Kenya: HOUSING MARKET EXPERT, CONSULTANCY Housing Market Dynamics in Africa,(Home-based with availability to travel), Deadline: 18 September 2014
Country: Kenya
Closing date: 18 Sep 2014
CONSULTANT(s) VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
Issued on: 04.09.2014
ORGANIZATIONAL LOCATION: UN-HABITAT
DUTY STATION: Home-based with availability to travel
FUNCTIONAL TITLE: Housing Market Expert, ConsultancyHousing Market Dynamics in Africa
DURATION: 01st October 2014 – 31st April 2015
CLOSING DATE: 18th September 2014
BACKGROUND
Although the housing sector varies across different countries and regions, the common reality among urban developing markets has been a surge in demand for housing, effectively driving up housing prices and pushing quality housing out of reach of the majority of those who are in need, especially poor and middleclass households.
The unprecedented proliferation of slums and other informal settlements in African cities is the physical manifestation of a chronic lack of adequate and affordable housing resulting from, inadequate policies and failure of markets. With the exception of a few successful stories, there is an urgent need to revisit housing provision and affordability in the context of present-days realities and future challenges posed by up-coming urbanization in Africa.
This consultancy is part of a project developed by the African Development Bank and UN-Habitat to carry out a study on “Housing Market Dynamics in Africa”. It responds to the urgent need for a critical assessment of Africa’s housing market dynamics, opportunities and challenges, as well as the role that the private sector and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) can play in designing and implementing policies to improve access to affordable housing products.
In order to provide a comprehensive analysis of the challenges of satisfying Africa’s housing needs and offer useful policy recommendations, the objective of this consultancy is two-faceted: First, it aims to shed more light on the continent’s housing market in order to better understand its main driving forces as well as the main constraints to its development, particularly, the constraints preventing external stakeholders such as the private sector from catering for low and middle income populations. Secondly, it aims to come up with good practices and approaches that have proved successful in other emerging markets that may be adaptable to the circumstances encountered in the African housing market. Specific objectives include:
To better understand and measure dynamics in the housing sector in African cities and bridge the knowledge gap.
To undertake a stakeholder analysis, which will provide a better understanding of the main actors, including DFIs, in the market and their interactions.
To provide concrete policy recommendations to encourage private sector involvement in increasing access to adequate housing at an affordable cost by leveraging both African and other emerging market experiences.
Using lessons learned from other emerging countries, to explore possible (and alternative) solutions to the challenge low-income housing provision of in Africa, especially from the private sector, and the appropriate conditions under which this can be achieved. The role of DFIs should be examined, emphasizing the lessons learnt by similar institutions in Asia and Latin America.
To propose feasible financing solutions, operations and policy options that can be adopted and implemented to leverage the role of external stakeholders such as the private sector in the provision of affordable housing for the poor majority.
Four main thematic areas
The analysis of housing markets in Africa will be structures along four main thematic areas, namely a) Financing affordable housing demand and supply; b) Unlocking land supply and providing infrastructure; c) Solving the construction cost and productivity conundrum; and d) Housing alternatives for the most poor and slum upgrading. Four housing experts will be recruited under this vacancy announcement to elaborate an analysis on one of the thematic areas listed above. While applying, the candidate must indicate her/his interest area.
RESPONSIBILITIES and DELIVERABLES
In order to respond to the objectives, a project team with 4 housing experts led by the AfDB’s housing team and UN-Habitat will carry out the following activities:
Scoping Missions
The team of consultants will embark on scoping missions in 6 countries covering the continent’s five regions. The objective of these missions is to gather data and evidence, which will then feed into thematic papers on four different key themes (as listed above). More specifically, the scoping missions will seek to take stock of the housing market’s dynamics within the African regions, highlighting the key issues and opportunities for both public and private sector engagement. The methodology will include initial desk reviews, case studies where applicable, data collection, focal groups, experience interviews as well as selected site visits. At the end of each scoping mission, it is expected that the housing experts hired for this consultancy with guidance and input from the AfDB and UN-Habitat will deliver the following outputs:
a. A draft consolidated list of key stakeholders relevant to the study;
b. The consultants will propose a detailed methodology and analytical framework related to their thematic area to AfDB and UN-Habitat.
