Trainings, coordination and communication (TCC) officer

Extended from 18 September 2012

United Nations Core Values:

Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity

Background

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, is the agency for the United Nations dedicated to promoting socially and environmentally sustainable development of human settlements in an urbanizing world, with the overall objective of providing adequate shelter for all. UN-Habitat has been operating in Asia-Pacific region for the past 20 years, supporting communities, national governments, local authorities and civil society in countries such as Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Timor Leste, Nepal, Sri-Lanka, Philippines, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and the Maldives to strengthen their capacity and resilience to manage and recover from disasters and conflicts while mitigating future ones, from a Safer Settlements perspective.

UN-Habitat Myanmar Established its presence in the early 1990’s through 2004 where the agency pioneered the ‘people’s process’ by establishing the first community led projects in the Dry Zone, Shan State and the Delta. Over 2.1 million people were supported though developing community social infrastructure networks and facilitating access to safe water, in partnership with Ministry of Progress for the Border Areas, National Races and Development Affairs; Ministry of Construction and Ministry of Health. The agency also designed the Human Development Initiative for UNDP & has partnered in implementation of HDI1, HDI 2 and HDI 3.

Today UN-Habitat continues to implement operational and normative activities focusing on Shelter, Basic Access Services & WASH, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Climate Change Adaptation (CCA), Land and Urban Development. As part of her Normative Activities, agency is providing technical assistance to government ministries/bodies ranging from nodal Ministry of Construction, as well as Ministry of SWRR, Department of Development Affairs, Ministry of Environment Conservation and Forestry (MoECF) and the Settlements and Land Records Department (SLRD). Furthermore, UN-habitat leads the Shelter Cluster (SWG), and plays an active role in the DRR, WASH, Protection and Environment Thematic Working Groups for Myanmar as well as for the formulation of the UN Strategic Framework.

With the installation of the new government in 2010, Myanmar is on the road to modernization and rapid development. Although Myanmar is predominantly rural, urbanization and hence urban planning is one of the key factors that will need to be addressed in the broader spectrum of development. UN-Habitat will be providing technical assistance and capacity building support via the Department of Human Settlements and Housing Development (DHSHD) of the Ministry of Construction (MoC) to the Union Government of Myanmar, in this regard.

To support these initiatives, UN-HABITAT is looking for a National Trainings, Coordination & Communication Officer with extensive communication and coordination experience, as well as experience in training delivery, to work with our local and international partners to deliver the Myanmar Safer Settlements and Urban Research Programme (MSSURP)

Duties and responsibilities

The Trainings, Coordination & Communication (TCC) Officer will be based in the Urban Research and Development Institute (URDI) working under the guidance of the Country Programme Manager and Programme Specialists and in close consultation with officials from the Ministry of Construction and UN-Habitat Urban Planning and Policy Advisors.

The TCC Officer will support the Capacity Building and Safer Settlements components of UNHabitat’s Myanmar Safer Settlements and Urban Research Programme (MSSURP) signed with the Ministry of Construction in September 2011.

In specific, the TCC Officer will be responsible for the following:

1. Support the continuation of the Urban Research and Development Institute (URDI) works as outlined in the MOU extension with the Ministry of Construction.
2. Support the delivery of an in-country training curriculum for capacity building of Ministry of Construction officials, and senior officials from all States and Divisions of regional governments, and training needs assessment, which will be implemented as part of URDI.
3. Support research activities to be undertaken under URDI to inform advocacy
4. Support to programme development and proposal formulation, preparation of presentations and reporting.
5. Draft high quality correspondence and communications and information products for visibility and dissemination to counterparts, for UN-Habitat websites, regional offices and headquarters, liase with press and media.
6. Coordination, communication and follow-up with stakeholders from central and local Government, INGO’s, LNGO’s for Urban and DRR Programmes .
7. Represent UN-Habitat in a variety of fora and meetings as necessary.
8. Facilitate organization and preparation for missions and implementation of special events

Qualifications and experience

The TCC Officer will be technically assessed according to the following competencies and there prior experience:

- Advanced university degree in urban planning/engineering/architecture/disaster management, or discipline relevant to urban/rural regional planning, disaster management, and/or any relevant social science disciplines relating to international development
- Minimum of 8 years progressively responsible development experience including relevant field experience, and experience in regional disaster/crisis settings is an added advantage
- Technical expertise, knowledge and programming skills in the areas of Disaster Risk Reduction, Urban Planning, International Development
- Strong practical knowledge and experience in communications, reporting, partnerships and public relations
- Demonstrated skills in coordination and training delivery.
- The ability to think creatively, work in a team, and perform under challenging circumstances is crucial
- Fluency in English and Myanmar language with excellent written and oral communication skills
- Prior Experience with an UN agency is a plus

Competencies:

- Excellent interpersonal, communication and negotiation skills in English and Myanmar
- Ability to apply good judgment in the context of assignments given
- Good computer skills including Ms-Office (Word, PowerPoint, Access & PowerPoint.)
- Ability to draft reports and minutes clearly and concisely