Advisor, Future Cities and Digitalisation

Background

• Build a multi-year strategy for the Future Cities and Digitalisation workstream, linked to identified and potential resource mobilisation opportunities.
• Collaborate substantively with Country Offices – and regional and global leadership – to identify how the Future Cities and Digitalisation team can contribute to achieving national, regional, and global strategic goals and plans.
• Identify lessons learned from the first year of the programme in driving forward the above, including further alignment with key UNDP strategic priorities – both in the context of COVID-19 response and recovery, and more widely.

• Provide technical and programme advisory services to Country Offices in response to Country Office needs, and in support of developing a global portfolio of Country Office partnerships in the area of future cities and digitalisation for COVID-19 response and recovery.
• Provide strategic assessment, project implementation, partnership brokering, technical input, and technology implementation and transfer services and support to Country Offices – and identify opportunities for peer learning and mentorship.
• Develop the capacity of Country Offices in exploring the potential of future cities, digitalisation, and broader innovation initiatives.

• Identify and pursue resource mobilisation opportunities, in close coordination with the Global Centre’s Resource Mobilisation Advisor.
• Shape future cities and digitalisation value propositions, and other strategic inputs, to inform donor and fundraising discussions and engagement.
• Manage and nurture partnerships with partners and donors, including managing any workstream-specific reporting requirements.
• Manage and build strategic alliances and partnerships, especially with relevant technology partners working on future cities and digitalisation, to support the work of the team – and Global Centre more broadly.
• Broker partnerships between the network of Global Centre partners and Country Offices, in support of country level priorities. Facilitate Country Office access to key and relevant players and partners.

• Develop policies and processes to support the team in delivering high-quality work for Country Offices and partners.
• Identify and implement solutions to ensure that funded or cost-recovered work is delivered within budget.

• Work with the Communications and Engagement Specialist to design a communications strategy – founded on supporting Country Offices, and engaging priority audiences for the team and Global Centre.
• Contribute to strategic thinking on future cities and digitalisation, particularly in times of a pandemic, at the global level to continuously ensure alignment between global and regional innovation initiatives, in close collaboration with the Director and with partners across UNDP.
• Support in shaping narrative across the Global Centre’s workstreams, including Sustainable and Digital Agriculture and Sustainable Finance, which integrate the role of future cities, digitalisation and COVID-19 response and recovery.
• Represent the work of the Future Cities and Digitalisation team at UNDP and inter-agency meetings, academic conferences, donor consultations, and other events, as required.

• A Master's degree, preferably in international development, law, international affairs, business administration, development economics, or other relevant field, or extensive compensating experience in in relevant, technical fields.

• A minimum of 8 years of experience in either public sectors (national or multilateral, including UN) or private (academia, non-governmental sector, corporate), with increasing level of responsibility. (required)
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience in smart and future cities areas of work (required)
• Proven track record and technical/advisory experience in innovation for development. (required)
• Strong demonstrated expertise in social innovation and innovation in the development sector. (required)
• Ability to successfully manage multi-stakeholder projects (required)
• Experience implementing projects in developing countries (desirable)
• Knowledge of the UN system (desirable)
• Excellent negotiating and communication skills and ability to mobilize support from a wide range of partners (desirable)
• Proven track record of management skills. (desirable)

• Fluent written and spoken English is required.
• Knowledge of another UN language is desired

• Being responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation where technical criteria weigh 70% and Financial criteria/ Proposal weighs 30%.

• Experience managing projects in in smart and future cities areas of work (20 pts)
• Proven track record and technical/advisory experience in innovation for development (10 pts)
• Experience implementing projects in developing countries (10 pts)
• Knowledge of the UN system (5 pts)
• Interview (25 pts)

• p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated
• y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal
• µ = price of the lowest priced proposal
• z = price of the proposal being evaluated

• Payment to the individual consultant will be made based on the actual number of days worked, deliverables accepted and upon certification of satisfactory completion by the manager;
• The workweek will be based on 35 hours, i.e. on a 7-hour working day, with core hours being between 9h00 and 18h00 daily.