Project Field Co-ordinator

BACKGROUND
 
The Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme (PSUP) is a tripartite initiative of the UN-HABITAT, the Secretariat of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), and the European Commission (EC).  PSUP was launched in 2008 to improve living conditions for the urban poor, building on an assertion that transformative change can only be achieved through the concerted and coordinated efforts of all urban stakeholders, including national and city government and informal settlement dwellers. To date the programme has operated across three phases: PSUP I - 2008 to 2011; PSUP II - 2012 to 2016; and PSUP III - 2017 to 2021, providing funds through multi-agency country teams geared at delivering SDG and New Urban Agenda development priorities.
 
The PSUP, as a global programme, acts as a unique vehicle to deliver on the concept of “Leaving no one behind” of the 2030 Agenda. It is tailored to specifically deliver on SDG 11.1 - “By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums”, as well as SDG 1, SDG 5, SDG 6, SDG 7, SDG 10, SDG 16, and SDG 17. The programme further responds to the framework established under the New Urban Agenda (NUA), demonstrating through actions on the ground that indeed it is possible to transform the lives of the people living in informal settlements. Thus, the mission of the PSUP is to improve the living conditions of the urban poor by encouraging and promoting a collaborative process which involves all stakeholders, thereby motivating countries to further dedicate effort and resources to upgrade future informal settlements and prevent their formation.
 
Within the country context of Jamaica, the government has ratified many of the human rights conventions which have been adopted by the international community. Further, the Jamaican Constitution (1962) codifies the right to adequate housing as a necessary element of the right to an adequate standard of living. These urban challenges are also addressed in Jamaica’s Vision 2030 goals which aim to “empower Jamaicans to achieve their fullest potential”, through the development of a healthy, natural environment. The Vision 2030 agenda supports the provision of rights to adequate housing, the fostering of innovative urban and regional planning, and the identification of progressive growth areas.
 
The Vision 2030 plan also includes a directive to advance the development of sustainable and resilient cities which reduce vulnerabilities and impacts from natural hazards in response to climate change. Those residing in informal settlements in Jamaica are especially threatened by natural hazards such as hurricanes, tropical storms, earthquakes, floods, and landslides. The spread of  informal settlements into precarious areas which are inappropriate for development has increased the  likelihood of adverse impacts to social, environmental, and economic livelihoods for those living in these communities.  The importance of targeted interventions to address climate change is recognized in
Vision 2030 which highlights the vulnerability of the island, particularly in the high concentration of developments and infrastructure along the coastline.
 
Given the importance of tourism to the Jamaican economy, informal settlement management and prevention is a key objective in the efforts to ensure that there are “no squatter settlements located close to sensitive tourism  resources including waterways, beaches, scenic views and vistas, and heritage sites”. The activities proposed herein are designed to promote sustainable and resilient development projects which improve the living standards of informal settlement dwellers in Montego Bay and produce a multiplier effect through the implementation of a citywide strategy.
 
The PSUP supported the citywide upgrading strategy of Montego Bay fosters strong partnerships between national, city governments, and communities, thus enabling the generation of environmental and livelihood benefits while also creating a foundation for sustainable development. The PSUP programme builds on the pedagogical principles put forth by leading practitioners and the academic community which advocates for the inclusion of community leadership and participation in urban development projects. Central to the PSUP approach is community participation which engages the local community in decisions which directly  influence their livelihoods and living conditions. The PSUP positions community members at the centre of the implementation process and empowers the community through community managed projects and the creation of Community Managed Funds (CMF). Through a Community Managed Funds, the programme aims to finance projects with direct input and engagement from local community members. The PSUP empowers the community to participate in decision making, management, and implementation in partnership with relevant intermediaries which can assist the community with skilled expertise and guidance (e.g. Resident Councils, NGOs, and Municipal agencies). By using a community-based approach for informal settlement upgrading initiatives, the programme ensures that short-term and long-term objectives toward developing resilient cities are more sustainable, replicative, and scalable.
 
In its third funding cycle (2017-2021), PSUP has developed the Montego Bay Participatory Informal Settlements Upgrading Framework (MoBay-PISUF) as a way of localizing the PSUP global programme approach aimed at fostering community driven development through an enabling environment for policy creation and implementation while mobilizing resources and developing informal settlement upgrading strategies.
 
