Urban Planning Intern, UN-HABITAT – Rio De Janeiro, RJ

Posting Period: 3 October 2018 – 27 October 2018

Org. Setting and Reporting

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, is the agency for human settlements. It is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. The Master Plan for Sustainable Urban Development of the City of Rio de Janeiro (Master Plan), established by Municipal Complementary Law no 111/2011, in accordance with the provisions of the Brazilian Federal Law no 10.257 of 2001, shall be evaluated every five years and reviewed every ten years, as per the sole paragraph of article 1 of the above mentioned Complementary Law. In 2016, the Master Plan was evaluated with the participation of members of the Urban Policy Council (COMPUR), under the Coordination Team of Macro Planning of the City of Rio de Janeiro.

With the change of the municipal administrative management in 2017, the Technical Monitoring Committee of the Rio de Janeiro Master Plan (CTPD) was reactivated in December of that year, resuming discussions and initiating the review of the Master Plan, to be held between 2018 and 2020. Most of the material to support the discussions on the review is already prepared, such as the Urban and Environmental Diagnosis, made in 2015, and the urban and sectorial assessments on various topics developed since the approval of the Master Plan. It is necessary to continue this effort updating previous evaluations with an integrated intersectoral assessment, as well as with discussions with sectoral bodies and with society at large, through public hearings and seminars, workshops and meetings with specialists and institutions, entities and associations. This way, the next Master Plan will be drawn up with a solid technical base and the participation of a broad spectrum of Rio de Janeiro’s society.

It should be noted that in recent years the city of Rio de Janeiro has undergone significant changes following major sporting events, such as the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, which led to the construction of subway line 4, BRTs, the revitalization of the port area and the implementation of the Minha Casa Minha Vida Program. All these interventions led to huge urban transformations and left a great challenge in terms of spatial integration within the city and its management with focus on its citizens.

In the realm of the 2001 agreement between the Rio de Janeiro City Hall – PCRJ and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme – UN-Habitat, and within the revision process of the Master Plan, an Urban Planning Intern is needed.

The UN-Habitat Urban Planning internship is for 6 months. The Internship is UNPAID and full-time. Interns work five days per week (35 hours) under the supervision of a staff member in the department or office to which they are assigned.

Responsibilities

Daily responsibilities will depend on the individual’s background; the intern’s assigned office as well as the internship period.

Under the Supervision of UN-Habitat Brazil Office and working in close collaboration with the team of GM/SUBU/SMU, the intern will:
–  Provide support to UN-Habitat’s and GM/SUBU/SMU’s teams in their internal meetings, with CTPD, other entities and the population.
–  Prepare supporting materials for meetings and the online social participation platform.
–  Other organization and administrative support tasks as required.

Competencies

Communication:
-Speaks and writes clearly and effectively
-Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately
-Asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication
-Tailors language, tone, style and format to match the audience
-Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed

Teamwork:
-Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals
-Solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others
-Places 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

Client Orientation:
-Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients ” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view
-Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect
-Identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions
-Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems
-Keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects
-Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client

Education

Applicants must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements:
a.  Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher).
b. Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree program (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent).
c. Have graduated with a university degree and, if selected, must commence the internship within a one-year period of graduation.

Be computer literate in standard software applications.

Have demonstrated keen interest in the work of the United Nations and have a personal commitment to the ideals of the Charter;

Have a demonstrated ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, which include willingness to try and understand and be tolerant of differing opinions and views.

Preferred Area of Studies:
Geography, Architecture and Urbanism, Economics, International Relations, Social Sciences or equivalent; all with an urban focus.