c. A brief report summarizing the findings of the scoping mission including the potential areas to be further investigated and discussed in the thematic papers to be prepared by the thematic experts.
d. A first draft of a policy brief and case study highlighting regional best practices or interesting and innovative housing market features, where applicable. The AfDB and UN-Habitat will use this as background materials and finalize as appropriate for the benefits of their management and operations. Annotated outlines for the thematic papers. This will be the basis for the production of fully-fledged thematic papers and the final study on housing market dynamics in Africa. Thorough desk reviews on the housing market dynamics in North Africa and Southern Africa should also be conducted, including on countries not visited under the scoping missions. These desk reviews should be supplemented with key stakeholder interviews where necessary in order to gather missing data and information.
Thematic Papers
The consultant(s), depending on his/her expertise and interest will elaborate a paper on one of the thematic areas listed below:
I. Financing affordable housing demand and supply: This section will discuss access to finance by consumers, developers and financial intermediaries along the housing delivery value chain. The discussion should include a description of the housing markets and provide a landscape of actors and institutions involved, as well as the main driving forces, features and characteristics.
II. Unlocking land supply and providing infrastructure – reforming or establishing legal and regulatory frameworks and land governance to improve land supply. Potential topics to be considered include: land regulation and taxation; tenure security and regularization; municipal governance, admiration and permitting processes; zoning-laws, land-use plans, building permits and their impact on land costs and supply; densification vs. urban sprawl; public vs. private land; customary land regimes; physical constraints in land acquisition and servicing; trunk infrastructure planning, costs and up-scaling, etc.
III. Solving the construction cost and productivity conundrum – explore ways to reduce the time, cost of housing and scale-up production without compromising sustainability and quality. Potential topics to be considered include: innovative building technologies, materials and professional services; fragmentation of the construction sector/ industry; consumer preferences; the role academia in developing innovative solutions; sustainability and green housing; improve productivity and accelerate construction; push the boundaries on construction cost without compromising quality and deliver; labour costs and conditions; unpredictable prices of commodities and import substitution; industrialization of the construction sector vs. employment generation; support to small-scale companies; build capacity and training; investments in capital equipment; building time and procurement of building services and inputs; improving construction sector capacity;
IV. Housing alternatives for the most poor and slum upgrading – the challenge of access to affordable housing remains a major issue among the poor majority. This topic should explore how to leverage the participation of external stakeholders, especially the private sector in housing provision of for the low-income sector. Likely issues to be examined include trends and good examples, review the principal instruments, innovations and policies in housing provision for the most poor from specialized housing institutions to community-based initiatives; from mainstream to non-conventional provision mechanisms; from subsidies to reimbursable loans; from homeownership to social and rental housing; from self-build to cooperative approaches; from slum-upgrading vs. new housing provision; from the formal to the informal sector. In addition, look at lessons from emerging markets, experiences with private sector involvement in the sector and public private partnerships.
WHEN APPLYING, PLEASE INDICATE THE THEMATIC AREA OF INTEREST
An analysis of the political economy of housing as it relates to each of the themes listed above will feature prominently in the paper. These analyses will attempt to shed more light on the role of government as an intervening stakeholder in shaping housing markets. It will further examine the extent to which governments act as enablers or obstacles in the efficient functioning of housing markets. This is particularly important as the capacity of the private sector to respond to the housing needs of the most poor could either be enhanced or curtailed by institutional protection or prohibitions by the State.
In addition, while the scoping mission will provide on-the-ground information about a few countries, the thematic papers should be continental in scope.
The consultants will propose a detailed methodology and analytical framework to the AfDB and UN-Habitat before scoping missions and desk reviews. However, for each thematic paper, methodological tools should include at least (i) a review of available literature on each of the themes; (ii) design a strong analytical framework, and (iii) data collection and analytic exercises including, where possible, structured interviews with relevant stakeholders (including DFIs, national housing associations and other identified partners). Each paper will also feature one or two relevant case studies of innovative approaches being employed in solving a thematic challenge: one case study either in Asia or Latin America and one case study in Africa. These case studies will seek to highlight best practice as well as interesting and innovative features in housing markets, which can be replicated across the African continent.
