Recrutement de 01 E T Consultant – Urban Resilience

Recrutement de 01 E T Consultant – Urban Resilience
Niveau d'études: Bac + 5 ou plus
Expérience: 5 ans
Expire le: 05-09-2022

World Bank
Bangui, Central African Republic
E T Consultant – Urban Resilience

Job # : req18833
Organization : World Bank
Sector : Urban
Grade : EC2
Term Duration : 1 year 0 months
Recruitment Type : Local Recruitment
Location : Bangui,Central African Republic
Required Language(s) : English; French
Preferred Language(s) :
Closing Date : 9/5/2022 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org

GLOBAL CONTEXT

The Sustainable Development Practice Group

The Sustainable Development (SD) Practice Group (PG) helps countries tackle their most complex challenges in the areas of Agriculture and Food, Climate Change, Environment, Natural Resources & Blue Economy, Environmental and Social Framework, Urban, Disaster Risk Management (DRM), Resilience & Land, Social Sustainability and Inclusion, and Water.

The “Urban, Resilience and Land” (URL) Global Practice

Urbanization is occurring at an unprecedented pace. Cities generate 80% of global GDP and are key to job creation and the pursuit of shared prosperity. Yet one billion city residents live in slums today, and by 2030 one billion new migrants will arrive in cities. This concentration of people and assets will exacerbate risk exposure to adverse natural events and climate change, which affects the poor disproportionately. The absence of secure land tenure underpins deprivation and is a major source of conflict in the urban and rural space. One and a half billion people live in countries affected by repeated cycles of violence. In the absence of services, participative planning and responsive institutions, these trends will result in increased poverty, social exclusion, vulnerability and violence. Finally, avoiding a 4-degree warmer world requires drastically reducing the carbon footprint of cities.

The WBG is in a unique position to support national and sub-national clients to: harness urbanization and enable effective land management in support of both growth and poverty reduction; foster social inclusion of marginalized groups; support the responsiveness and fiscal, financial, and management capacities of local governments – cities, municipalities, and rural districts – to deliver local infrastructure and decentralized services; strengthen resilience and risk management related to natural disasters; reduce conflict and violence; scale-up access to finance for sub-national governments; and reduce the carbon footprint of cities. The WBG brings a combination of lending ($7-8 billion in annual lending to cities), analytical and advisory services (e.g., social inclusion flagship, urbanization reviews, Sendai dialogue), its growing portfolio of reimbursable advisory services, its convening power (e.g., understanding risk and the land conferences), its leveraging capacity (e.g., guarantees and risk mitigation), and its ability to work with the private sector to tackle the challenges at scale and to effect.

The URL GP covers a wide gamut: (i) developing green, inclusive and resilient cities; (ii) enhancing urban and rural development through supporting and managing the urban-rural transition, assisting local development through developing land tenure, management and information systems; and (iii) assisting in disaster risk management through issues of risk assessment, risk reduction (including flood management, urban drainage, coastal management, and retrofitting of infrastructure), disaster preparedness (including hydromet services, early warning systems, and civil defense), risk financing (including CAT-DDO), and resilient reconstruction (including post-disaster damage and loss assessment).

REGIONAL CONTEXT

Urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa is occurring at an unprecedented pace. The share of Africans living in urban areas is projected to grow from 38 percent in 2016 to almost 60 percent by 2040, translating to an additional 40,000 new urban citizens every day until 2040. The region’s urbanization rate, one of the highest in the world, can lead to economic growth, transformation and poverty. However, many cities in Africa still have not fully captured the benefits of urbanization and poorly managed urbanization have exacerbated existing infrastructure challenges, resulting in increased inequality, urban poverty, proliferation of informal settlements and vulnerability to hazards. Adverse natural events present a serious obstacle for achieving sustainable social and economic development, particularly in vulnerable regions as Sub-Saharan Africa. Disaster affects the poor most severely; unplanned human settlements, unsafe building practices, high population densities, economic growth, and accumulations of assets in risk prone areas has dramatically increased exposure to hazards and increased disaster loss. Climate changed has the potential to significantly worsen the situation.

