increased voluntary financial contributions to the United Nations Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation, including the Urban Basic Services Trust Fund and the technical cooperation trust funds, and invites Governments in a position to do so and other stakeholders to provide predictable multi-year funding and increased non-earmarked contributions to support the implementation of the strategic plan for the period 2014–2019. The latest resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 December 2018 (A/RES/73/239) also invites Member States to support the Urban Basic Services Trust Fund.

In response to the GC and GA resolutions and building on the lessons learned from the Water and Sanitation Trust Fund, UN-Habitat developed the “Urban Basic Services Trust Fund Programme” with an estimated value of US$ 60,000,000. The Programme was aimed at improving access for the poor to the basic services of water supply, sanitation, energy, mobility waste management and drainage in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. The Programme targeted the deficit in urban basic services in the face of rapid and unplanned urbanisation and will seeks to achieve the potential of cities as engines of economic and social development.

Rationale for an Urban Basic Services Trust Fund
Sustainable development cannot be achieved without addressing the enormous backlog in basic services, despite economic growth. For example, over 1.3 billion people - almost 20 percent of the world’s population—still has no access to electricity. 2.8 billion people still cook their food with solid fuels (such as wood). 844 million people still lack even a basic drinking water service and 2.3 billion people still lack even a basic sanitation service. One billion people live more than two kilometres from an all-weather road and air-pollution from indoor and outdoor sources claim more that 7 million lives every year and more than 1.2 million people are killed in road traffic accidents.
Building on the experiences and lessons learned in the Water and Sanitation Trust Fund, the Urban Basic Services Trust Fund has helped to build UN-Habitat’s portfolio of energy, mobility and waste management while retaining and building the water and sanitation portfolio. By including elements of urban mobility, energy, drainage and waste management, alongside water and sanitation, the Trust Fund has ensured an integrated approach to the delivery of urban basic services and also support the adoption of a holistic rather than sectoral approach to urban management by linking, for example, with urban planning, economy and legislation to address the root causes of basic service deficiencies.
Urban Basic Services is one of the priority areas of UN-Habitat being implemented under Sub-programme 4 of the Work Programme and Budget for the Biennium 2018–2019. The Subprogramme has four programmatic clusters, namely: (a) urban energy, (b) urban mobility, (c) water and sanitation, and (d) urban waste management.
Urban basic services are also an integral part of the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan 2020- 2025. In Domain of Change 1 of the Strategic Plan: Reduced spatial inequality and poverty in communities across the urban-rural continuum, expanding access to clean drinking water, sanitation, domestic energy, transport, and public space, among others is a key factor to ensure the realization of truly equal and inclusive cities and human settlements. Urban Basic Services are also key to the realisation of the other 3 Domains of Change.
UN-Habitat’s work in urban basic services is guided by the commitments made by member states in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda (NUA). Eight of the seventeen SDGs are directly related urban basic services. These are:
Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Goal 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all
Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Urban Basic services are also prominent in the NUA with over 150 references. Recognising the challenges faced by national and local governments in the provision of basic services, the NUA envisions cities and human settlements that “…fulfil their social function, including …universal access to safe and affordable drinking water and sanitation, as well as equal access for all to public goods and quality services in areas such as food security and nutrition, health, education, infrastructure, mobility and transportation, energy, air quality, and livelihoods…“This overall vision encourages a comprehensive and holistic approach towards meeting the urban basic services needs of growing urban populations. Overall the NUA also reinforces the relevance UN-Habitat’s work in urban basic services.
In the context of the SDGs and the NUA, UN-Habitat supports member states in:

Ensuring access to modern energy services;
Increasing the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix;
Improving energy efficiency in the built environment;
Achieving universal access to water and sanitation;
Reducing the proportion of untreated wastewater;
Improving air quality;
Expanding public transport, and improving access to sustainable transport systems for all; and improving street designs and road safety
Promoting the uptake of electric mobility in the context of better and more compact urban planning and a transition to clean sources of energy;
Increasing access to ICT.

Achievements of the Urban Basic Services Trust Fund
Between 2004-2013, the Water and Sanitation Trust Fund capitalized a total sum of US$ 154.5 million. With the transition of the Water and Sanitation Trust Fund to the Urban Basic Services Trust Fund, between 2014 to 2016, a further sum of US$19.38 million was mobilized. Its key achievements include:

197 local authorities are implementing institutional and legislative frameworks for increasing equitable access to urban basic services with support from UN-Habitat.
USD 82.2 million worth of investments into urban basic services has been catalyzed by UN-Habitat programmes in partner countries.
2.7 million people benefitted from improved access to water and sanitation by the end of 2018 as a result of UN-Habitat-supported field projects.
200 service provider institutions have been supported through capacity development activities.
Knowledge products produced include 3 global reports, toolkits, guides, etc.
SDG monitoring and reporting mechanisms developed through the Global Expanded Monitoring Initiative.