MoBay-PISUF is therefore a multi-stakeholder platform to crowd in diverse partners and resources to deliver sustainable and continued long term engagement with public and private sectors, as well as national and international partners. It aims to give agency to residents of informal settlements to revitalize their living environment by bringing them at the centre of the development process to manage, contribute and participate in the upgrading process. The framework is planned to be formerly established through a tripartite agreement between Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme (PSUP) of UN-Habitat, Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), St James Municipal Cooperation (SJMC) and Sandals Foundation (SF). The partnership has been delayed as due to global pandemic, Covid19.
 
COVID-19 is having an unprecedented impact on all countries, both in terms of prompting the scaling of public health preparedness and response, protection of vulnerable populations and requiring mitigation of broader social and economic impacts. Low-income and crisis-affected countries are following a global pattern of attempting to interrupt further spread of COVID-19 through various measures including complete or partial lockdown of countries or specific regions and cities.
 
More than half of the urban population in Jamaica is considered to live in informal settlements. With 71 squatter settlements, Montego Bay has the highest number of people living in these conditions,  many of which are in Canterbury, North Gully and Grange Pen areas.  These areas have high density with an average household size of 4 persons who are living overcrowded housing. They lack proper  bathroom facilities, often sharing public toilets.  The few persons who were employed are now out of work due to business closure, plunging the communities into deeper unemployment and exposure to malnutrition due to lack of basic services and high rate of unemployment, supply of essential food and basic services has become critical to prevent outbreak of COVID19 in  these settlements.
 
The principle approaches for reducing COVID-19 transmission in Montego Bay are:

• Increasing physical distance and improve hygiene. The tactics used will differ in informal settlements where there are acute challenges around space, water, and sanitation, and where people have an increased risk of eviction and livelihoods are precarious. 
• Financial and nonfinancial resources (e.g. information, equipment, supportive policy making) are urgently needed to enable residents to develop and implement area-based strategies. 

UN-Habitat is a key partner in the PSUP Programme, providing, providing programme management, technical assistance and knowledge to partners locally and internationally in many areas including COVID-19  RAPID  RESPONSE. Local partners include SJMC, Tourism Enhancement Fund and Sandals Foundations.
 

1. Specific Objective 1 (SO1): Strengthen global partnerships and policydialogue for participatory slum upgrading and prevention.
2. Specific Objective 2 (SO2): Improve knowledge and capacities for participatory slum upgrading and prevention and informal settlements living conditions.

 
OBJECTIVES OF RAPID RESPONSE PROGRAM
 
Within the framework of the Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme (PSUP) of UN-Habitat, the Intervention Action for the four communities will provide support to implement Community Managed  Projects as a  response to this pandemic and to effect medium term COVID-19 preparedness, response  and recovery of vulnerable communities living in informal settlements in the city of Montego Bay. The action will employ a health-driven development approach due to current COVID-19 pandemic
situation to support coordination efforts of St James Municipal Cooperation (SJMC) to contribute towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 3 (the ‘health’ goal) and SDG11  (the ‘cities’ goal) and including multiple benefits across a wide range of other SDGs and New Urban Agenda. 
                                                                                                                                                                                  
The UN-HABITAT advocacy work is to build resilience in these communities during the COVID19 pandemic.  The project will be implemented by SJMC they will have a project team headed by a project manager who will have a project team focusing on various aspects of the project. The locally based project team will work with the UN-Habitat Project Manager to coordinate and executive all activities.  SJMC  will organize regular multi-stakeholder meetings participated by representatives from SJMC, national
and other government institutions, utility companies, private and academia, community-based groups and organizations to ensure wider participation and inclusion in the project implementation.
 
REPORTING RESPONSIBILITY:           Project Manager
Secondary Reporting:          To UN-Habitat Project Manager

N.B.  The work is situated in four volatile communities where fractions within the  Communities  are at war with each other from time to time. The incumbent should be able to traverse the various  communities without difficulty and command the respect of all the waring fractions  in an effort to achieve the results expected.