The UN Secretary-General established the UN SDG Action Campaign to inspire people and organizations from all backgrounds and every part of the world to take actions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, while holding decision-makers to account for progress society-wide. The UN SDG Action Campaign is hosted and supported by UNDP and is based in Bonn (Germany) with a lean team that marshals rapid support for new initiatives as opportunities arise and provides partners with on-demand strategic creative services that inspire SDG action with an engaged community of activists and concerned individuals.

The UN SDG Action Campaign is working closely with cities and local governments to showcase how they are actively contributing to implement Agenda 2030, accelerating transformative action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals for all, and everywhere. The UN SDG Action Campaign, together with the office of UNDP in the Sierra Leone are supporting the Freetown City Council to implement its development plan and showcase how it contributes to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.

Freetown has experienced a significant increase in population due to migration from rural areas, especially after the 11-year civil conflict. The impacts of climate change have further accelerated this growth. Over the past 25 years, the population of Freetown has more than doubled, and it now accommodates approximately 15% of the national population on less than 0.1% of the national landmass. The city is projected to gain another half a million residents over the next decade. Unfortunately, the Freetown City Council has historically lacked the necessary urban management tools to utilize urbanization for economic growth and improved service delivery. The consequences of rapid population growth without proper land use planning and building controls are devastating for the natural environment and the quality of life for residents.

In its 2019 -2023 development plan, the Freetown City Council aimed to address various challenges through Transform Freetown eleven priority sectors, including environmental management, revenue mobilization, education, and sanitation. Together, the Council, its residents, and a group of technical experts identified 19 targets and 37 initiatives to be implemented. A wide range of projects were initiated, including setting up waste management micro-enterprises, yearly flood mitigation interventions, establishing early learning centers for children of market women in two markets, and launching the Freetown Fashion Design and Creative Arts Network.

The Transform Freetown—Transforming Lives Plan (Transforming Lives, for short) is Freetown City Council’s development plan for 2024 – 2028. It builds on the progress made during the previous five years of the Transform Freetown initiative. Transforming Lives aims to be inclusive and data-driven in addressing Freetown’s challenges and creating job opportunities.

The plan focuses on four priority sectors:

• Climate change
• Heritage tourism
• Digital economy
• Human development

These priorities directly relate to the Sustainable Development Goals and align with the Government of Sierra Leone’s Medium-term National Development Plan. In May 2024, the Freetown City Council engaged extensively with the community to identify the interventions that need prioritization. Approximately 4,800 residents from 48 wards representing various stakeholders, including youth, elderly, persons with disabilities, women, and religious leaders, were involved in the engagement process. Feedback from the communities emphasized the need for improvements in critical public service delivery, including water access, health facilities, education and skills development, and waste management.

The Data Analyst will conduct research and evaluation to support the implementation of the Transforming Lives Plan. The Data Analyst will have a high degree of independence to assess project impacts, make improvement recommendations and provide feedback for projects initiated or continued as part of Transforming Lives.

• Manage impact assessment dashboard. Develop Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and metrics related to program objectives
• Ensure data collection and analysis. Collect and organize data, and track progress in an impact assessment dashboard.
• Establish evaluation methodologies. Apply appropriate evaluation methodologies, frameworks, and tools to assess program effectiveness and impact.
• Ensure effective milestone reporting. Prepare regular milestone reports to communicate progress, achievements, and challenges of programs to various internal and external stakeholders
• Promote stakeholder collaboration. Collaborate with internal teams, external partners, and program participants to gather feedback and insights for evaluation purposes
• Contribute to knowledge management and information sharing
• The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

This position reports to the Advisor, cities and local governments, UN SDG Action Campaign, UNDP Executive Office. The Analyst will be based at the Freetown City Council, under the National Implementation Modality, and will directly support the Mayor of Freetown and the City´s Chief Administrator.

2030 Agenda: Planet: Nature, Climate and Energy

• Climate Change Mitigation: sustainable Infrastructure.

Finance Budget management

• Ability to support budgetary aspects of the work planning process, drawing and management of team budgets.

Business Direction & Strategy: Strategic Thinking

• Ability to develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNDP’s objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, potential risks and opportunities; linking the vision to reality on the ground, and creating tangible solutions;
• Ability to leverage learning from a variety of sources to anticipate and respond to future trends; to demonstrate foresight in order to model what future developments and possible ways forward look like for UNDP.

Business Management: Evaluation

• Ability to make an independent judgement based on set criteria and benchmarks – Ability to anticipate client’s upcoming needs and concerns.

Business Direction & Strategy: Project management

• Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.

Business Direction & Strategy: Risk management

• Ability to identify and organize action around mitigating and proactively managing risks.

Business Direction & Strategy: Communication

• Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience;
• Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels.

• Fluency in English is required.
• Working knowledge of another UN language is desired.