Kenya: Consultant for Partnership Strategy,(Nairobi, Kenya),Deadline: 22 November 2014

CONSULTANT VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
Issued on: 12 November 2014

ORGANIZATIONAL LOCATION:UN-HABITAT

DUTY STATION:Nairobi, Kenya

FUNCTIONAL TITLE:Consultant for Partnership Strategy

DURATION:5 months (1st of December 2014 to 31st April 2015)

CLOSING DATE:22 November 2014

BACKGROUND

In light of the reorganization of the agency and its strategic goals as laid out in the 2014-2019 Strategic Plan, senior management has determined the need to develop an agency-wide strategy to guide the creation and management of partnerships for sustainable urban development, with emphasis on the design and implementation of UN-Habitat policies, programmes and activities.

This strategy will inform the critical engagement of partners in the establishment and execution of the Post-2015 Development Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals. Furthermore, expedition of the development and finalization of a new partnership strategy is made especially salient by the upcoming Habitat III conference. In its resolution A/RES/67/216 of 20 March 2013, the General Assembly of the United Nations called for a preparatory process for the Habitat III Conference that was to be carried out in the most inclusive, efficient, effective and improved manner, but also encouraged, in its Operative Paragraph 11,“effective contributions from, and the active participation of , all relevant stakeholders, including local governments, major groups as identified in Agenda 21, the relevant United Nations funds and programmes, the regional commissions and specialized agencies, the international financial institutions, and other Habitat Agenda partners, at all stages of the preparatory process and at the Conference itself, and requests the Secretary-General of the Conference to make proposals to the Preparatory Committee on improved participation of local authorities and other stakeholders in the preparatory process and the Conference itself, building on the positive experience of the rules and procedures of the Governing Council of UN-Habitat and the inclusive engagement modalities of HABITAT II.”

The same resolution, in its Operative Paragraph 12, encouraged “stakeholders gathered at the seventh session of the World Urban Forum, as well as at the regular ministerial conferences on housing and urban development and other relevant expert group meetings, to provide inputs and to contribute as appropriate to the process leading to the Conference.” Finally, in Operative Paragraph 15 of that resolution, the General Assembly requested “the Secretary-General to provide, in the most efficient and cost-effective manner, all appropriate support to the Secretary-General of the Conference and to the work of the preparatory process and the Conference, while promoting to the maximum possible extent inter-agency support.”

UN-Habitat will not be able to act upon these recommendations without a comprehensive partnership strategy, and aligned policies and guidelines, which address the limitations of the agency’s current approaches to partner engagement approach.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the overall guidance of the Coordinator of the Partners and Inter-Agency Coordination Branch the consultant will create a revised Partnership Strategy and present its findings and recommendations to senior management. The objectives of the assignment are threefold:

1)To develop a UN-Habitat revised partnership strategy which will help the agency to establish and sustain partnerships to support delivery of its mandate through effective implementation of the 2014-2019 work programme, preparation for Habitat III, and development of Post-2015 development agenda and SDGs, and establishment of the New Urban Agenda.

2)To present lessons learned to inform decisions on how strategic partnerships can be enhanced and managed including institutional arrangements, and the role of the Partners and Inter Agency Coordination Branch.

3)To propose a partnership knowledge management and information exchange system that is interactive and responds to the needs of partners, with an access policy to protect privacy.

The project has the following specific activities, building off of the foundational work done by previous consultants:

a)Assessment of UN-Habitat’s achievements through, and approach to partnership engagements. This will include an examination of recent/current methods of partner selection, partnership creation and sustainability, partner mobilization for participation in policy dialogues, normative and operational programmes, as well as partnership management (including knowledge management and information sharing) across the agency. It will result in the identification of opportunities to focus more on strategic agency partners, strengthen existing relationships with strategic partners, and create new strategic partnerships at global, regional, national and local levels. This will include the identification of barriers to strategic partnership management which need to be addressed.

b)Stakeholder analysis in the area of UN-Habitat’s urban development and human settlements mandate and key focus areas to identify the agency’s existing and potential strategic partners the agency could nurture or initiate relationships with between now and 2016, and beyond.

c)Research on best practices in partnerships for development, and the delineation of different partnership models for fulfilling different aspects of UN-Habitat’s mandate (e.g., influence at a policy level versus effective design and implementation of specific programmes and projectsin the field).

