About UN-Habitat

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the UN agency for human settlements. It is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable town and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. This post is in the UN Habitat Regional Office for Asia and Pacific (ROAP) at Kabul duty station.

UN-Habitat Afghanistan

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, has been working within Afghanistan since 1992 with funding support of USAID, Japanese and Australian Governments, EU, CIDA, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Kingdom of the Netherlands and several other bilateral donors and multilateral donors. During this period, its programme has expanded to include a wide range of human settlements initiatives, from humanitarian emergency support to small-scale neighborhood level improvement schemes to municipal scale governance reforms.

Job Summary

Organizational Setting:

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the UN agency for human settlements. It is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable town and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. This post is in the UN Habitat Regional Office for Asia and Pacific (ROAP) at Kabul duty station.

UN-Habitat Afghanistan

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, has been working within Afghanistan since 1992 with funding support of USAID, Japanese and Australian Governments, EU, CIDA, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Kingdom of the Netherlands and several other bilateral donors and multilateral donors. During this period, its programme has expanded to include a wide range of human settlements initiatives, from humanitarian emergency support to small-scale neighborhood level improvement schemes to municipal scale governance reforms.

Reporting Relationships

The Project Assistant will report directly to the National Program Manager (Kabul).

Area Based Approach for Development Emergency Initiatives (ABADEI)

Afghanistan is facing multiple crises such as COVID-19, the impacts of drought and floods, and rapidly increasing poverty and food insecurity. Since the Taliban takeover of government on 15th of August 2021 and given the increasing numbers of internally displaced people (IDPs), the operational and programmatic context for the UN system in Afghanistan has changed significantly. The level of programmatic and institutional risk is much higher. The provision of basic needs and preserving livelihoods are critical for reducing the rapidly growing demand for humanitarian aid and emergency relief. The gradual progress that has been made over the last 20 years including gains in human rights, education, gender equality, health, social protection, and livelihoods are at risk of being lost, especially for women and other vulnerable groups. These factors not only impact the economy, human security, and social cohesion, but are also potential drivers of further conflict and violent extremism.

Learning from the experience in the last 20 years, and recognizing the realities of the current context, the UN in Afghanistan has outlined the need for an integrated, innovative, and highly agile approach, one that puts people first, targets the most vulnerable and meets local needs by focusing on saving livelihoods. The Area- Based Approach to Development Emergency Initiatives (ABADEI) strategy has been designed by the UN as a response to the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan. The strategy is a tailored area-based integrated programming approach to support basic human needs, complementing short-term humanitarian life-saving assistance with the safeguarding of livelihoods and the strengthening of community resilience. The strategy is centred around addressing the worsening poverty and vulnerability, supporting community resilience and social cohesion, and enabling the rehabilitation of small-scale infrastructure vital for basic human needs. The Special Trust Fund for Afghanistan (STFA) has been established to serve as an inter-agency mechanism to enable donors to channel their resources and coordinate their support to the ABADEI strategy and the UN joint programs developed under it.

The eight administrative regions of Afghanistan have been chosen as the hubs for the coordination of ABADEI interventions. Separate area-based joint programme will be developed for each region, responsive to the context-specific needs and vulnerabilities determined by natural resources, population distribution and other diversities. While there is some variation between the regions, as a minimum, interventions for each region will need to address five key issues that support basic human needs at the community level i.e. (i) Food Security, (ii) Water, (iii) Energy, (iv) Health, and (v) Livelihoods and Employment. Cross-cutting themes such as gender equity and risk reduction will be addressed both through mainstreaming and targeted interventions.

Taking these five issues into account and the differences across provinces, the focus of ABADEI interventions will be on prioritized support in each of four key pillars:

(i)                 Provision of essential basic services and infrastructure: the rehabilitation of essential infrastructure and services is key to establishing and maintaining liveable conditions in vulnerable areas,

(ii)               Community livelihoods and local economic activities: the revitalization of local economies is an important dimension of the ability of communities to cope in the current environment while also addressing the drivers of the vulnerabilities they face,

(iii)              Disaster and climate resilient critical infrastructure: due to years of environmental degradation and dependence on agriculture and natural resources for sustenance, Afghan communities are highly prone to intense and recurring natural hazards such as flooding, earthquakes, snow avalanches, landslides, and droughts, and

(iv)              Community planning for resilience and social cohesion: to protect development gains, ABADEI interventions will support the development of community-led needs-based socio-economic assessments and recovery plans that promote reconciliation and prevent conflict, improve access to justice, support alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, and protect the rights of women and girls.

Duties & Responsibilities

Responsibilities

·        Contribute to the development and dissemination of project updates and project progress reports including illustrative tools like tables, graphs, flow charts, maps, etc.

·        Organize project team meetings and other events as required.

·        Translate project documents and other materials as and when required.

·        Prepare and disseminate all official project-related memos, formatted sheets, templates, etc.

·        Interpretation during meetings, seminars, workshops, and other events as and when required.

·        Prepare and process all logistics and procurement documents.

·        Keep official records of all project documents including product, log frames, workplans, agreements, contracts, etc. in both hard and soft copy.

·        Keep track of project updates, progress reports, project budget, etc.

·        Follow up and ensure that project reports (Monthly, Quarterly, Mid-term and Final report) are prepared and submitted to the STFA TRMU as required.

·        Carry out any other tasks as assigned by the National Program Manager/Provincial Team Leader.

Competencies (Select 3 Maximum)

Professionalism: Ability to identify and resolve budgetary problems and identify sources for data collection. 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. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

      Clint 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.

Job Requirements

a)      Education:

b)     A High School diploma with 5 years of relevant work experience or bachelor’s degree with 2 years of relevant work experience is required.

c)       Ability to understand the project concept and strategy and assist in developing an appropriate recording and reporting system for the project is required.

Proficiency in the use of computer packages and internet for project work and communication is required

d)     Language:

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the posts advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required.

Submission Guideline

Interested Afghan National Candidates should submit the following required documents.

1.A cover letter that shows how your qualifications and experience meet the VA requirement. 2.Update CV+P11 form for individual contractor (IC) that contains all your information To the unhvacancies@unhabitat-afg.org  indicating on the SUBJECT line the vacancy number of the position, please note that applications received after the closing date (05 September 2023) will not be given consideration. Only short-listed candidates whose applications respond to the above criteria will be contacted for an interview.

Note: Subject line must be: (2023-08-229) or your application may not be considered.

Submission Email: unhvacancies@unhabitat-afg.org

For more details about UN-HABITAT and UN-HABITAT Afghanistan Country Programme refer Website: www.unhabitat.org and www.unhabitat.af