Public Spaces Consultant (1 Position)

  • Location:
  • Salary:
    negotiable / YEAR
  • Job type:
    CONTRACTOR
  • Posted:
    2 months ago
  • Category:
    Infrastructure, Urban and Rural Development
  • Deadline:
    02/11/2024

JOB DESCRIPTION

Result of Service
Each consultant will develop the master plan and conceptual design of up to three (3) green public spaces in São Paulo, as well as the conceptual designs, at a Preliminary Study level, of specific sectors within the green public spaces, with a total maximum park area of up to 50,000m² per consultant. The Consultants will work in close collaboration with the operational and technical team of UN-Habitat Viva o Verde SP Project, the Municipal Secretariat of Green and the Environment of São Paulo (SVMA) and local stakeholders. The Public Space Consultants shall be paid upon presentation and approval by the National Officer for Brazil of activities’ reports related to products explained below.
Work Location
Home based, with field work
Expected duration
Four (4) months upon the signature of the contract.
Duties and Responsibilities
Background The main mandate of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is to promote sustainable development of human settlements and policies conducive to adequate housing for all. Within this framework, UN-Habitat supports central and state governments, as well as local authorities and other partners for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda (NUA). UN-Habitat helps the urban poor by transforming cities into safer, more inclusive, compact, integrated, resilient and connected places with better opportunities where everyone can live with dignity. It works with organizations at every level, including all spheres of government, civil society and the private sector to help build, manage, plan and finance sustainable urban development. The Regional Office for Latin American and the Caribbean – ROLAC – is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Agency puts emphasis in developing and managing activities in the host country. Indeed, for the past years, UN-Habitat has expanded its portfolio in Brazil by working with the three tiers of government in order to support the formulation and implementation of more effective, sustainable, participative and socially fairer urban economic, social and environmental policies. UN-Habitat is implementing a project with the Municipality of São Paulo through the Secretariat of Green and the Environment (Secretaria do Verde e do Meio Ambiente – SVMA) that aims to implement city-wide and neighbourhood-level approaches to generate more inclusive and sustainable green public spaces, based on the principles of the New Urban Agenda and the SDGs. The project will help Municipality authorities to visualize the main gaps and opportunities of the municipal green public spaces system, strengthening São Paulo’s inclusivity and sustainability through policy advice, capacity building, knowledge sharing and technical support for the regeneration and improvement of its network of public spaces and green areas. One of the project’s expected outcomes is an enhanced competence within São Paulo municipality to implement gender-responsive healthy, inclusive and green public spaces accordingly to community needs in pilot territories. Contributing to achieve this outcome, the project will systematise participatory designs of the selected public spaces (including assessment and workshop findings) and generate recommendations for implementation (including placemaking propositions). For this purpose, UN-Habitat will develop landscape designs of five (5) municipal green public spaces, aiming to generate more inclusive and sustainable public spaces. In order to support the implementation of this project, we are looking for Public Space Consultants to design up to three (3) public spaces in the City of São Paulo each, based on the site-specific assessments and the participatory workshops previously implemented in these spaces. Report to UN-Habitat Manager The Public Space Consultants report to the National Officer for Brazil, who will evaluate them. Responsibilities Under the overall supervision of the National Officer for Brazil and the project team, each Public Space Consultant will be responsible for delivering three (3) products within the expected delivery dates: Product 1: Work Plan, 15 days after signing the contract a) A detailed timeline of the set of deliverables (Products 1 to 3), to be validated with the UN-Habitat local team in the first week of the contract. The timeline must contain: • Weekly breakdown of the activities to be developed; • Scheduled dates for partial deliveries; • Dates for fieldwork, technical meetings, and presentations. b) Review, comment on and commit to the guideline provided by UN-Habitat local team that defines how the designs must be developed from the site-specific assessments and Block by Block workshops’ results in each of the assigned parks, to be submitted to the UN-Habitat local team in the second week of the contract. Product 2: Master Plan Design, 60 days after signing the contract a) Visit the assigned parks with the UN-Habitat local team, SVMA staff and community representatives, up to 30 days after signing the contract. Produce a technical report for each site, containing: field report, adopted concepts, project references and urban integration analysis. b) Prepare a preliminary site master plan drawing (DWG and PDF formats) for the assigned parks, based on technical information provided by the UN-Habitat local team. The drawings must include: adjacent streets, sidewalks, squares and land divisions and other relevant urban elements, park zones and sectors with differentiated purposes, tree and vegetation cover, relation with neighbor public facilities and general considerations on