Social Participation and Mobilization Consultant

The consultant will support the implementation of the Inclusive and Sustainable Rio project by structuring, operationalizing, and systematizing participatory processes for the review of the Rio de Janeiro State Plan of Solid Waste. The role involves planning and facilitating stakeholder engagement activities, supporting mobilization, organizing participatory events, and preparing technical reports to ensure inclusive and effective social participation.

Responsibilities

• Plan and provide technical support for the implementation of activities under the Plan review process, including regional workshops, public consultations, seminars, and public hearings.
• Develop and propose facilitation and stakeholder engagement methodologies, including the design of participatory dynamics, structuring of content, and preparation of supporting materials, in coordination with the project’s technical team.
• Support the mobilization and engagement of key stakeholders, including state agencies, municipalities, public consortia, waste picker cooperatives, civil society organizations, and the private sector.
• Support the mobilization and functioning of the PERS-RJ Monitoring Committee, ensuring engagement and participation throughout the different stages of the process.
• Organize and support the implementation of participatory activities, including preparation of attendance lists and participation records; logistical organization of activities; and photographic and documentary records.
• Support the implementation of in-person and online public consultations, including content organization, management of contributions, and support for dissemination of materials on digital platforms.
• Organize and systematize contributions received through participatory activities, structuring databases, spreadsheets, and consolidated records.
• Support the technical analysis of received contributions, ensuring their traceability and supporting their incorporation into the Plan outputs (diagnosis, strategies, and guidelines).
• Prepare technical reports on participatory activities, including description of methodologies applied; participant profiles; key contributions received; and analysis of results.
• Maintain an organized system of files, records, and databases related to social participation activities.
• Prepare and submit monthly activity reports, highlighting actions undertaken, results achieved, and the consultant’s technical contribution to the participatory process.
• Work in an integrated manner with other consultants and technical workstreams of the project, ensuring incorporation of participatory inputs into the development of the Plan.
• Participate in periodic technical meetings with the project team and institutional partners.
• Perform other technical activities related to the scope of the consultancy, as requested by the Project Coordination.
• Participate in field missions, as required.
• Complete all courses and training activities indicated by supervisor, including the UNDSS BSAFE security course during the first month.
• Comply with United Nations security mechanisms and Framework of Accountability for the United Nations Security Management System.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Public Policy, International Relations, Social Sciences, Social Communication, Public Relations, Social Work, Urban and Regional Planning or related fields is required, or additional three (3) years or relevant experience to the post, beyond the requirement.
• Postgraduate degree (Lato Sensu or Stricto Sensu) in public policy, social participation, public governance, territorial development, urban planning, or related fields is desirable.
• Minimum four (4) years of experience in projects, programs or public policies related to social participation, participatory governance, territorial development or public policy management in Brazil is required.
• Experience in design, organization or facilitation of participatory processes, including workshops, public consultations, hearings or multi-stakeholders dialogue events is required.
• Experience in the preparation of technical reports, systematization of contributions from participatory processes, and analysis of public consultation results is required.
• Experience in projects and participatory processes related to solid waste management, plan development, sanitation, urban sustainability, or territorial development is required.
• Technical and/or academic scientific production in the field is desirable.
• Experience working with international organizations, UN agencies, or international cooperation projects is desirable.
• Ability to plan, conduct and facilitate participatory processes involving multiple institutional and social stakeholders is required.
• Ability to systematize and analyze contributions from workshops, public consultations, and hearings is required.
• Strong analytical skills and excellent technical writing for the preparation of reports and executive documents is required.
• Strong organizational skills, time management, and the ability to work in multidisciplinary teams is required.
• Availability to be based in the State of Rio de Janeiro during the contract period and to participate in in-person activities, meetings, workshops, public consultations and territorial mobilization activities, in accordance with project planning, is required.
• Proficiency in Windows-based computing, including Microsoft Office, Outlook, Microsoft Teams, and web search tools, is required.
• Experience working in an inter-institutional environment, project management, monitoring-evaluation; approaches and strategies regarding good urban governance and local and regional development.
• Professional approach to work, strong sense of responsibility, operate with minimal supervision; proven organizational skills and ability to manage a workload efficiently and within set deadlines.
• Ability to write clearly and effectively; listen to others, interpret messages correctly and respond appropriately; show openness in information sharing and keep everyone informed; solid abstract reasoning skills together with a proven capacity to write documents for diverse audiences.
• Ability to work with teams, demonstrate leadership, conflict management and consensus facilitation skills; ability to work in a multicultural and multi-ethnic environment, and to respect diversity; sensitivity to the main streaming of vulnerability; willingness and ability to work in difficult environments.
• Knowledge of the processes, procedures, and norms of UN-Habitat to guarantee adequate quality of activities.
• Ability to propose formats and procedures for efficient implementation of project activities.
• Ability to maintain and ensure proper management of office files and databases.
• Ability to ensure all relevant technical information is adequately shared with staff and that produced material is fit-for-purpose and delivered in an organized way.
• Commitment to information privacy and sharing only within the agency team.
• Fluency in Portuguese is required; working knowledge of English and Spanish is desirable.

Skills

• Social Participation Support
• Participatory Governance Design
• Territorial Development
• Public Policy Management
• Participatory Facilitation
• Workshop Facilitation
• Public Consultations
• Stakeholder Dialogue
• Technical Report Preparation
• Information Systematization
• Public Consultation Analysis
• Waste Management
• Urban Sustainability
• Project Management
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Urban Governance
• Local and Regional Development
• Microsoft Office Suite
• MS Teams
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Conflict Management

Languages

Portuguese, English, Spanish