d) Undertake a mapping of the needs of partners, and the major uses of partners’ information by UN-Habitat (including headquarters and field offices), and make recommendations for a partner knowledge management and exchange system, which is enables internal and external use, easily searchable by country, region and thematic area, and suggest mandatory dataset for each type, as well as an access policy that protects privacy. Explore the possibility of having one platform for partners’ registration for all UN-Habitat major events whether organized by Headquarters, regional and liaison offices and provide a unified source of information on partners.

e) Review appropriateness of current institutional arrangements including the role of the Partners and Inter Agency Branch, and proposed ways for regulations, if necessary.

f) Drafting of a revised partnership strategy based on parts a - c) above and accompanying specific recommendations for policies, procedures and new projects*. For example, the broad strategy could be accompanied by a policy on how partnership information is stored and used in the agency, a procedure on partner selection, and ideas for a renewed effort to include UN-Habitat in the preparation of UNDAF country documents.*

g) The strategy document and draft policies/procedures will also be accompanied by a protocol for continuous engagement of partners post “Habitat III” which presents in a simple, visual way, the concrete steps that should be taken to effectively mobilize partners for implementation of the New urban agenda.. The roadmap will chart out the roles and responsibilities of UN-Habitat and partners, key activities and outputs, and the timing of activity implementation/output delivery.

h) Revision of partnership strategy (including policies and Roadmap) based on input from internal and external stakeholders (i.e., different departments and HAP representatives), and presentation of the final strategy (including specific policy recommendations, etc.) to senior management.

DELIVERABLES

The expected outputs/products of the consultancy include:

A revised Partnership Strategy Document (inclusive of relevant policies in Appendices)A comprehensive road map for partner engagement through Habitat III (expanding upon the

existing Roadmap for UN agency engagement) and beyond (through the end of the 2019 work programme)

A protocol for mobilization and engagement of partners post Habitat III (to complement the

post-Habitat III portion of the roadmap)

COMPETENCIES

Professionalism:Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter.
Project management:Ability to organize, motivate and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals and to optimize the allocation of necessary inputs and integrate them to meet pre-defined objectives.
Planning and organizing:Ability to work under pressure, establish priorities and plan, coordinate own work plan, use time efficiently and apply judgment in the context of competing deadlines.
Team work:Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals.
Accountability:Delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards.

EDUCATION

-Higher degree in social sciences, economics, or related field

WORK EXPERIENCE

-Minimum of 5 years of work experience in partnership management, including some consulting experience.
-Experience working on partnerships within or for an international organization, previous experience working with the United Nations System is an asset.
-Management experience in an international organization, including the establishment and enforcement of new policies and procedures.
-Experience conducting organizational assessments of policies and procedures

LANGUAGE SKILLS

-Proficient English speaking and writing skills.

OTHER SKILLS

-Proficiency in Microsoft Office programs
-Ability to cope with short deadlines
-Ability to coordinate with and involve multiple stakeholders in development of work product
-Strong interpersonal, communication and presentation skills
-Strong research skills

REMUNERATION
Payments will be based on deliverables over the consultancy period. There are set remuneration rates for consultancies. The rate is determined by functions performed and experience of the consultant. The fees will be paid as per agreement.

Applications should include:
• Cover memo (maximum 1 page)
• CV in the PHP format, accessible through the INSPIRA website (inspira.un.org) 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 and create a personal History Profile.
• The PHP should be attached to the application as a PDF file.
• Summary CV (maximum 2 pages), indicating the following information:

Educational Background (incl. dates)Professional Experience (assignments, tasks, achievements, duration by years/ months)Other Experience and Expertise (e.g. Internships/ voluntary work, etc.)Expertise and preferences regarding location of potential assignmentsExpectations regarding remuneration
• Cover memo (maximum 1 page)

Please also be advised that since April 15th 2010, applicants for consultancies must be part of the
UN-HABITAT e-Roster in order for their application to be considered. You can reach the e-Roster
through the following link: http://e-roster.unhabitat.org/

All applications should be submitted to:
Ms. Florence Bunei
UN-HABITAT Office in Nairobi
Email: Florence.Bunei@unhabitat.org
Deadline for applications: 22 November 2014

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