topography, urban mobility, safety, drainage and heat mitigation. c) Present and discuss the preliminary master plan in a meeting organized by the project team with SVMA staff, 45 days after signing the contract. d) Prepare the final site master plan drawing (DWG and PDF formats, A0 size) for the assigned green public spaces incorporating comments made by the project team on the preliminary master plan. The scale will depend on the size of each park. e) Prepare a design project description for each park containing a summary, location, site description, sketches and design concept drawings, main project features, challenges, final considerations. Product 3: Conceptual Design, 120 days after signing the contract a) Prepare a preliminary conceptual design of the selected areas (up to 50.000 sqm in total) of each of the assigned parks. The proposals should incorporate ecological landscaping concepts and Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), where applicable. The conceptual design of each park should include (as a reference): • Layout plan of the whole selected area defining floor types, and the volumes of facilities (toilets, administration block, etc), amenities, trees, and other plant elements in A0 size, 1:500 scale; • Preliminary 3D drawings. b) Present and discuss the project designs in a meeting organised by UN-Habitat local team in a location near the parks, with the participation of community representatives and SVMA staff, 90 days after signing the contract. c) Prepare a report listing and commenting on the demands and contributions from SVMA staff and community representatives, how they are incorporated in the design and justifying those not incorporated. d) Prepare the final project, at the Preliminary Study level, for the selected areas of the assigned parks, according to comments made by the project team and SVMA staff, containing: • Final master plan drawings of each assigned park, A0 size (scale depends on the size of each park); • Final layout plan of the selected area defining floor types and the position of facilities (toilets, administration block, etc), amenities (playground equipment, benches, light poles, bike racks, among others), access ramps and staircases, trees, and other plant elements, in A0 size, 1:500 scale; • Final layout plan detailing the main urban furniture, facilities and amenities in A0 size, 1:100 scale, with dimensions; • 3D drawings (8 drawings, as a reference); • Area summary table with legends; • Final design project description for each park (up to three) containing a summary, location, site description, landscaping concept proposal, sketches and design concept drawings, main project features, challenges, final considerations. e) Present the final version of the project to the SVMA staff and civil society representatives of each public space at up to two (2) meetings per park. The local UN-Habitat team will mobilise the participants. The Consultant shall develop a presentation for each event. Note: the number of layout plans and 3D drawings to be delivered for each park will be agreed during the Work Plan (Product 1). Other Consultants’ responsibilities: a) Be available for a minimum of one (1) weekly virtual meeting with the project coordinator, aiming at: • sharing partial results of each deliverable; • being readily available to incorporate revisions pointed out by the UN-Habitat team in the ongoing activities; • supporting project planning. b) Consider that achieving the completion of each Product on the expected delivery date depends on the Consultant’s ability and commitment to present partial results, following a detailed timeline to be validated with the local project coordinator in the first week after signing the contract. Overall, the Consultant shall guarantee the execution of its activities according to the main project schedule, being responsible for the deliverables according to deadlines. c) For the Products 2 to 3, the drawing files must be delivered in the .pdf and .dwg extensions, with organized layers, to be validated with the local project coordinator. d) Reports must be developed using the project template that the UN-Habitat team will provide in the .ppt and .indd formats. e) Maintain an orderly and accessible information file system on the information and data produced. f) Ensure that the technical activities are aligned with the quality expectations of UN-Habitat and the project counterpart. g) The Consultant will be responsible for completing all courses and training activities that are indicated to him/her by his/her supervisor. The security course BSAFE is required to be accredited during the first month of employment. h) The Consultant will be responsible for his/her own security, so the person should get familiarized with United Nations security mechanisms and comply with them according to the Framework of Accountability for the United Nations Security Management System. UN-Habitat local team’s responsibilities: a) Inform the consultants about filing and technical drawing standards in terms of shared drive, file naming, layer naming, colours, line type and thickness, blocks, external references, raster images, rendering textures and elements, among others. b) of all meetings with SVMA with community representatives, and the field visits to each assigned park. c) Provide the consultants with the reports and related materials of the Site-Specific Assessments and of the Block by Block workshops. d) Provide the consultants with a guideline that defines how the designs must be developed from the site-specific assessments and Block by Block workshops’ results in each of the assigned parks. Outputs/Work Assignment The Public Spaces Consultant shall deliver the above-mentioned products according to the responsibilities indicated above and in close contact with the local project coordinator.
