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

PROJECT BACKGROUND:

The present addressing system in the country is descriptive in nature and contains house number, street number and other landmark besides city name and 6 digit code. To overcome with this complex addressing system, the Department of Posts (DoP), Government of India has initiated the prestigious project on Postal Digital Address Code (PDAC).  As part of PDAC, a 10-digit alpha-numeric unique code will be available to each physical address in the nation. These codes will also be available on digital maps, making it possible to locate the addresses. These codes can even be used on the different apps of service providers by either typing or scanning it as a QR code. This project (PDAC) has been initiated as a step in the direction of enhancing India's addressing system. PDAC will be embedded with geo spatial attributes/ coordinates based on a 10 digit unique code.

As a Strategic knowledge Partner with Department of Post, NIUA will play a variety of roles as part of an end-to-end ‘Ecosystem Support’ for developing the PDAC and DIGIPIN. This will including,  preparation of standard documents, assessment of proof of concepts (PoCs), assessing potential revenue streams, defining institutional structure, building capacities, identifying key regulatory and legal concerns, etc.

PROJECT COMPONENTS:

The overall assignment is divided into four components:

• COMPONENT I: Designing of the Code-Standardisation and Documentation: Support the DoP towards finalisation of PDAC and DIGIPIN. Additionally, support the DoP in documentation of findings of the Pilot Phase, assessment/ review of the Proof-of-Concepts (PoCs) and preparation of a standard document.
• COMPONENT II: Stakeholder Mapping and Establishing wider applicability & usability of PDAC and DIGIPIN: Identify the relevant stakeholders for implementing DIGIPIN and PDAC; Identify potential areas/ sectors where PDAC can be utilised for enhanced service delivery and assess utilization of PDAC for implementation of national and state missions/ schemes.
• COMPONENT III: Formulating Outcome-oriented Key Performance Indicators (KPI): Formulate KPIs for measuring impact of PDAC in improvement of services, both managed by the DoP as well as other service providers
• COMPONENT IV: Support towards Project Monitoring and Evaluation: Develop a framework and suggest suitable models for potential revenue streams. Support in identifying various regulatory and legal issues including issues pertaining to data privacy & protection, data ownership and data interoperability followed by recommendations for appropriate institutional structure.

Summarily, under the partnership, NIUA will act as a knowledge support unit to the DoP for the successful implementation of the pilot phase. This partnership will not only document the process but also lead to publish multiple standard documents that will help the department to effectively nudge the on-ground implementation.

1. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Research Associate will provide support in managing the project outputs and deliverable in close consultation with the counterpart and as per the scope of work defined in the MoU. The candidate should be comfortable working in an interdisciplinary environment and should be able to manage multiple tasks and meeting deadlines. The ideal candidate should be able to provide cutting-edge and integrated solutions to India’s urban development challenges by bringing together expertise across diverse domains of knowledge and practice.  Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Project Lead and the Project Manager, the Research Associate shall undertake the following tasks:

1. 1. Assist in the research related to global best practices in the field of overall ecosystem of digital address code and how cities are benefiting with such address system; support in developing various prototypes for defining address across the country;
   2. Provide data science and analytics support to the project team and partners for informed and evidence-based decision making;
   3. Support in undertaking the stakeholder consultation and coordinating inputs for the development of use cases, etc.
   4. Maintain all communication record with the counterpart and prepare half yearly report (including financial progress) in close consultation with the Project Lead and the Project Manager;
   5. Under guidance of Project Lead, support in tracking project performance, specifically to analyse the successful completion of short- and long-term goals;
   6. Facilitate recording of proceedings at various internal meetings, workshops, conferences and other fora, organised as part of the Project;
   7. Participate in the periodic review meetings and discussions related to project implementation, monitoring and follow-up;
   8. Any other duty and responsibility assigned by the Director, NIUA; and Project Lead.

2. QUALIFICATION & EXPERIENCES:
   1. Master’s degree (in Urban Planning/ Urban Management/Urban Design or related fields) with an understanding of project management, 3Dmodelling, building designing, capacity building, advance knowledge of GIS & Remote sensing, etc.;
   2. Minimum 2 years full time work experience after post-graduation, with experience in project management, preferably in urban development sector;
   3. Software proficiency: MS Word, Excel, Power Point, Knowledge of professional software like ARC GIS, AutoCad, Adobe, In design etc. will be an added advantage;
   4. Excellent written and verbal communications and presentation skills, including the ability to speak persuasively and to present ideas clearly and concisely to authorities;
   5. Ability to work flexibly as well as independently, on a range of assignments showcasing strong teamwork and collaboration and adjust to a variety of complex and evolving tasks to meet deadlines.

DESIRABLE:

1. 1. Experience with State Govt/ Central Govt/Local Bodies/ Resource Centres/ NGOs/ Communities/ National Urban Missions (SMART City, AMRUT, PMAY, etc.)/ multilateral/ bi-lateral organisation like ADB, KFW,UNDP, GIZ etc;
   2. Proficiency in spoken and written English.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

1. 1. Applications to be only submitted online through NIUA’s portal
   2. Only candidates whose applications are complete in all regard and adhere to the prescribed format will be considered
   3. Only shortlisted candidates will be notified