Result of Service
Upon completion of the consultancy, the outcome is the (1) digitization of all previously collected data and maps by UN-Habitat and Municipality of Bourj Hammoud, (2) creation of a GIS database and online geoportal, which will constitute a unified platform accessible by all active partners and actors regarding all multi-sectorial data in the targeted areas to ensure well-coordinated interventions and avoid duplications, and (3) a municipal profile for the Municipality of Bourj Hammoud.
Work LocationMunicipality of Bourj Hammoud, Beirut, Lebanon (priority will be given to local candidates from this area).
Expected duration
6 Months
Duties and Responsibilities
Organizational Setting
UN-Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities. It is the focal point for all urbanization and human settlement matters within the UN system.
UN-Habitat envisions well-planned, well-governed, efficient cities and other human settlements with adequate housing, infrastructure and universal access to employment and basic services such as water, energy and sanitation. To achieve these goals, derived from the New Urban Agenda endorsed in October 2016, UN-Habitat has set itself a medium-term strategy approach for each successive six-year period. The Strategic Plan, 2020-2023 through which it proposes to serve Member States, sub-national and local governments, and other key urban actors in the pursuit of four mutually reinforcing and integrated Domains of Change or goals:
• Reduced spatial inequality and poverty in communities across the urban - rural continuum;
• Enhanced shared prosperity of cities and regions;
• Strengthened climate action and improved urban environment; and
• Effective urban crisis prevention and response.
UN-Habitat in Lebanon
The UN-Habitat country office in Lebanon was initiated in 2006, following two large-scale crises: The July 2006 war on Lebanon and the Syrian Refugees Crisis. UN-Habitat has steered most of its activities to focus on responding to emerging issues through reconstruction, shelter provision, basic services upgrading while also laying the foundation for long-term sustainable solutions.
The 2020-2022 Lebanon Country Programme draft document aims to promote the alignment of UN- Habitat normative and operational activities in Lebanon. It identified national urban development goals and priorities emphasizing the importance of local development and balanced regional development. The Country Programme document is consistent with UNHabitat Lebanon's three interlinked and mutually reinforcing focus areas that are aligned with the United Nations Strategic Framework:
• Focus Area 1: Inclusive and sustainable urban development including promotion of national urban policies and environmentally sustainable cities.
• Focus Area 2: Improved planning systems and frameworks with focus on access to accurate urban data and inclusive urban and land use planning.
• Focus Area 3: Effective urban crisis response involving HLP Rights and upgrading of vulnerable urban neighbourhoods.
Background
The impact of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon is reaching a scale unprecedented in the history of complex, displacement-driven emergencies. While in April 2012, 32,800 Syrian refugees were registered or awaiting registration with UNHCR; by January 2018, this figure stands at just under one million refugees. When considering the Palestine refugees, this represents an increase equal to over 25% of the total Lebanese pre-crisis population, placing Lebanon first worldwide in terms of the number of refugees per capita.
Seven years into the crisis, poverty levels are high and the long-term resilience of the country' s vulnerable communities is eroding as they run out of savings and struggle to access income. At present, 1.5 million Lebanese and 76% of the Syrian refugees live below the poverty line.
In response to their protracted poverty which is leading to rising food insecurity, 96 percent of Syrian households are adopting negative coping mechanisms. As a result, households are also sinking deeper into debt.
Host communities face the challenge of providing housing, public services, and jobs to both refugees and their own population. In this sense, host governments, sub-national authorities including municipalities continue to bear the burden of the political, economic, social and security spill overs of the conflict. The large increase in population since the Syria crisis began is putting public institutions under extreme pressure to deliver basic services to an increasingly high number of vulnerable people. In a context of shrinking national resources, this is testing the limits of infrastructure and public services that were already fragile before the crisis.
Within this context, municipalities have a critical role to play in the country's response to the impact of the Syria crisis and there is growing intention to engage more municipalities at the services as well as at the social cohesion levels. However, this will require increased funding and empowered human resources at municipal level, as well as enhanced collaboration and communication with central and subnational government. 70 percent of municipalities are too small to provide basic services pre-crisis, 57 percent lack an administrative structure, and 40 percent have only a single employee (often working on a part-time or voluntary basis).
The action aims to support the Union of Municipalities of Matn El-Chemali El-Sahli and Aoussat to better identify/implement priority interventions based on reliable data gathered by the GIS coordinator within targeted communities. For this purpose, UNDP and UN-Habitat are jointly implementing a project funded by MADAD. The project aims to Strengthen the long-term resilience of targeted subnational authorities and their host/refugee populations in countries affected by the Syrian and Iraqi crises. For that, UN-Habitat is intending to recruit a GIS coordinator who will be part of the Regional Technical office established under the Municipality of Bourj Hammoud.
Reporting Line
The Consultant will work under the supervision of the area coordinator for Beirut and Mount Lebanon at UN-Habitat.
Duties and responsibilities
• Locate and identify national and subnational data at a range of spatial scales.
• Identify and address information management gaps.
• Validate the collected data with UN-Habitat team and Municipal staff on a weekly basis in order to ensure relevance, consistency, and quality of data collection.
• Implement and manage municipality's ArcGIS portal and its associated applications to ensure efficient data collection, analysis, and data dissemination. Data processing and administration:
• Design, develop, and manage on a day-to-day basis the GIS databases, spreadsheets, and other data tools.
• Document, monitor, and where necessary, augment the quality of primary and secondary data about accuracy and consistency.
• Develop and manage digital field surveys, mainly as part of UN-Habitat's neighbourhood profile project and other initiatives implemented by the municipality.
• Develop the municipality's database with respect to national datasets on a monthly basis.
• Make recommendations and provide advice on technical information management requirements.
Data analysis and visualization:
• Develop, implement, and manage GIS indicators (such as social, demographic, economic, infrastructure, etc) to be included in the municipality's datasets.
• Produce and update high-quality information products, such as dashboards, charts, maps, infographics, and other graphic products.
• Development of advocacy and communications materials for UN-Habitat, MERP team, and Municipality of Bourj Hammoud including posters and presentations. Training/Capacity-building:
• Conduct capacity-building and training sessions for municipalities, INGOs, partners and other relevant stakeholders on the use of the neighbourhood profile geoportal and other GIS/IM products.
Networking and coordination:
• Participate in fieldwork to collect or validate data and contribute to the aims of UN-Habitat,
MERP project, and Municipality of Bourj Hammoud
Academic Qualifications:
A Bachelor’s university degree or equivalent in geography, urban planning or related field with technical specialization in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is required.
Experience:
• A minimum of two (2) years of proven experience in geographic information compilation and analysis or a related field is required.
• Previous work experience in GIS/IM related to urban profiling is an asset.
• Familiarity working with municipalities and public sectors is desirable.
• Previous experience in dealing and coordinating with other NGO’s, INGOs or active agencies in the area is an asset.
• Experience in coordinating with a team of multidisciplinary background and experience is desirable.
Language:
Fluency in oral and written Arabic and English is required. Knowledge of French is an advantage.
Additional Information
• Ability to work under pressure to meet deadlines.
• Ability to simplify complex working environments and solicit input.
• Willingness to learn from others and work in a team.
No Fee
THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.