B. Objective of the consultancy assignment

The objective of the consultancy assignment is to develop the Urban Basic Services Trust Fund Strategic Plan 2019-2024. The Strategic Plan will guide the Trust Fund’s work in supporting member states to realise their commitments in meeting the SDG targets related to urban basic services and the NUA. The development of the Strategic Plan will be informed by the findings and recommendations of the past evaluations and impact studies of the activities supported by the Trust Fund. It will map out how the Trust Fund will contribute to the implementation of the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan 2020- 2025.
A Reference Group will be established to contribute to and oversee the Strategic Plan development process. Members of the Reference Group are proposed to include external experts with experience in management of similar Trust Funds, those with experience in the management of technical cooperation projects, former senior staff of donor organisations and representatives of recipient countries. The Reference Group will be responsible for reviewing the drafts and final Urban Basic Services Trust Fund Strategic Plan 2019-2024 with the intent of ensuring quality, credibility and relevance of the Strategic Plan.

C. Scope of work and related outputs

Under the supervision of the Coordinator, Urban Basic Services Branch, the Consultant will:

Review Trust Fund documents and reports, including operational guidelines, past evaluations and impact studies,
Review the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan 2020-2025 to identify how the Trust Fund will contribute to its implementation.
Engage key UN-Habitat staff on issues to be included in the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan 2020-2025.
Prepare an inception report based on this Terms of Reference,
Develop an annotated outline for the Trust Fund’s Strategic Plan 2019-2024,
Prepare an initial full draft of the Trust Fund’s Strategic Plan 2019-2024, including the Trust Fund’s theory of change.
Share the draft of the Trust Fund’s Strategic Plan 2019-2024 with the Reference Group and UN-Habitat staff for comments and suggestions,
Facilitate debriefing session to discuss comments and suggestions from the Reference Group and UN-Habitat.
Incorporate comments from the Reference Group and UN-Habitat,
Finalize the Trust Fund’s Strategic Plan 2019-2024,

A summary of activities and expected outputs is contained in table 1 below.
Table 1 - Activity and Outputs

Activity

Expected Outputs

Desk review Trust Fund documents and reports, including operational guidelines, past evaluations and impact studies
Desk review the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan 2020-2025 to identify how the Trust Fund will contribute to its implementation.

Inception report

Engage key UN-Habitat staff on issues to be included in the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan 2020-2025

Annotated outline for the Trust Fund’s Strategic Plan 2019-2024

Prepare initial full draft of the Trust Fund’s Strategic Plan 2019-2024, including the Trust Fund’s theory of change.

First Draft of the Trust Fund’s Strategic Plan 2019-2024, including the Trust Fund’s theory of change submitted for review by the Reference Group and UN-Habitat.

Facilitate debriefing session to discuss main comments and suggestions

Revised Draft of the Trust Fund’s Strategic Plan 2019-2024

Finalize the Trust Fund’s Strategic Plan 2019-2024 incorporating comments and suggestions from the Reference Group and UN-Habitat

Final Draft of Trust Fund’s Strategic Plan 2019-2024

D. Qualifications of the Consultant

The consultant should have the following qualifications:

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Sociology, Social Anthropology or any other relevant academic discipline related to human settlements development or management, with particular emphasis in urban basic services provision. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
A minimum of ten years of professional experience, including strategic planning and sustainable urban development.
Other desirable skills include familiarity with UN processes, including engagement at similar level within the UN or other international agencies, working knowledge of official UN languages and strong conceptual, analytical and creative skills targeted at producing results.

E. Timeframe

This assignment will be for a period of two months from the signing of the contract.

F. Budget:

A lump sum fee rate will be determined by functions performed and experience of the consultant, and outputs will be paid according to an agreed schedule.

G. Reporting

The consultant will report to the Coordinator, Urban Basic Services Branch, UN-Habitat or his delegated representative. All reports are to be submitted in five (5) hard copies and one electronic copy. Reports are to be written in English.

H. Payment Schedule

Upon submission of the Inception Report, 20% of total fee will be paid;
Upon submission of the Draft Report, 50% of total fee will be paid;
Upon submission of Final Report the remaining 30% of total fee will be paid.

Requests for payment submitted by the Consultant should be accompanied by: (1) a copy of time sheets showing the time spent on the assignment and the activities carried out during the period for which the payment is requested; (2) hard copies (2 sets) and a soft copy of all outputs achieved for the period for which payment is being requested.

I. How to Apply

All applicants should apply through INSPIRA. The Job Opening can be accessed through this link: https://careers.un.org/lbw/jobdetail.aspx?id=115125&Lang=en-US
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, create a Personal History Profile and apply for this position.
Deadline for applications: 17 April 2019.
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