Antecedentes
- The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) has a long-term good cooperation with the Government of Rwanda (GoR). Since 1994, this UN Agency assisted the GoR in the implementation of projects related with the reintegration of returnees and reconstruction of destroyed infrastructure. Over the years, this cooperation evolved into sustainable development support, with emphasis on youth employment, environment, sustainable urbanisation and social protection.
UN-Habitat is participating actively in the joint implementation of projects and programmes with other UN Agencies in Rwanda within the framework of the Delivering as One UN reform which started in 2008. In particular, the Agency is currently involved in the preparation of UN Development Assistance Programme (UNDAP) 2013-2018, in line with the national strategies and development plans of the GoR.
Since 2013, UN-Habitat is implementing in Rwanda the initiative “Achieving Sustainable Urban Development” (ASUD), a pilot programme implemented only in five countries world-wide. This programme is aiming to support the GoR, at the different levels, to realise the targets set in the 2nd Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS2), in which rapid urbanisation is expected to play a central role to increase economic growth and reduce the pressure on the precious landscape and limited buildable land.
Key elements in the first phase of ASUD were the development of a national urbanisation policy (NUP, validated), the development of a spatial development framework (SDF, on-going), support to urban planning through the development of a planning guide for secondary cities and improvement of the master plans in Rubavu and Nyagatare. All ASUD components have a strong emphasis on capacity building.
From new phase of collaboration with the GoR within the framework of the ASUD is starting, for which additional financial resources need to be mobilised, including the following main activities (among others):
- Finalising the spatial development framework;
- Strengthening the capacity of local/national technical staff and decision-makers in urban planning development and implementation;
- Facilitating policy dialogues, debates and raising awareness regarding sustainable urbanisation in Rwanda;
- Supporting the implementation of urban pilot projects, including land readjustment initiatives.
Deberes y responsabilidades
The National Technical Advisor will be working in the field of sustainable urbanisation in close collaboration with the Ministry of Infrastructure (MININFRA), the governmental counterpart of UN-Habitat in Rwanda, with the support of other UN-Habitat colleagues working in Rwanda, and under the supervision of the UN-Habitat Programme Manager and of the Senior Human Settlements Officer based in the Regional Office for Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, Task Manager for Rwanda. He/she will have the following duties and responsibilities:
- Contributing to the formulation and finalisation of an integrated urbanisation programme in Rwanda, and to the mobilisation of financial resources for its implementation;
- Providing substantive guidance and support to the implementation of the Local Urban Development Plans in secondary cities, and for the development of detailed physical plans; carrying out field work activities for this purpose, as needed;
- Organising and conducting training and capacity building activities, workshops and debates related to sustainable urbanisation benefiting national and local authorities;
- Liaising and supporting the coordination of UN-Habitat activities with national, local and international partners working on urbanisation-related issues to create synergies and maximise their impact;
- Supporting the preparation and finalisation of the spatial development framework of Rwanda;
- Helping in the dissemination of the different UN-Habitat products obtained in Rwanda to support sustainable urbanisation.
Expected Results
By the end of the consultancy, the National Technical Advisor will have actively contributed to or taken the lead for producing the following expected outputs:
- Integrated urbanisation programme in Rwanda, constituting the second phase of the ASUD;
- At least one financial agreement with an identified donor to support the implementation of the ASUD 2 in Rwanda;
- At least two trainings for central and local authorities, one on land readjustment and another one on urban economy and finance;
- Substantive inputs to the formulation and implementation of local urban plans;
- Spatial development framework of Rwanda;
- Various reports/documents related to UN-Habitat in Rwanda;
- National Urban Forum.
- Facilitate policy dialogues, raising awareness campaigns of National Urbanisation Policy, and elaboration of urbanisation communication strategy.
Competencias
- Ability to assimilate international knowledge (e.g. UN-Habitat urban planning and management principles) in a short period of time;
- Sound judgment and excellent analytical skills;
- Ability to plan and organise work;
- Strong team player;
- Capability to facilitate meetings/debates and to build consensus;
- Ability to communicate clearly at the different levels (local authorities, national staff, senior officials);
- Ability to build collaborative relationships with partners;
- Good skills in Microsoft Word, Excel and Power Point.
Habilidades y experiencia requeridas
Education:
- Advanced university degree or its equivalent in urban/regional planning, geography, architecture, engineering, municipal development, or related fields.
Experience:
- Minimum 5 years of working experience in the fields of urban/regional planning, urban management and/or institutional capacity building in Rwanda; international experience is an added value;
- Experience in working in multi-national/culturally-diverse teams;
- Experience in working with or within public institutions in Rwanda; profound knowledge of the administrative system;
- Relevant field experience.
Language requirements:
- Fluency in English;
- French and Kinyarwanda is essential.