To this end, the AFR Urban, Resilience and Land Unit brings together a wide range of important and interrelated development and financing instruments to support national and sub-national clients to: harness urbanization and enable effective land management in support of both growth and poverty reduction; foster social inclusion of marginalized groups; support the responsiveness and fiscal, financial, and management capacities of local governments – cities, municipalities, and rural districts – to deliver local infrastructure and decentralized services; strengthen resilience and disaster risk management related to natural disasters; reduce conflict and violence; scale-up access to finance for sub-national governments; and reduce the carbon footprint of cities.

Position context

The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked, resource-rich country that has experienced recurring cycles of violence and fragility. With an area of approximately 240,541 square miles, the CAR is home to 4.9 million people, 60 percent of whom live in rural areas and 18 percent in its capital, Bangui. The country is engaged in a long process of recovery, after a major security crisis in 2013 which tore its social fabric and displaced more than 25 percent of its population (IDPs and refugees). Despite the signing of a peace agreement in 2019, the CAR was affected in 2020 by conflicts and violence. Although this security situation remains volatile with the risk of creating the minimum conditions to meet the challenges of poverty, it is worth highlighting the progress made by the government and the allied forces to dismantle the armed groups.

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have put additional pressure on the country's already fragile economy, negatively affecting the well-being of the population. The measures adopted by the government to contain the spread of COVID-19, including restrictions on movement within the country, closure of schools, prohibition of mass gatherings, and closure of air and land borders, have an additional impact on the slowdown in economic activity and the increase in unemployment. They have led to income losses for workers in the service sector as well as price increases due to supply chain disruptions and greatly impacted the most vulnerable households.

The CAR also faces recurrent climatic shocks and disasters that exacerbate existing vulnerabilities. The country is exposed to a range of hydro-meteorological hazards, particularly floods, water scarcity/drought, and erosion and ranks fifth in the world in terms of hazards due to its high socio-economic vulnerability and low capacity to cope with these shocks. Floods are the most frequent disasters and are responsible for most of the economic and human losses in the CAR. In 2020, they mainly affected the southern part of the country, including the capital Bangui, and underline the persistent vulnerability of the CAR population to natural hazards, in particular the most vulnerable.

The CAR Urban Resilience and Inclusive Cities Project, and the CAR Emergency Food Crisis Project with its components on early warning systems and urban drainage, help addressing some of CAR’s challenges related to a lack of access to basic services in urban neighborhoods, socio-economic exclusion, and exposure to climate-related shocks, which already affect Bangui as well as secondary cities and pose risks to sustainable and resilient urban development. These projects have the broader objectives to improve access to basic and infrastructure, improve urban planning and land administration while integrating resilience, improve economic opportunities through spatial planning and labor-intensive approaches, increase citizen confidence and engagement, and strengthen local urban governance and boost municipal finances.

The AFR Urban, Resilience, and Land West Africa Unit (SAWU1) is seeking a qualified and motivated professional to help deliver the ongoing and pipeline program of the Africa region. In particular, she/he will support the management of analytical and advisory services, preparation and implementation support for lending investments, and policy dialogue in the areas of urban resilience and disaster risk management in Bangui and the Central African Republic and other countries in West Africa (i.e. Cameroon or Congo). In the Republic of Congo, she/ he may support the closing of the ongoing Urban Development and Poor Neighborhood Upgrading Project and the preparation of the new Urban Resilience Project schedules to be delivered in 2023, in the area of urban resilience and disaster risk management. In Cameroon, she/he may support the supervision of the ongoing Cameroon Inclusive and Resilient Cities Development Project as well as technical assistance activities on resilience and climate change.