Qualifications/special skills
Academic Qualifications: • Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture and Urban Planning is required. • Post-Graduation (Lato Sensu or Stricto Sensu) on themes related to urban planning, landscape design and/or similar or additional four (4) years of relevant technical experience to the post, beyond the requirement. Experience: • At least four (4) years of experience in designing urban spaces, landscaping, and/or public spaces. • Professional and academic experience on themes related to urban planning and design, with an emphasis on public spaces. • Experience in planning, design and/or work with participatory processes is highly desirable. • Previous experience within the UN System would be an asset. Skills: • Excellent writing and proof-reading skills in Portuguese is required; • Good computer skills in Windows, as Microsoft Office, Outlook, Microsoft Teams, and Web search engines is required. • Good command of AutoCad is required. • Good command of 3D modeling software is required (e.g. SkecthUp). • Good command of Illustrator and InDesign is required. • Good command of geographical information systems (GIS) software, such as QGIS, MapInfo and ArcGIS, is desirable. Knowledge Management • The person must know the processes, procedures and norms of UN-Habitat, in order to guarantee an adequate quality of the activities described above, following the standards of the organization. • The person will propose formats and procedures that allow the efficient implementation of the activities related to the project development. • The person must know the file of the Office, work with it and ensure its proper maintenance, accessibility for all staff and due updating. • The person will prepare databases related to the project running. • The person will make sure that all relevant technical information will be adequately shared with the correspondent staff. • The person will ensure that all produced material will be fit-for-purpose and delivered, in an organized way, for posterior consultation and use of the Agency. Competencies Professionalism: Experience working in an inter-institutional environment, project management, monitoring-evaluation; approaches and strategies with regard to good urban governance and local and regional development. Planning and organization: Professional approach to work, strong sense of responsibility, operate with minimal supervision; proven organizational skills and ability to manage a workload efficiently and within set deadlines. Communication: Ability to write clearly and effectively; listen to others, interpret messages correctly and respond appropriately; show openness in information sharing and keep everyone informed; solid abstract reasoning skills together with a proven capacity to write documents for diverse audiences. Teamwork: Ability to work with teams, demonstrate leadership, conflict management and consensus facilitation skills; ability to work in a multicultural and multi-ethnic environment, and to respect diversity; sensitivity to the main streaming of vulnerability; willingness and ability to work in difficult environments.
Languages
• Fluency in Portuguese is required; • Good command in oral and written Spanish is desirable. • Good command in oral and written English is desirable.
Additional Information
Travel details The Public Spaces Consultant must be available to travel to the places related to the activities of the project. The Consultant will be responsible for travel expenses and logistics. Remuneration SB-4/1 The consultant will receive an amount of BRL 38,208 to be paid in three (3) installments upon the presentation and approval of the following products: ● Payment 1 (20%): Upon delivery and approval of Product 1 (BRL 6.441,60); ● Payment 2 (40%): Upon delivery and approval of Product 2 (BRL 15.283,20); ● Payment 3 (40%): Upon delivery and approval of Product 3 (BRL 15.283,20); Appointment against this post is on a local basis and only nationals from Brazil or external candidates who hold a permanent visa in Brazil may apply. It is required for all the curricular information to be inserted in the system, which may take a few hours. Only complete applications in English will be considered. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. Due to the volume of applications received, receipt of applications cannot be acknowledged individually. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted. Applications should be submitted through INSPIRA and must include all documents required at the system, please be ready to include the following information at the “Candidate Profile” (CP) at Inspira: 1. Cover memo (maximum 1 page) 2. Educational Background (incl. dates) 3. Professional Experience (assignments, tasks, achievements, duration by years/ months) 4. Expertise and preferences regarding location of potential assignments 5. Other Experience and Expertise (e.g. Internships/ voluntary work, etc.)* * Please note that Internships, self-employment and part-time count as 50%. In addition to it, note experience not relevant to the position will not be considered. All applications should be submitted to: Inspira Deadline for applications: UN-HABITAT does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process. If you have any questions concerning persons or companies claiming to be recruiting on behalf of these offices and requesting the payment of a fee, please contact: recruitment@unon.org
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.
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