Outreach/Capacity Building Specialist

The Cities Alliance (CA) is the preeminent global partnership for the promotion of cities in poverty reduction and sustainable development. Headquartered in Brussels, it is a unique partnership with diverse members – local authorities, national governments, international non-governmental organizations, foundations and multi-lateral organizations – which have come together to strengthen both impacts and coherence in urban development.

The CA’s overall objectives are to support cities in providing effective local government, an active citizenship and a growing economy characterized by both public and private investment. The Cities Alliance is hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). More specifically, Cities Alliance is implementing a number of donor funded programmes through its Liberia Country Programme (LCP)

The current Medium-Term Strategy is focused on Promoting Equity in Cities through equitable economic growth, gender equality and partnerships.

In Liberia, waste collection and waste management services fall within the mandate of cities. The City of Monrovia and the City of Paynesville fall within the Electoral District referred to as Greater Monrovia. Municipal solid waste collected in Greater Monrovia is currently transferred to the Whein Town landfill, located in Paynesville. This is Liberia’s only sanitary landfill and was constructed in 2011 under the World Bank’s Emergency Monrovia Urban Sanitation (EMUS) project. The EMUS project was financed by the Liberia Reconstruction Trust Fund (LRTF), with majority funding from the European Union (EU) and made significant progress in establishing an effective waste collection and disposal system for Monrovia. The EMUS project ended on 30th December 2016. Cities in Greater Monrovia area are at different stages in what regards their waste collection and waste management systems.

Cities Alliance is implementing two EU-financed projects, one on Primary Waste Collection (PWC) and the second on Waste to Energy Alternatives for Greater Monrovia. Together, these two projects aim to support Liberia’s Nationally Disclosed Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by improving the Primary Waste Collection System as well as providing viable alternatives to waste recycling, composting and Waste-to-Energy alternatives.

Cities Alliance is seeking to implement their projects in close alignment in order to provide a holistic approach to waste management and to ensure that Solid Waste Management in Liberia is viewed as a value chain from the household to the landfill site. To support this aim, there is a need to acquire the services of a local expert to provide professional services to develop and implement the two key lines of work related to the social component of the two projects. Namely: 1) Outreach campaign and, 2) Capacity building. All activities and sub-activities should be developed and implemented along with Cities Alliance partners in Liberia accordingly to the project guidelines.

Under the direct supervision of the Cities Alliance country project manager based in Liberia, the Outreach/Capacity building specialist will be primarily responsible for providing senior advice regarding the implementation of the outreach campaign and capacity building activities. Additionally, he/she will be expected to perform the following activities:
Stakeholders management

• Engage with the project partners and members of the technical committee chaired by Cities Alliance.
• Attend the technical committee meetings on a monthly basis to update on the progress of the outreach campaign and capacity building components.
• Identify specific capacity building requirements and define the skills needed for the different participating stakeholders.
• Determine the training and capacity building needs of partners and stakeholders involved in the implementation of the two solid waste management projects.

• Lead the planning and scheduling of activities related to outreach campaign and capacity building in both Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) and Paynesville City Corporation (PCC) considering inputs from Cities Alliance partners in the Technical Committee.
• Work in coordination with the solid waste management specialist to intertwine the outreach campaign and capacity building activities with other components of the projects.
• In close coordination with the M&E specialist, develop tools to keep detailed track record of the activities by implementing means of verification accordingly to Cities Alliance monitoring and evaluation system.

• Formulate a guideline for the development of public sensitizing activities regarding solid waste management within the outreach campaign and capacity building components of the projects. (Considering the logframe of the project)
• Formulate a 2019 action plan for implementing capacity building workshops for participating stakeholders of the solid waste management projects. (Considering the logframe of the project)
• Develop methods, tools and didactical material as needed to implement both the outreach campaign and capacity building components of the projects.
• Draft complete and comprehensive reports on a quarterly basis regarding the outreach campaign and capacity building components of the two projects accordingly to the EU-regulations or upon request from the programme/project manager.

Undertake any other function/activity directly related to the efficient execution of the outreach campaign and capacity building components of the projects.

• Advanced level (master's) university degree in social sciences such as sociology, social work, marketing, human resources management, education, biology, environmental sciences, environmental engineering or related fields is required.
• A first level university degree with a combination of relevant academic qualifications and experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

• Minimum of Five (5) years of experience is required in implementing capacity building at the community level, that might include the organization of the community, participatory activities, preparation of didactical materials, facilitation of workshops or training activities.
• Of the above five years, a minimum of 3 years of progressive experience in developing strategies for environmental awareness and implementation of outreach campaigns targeted at the community level is required.
• Experience in the solid waste management sector is considered an advantage.
• Experience working in the implementation of projects in the sustainable development sector or environmental management initiatives is considered an asset. 

Fluency in spoken and excellent written English is required.  Knowledge of other UN languages and/or local language would be an asset.

• Ability to facilitate/moderate workshop with in the context of long-term strategic planning projects.
• Ability to build consensus amongst wide range of views and complex personal and inter-organisational dynamics.
• Ability to systematize open and public processes.
• Ability to demonstrate initiative and sound judgement
• Demonstrated organizational skills and ability to prioritize and coordinate discussions
• Strong interpersonal and verbal communication skills in order to deal tactfully and effectively with internal/external contacts at all levels.

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.