Validation workshops
The thematic papers will be used to facilitate discussions in 3 validation workshops to be held in 3 cities and gathering participants from the 5 regions of the continent. The validation workshops will have several working sessions organized around the main themes and focusing on housing sector issues most relevant to that specific region as the case may be. The workshops’ main objectives will include: (i) gathering stakeholders and experts from the region to discuss housing sector issues; (ii) validating the main findings of the background papers, including issues on housing dynamics, market challenges and opportunities, possibilities to go down market etc., (iii) Additional information gathering regarding local housing issues (iv) better defining main policy recommendations and getting buy-in from local stakeholders, and (v) performing a needs assessment in terms of capacities and skills to strengthen the sector.
The consultant(s) will review and finalize her/his thematic paper according to the inputs from the workshops. In addition, findings of the thematic papers will be reviewed both internally and externally through various committees of experts before it is finalized. The findings from the workshops and thematic papers will inform and guide the elaboration of the final report, to be coordinated by AfDB and UN-Habitat.
TIMEFRAME
The assignment will be undertaken during the period of October 01st 2014 to April 31st 2015.
COMPETENCIES
- Thorough understanding of the dynamics of housing finance and human settlements sector in developing countries, including the constraints posed to housing delivery and institutional requirements best applicable to the given context; knowledge of concepts and approaches relevant to housing finance, specifically in the areas of land, construction industry, low-income housing and related, as well as good understanding of housing markets and the challenges of affordability in developing countries.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills and ability to articulate complex ideas in a clear and accurate manner including the ability to present the content of the thematic area in a clear and concise manner.
- Planning and management skills: ability to co-ordinate output delivery, establish priorities and plan, coordinate own work plan and projects, use time efficiently and apply judgment in the context of competing deadlines.
EDUCATION
- Advanced university degree (masters or similar) in a field relevant to housing finance, housing and urban planning, public policy, social sciences, international development, political science, or similar.
- Demonstrated senior level experience in housing finance, land and infrastructure, construction industry, low income housing and slum upgrading, as well as previous consultancies in these areas.
WORK EXPERIENCE
- Expert knowledge of the housing sector in developing countries;
- Minimum of 5 years’ experience in research and policy development related to housing finance, land and infrastructure, construction industry, low income housing and slum upgrading in developing country contexts and within international organizations.
- Experience in housing markets in developing countries
LANGUAGE SKILLS
- English and French are the working languages of the United Nations. For the consultancies advertised, excellent proficiency in spoken and written English is required. Strong working knowledge in spoken and/or written French and Portuguese will be regarded as a considerable advantage.
REMUNERATION
Proposed consultancy fees for the elaboration of thematic papers will be defined based on the experience of the consultant(s). Travel costs and daily allowance as per the UN rate are payable in addition to the consultancy fee.
How to apply:
Applications should include:
• Cover memo (maximum 1 page) indicating the thematic area of interest
• CV in the PHP format, accessible through the INSPIRA website (inspira.un.org) Please note, if using INSPIRA for the first time, you need to register in order to activate your account, which will allow you to log in and create a personal History Profile.
• The PHP should be attached to the application as a PDF file.
• Summary CV (maximum 2 pages), indicating the following information:
- Educational Background (incl. dates)
- Professional Experience (assignments, tasks, achievements, duration by years/ months)
- Other Experience and Expertise (e.g. Internships/ voluntary work, etc.)
- Expertise and preferences regarding location of potential assignments
- Expectations regarding remuneration
• Cover memo (maximum 1 page)
Please also be advised that since April 15th 2010, applicants for consultancies must be part of the
UN-HABITAT e-Roster in order for their application to be considered. You can reach the e-Roster
through the following link: http://e-roster.unhabitat.org
All applications should be submitted in electronic format (using MS Word) by email to Christophe.Lalande@unhabitat.org and Fernanda.Lonardoni@unhabitat.org – emails should include in the subject the thematic of area of interest (e.g. application housing market study_thematic area IV (or other)).
UN-HABITAT
P.O. Box 30030, 00100 Nairobi, Kenya
Email:
Fax: + 254 20
Deadline for applications: 18 September 2014
UN-HABITAT does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process. If you have any questions concerning persons or companies claiming to be recruiting on behalf of these offices and requesting the payment of a fee, please contact: recruitment@unon.org