Consultant – Reporting on WUF11 Activities at UN-Habitat

Duties and Responsibilities
BACKGROUND

• The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), is the agency for human settlements. It is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. The World Urban Forum Coordination Office is located within the External Relations Strategy Knowledge and Innovation Division (ERSKI) of UN-Habitat. One of the Division’s key mandate is to promote strategic alliances to support achievement of the goals of adequate shelter for all, and sustainable urbanization and human settlements development. The World Urban Forum (WUF) is UN-Habitat’s key stakeholder flagship platform.
• The WUF is a non-legislative technical forum convened by the UN-Habitat biannually since 2002. The forum gathers a wide range of experts from every walk of life. Participants of the forum include but are not limited to national, regional and local governments, non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, professional, research institutions and academia, professional, private sector, development finance institutions, foundations, media, United Nations organizations and other international agencies. The WUF is recognized as the foremost global arena for interaction among policymakers, local government leaders, non-governmental organizations and expert practitioners in the field of sustainable urban development and human settlements. The WUF has been identified as a key platform to support implementation of the New Urban Agenda (NUA) adopted at the Habitat III conference. The WUF provides opportunities for stakeholder organizations of all kinds to come together to share the latest in innovative advances in sustainable urban development and projects showcasing the implementation of the NUA.
• Directly connected to the Office of the Director of External Relations Strategy, Knowledge and Innovation Division, the WUF Coordination Office seeks a Programme Officer to support the preparations for the Eleventh Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF11).

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Under the overall supervision of the WUF Coordinator, and the general guidance of the Chief of Communications Section, the incumbent will be required to perform the following functions:
• Editing of the final reports on the implementation of WUF11, and revision of text. Proofreading final layouts including the inclusion of picture credits and captions.
• Preparing social media and online messages for the presentation of the WUF11 report.
• Preparing for online presentation a summary of the WUF11 declared actions.
• Preparation of online stories for a short online Urban Dictionary.
• Preparation of a short story text describing the WUF to a general audience, that will in turn serve as a compelling way to communicate about the WUF.
• To edit and finalize a WUF12 background paper of no more than 20 pages to be used as a basis to communicate the rationale behind the WUF12 theme selection.
• To edit and finalize the WUF12 text description for all sessions including Dialogues, Special Sessions, Assemblies, Roundtables etc; including format, key issues, objectives and questions to Member states, donors, UN-Habitat partners and the wider public.

Qualifications/special skills

• A university degree in communications and/or journalism; sociology; international development and any other related course is required.
• At least 2 years of combined professional experience in the private sector, development organizations, communications is required.
• Technical experience in writing on various development topics and coordinating with donors and government officials is required
• Editorial skills with demonstrated ability for logical and analytical writing and editing is an advantage
• Familiarity with international development issues is desirable, particularly Sustainable Development Goals is required

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is an advantage