Associate Programme Officer

ORGANIZATIONAL LOCATION: UN-HABITAT, Regional Office for Africa and the Arab States
DUTY STATION: Nairobi
FUNCTIONAL TITLE: Associate Programme Officer
GRADE:NO B
POST DURATION:1 year, renewable
CLOSING DATE: 27 January 2011

BACKGROUND

If you are qualified and looking for a chance to make a real difference in the lives of slum dwellers in Kenya and share your experience with other representatives from 30 more ACP countries, you are invited to apply for the post of a Programme Officer with UN-HABITAT and the Regional Office for Africa and the Arab States (ROAAS).

ROAAS will need your support to the Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme, currently implemented in 30 ACP countries financed by the European Commission (EC), one of which is also Kenya, in the following areas: 20% in Communication and Outreach, 10% in Programme Management Support and Administration, 40% Partnership Building and Resource Mobilisation, 20% in Research and Analysis of Programme Outputs and 10% in the Organization of Workshops and Conferences.

You shall be a dynamic member of the programme team and contribute to the successful implementation of the PSUP in Kenya including following three activities: 1) an Urban Inventory for Kenya, 2) the UNOCHA/UN-HABITAT Urban Vulnerability Reduction Initiative and 3) the urban profiling in five urban centres in Kenya. This will require to maintain partnerships with the EC, EUD, the ACP Secretariat, Kenyan ministries and local governments, NGOs, CBOs, academia, private and informal sector.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the supervision of the Programme Manager, the Programme Officer will work on the following:

Communication and Outreach (20%):

- Draft a communication strategy for the PSUP in Kenya to be replicated for other countries while taking into consideration the tripartite partnership between UN-HABITAT, the European Commission and the ACP Secretariat;
- Publish data and programme results according to EU and UN-HABITAT guidelines;
- Further develop the website structure and create new communication tools on the website enabling urban actors to exchange on the programme;

Programme management (10%):

- Draft, implement and monitor programme implementation frameworks for the three core activities of the PSUP in Kenya such as: Cooperation Agreements, MoU, procurement, payments and consultancy contracts;
- Monitor performance and provide inputs to the implementation of the PSUP in Kenya;

Partnership Building and Resource Mobilisation (40%):

- Contribute to the UN-HABITAT/OCHA Urban Vulnerability Initiative and to the maintenance of its Forum;
- Contribute to the networking and partnership building of the PSUP in Kenya;
- Support the resource mobilization activities of country teams implementing the PSUP and designing slum upgrading and prevention intervention in cities and at national levels.

Research and Analysis of Programme Outputs (20%):

- Verify documents submitted by the country team; this includes editing and validation of information with UN/UN-HABITAT data;

Organisation of Workshops and Conferences (10%):

- Organise and partly conduct training workshops and conferences in Kenya – to mobilise community members for the Urban Vulnerability Initiative and also for defining indicators triggering emergency aid;

COMPETENCIES
Communication: Excellent writing skills, proven ability to write research papers, project documents and reports. Commitment to tailor language and format to the needs of the audience;
Planning and Organizing: Ability to establish, plan and organize publications and other communication tools as well as workshops and conferences with minimal supervision and strong ability to implement and complete work programmes within stipulated deadlines and withstanding work pressure in a resource constrained situation;
Teamwork: Ability to effectively participate in the programme team and contribute to the achievement of programme goals in the set timeframe as well as to learn from partners, colleagues within the context of a learning organization;
Client Orientation: Ability to establish and maintain productive partnerships for the Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme and the Urban Vulnerability Initiative in Kenya; to identify client’s needs (slum dwellers needs in slums all over Kenya) and find solutions to them; to meet deadlines for delivery of reports, outputs to government partners and donors and to see programme delivery and implementation from the client’s point of view;

QUALIFICATIONS
Education
University degree (bachelors) in urban development related studies, political or social science, journalism or other relevant field.

Work Experience
A minimum of two years working experience, Experience with the UN and a familiarity with UN procedures, and preferably in the area of sustainable urban development, communication and partnership building, an advantage.

Language
The PSUP is implemented in Kenya. Therefore, the knowledge of English and Kiswahili is required. Any other UN language for the reporting to donors and external partners will be an asset.

Other skills.
Excellent computer skills, preferably also in design and photo software;

Remuneration

See UN website http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/salaries_allowances/index.html

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