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Purpose and Scope of Assignment

• Cities Alliance is seeking a highly motivated and dynamic Urban Development Specialist to support its operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. Under the guidance and supervision of the Head of Global Programmes, the incumbent is responsible for the management of the Innovation Programme, located in the global window, and which includes among other, projects aimed at capacity strengthening of society and grassroots organizations working in informal settlements.

• She/He leads the conceptualization, implementation and day-to-day operations of the various projects under the Innovation Programme which rely significantly on grant-making.

• The urban specialist will also provide substantive inputs and advice, project management services and cross-support to other Cities Alliance Programmes and projects within its global window, particularly on informality in cities, adaptation to climate change, and gender equality in accordance with the priorities of the Strategic Plan 2022-25. S/he will be required to represent Cities Alliance internationally, contribute to effective and efficient teamwork, delivering results on time, within budget and to the highest quality standards.

• Leads the Innovation Programme and its various projects focused on providing grants for innovators and community organizations in cities. Under the guidance and supervision of the Head of Global Programmes, s/he will be responsible for all technical and institutional aspects such as proposal appraisal, partnership, analysis and research, business development, communication as well as operational aspects such as call for proposals, award, monitoring and management of grantees.

• Ensures regular reporting to the Board and donors, as well as overall compliance with UNOPS policies and rules and the Cities Alliance Standard Operating Procedures, Manuals and Guidelines.

• Promotes the Programme and initiatives under her/his responsibilities internally and externally, and reinforce its positioning as key instruments of Cities Alliance as well as advice the management team on how to further develop, re-think and expand the Programme.

• Provides a knowledge management and learning plan for the programme, drawing key substantive and process lessons from the projects under her/his responsibility and, where appropriate, wider dissemination. This includes, using the results and learnings to refine programmatic design and improve efficiency, generating knowledge products to be shared externally and facilitating links and collaboration with other internal and external teams.

• Provides technical and managerial support for Cities Alliance advocacy and programmatic work on informality and other key themes of the Strategic Plan and co-leads initiatives on Climate Adaptation in informal settlements, with a focus on People-Public Partnerships.

• Conducts research and analysis in sustainable urban development and poverty reduction to support advocacy and business development efforts.

• Contributes to current and future growth plans for the Cities Alliance, ensuring alignment with the Strategic Plan 2022-2025.

• Supervises the work of consultants and technical specialists.