Housing Coordinator (NPSA9)

Background UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks. The Livelihoods Improvement of Urban Poor Communities (LIUPC) Project (also known as National Urban Poverty Reduction Programme-NUPRP) builds on the experiences of the FCDO, UNDP and GoB funded Urban Poverty Reduction Project-UPPR (2007-2015), one of the largest urban poverty reduction intervention in the world which established a community based approach to reduce urban poverty working with more than 2,500 Community Organizations in 20 Pourashavas (Municipalities) and City Corporations. LIUPC will be implemented over a period of five years (2018-2023) to provide support towards contributing to balanced, sustainable growth and reduction of urban poverty in Bangladesh. LIUPC will work nationwide and cover poor people living in slums and informal settlements in selected Pourashavas and all City Corporations in Bangladesh. The programme has five Outputs: -Output 1: Strengthened pro-poor urban management, policy and planning;Output 2: Strong community organizations and an effective voice for the urban poor built;Output 3: Improved economic and social well-being for the urban poor;Output 4: More secure tenure and housing finance for the urban poor;Output 5: Improved resilient infrastructure in, and serving, low-income settlements. The ultimate intended beneficiaries of this intervention are the poor and vulnerable urban people, now and in future years. Based on evidence outlined in the previous UPPR reviews and similar types of urban interventions in Bangladesh, the NUPRP reasonably expects a wide range of benefits to result from the interventions at community, municipal and national levels. Given the ever-expanding size of the urban centers and the populations that will be linked to employment opportunities, interventions targeting urban poor people should affect overall economic growth, income inequality, employment and the poverty situation. The Local Government Division (LGD), Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives and UNDP will be the Implementing Partners. The Housing Coordinator will focus mostly on project���s Municipalities and City Corporations, but also the National level, and will be responsible for implementing housing construction activities. With Government of Bangladesh funding this particular part of the programme, the project will build housing for 5,000 urban poor households in towns and cities across the country. Such housing units should be designed in such 2 a way as to be integrated with basic services, be in areas that are secure and not vulnerable to flooding or other climate hazards, and have adequate tenure security arrangements as per the approved DPP and Housing Guideline. Till date LIUPCP has achieved a remarkable progress in implementing climate resilient housing for urban poor in selected Paurashavas and City Corporations. Duties and Responsibilities The Housing Coordinator will work under the overall guidance and the direct supervision of the ProjectManager and will be responsible for following categories of tasks:
Identify opportunities to build new housing units in sites with secure land tenure arrangements using existing or new Settlement Land Maps (which also include vacant land); Develop climate resilient designs that are appropriate for the housing of low-income householders; Manage the construction of housing units in multiple towns and cities across the country and oversee the process so that the units are delivered in a timely fashion; Work with the Municipalities to integrate new housing into long-term low-cost housing development plans as part of wider city planning; Ensure participation of urban poor in designing master plan and housing units and taking consent from them as well as municipality authorities is also utmost important to have a sustainable housing solution; Provide support to PHQ, Town Team and Beneficiary Selection Committees for identifying and selecting actual urban poor beneficiaries for the constructed housing units;
Summary of Roles and Responsibilities:
Leads Government of Bangladesh-financed housing construction project component both technically and managerially; Designs the planning/implementation process, in collaboration with project management team, of all HC activities, coordinates delivery in project towns/cities and ensures high quality of the implementation of housing construction contracts and other related activities; Manages HC team and provide technical inputs to assist town teams, Local Government Institutions and the government counterpart for ensuring quality HC delivery; Works closely with KM/M&E to provide inputs for monitoring (design and data collection throughout the project cycle) and in designing outcome survey, analyzing outcomes data and generating lessons and knowledge products to inform project���s strategic directions and policy outcomes; Develops and manage partnerships with on-going and proposed urban projects that directly or indirectly benefit urban poor communities and specifically the extremely poor; Networks with key stakeholders to promote urban poverty reduction policies for the urban poor and extreme poor.
The following section describes the functions under each of these categories with expected results:Leads Government of Bangladesh-financed housing construction project component both technically and managerially:
Provide technical oversight into the design and quality assurance of housing construction for the poor; Manage the housing construction process through coordinating the partnerships and leading the implementation process with municipalities and relevant parties, including the Ministry of Housing.
Designs the planning/implementation process of all HC activities developed during the Inception Phase, coordinates delivery in project���s towns/cities and ensures high quality of the implementation of housing construction contracts and other related activities:
Leads and provides input and expertise in designing and conducting baseline survey, Settlement Land Maps (SLMs) related to HC during inception phase; Leads and provides input on project participatory Monitoring and Evaluation; Leads and provides inputs into the preparation and implementation of the annual results based work plans and result frameworks as endorsed by the management; Ensures inclusion of the extreme poor and the most vulnerable populations in HC delivery; Coordinate planning of all project���s towns for annual TH delivery in line with the annual plan formulated by the project management team; Ensures annual delivery of HC activities against the annual plan; Leads and supervises staff processing community contracts to ensure relevance, viability and sustainability of the project activities proposed in community contracts; Ensures quality of HC delivery in terms of targeting, delivery processes and results; Coordinates with the City Liaison coordinators and the Town Managers on technical issues; Provides support to the preparation of progress reports, briefings etc.
