Mission and objectives

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the United Nations programme working towards a better urban future. Mandated by the UN General Assembly in 1978 to address the issues of urban growth, UN-Habitat is a knowledge institution on urban development processes and understands the aspirations of cities and their residents. Its mission is to promote socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements and the achievement of adequate shelter for all. In October 2016, at the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development – Habitat III – member states signed the New Urban Agenda. This is an action-oriented document which sets global standards of achievement in sustainable urban development, rethinking the way we build, manage, and live in cities. Through drawing together cooperation with committed partners, relevant stakeholders, and urban actors, including at all levels of government as well as the private sector, UN-Habitat is fostering the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal 11 – to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. In Mozambique, UN-Habitat has been working since 2002, implementing a range of projects dealing with several interconnected issues such as access to adequate and resistant shelter, basic and social services, secure land tenure, sustainable urban planning and development, local governance, natural disasters risk reduction and climate change adaptation, among others key issues to promote sustainable development. One of its crucial areas of intervention has been building resilience to climate, tackling the problem of vulnerability of people and human settlements, which leads to recurrent damage, loss and negative impact in the economy. Urban development has been another crucial area of intervention, addressing rapid urbanization and urban population growth, which in Mozambique has led to the emergence of new slums or to the consolidation of the existing ones. UN-Habitat’s work in Mozambique is guided by the Habitat Country Programme Document (HCPD 2022-2026) which provides the overall framework for operations across the country. Currently, UN-Habitat has offices in Maputo, Beira, Tete, Nampula and Pemba.

Context

Since 2017, the northern Province of Cabo Delgado has been plagued by extremist attacks perpetrated by armed groups, which has resulted in widespread violence, particularly against women, girls, children and young people, as well as significant destruction of public and private infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and mainly housing. The conflict in Cabo Delgado Province generated a large-scale population displacement (more than 850.000 people) that influenced the human geography of Northern Mozambique. Several cities and towns have doubled in size in just a few months, and new villages have been created due to the high number of internally displaced people looking for safer areas. This situation has caused an exponential increase in the population's needs in terms of access to basic services and infrastructure, adequate housing, food, livelihoods and employment/income opportunities which brings great challenges in terms of social cohesion, security and protection. At this juncture, there is a need to carefully assess the socio-economic impacts of long-term investment decisions. To respond to this context, UN-Habitat in Mozambique developed the Northern Mozambique Umbrella Programme (2022 – 2026) which seeks to propose a set of coherent interventions at different territorial scales to transform the crisis affecting Northern Mozambique into an opportunity to achieve the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus in alignment with strategic Government tools such Programa de Resiliência e Desenvolvimento Integrado do Norte (PREDIN). For this purpose, UN-Habitat intends to reinforce its capacity in the Northern Sub-office to support the implementation of the Umbrella Programme projects in Nampula, Niassa and Cabo Delgado province in this critical initial stage. To achieve this, an Administrative Assistant will be hired under a Service Contract (SC) for the period indicated above to be based in Pemba city with possible inland missions.

Task Description

Under the overall supervision of UN-Habitat Head of Northern Sub-Office and the direct supervision of the Programme Management Officer (PMO), the Administrative Assistant will be responsible for ensuring that the implementation of activities of the Northern Sub-office and relevant projects are managed rigorously and transparently and that logistical activities are handled smoothly and effectively, and she/he will fulfil the following duties and responsibilities: 1. Provide quality administrative and logistical management based on the preparation of quality administrative documents at the local level in the implementation of project activities in general, namely: • Full compliance of administrative activities with UN/UN-HABITAT/UNDP rules, regulations, policies and strategies; • Provision of inputs for the preparation of the results-oriented administrative team work plan. 2. Provide logistical support in organizing local workshops, trainings, field missions and visits, namely: • Preparation of all necessary documentation, follow-up actions, drafting of correspondence related to all activities; • Organization of travel and hotel bookings, preparation of travel authorizations; • Support to staff and dependents in processing visa requests, ID requests and other documents as required by the UN and national government; • Administrative support to the organization of conferences, workshops, retreats; • Collection of information for DSA, travel agencies and other administrative surveys; • Drafting routine correspondence, faxes, memoranda and reports in accordance with CO-SOP; • Extracting, entering, copying and filing data from various sources; • Maintaining files in the Administrative Unit; • Checking vehicle logbooks and drafting vehicle history and maintenance reports; • Receiving consignments, customs clearance, preparing documents for UN-HABITAT shipments (incoming/outgoing), making arrangements for shipments. 3. Ensure maintenance and management of UN-Habitat sub-office assets: • Collect information on asset management, maintain records and files on asset management; • Maintain office-related files and records. 4. Perform all tasks necessary for the proper execution of all activities, with full transparency and compliance with regulatory standards.

Competencies and values

Professionalism: Demonstrates knowledge and exposure to substantive field work in the area of transport services; demonstrates professional competence and subject mastery; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence in the face of difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; genuinely values others’ ideas and expertise; willing to learn from others; puts team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings. Planning and Organizing: Develops clear goals consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently. Judgment/Decision-making: Identifies key issues in a complex situation and comes quickly to the core of the problem; gathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impacts of decisions before making them; takes decisions with consideration of the impact on others and on the Organization; proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; checks assumptions against facts; determines that the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs of the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary. Corporate Competencies: Demonstrates commitment to UN-Habitat’s mission, vision and values; shows cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Living conditions and remarks

As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. This position is based in Maputo. National UN Volunteers are part of the malicious insurance plan. National UN Volunteers are expected to be culturally sensitive and adjust to the prevailing culture and traditions.