SENIOR PROJECT OFFICER (PROJECT MANAGEMENT & COORDINATION)
About the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA):
Established in 1976, the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) is a premier institute of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, for research and capacity building for the urban sector in India. For more than 40 years now, NIUA has been actively working on bringing forth key areas of concern for urban India to build the urban discourse at various urban scales. It has utilised its competencies in research, knowledge management, policy advocacy and capacity building to address urban challenges and continuously striving to develop sustainable, inclusive, and productive urban ecosystems in the country. It has emerged as a thought leader and knowledge hub for urban development in India and is sought after by both Indian and international organisations for collaborations and partnerships in India’s urban transforming journey. NIUA is committed towards aligning its efforts towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through all its initiatives and programmes. Read more about NIUA at niua.in
About the Project
NIUA and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) are jointly implementing a GEF 7-funded project titled UrbanShift (Livable Cities in India: Demonstrating Sustainable Urban Planning and Development through Integrated Approaches). The project aims to transform Indian cities through integrated urban planning which would lead to reducing GHG emissions, air pollution and congestion, protecting and conserving ecologically sensitive areas by building capacity of state and city authorities. The objective of project is to demonstrate low emissions, resilient, nature-based inclusive sustainable urban development in selected cities and support scale-up nationally. The project would provide technical assistance and investment for undertaking the following activities in the target cities (Pune & Surat) and the replication cities (Agra & Puducherry):
- Evidence-based sustainable and integrated planning;
- Investments in low emissions, resilient, Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and mobility;
- Innovative financing solutions for cities; and
- Knowledge management and capacity development: Knowledge products, good practices and tools would be made available to national, state and city authorities as well as other stakeholders through the National Urban Learning Platform (NULP).
To maximise impact, the NULP will draw on the materials of the UrbanShift Global Project, providing the stakeholders with opportunities to learn from experiences both nationally and internationally. The project will also focus on enabling gender mainstreaming practices and processes through inclusion of gender expertise, stakeholder consultations with women, adoption of gender responsive planning and budgeting processes and mandatory gender assessment of all urban development projects.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Team Lead/Project Implementation Lead (PIL) at NIUA, the Sr. Project Officer shall undertake the following tasks:
- Support the Asstt. Project Manager/ Project Coordinator (PMU) in,
- Actively coordinating with the project executing agency/ies and other responsible parties and contracted institutions to monitor their activities, and collate feedback on progress in project implementation;
- Maintaining regular communication with relevant stakeholders at the city level;
- providing technical guidance on the procurement of consultants, including drafting terms of reference (TORs), defining evaluation criteria, and advising on contract structures;
- monitoring the activities of the Project at national and city level;
- identifying risks, preparing of mitigation strategies and implementation of mitigations measures; and
- tracking the project achievements against the Results Framework, Core Indicator worksheet and Gender Action Plan.
- Liaise with concerned local government bodies on a regular basis to ensure their active & effective participation in the project.
- Document global and national best practices on integrated sustainable planning, Nature-based Solutions (NbS), gender-sensitive planning, low-carbon mobility, etc.
- Undertake research for developing toolkits, guidelines, modules, knowledge products, capacity building tools, etc.
- Support the production of knowledge products, guidelines, modules and capacity building tools, and organize training programs/workshops for information dissemination.
- Support organization of coordination committee meetings, National Local Dialogues, and other capacity building events; and document their proceedings.
- Any other duty and responsibility assigned by the Team Lead/Project Implementation Lead – PMU.
QUALIFICATION & EXPERIENCE:
- Master’s degree in Urban Planning/ Urban Design/ Transport Planning/ Environment/ Social Sciences/ Economics/ Statistics or other related fields, with an understanding of the sustainable transport, innovation in NBS and NMT with focus on climate resilient civic infrastructure.
- Proficiency in use of office software packages (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.), Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, etc.
- Good communication, interpersonal and presentation skills, with an ability to work in a multi-cultural environment.
- Previous work experience in research pertaining to integrated planning, sustainable development Nature-based Solutions (NbS), Non-motorized Transport (NMT), Electric Vehicle ecosystem, etc. is essential.
- Ability to work independently and under pressure.
DESIRABLE:
- Experience of working with Central Govt./ State Govt./ National Urban Missions (SMART City, AMRUT, etc.)/ Multilateral and bilateral organizations/ Local Bodies/ Resource centers/ NGOs/ Communities.
- Experience of demonstrating application of NbS, and planning of NMT infrastructure and EV infrastructure will be an added advantage.
- Procurement certifications are desirable and will be considered an asset.
- Working knowledge of GIS softwares (ArcMap, AutoCAD Map, QGIS, etc.) will be an added advantage.
- Proficiency in spoken and written English. A good command over regional language (of Project cities) and Hindi is desirable.
AGE LIMIT: Upper age limit for the post shall be 35 years.
REPORTING STRUCTURE: The Sr. Project Officer will report to the Team Lead/ Project Implementation Lead - PMU at NIUA.
