Local Project Officer – ASEAN Sustainable Urbanisation – Malaysia

Organizational Context

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, is the agency for human settlements and sustainable urbanisation. It is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. Leading efforts to advance UN system-wide coherence for sustainable urbanisation, UN-Habitat is playing a key role implementing the Goal 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted in September 2015 as well as the New Urban Agenda (NUA) adopted in Quito, Ecuador in October 2016.

Founded in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, was established with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration, aiming to promote collaboration and cooperation among Member States, as well as, to advance the interests of the region as-a-whole. Today, there are currently 10 Member States: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam, forging ahead together towards the achievement of ASEAN Community Vision 2025.

Since 2008, UN-Habitat and the ASEAN Secretariat have engaged in a variety of UN and ASEAN Secretariat engagements. Most notably, UN-Habitat has been developing a new generation of sub-regional programmes which target all or selected ASEAN countries, especially in the area of cities and climate change. Meanwhile, the Bangkok Programme Office of UN-Habitat is increasingly engaged in knowledge programmes with fellow UN agencies, on issues of migration, health, resilience and urban data in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and implementation of the New Urban Agenda.

About the Project

Since 2020 UN-Habitat has established a strategic partnership with the ASEAN Secretariat to advance sustainable urbanisation across the ASEAN Member States. As a key first phase of this collaboration, the project ‘Accelerating the Implementation of the ASEAN Sustainable Urbanisation Strategy’ (known following as ‘ASUS Project – Phase I’) was implemented from 2020 to 2022, combining technical support at the local-level to eight pilot cities in ASEAN and knowledge management and advocacy initiatives at the regional level, including delivery of the ASEAN Sustainable Urbanisation Forum and the ASEAN Sustainable Urbanisation Report. The project contributed to increasing ASEAN Sustainable Urbanisation Strategy (ASUS) understanding and application in cities, and bridge ASEAN cities’ experiences to regional and global levels. The ASUS Project – Phase I was conceived as a first step to support the achievement of the expected ASUS goals by 2025.

This ASUS Project – Phase II builds on the accomplishments of its previous phase and aims to scale-up and improve the approaches and initiatives adopted, to:

• Deliver strengthened technical support and advice to ASEAN cities, including existing pilot cities and a new group of cities;
• Further build capacity within cities to develop viable project proposals within an ASUS framework;
• Strengthen the engagement of national governments and stakeholders in the adoption of ASUS and to support cities efforts in the definition and implementation of urban project and plans, in line with ASUS;
• Facilitate regional advocacy and research that enhance knowledge management and production to support a broader adoption of ASUS across the region.

The key components of this proposal and the ASUS Project – Phase II are: (i) Technical and Strategic Support to Cities and (ii) National and regional Advocacy, Knowledge Management, and Capacity Building.  The main project targets are ASEAN local governments and stakeholders, especially secondary and intermediary cities, which have been identified by ASUS as the main actors of current and future urban development across ASEAN. All proposed project components and related outputs aim to strengthen local capacities, whilst complementing technical support for regional advocacy, knowledge management, and capacity building.

Functional and Reporting Relationship

The individual will be based in Malaysia. Under overall guidance of the UN-Habitat Regional Office Representative and supervision of the Chief, UN-Habitat Bangkok Program Office and the Programme Manager, the individual will work closely with the team, under the coordination of the Urban Development Expert and Knowledge Management Coordinator, and with officials from country, regional, and headquarter offices of UN-Habitat. The individual will report also to the UN-Habitat focal point of the country, to coordinate the project activities in coherence with the overall agency work in the country.

Responsibilities:

The Local Project Officer will coordinate the local and national outputs related to technical advice and capacity building for cities. The regular tasks include:

City Technical Support

• Support all cites in the relevant country (up to 3 cities) through the implementation of the project activities to develop and advance urban project proposals (City Technical Proposal) aligned with the ASUS framework, including cities that participated in the Phase I of the ASUS Project.
• Conduct of preliminary background assessment to understand the needs and capacity of the local government partner and areas which the proposed intervention is intended to address.
• Conduct local consultations in person and virtually, as required, in collaboration with the local authorities, ensuring inclusiveness of all relevant stakeholders.
• Coordination with national, local authorities and key stakeholders to perform participatory and consultative city diagnosis and action plan development in each selected ASEAN city and contribute to the development of the City Diagnostic Reports;
• Preparation of the urban project technical proposals in alignment with specifications outlined by UN-Habitat and ASEAN requirements, and with the support of technical experts. The technical areas of focus will be decided with the city.
• Support peer-to-peer exchanges between ASEAN pilot cities regarding the proposed projects.

Training and Capacity Building Programmes

• Support the project team in developing country programmes and roadmaps for training and capacity building, targeting cities and relevant sub-national and national stakeholders.
• Supporting cities participation in regional-level events.
• Develop country level roadmap for the Urban Planning for City Leaders Training Programme (based on the regional plan) targeting cities:
  • Identify participating cities and other government and non-government city-level stakeholders;
  • Identify local best practices and champions to include in the programme;
  • Define a plan for virtual trainings and two in-person events to roll-out the programme;
  • Support the project team in developing contents and support with translation as needed.
• Develop country level roadmap for the Multi-stakeholder Capacity Building Programme (based on the regional plan), targeting cities:
  • Identify participating cities and other government and non-government sub-national and national levels stakeholders;
  • Identify local best practices and champions to include in the programme;
  • Define a plan for two in-person events to roll-out the programme;
  • Support the project team in developing contents and support with translation as needed.
• Conduct local consultations in person and virtually, as required, in collaboration with the local authorities, ensuring inclusiveness of all relevant stakeholders.
• Develop report of the proceeding and findings of each session and event organized and ensure follow up with the relevant authorities.

Meetings Coordination

• Support in-country arrangements for project review and follow-up missions;
• Coordinate document preparation, compilation and dissemination to meeting participants and key stakeholders including national, local authorities and relevant stakholders;
• Support research information in support of project materials and activities and assist with translations, interpretation and other support to the project team as required.
• Support the participation of the selected cities in virtual and in-person meetings and events nationally and internationally.

Country programming support

• Performing other relevant tasks related to urban development/project implementation as necessary and required by the UN-Habitat focal points for the country.

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Regular monitoring and reporting on all project activities with partners and stakeholders to ensure a high quality of outputs being delivered within the agreed upon time frame;
• Support scoping studies and data collection to evaluate the interventions within the local strategic context and helping to address the feasibility, potential impact and any barriers;
• Supporting the mainstreaming of gender, environmental and social issues into the project activities and carrying out social and gender analyses across all project deliverables.

Qualifications

Education

An advanced degree in urban and/or regional planning, architecture, urban economy, sustainable or international development, sustainable urbanisation or other fields relevant to this post from reputed universities, or bachelor’s degree with additional six years relevant and progressive experience in the fields may be accepted in lieu of the post-graduate or advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent).

Experience

A minimum of two years’ progressive and relevant work experience in international development, urban development and technical city level advice and capacity building, preferably in the field of human settlements in the region. Previous experience in supporting global and regional programmes and partnerships development is added advantage. Work experience with the UN-Habitat, and general knowledge of UN rules and regulations are desirable.

Language

For this position, fluency in oral and written English and Malay is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language will be considered an advantage.

Contract period, level of engagement and duty station

The initial contract will be starting as soon as possible and until 31 December 2024 with a possibility of extension up to 31 December 2026. The post is based in Thailand, with travel to be expected.

How to apply

Pelase follow the instructions at the end of the Job Opening:

https://fukuoka.unhabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/VA-ASUS-2-Local-Project-Officer_Malaysia.pdf