Job Title: World Heritage in Africa Project (WHAPS) Consultant

Unit: Programmes Unit

Coordinators: Programme Officers (World Heritage Leadership and Youth Heritage Africa)

Type of contract: Individual Engagement Contract

Total Contract Amount: range from EUR 29.000 to EUR 33.000 based on work experience

Term: Eleven months (20/11/2024 – 20/10/2025), renewable

Duty Station: Rome, Italy 

Closing date: 15-October-2024 (11:59 PM CEST Time)

General description of the programme

World Heritage in Africa – Fostering Practitioners for Nomination Processes and Strategies (WHAPS) is a joint initiative aiming to address the underrepresentation of African heritage on the World Heritage List and promote intercultural professional exchanges. The project aligns with ICCROM's flagship programmes, World Heritage Leadership and Youth.Heritage.Africa, and with Fondazione Scuola dei beni e delle attività culturali international programmes, seeking to ensure that the work on World Heritage and Intangible Cultural Heritage contributes to the broader conservation agenda benefiting local communities.

WHAPS aims to enhance the skills of African professionals with a focus on key World Heritage processes, such as ensuring the effective management of sites, and conducting impact assessments that will contribute to building stronger World Heritage nominations. The project includes a five-day international forum to be held between February and March 2025, followed by a six-month mentorship programme. The forum will focus on World Heritage nomination processes, impact assessments, and enhancing management capacities for World Heritage sites. The Mentorship programme, involving 30 participants, will feature bi-weekly online sessions with specialist instructors on the foundations of World Heritage, with a particular focus on heritage impact assessment. The project will wrap up with a closing workshop to finalize and promote the outcomes of the Forum and the Mentorship Programme.

For further information, please consult the programme pages for World Heritage Leadership and Youth Heritage Africa. 

Key Deliverables and Tasks

Develop plans, implement and deliver various activities (including through field missions) for the WHAPS project, including conceiving innovative capacity-building initiatives, tools and modules for the continued operation of the Heritage Hub, identifying new funding opportunities and managing projects with interlinks and synergies with all other ICCROM Programmes.

  1. Provide technical inputs to develop plans, implement and deliver the various activities for World Heritage in Africa, in the field of cultural and natural heritage, with specific emphasis on World Heritage nominations and impact assessment.

  2. Conceive and develop concept notes, applications, proposals, and documents that are in line with the Project document, World Heritage Leadership and Youth.Heritage.Africa Programmes and ICCROM’s vision.

  3. Organize, implement and deliver both the in-person Forum and online mentoring activities for the WHAPS project on a daily basis, in close communication with all resource people, participants and organizers.

  4. Identify and develop opportunities to mobilize Voluntary Contributions in line with ICCROM’s Strategic Directions, Programmatic approach and streamlined operations.

  5. Provide support and inputs to ensure coordination, synergies and interlinkages with and among the partner organizations, especially the Fondazione Scuola dei beni e delle attivita culturali, the Great Zimbabwe University, other ICCROM’s Programmes and mainstream best practices, tools and models into the project operation.

  6. Provide support for the effective establishment of the Zimbabwe Heritage Hub.

  7. Provide support in developing communication, advocacy and outreach materials, ensuring high-quality standards.

  8. Collect and provide technical inputs for monitoring, reporting and evaluation outputs and processes of the project.

  9. Design and implement survey and consultation processes and prepare preliminary reports to ensure collection of baseline data and information and contribute to the results and impact evaluation of the project.

  10. Represent ICCROM at international conferences, missions, and meetings when necessary to enhance the reputation and visibility of ICCROM.

Required qualifications:

  1. Education

  • Advanced university degree in development and cultural studies or related areas; specialization in one or more areas related to heritage conservation and management, African studies, and urban planning is a plus.

  1. Work experience

  • Minimum of five to seven (5-7) years of relevant professional experience in project and programme development management in World Heritage management and conservation, including impact assessment and experience in designing and implementing activities in the African Region.

  • Proven experience in building and managing multistakeholder partnership projects and processes and some experience in working in capacity building.

  1. Skills and knowledge

  • Ability to work effectively with a range of partners in a politically sensitive environment, and proactive and pragmatic approach to working with various staff and stakeholders.

  • Knowledge of World Heritage and Intangible Cultural Heritage Conventions, heritage conservation and management, capacity building, impact assessment, urban planning, international relations, and Sustainable Development Goals.

  • Excellent written and communication skills, including the ability to conceptualize, prepare and present findings and recommendations on key issues and trends to a diverse audience.

  • Strong analytical skills with the ability to design, undertake and implement capacity building activities from a global or national policy perspective.

  • Ability to work effectively under tight deadlines with minimal supervision and with strong integrity, accountability, tact and diplomacy.

  • Proven ability to coordinate a multicultural team with excellent interpersonal skills.

  • A genuine passion for World Heritage and promoting its conservation.

  1. Languages

  • English and French are the working languages of ICCROM. This position requires fluency in English (both oral and written). The knowledge of French or any other language is an added advantage.

Selection and Recruitment Process

Send completed applications in English no later than 15-OCTOBER-2024 to: recruitment@iccrom.org

Please state the position title (WHAPS Project Consultant) in the subject, and include the following documents in PDF format:

  • Motivation letter

  • Updated CV in English

Applications missing any of the above elements will not be considered. No modifications can be made to the application submitted. All applications will be treated with the highest level of confidentiality.

Please note that only selected candidates will be contacted within two weeks after the deadline, and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided.

The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as a competency-based interview.

ICCROM recalls that paramount consideration in appointing staff members shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, technical competence and integrity. ICCROM applies a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of harassment. ICCROM is committed to achieving and sustaining equitable and diverse geographical distribution and gender parity among its staff members in all categories and at all grades. Furthermore, ICCROM is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture.