UNDP Jobs - 13668- Consultant: Decentralization and Urban Planning

Consultant: Decentralization and Urban Planning

Location :

Manama, BAHRAIN

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

10-Dec-2009

Application Deadline :

08-Dec-09 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

10 Working Days

Languages Required :

Arabic English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The Kingdom of Bahrain is undergoing a political reform process that is having a profound impact on the country and the region. An important part of this process is decentralizing governance systems and building capacity in the newly created Municipalities. The Urban Planning Department at the Ministry of Municipalities and Agricultural Affairs (MoMAA) is working in partnership with the Municipalities in this regard.

The Middle Area Municipality has a pilot project to combine 7 villages in the Sitra area into 1 administrative area with shared facilities. Hence there is a requirement for a consultant to gather information from all Stakeholders to analyse the current situation, plan and prioritise citizens and Municipality concerns through a participatory process to produce a Project Document to carry out this pilot, with the intention to replicate the process in other Municipalities of Bahrain.

The consultant required for this project must be highly competent on technical aspects of Decentralization and Urban Planning, as well as on effective and strategic management. The consultant will work in close collaboration with the Middle Area Municipality and the Ministry of Municipalities and Agricultural Affairs (MoMAA) to produce the Project Document

Duties and Responsibilities

With the Middle Area Municipal Council, create a project document for the creation of 1 urban centre of Sitra from the current 7 villages, taking into consideration: the Kingdom’s Economic Vision 2030; the latest developments at the Middle Area Municipal Council; the Project Proposal by Space Syntax; the plan from the Urban Planning department of the Ministry of Municipalities and Agricultural Affairs (MoMAA)
Meet with: MoMAA; the Urban Planning department at MoMAA; the Middle Area Municipal Council and Executive Body; Major Stakeholders in the 7 villages; Citizens Groups (constituents)
Visit the municipality and listen to feedback from the Northern Municipality managers and their constituents on the newly formed “Coordination Council” which is a go-between player between the Ministries and all Municipal Councils
Highlight the concepts of community development, participatory approach mechanisms, social and environmental impact assessment of projects as well as Monitoring and Evaluation tools

Produce the Project Document as per UNDP project document template considering the following:

Developing a buffer zone between the industrial complex and the residential area
Allocating land for social services, such as schools, health centers, recreational area
The need to review the delivery of physical infrastructures, such as wastewater management. The needs extend to establishing a modality for solid waste management
Among the possible mechanisms for provision of public goods, such as solid waste management, is through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP)
Historic preservation and maintenance of the image of the settlement is also needed for preserving culture and identity
The action plan will evolve from the human rights based approach and from applying the principles of good governance: participation; be conducive to building partnerships; aiming to build consensus on issues and actions; effective and efficient; responsive and inclusive; transparent; accountable
The use of issue-specific working groups as the forum for discussion and decision-making. Hence will need to develop stakeholder analysis to see where the potential partnerships are and where interests conflict, in order to reach a win-win agreement
That the working groups modality is a means to assure ownership and responsibility
The activities within the action plan have to be phased according to priority, funds and to be subject to economic, financial, social and environmental impact assessment before implementation
The action plan will also include commitments from the various stakeholders, which will be legally binding to all partners
We need to examine bringing UNHABITAT on board in training the local cadres and the use of Islamic laws in land management and development at large to gain acceptability

Competencies

Has at least ten years work experience in his/her areas of specialization
Has at least ten years experience in working in developed and developing countries
Competent knowledge of both Arabic and English is essential
Must maintain confidentiality

Required Skills and Experience

Holds a Post Graduate Degree in Areas such as Governance, Decentralisation and Urban Planning