Roles & Responsibilities:

The ETC - Urban Resilience Specialist is expected to provide technical and operational expertise to implement and developthe SAWU1 program in Africa with a focus on Bangui and the Central African Republic and other countries in West Africa like Cameroon or Congo. The candidate is expected to carry out specific duties which will include, but are not limited to:

Support the preparation and/or implementation of the CAR Urban Resilience and Inclusive Cities Project, the CAR Emergency Food Crisis Project’s component on urban drainage and hydromet/EWS components, and Trust Funds associated to these projects, as well as other activities in CAR and the West Africa Region (i.e Cameroon or Congo), including working with Project Implementation Units.Support the Central African Republic Task Teams, and the Government in executing necessary analytics to prepare new operations in direct response to the country’s overall urbanization challenges, natural hazards, including flood and soil erosion hazard mapping and risk assessment, the quality control and supervision of external consultants and technical specialists work as well as developing targeted Terms of Reference.Contribute to the preparation and supervision of hydromet activities supporting Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems related activities managed under the country Programs.Support and participate in task teams to deliver investment, programmatic and development policy lending operations, prepare analytical and deliver advisory activities, develop new business opportunities related to urban resilience and help enhance the capacity of our clients to respond to DRM challenges through programs and projects.Help adapt global good practice in DRM, urban resilience, resilient infrastructure, risk assessment and green infrastructure to local contexts within Bank-supported projects and activities, including Bank-executed technical assistance.Contribute to and lead the execution of lending and trust funded projects, including: (i) lead or participate in missions and developing mission documents; (ii) Develop Project Concept Notes (PCNs), Project Appraisal Documents (PADs), and other related project preparation documentation; (iii) prepare and review terms of reference; (iii) prepare implementation status and results reports; (iv) prepare project briefs; (v) develop funding proposals; and (v) presentations.Support the dialogue with and coordination among government counterparts and development partners in the urban/DRM/land sector.Provide support, as needed, to emergency response including contributions to various forms of post-disaster assessments, and to recovery and reconstruction planning.Participate in field missions and site visits in the areas of specialization, provide technical inputs and guidance to client counterparts as required by operational and analytical task team leaders.Provide technical leadership on projects in a dynamic environment.Support the reporting of Trust Funded activities and manage the activities.Draft technical notes, reports, Terms of Reference and policy documents; andParticipate and support knowledge sharing activities across countries in the region and contribute specific knowledge both within the assigned countries and in the World Bank.Other related tasks as requested by TTL.

Selection Criteria

Master’s or Ph.D. degree in technical fields relevant to DRM and urban resilience such as civil engineering, hydrology, geology, physical sciences, architecture, urban infrastructure and planning, disaster risk management, environmental planning, public management, or equivalent, and a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in urban drainage, and/or engineering with experience in urban flood and erosion risk management, and/or risk-informed urban planning.Experience in managing/supervising tasks or research assignments is highly desired.Knowledge of urban development, disaster risk management and local government in Africa is highly desired.Experience working on flood risk management, risk reduction measures design or implementation is an asset.Experience working on complex urban risk programs involving multi-stakeholder coordination.Demonstrated skills to engage and effectively lead dialogues with both local communities affected by urban risks as well as city leaders and decision makers charged with action.Strong conceptual and research/analytical skills with the ability to rapidly analyze and integrate diverse information from varied sources into conclusion and recommendations.Demonstrated effective communication skills, speaking and writing, and outstanding interpersonal skills, effective team member.Experience in donor-funded projects and/or project management in land administration / governance, sustainable landscapes, territorial development, or regional planning dimensions.Experience in development and delivery of educational tools to client countries.Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to lead teams and function effectively as a member of a multi-disciplinary team.Proven track record of delivery of high-quality outputs while working under pressure, in a multi-sector environment, and within tight deadlines.Knowledge of World Bank operational policies, practices and procedures is an asset.Excellent and effective command of English and French (both written and oral) is required.

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Note: The selected candidate will be offered a one-year appointment, renewable for an additional one year, at the discretion of the World Bank Group, and subject to a lifetime maximum ET Appointment of two years. If an ET appointment ends before a full year, it is considered as a full year toward the lifetime maximum. Former and current ET staff who have completed all or any portion of their second-year ET appointment are not eligible for future ET appointments.