Background

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the mandated Agency to support central and local governments in the identification of proper solutions for fostering sustainable urban development processes. This UN Agency has supported several projects and programmes in Ethiopia since 1998 including water and sanitation, urban profiling, urban planning, urban mobility, and capacity building, among other activities. UN-Habitat developed a Country Programme (2016-2020) to support Ethiopia’s efforts to manage rapid urbanization, in line with the Growth Transformation Plan II (GTP II), comprising five focus areas: capacity building for city leaders; integrated urban and regional planning; urban resilience; solid waste management; and institutional coordination in the urban sector. The Implementation of the UN-Habitat Country Programme was officially endorsed by the Government of Ethiopia through the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between MUDCo and UN-Habitat in February 2018.

The agency is further renewing its interventions in supporting urban development in Ethiopia through its new country program pillars, all of which are aligned with the government’s ten years development plans. The new country program (2021-2025) emphasizes on regional spatial development planning, capacity development and urban partners coordination, urban environment and basic services, urban economy and municipal finance, affordable housing, and land management.

MUDCO has requested the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) to provide technical assistance for preparing Regional Spatial Development Plans of Ethiopia. It is to be noted that the Memorandum of Understanding signed between UN-Habitat and the Government of Ethiopia during the 9 th Session of the World Urban Forum held in Kuala Lumpur in February 2018 constitutes the legal framework for implementing the UN-Habitat Country Programme 2016-2020 in which one of the 4 pillars is Urban and Regional Planning.

UN-Habitat’s technical knowledge and expertise on matters related to urban and regional planning are globally recognized. In addition, it is fully accountable to Member States according to the UN Secretariat rules and regulations. UN-Habitat is not only committed to deliver the final products, but also to build institutional capacity during the process which is crucial for enabling the implementation of the regional spatial plans. Also, this assignment builds on the UN-Habitat’s successful accomplishment of strategic spatial plans for the Darfur, Rwanda, parts of Myanmar and Laos, and northern Mozambique.

Duties and Responsibilities

The main objective of the project is to prepare regional development spatial plans for the regional states of Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Somali, Benishangul Gumuz, Southern Nations, Nationalities and People (SNNP), Gambella, Harari and Sidama that can enable them define and achieve their own development goals in line with the national development goals.

This assignment will be based in the newly formed South-west region. It is a multi-centre region and has four capitals: Bonga, Mizan Aman, Tepi and Tercha. The regional project office is expected to be placed in one of these cities.

The specific objectives of the assignment for each Regional Development spatial plan are:

• To conduct situational analysis: this includes regional spatial diagnosis and base-mapping at Wereda level, summary of the key strategic issues (constraints and opportunities) and determination of the emerging spatial structure which influences regional development, based on desk review, data collection (Matrix of Function and spatial documents), and consultative workshops.
• To identify the existing resources and plan utilization of such resources in each region.
• To prioritize and guide investment decisions as per the regional spatial development plan.
• To prepare a complete Regional Spatial Development Framework (SDF) comprising of vision for 2040, spatial development strategies (i.e. goals, objectives, targets, and strategies) and planning guidelines for the desired future, in the context of the national development goals as stipulated in strategic development plans of the country (i.e. NUSDP and the Ten-Year Perspective Plan) and other relevant global agendas, especially the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda (NUA).
• To identify and prepare regional development policies and measures (i.e. policy statements, programs, projects, etc.) that can achieve the objectives under the SDF following the regional spatial structure proposed based on a preferred scenario.
• To develop a comprehensive implementation plan, including an investment roadmap, institutional arrangements and legislation framework, and organizational capacity development program.
• To prepare a monitoring and evaluation system that inform government budgeting, private investments, public-private partnership, etc…

The Incumbent Will Have To Perform The Following Assignments Independently And In Collaboration With The Project Team Leader And Team Members

• Conduct situational studies and analysis on different aspects of societal frameworks across the region
• Conduct studies about the cultural, technological, economic, environmental and societal transformations that trace the evolution of the societies and development and the emergence of contemporary peoples, social organizations, institutions, states, economies, and cultures across the regions
• Conduct studies on emerging social development issues ongoing challenges and opportunities for future development
• Review of relevant policies, strategies and lows pertaining to social development
• The specialist is expected to undertake the capacity development of the government counterpart as part of on the job capacity building training
• Leading the preparation and compilation of the study document on the social aspect to feed into the regional spatial plan document
• Prepare weekly and monthly project progress updates and reports
• Conduct workshops, seminars, and participatory meetings to share the findings of the study, recommendations with concerned parties at the federal, regional, zonal and woreda level officials and community members and other concerned stakeholders

Expected Outputs

• Detailed study on the situation analysis of social development issues at the regional level
• Detailed social development plan with implementation plan, including an investment roadmap, institutional arrangements and legislation framework, and organizational capacity development program to feed into the overall regional spatial plan
• To prepare a monitoring and evaluation system for the social development framework
• Performance and impact-based reports on the job capacity building for the government counterpart

Requirements

Competencies

Professionalism:

• Ability to identify key strategic issues, opportunities and risks. Ability to generate and communicate broad and compelling organizational direction. Ability to communicate clearly links between the Organization’s strategy and the work unit’s goals. Demonstrated ability to provide innovative technical leadership by performing and/or overseeing the planning, development, and management of operation. Demonstrated ability to negotiate and apply good judgment Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations.

Planning & Organizing

• Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.

Client Orientation

• Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Managing Performance

• Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority; makes sure that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clear to each staff member; accurately judges the amount of time and resources needed to accomplish a task and matches task to skills; monitors progress against milestones and deadlines; regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff; encourages risk-taking and supports creativity and initiative; actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff; appraises performance fairly.

Judgement/Decision-making

• Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; gathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; checks assumptions against facts; determines the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary.

Functional Competencies

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills;
• Proven ability for building and managing effective partnerships;
• Excellent writing skills, with analytical capacity and ability to synthesize project outputs and relevant findings for the preparation of quality reports.
• Ability to work independently or with minimal supervision with a high degree of responsibility, in a flexible manner and often under pressure;
• Knowledge of financial resources and human resources management, contract, asset and procurement, and general administration;
• Capacity to coordinate and organize a team and to support project implementation;
• Ability to conduct interviews, surveys, and other data collection techniques.

Education

Required Skills and Experience

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Sociology/Social Development/Anthropology/ Heritage Specialist and relevant research projects. Specific work experience in social management in connection with regional and urban planning;
• Recognized experience and knowledge on social issues, including social assessment and consultation/participation methodologies and related field;
• Excellent knowledge of the Ethiopian context and particularly aware of regional economy.

Work Experience

• A minimum of four (4) years of progressively responsible experience in Sociology/Social Development/Anthropology or equivalent and relevant research projects and programmes at national level and at least three (3) years of similar experience on planning and development related international projects or on international level is required;
• Proven experience in planning projects/ programme design and implementation with the UN or other international agencies is desirable;
• Recognized experience and knowledge with an excellent knowledge on the Ethiopian context.

Language

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English (both oral and written) is required. Knowledge of any of the local languages is an asset.