Social Integration and Associativity Consultant

Final Output of the Consultancy The consultancy requires a profile with strategic design skills, the ability to coordinate stakeholders and support territorial processes, combining conceptual approaches with practical experience in implementation. This consultancy consists of the following activities, which are indicative but not limited to: • Design and document the conceptual and operational model of the “Habitat Knowledge Network” and establish an implementation model to guide its launch. • Identify and document the portfolio of services that the Habitat Knowledge Network should provide, taking into account neighborhood-level impact and the identification of local assets. • Develop the financial and management model of the Habitat Knowledge Network to ensure its self-sustainability. • Identify territorial actors who can contribute to the operation and long-term sustainability of the Habitat Knowledge Network. • Define the governance structure of the Habitat Knowledge Network, considering key territorial stakeholders. • Identify and document national and international experiences of knowledge networks that can enrich the proposed functioning of the Habitat Knowledge Network. • Define and document guiding criteria for the creation and activation of an international network of actors to promote experience sharing and demonstrate its impact on social integration and cohesion, as well as the support its design and implementation. • Systematize learnings and lessons from the development of proposals and the set-up and implementation of the Habitat Knowledge Network. • Support knowledge management related to the Habitat Knowledge Network for the strengthening of the community of practice. • Develop a strengthening strategy for at least 10 initiatives focused on priority themes identified by the Ministry of Housing, City and Territory (MVCT), in line with the workstreams defined for the Habitat Knowledge Network, ensuring effective processes and lessons learned that can be replicated in other territories.