Manages HC team and provide technical inputs to assist town teams, Local Government Institutions and the government counterpart for ensuring quality HC delivery:
Ensures inputs of HC staff in planning TH activities; Leads and assists HC staff in providing high quality technical inputs through guidelines, recommendations and well-designed steps for implementing sector development and cross cutting activities; Ensures HC staffs��� adequate technical support to and coordination with town teams in their areas of works; Leads and supervises and assists HC staff in processing community contracts and implementation in their areas of works; Assists and ensures HC staff���s constant monitoring of implementation processes and results in their areas of works; Undertakes day to day supervision and management of HC staff; Coordinates HC staff���s inputs in project briefings and progress reports.
Works closely with M&E team for analyzing HC delivery and outcomes data to generate lessons and knowledge products informing project���s strategic directions and policy outcomes:
Analyzes gender, poverty status and vulnerability disaggregated HC delivery data to examine the trends and lessons for informing management decisions on changes in project policies and project direction; Works closely with KM/M&E for providing inputs in designing outcome survey and other monitoring tools to track results of HC activities; Supports the development of proper baseline, database, participatory M&E system as well as the city information system; Analyzes results of outcome surveys and generate lessons and knowledge products; Shares results of analysis with management to inform changes in project policies and strategic directions; Disseminates knowledge products to concerned stakeholders for policy outcomes.
Develops and manage partnerships with on-going and proposed urban projects that directly or indirectly benefit urban poor communities and specifically the extremely poor:
Identifies potential projects and programs in project towns/cities for developing linkages to address land tenure, eviction, low-cost housing development issues; Assists project towns and cities to identify local partners in towns for developing linkages and partnerships for service delivery; Manages partnerships for effective service delivery though regular monitoring of intervention processes and results.
Networks with key stakeholders to promote urban poverty reduction policies and land tenure and low:
Cost housing policies for the urban poor and extreme poor; Networks with government ministries, departments and agencies, donors and development agencies, national and international NGOs, academic institutions and civil society organizations to promote urban poverty reduction policies and land tenure and low-cost housing policies for the urban poor and extreme poor; Contributes to policy research and analysis for evidence based advocacy; Contributes to mapping of development issues in the areas of urban extreme poverty reduction, land rights, housing rights and strategic opportunities in the form of professional papers and reports; Provides support to and be directly involved in the project���s capacity building efforts aimed at government counterparts, civil society groups, media and other stakeholders; Contributes to the production reports and publications; Responds to the various government and non-governmental agencies requests for advisory and support services and lead the support from the project as required by the stakeholders.
Competencies
Corporate Competencies:
Promotes UN���s values and ethical standards (tolerance, integrity, respect, results orientation, impartiality) Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP���s Country Office Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability Functional Competencies: Management and Leadership Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities Provides inspiration and leadership to staff Development and Operational Effectiveness; Capability to engage in team-based management, experience of leading workshops and being a resource person. Ability to lead results-based management and reporting. Ability to oversee timely project implementation and to provide the necessary trouble shooting to keep project implementation on schedule Ability to formulate and manage budgets and work plans. Ability to implement new systems and affect staff behavioral/ attitudinal change Knowledge Management and Learning Promotes knowledge management and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example. Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development. Excellent communication skills (written and oral): Sensitivity to and responsiveness to all partners, Respectful and helpful relations with all UN/UNDP staff. Ability to think clearly and analytically. Ability to plan own work, setting priorities and completing it under pressure or when faced with competing demands.
Required Skills and ExperienceEducation:
Master���s Degree in Civil Engineering, or other specialized fields related to housing construction and low-cost housing or; Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering with 4 years��� relevant experience
Experience:
Minimum 2 years of experience with Master���s degree or 4 years with Bachelor���s degree in housing development, housing construction, upgradation, land pooling, land readjustment and social housing from a pro-poor approach. Working experience in UN organizations/ International donor organizations will be preferred; Significant experience of community-based development projects preferably in urban context; Working experience in gender responsive programming/implementation; Experience in strategic and operational planning and implementation of activities; Experience in report writing, making presentations and use of computers Clear understanding of technicality of construction and pre construction work of low-cost climate resilient housing; Knowledge of the gendered issues related to land tenure and low cost housing; Working with multidisciplinary teams; The numerical ability to make budgets and to monitor costs; A sound knowledge of financial control procedures; Knowledge on RBM, data base and progress reporting; Use of computer for reporting, presentation and financial control.
Language requirement:
Excellent knowledge of English and Bangla, both written and verbal.