Bogotá (Home-based), Colombia

3 months

BACKGROUND The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities. UN-Habitat is the focal point for all urbanization and human settlement matters within the UN system. UN-Habitat works with partners to build inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and communities. UN-Habitat promotes urbanization as a positive transformative force for people and communities, reducing inequality, discrimination and poverty. Currently, the programme is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, and is supported by the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC), located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The programme is governed by the principles defined through the Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements, the Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements, the Habitat Agenda, the Quito Declara-tion on Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements, the New Urban Agenda, and United Nations Gen-eral Assembly Resolution 56/206. Through its work, UN Habitat seeks to mitigate the negative effects resulting from accelerated and unsustainable urbanization processes, becoming a guarantor of the benefits offered by sustainable urbanization, and contributing to the reduction of urban poverty and the improvement of people’s quality of life. Cities in the Andean countries face major challenges resulting from accelerated urban growth. Phe-nomena such as social inequality, unsustainable management of natural resources, gaps in territorial development, and insecurity in urban environments pose a series of challenges for cities. Considering the above, proper urban planning that promotes social inclusion and the creation of conditions that improve the quality of life in cities and territories, articulated with development processes supported by appropriate legislation and governance, that foster the promotion of an economy of opportunities for all, while giving relevance to environmental sustainability, can address these challenges in a more strategic, comprehensive and effective way. From this perspective, the contemporary urban context implies advancing in the design of a solid de-velopment agenda that translates into concrete instruments of action, guided in its implementation by the New Urban Agenda adopted at Habitat III (Quito, October 2016), and by multilevel urban policies with clear guidelines that promote cities capable of creating viable solutions to problems of disparities and territorial inequalities. The National Development Plan (NDP) 2022–2026 "Colombia, global powerhouse for life," approved by the Congress of the Republic through Law 2294 of 2023, is structured with a general part that includes five main axes of transformation: 1. Territorial planning around water; 2. Human security and social justice; 3. Human right to food; 4. Productive transformation, internationalization and climate action; and 5. Regional convergence. It also includes a second part related to total peace and differentiated actors for change, among other topics. Chapter 5 defines “regional convergence” as “the process of reducing social and economic gaps be-tween households and regions in the country, achieved by ensuring adequate access to opportunities, goods, and services. To ensure this convergence, it is necessary to strengthen intra and interregional links. Convergence is closely linked to productivity, competitiveness, and innovation in the territories.” One of the “catalysts” proposed to achieve intra regional links is “More human territories: compre-hensive habitat.” This catalyst promotes “access to housing solutions and dignified environments, taking into account differential approaches and prioritizing historically marginalized areas and informal settlements, with the aim of transforming them into territories of peace. It will also facilitate access to quality goods, services, and public spaces, taking into account criteria such as cultural relevance, eco-nomic and environmental sustainability, climate change adaptation and mitigation, equity, community participation, and reconstruction of the social fabric.” Furthermore, taking as reference the UN Habitat International Guidelines on Urban and Territorial Planning, the network will address the components of territorial management and development, con-sidering the common frame of reference provided by this document for the formulation of territorial planning policies and strategies. The network aims to take into account aspects such as: • Sustainability: promoting environmentally sustainable urban and territorial development. • Equity: ensuring that urban and territorial development benefits all people, especially vulnera-ble and marginalized groups. • Resilience: fostering the construction of cities and territories capable of withstanding the ef-fects of climate change. • Governance: encouraging effective, transparent and participatory urban and territorial gov-ernance that ensures cooperation among the different actors involved. In this regard, the Ministry of Housing, City and Territory seeks to promote and strengthen a network of actors from academia and research centers with the objective of encouraging regional convergence from a territorial and habitat perspective, harnessing technical expertise to close knowledge gaps, promote networking, and ensure the relevance of solutions from and for the territories. Meanwhile, the UN Habitat Office for the Andean Countries is dedicated to promoting sustainable urban development and the construction of inclusive, sustainable, and supportive cities, engaging di-verse actors from the public and private sectors, communities, and academia as key partners in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. Within this framework of action, UN Habitat and the Ministry of Housing, City and Territory are join-ing efforts to identify initiatives and knowledge related to habitat, in order to create a knowledge net-work focused on biodiverse habitat in housing, water and sanitation, climate change adaptation, terri-torial planning and development, and the 2030 Agenda. To that end, they will enlist the support of academics, professionals, experts, communities, organiza-tions, authorities, and various actors interested in addressing habitat challenges in existing policies and programs, in order to provide technical inputs for decision making and the achievement of the Sus-tainable Development Goals (SDGs). The consultant will be responsible for keeping the HUB Coordinator informed and having to obtain validation of his/her activities in the full project cycle Duties and Responsibilities a.) Responsibilities related to the implementation of the project: • Work in a coordinated and ongoing manner with the team of the “Habitat Knowledge Network” project. • Provide the project team with various technical inputs and components that require your collaboration during the consultancy. • Support the technical team in preparing inputs where your collaboration is needed throughout the consultancy. • Attend scheduled meetings—either in person or virtually—organized by UN-Habitat and the HUB Coordinator for the development and dissemination of the consultancy results. • Provide information to UN-Habitat regarding any issues that may affect the implementation process of the consultancy. • Share information with UN-Habitat on the monitoring and tracking of the activities under your responsibility during the consultancy implementation. • Provide inputs for the systematization of the processes carried out, as well as for the exchange of practices and successful experiences with other HUBs in the region, with UN-Habitat headquarters units, counterparts, and any parties designated by the HUB Coordinator for the Andean Countries. • Support other activities as agreed upon with the HUB Coordinator and the Programme Specialist, within the scope of this consultancy and without prejudice to fulfilling your assigned responsibilities. • Submit the intermediate and final results of the consultancy to the HUB Coordinator and Programme Specialist for their review and approval. • Comply with the activity schedule as outlined by the HUB Coordinator. b.) Approval: • The consultant will be responsible for keeping the HUB Coordinator informed and for obtaining validation and approval of the outputs developed. c.) Knowledge Management: • The consultant must be familiar with the organization’s processes, procedures, and standards to ensure adequate quality of the above-described activities. • The consultant must understand the consultancy’s filing system and ensure its proper maintenance, accessibility to all staff, and timely updates. • Manage knowledge networks to disseminate methodologies and documents developed by the agency, and to co-develop new knowledge with strategic partners on issues related to the effective inclusion of migrants and refugees. d.) Other: • Carry out other activities as mutually agreed with the HUB Coordinator, within the scope of this consultancy and without prejudice to fulfilling their core responsibilities. • The consultant will participate in work and follow-up meetings with the HUB Coordinator, the UN-Habitat Andean Countries HUB team, and the project staff.

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Project Management, Social Work, Sociology, Economics, Political Science, International Relations, International Cooperation, and/or oth-er related social sciences is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two (2) addi-tional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. A minimum of five (5) years of general professional experience, including at least two (2) years of spe-cific experience in one or more of the following areas: social integration, citizen participation, partici-patory design, management and strengthening of social projects, inter-institutional coordination, de-velopment of networks or communities of practice, knowledge management, design or implementa-tion of governance models. Including experience in the design of models, networks, platforms or strat-egies for knowledge management and/or inter-institutional coordination is required. Experience in territorial contexts and/or working with public entities, international cooperation or so-cial organisations desirable.

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, English and Spanish is required. Knowledge of another UN Official Language is desirable.

Not available.