Senior Urban Planning Expert

Background Information - Job-specific

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the United Nations programme working towards a better urban future. Its mission is to promote socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements development and the achievement of adequate shelter for all.

Since 2015, UN-Habitat Syria Programme has worked closely with Syrian cities and communities to develop an urban resilience and recovery approach. UN-Habitat supports local authorities and communities (1) to collect better urban data to reach a common understanding on urban recovery needs; (2) to jointly identify neighborhood and municipal area response priorities – from humanitarian, to resilience, to recovery; and (3) to design and implement housing, infrastructure and basic services, urban environment, and urban cultural heritage projects that directly respond to these local priorities.

UN-Habitat Syria currently has offices in Damascus, Homs and Aleppo and plans to open an office in Deir Azzor, The UN-Habitat Syria programme operationalizes projects across Syria.

Functional Responsibilities

The Expert will be responsible for carrying out the following functions and tasks:

1. Strategic urban policy guidance and leadership on urban recovery core subjects such as housing and informal settlements, infrastructure network and service, environment, culture heritage and urban economy to:

2. Formulation, updating or assessing progress, provision of input to UN strategic documents on housing and sustainable urban development and related matters.

Contribute to the development of a national urban vision connected to current post-crisis plans for Syria with a strong spatial and local operational dimension.

Support return and spatial scenarios integration.

Support the strengthening of UN-Habitat M&E tools (in connection with SDGs and the New Urban Agenda), and contribute to increasing its institutional absorption capacity, as well as community engagement, to support advocacy to enhance non-humanitarian funding in Syria.

Create an efficient cooperation framework with possible partners inside Syria and the Regional office.

Support the development of standardized tools and processes, that will enhance connectivity between cities, and strengthen financing mechanisms, to enable a transition from Municipal Recovery Plans to Local Development and Reconstruction Plans.

Contribute to the development of thematic analytical papers and guidance notes on key urban recovery priorities in the Syrian context.

Support the implementation of UN-Habitat projects with technical advice and guidance and support the design of new strategic projects and interventions.

Support formulation of project concepts and proposals.

Support UN-Habitat Syria’s City profiling and Participatory Recovery and Reconstruction Planning Programme including monitor outputs and related activities, such as:

Contribute to the development of advanced training packages for Municipalities/MoLAE, that seek to enhance capacities, define damage assessment and urban data collection modalities, urban analysis, prioritize and develop participatory recovery plans at city and neighborhood levels, as well as applying a local development approach in Syria, in line with Local Administration Law 107.

Contribute to the delivery of training workshops, together with the wider UN-Habitat team and consultants.

Introduce a robust mechanism for monitoring, and further evolving, City profiling and Participatory Recovery planning support at field level, together with Hub teams.

Contribute to the further development of UN-Habitat Syria initiatives targeting multi-level governance, including the urban system management/linkage between local and regional/governorate levels (governorate programme).

Support the analysis of, and document lessons from, city profiling and recovery planning and other strategic programmes, to generate strong baselines and advocacy messages on urban recovery targeting different stakeholders, including national authorities.

Guiding and supporting UN-Habitat programme /projects and activities related to urban and regional levels in Syria. Related activities will include:

Developing Municipal Recovery Plans and identifying of key projects that will participate in supporting and modernizing the: Housing policies and models, informal areas and related urban services, Culture Heritage/Open public spaces, environment, and master plans evaluation in Syria.

Development of urban strategic thematic layers for recovery (multi sectoral) at municipality and catchment/regional level. (

Advocacy, training, and capacity building of institutional staff on relevant planning subjects.

Carrying out technical, legal, and institutional studies linking planning process issues in frame to regional and urban development.

Supporting Habitat Team in efficient Projects Design in relation to planning outputs.

Conduct workshops and conferences, preparing design guidance and tools.

Engagement with national and international partners to support the development and implementation of urban polices that will support Urban Recovery. Related activities include:

Participation in coordination meetings with MoLAE, MoPWH, PICC, and relevant municipalities and other relevant government agencies.

Ensuring cooperation and linkages with the Academia environment.

Participation in technical and coordination meetings with UN and NGO partners

Provide ad hoc strategic advice to other UN-HABITAT country offices, and participate in relevant international fora and events, in line with core capacities of the post.

Preparation of proposals, working papers, concept notes, presentations and other types of documents as required.

Ensuring international missions when required by the Regional Office for Arab States or others, to:

Support strategic planning and the formulation of projects with a view to mobilizing resources.

implementing them, project, and program management.

Identify specific requests (policy, technical and informational assistance) from key governments and UN-Habitat partners and coordinate the response to this request with ROAS.

Perform other related duties that may be assigned.


Impact of Results

Under the overall guidance of the Head of UN-Habitat Syria Programme and the day-to-day supervision of the Deputy Head of Programme, the Senior Urban Planning Expert shall support the development and expansion of the Urban Recovery Framework approach within UNCT in Syria. The Expert shall supervise the inception, preparation, implementation, and monitoring of the agency's Urban Planning activities in Syria.

Competencies
Develops and implements sustainable business strategies, thinks long term and externally in order to positively shape the organization. Anticipates and perceives the impact and implications of future decisions and activities on other parts of the organization.(for levels IICA-2, IICA-3, LICA Specialist- 10, LICA Specialist-11, NOC, NOD, P3, P4 and above) Treats all individuals with respect; responds sensitively to differences and encourages others to do the same. Upholds organizational and ethical norms. Maintains high standards of trustworthiness. Role model for diversity and inclusion.
Acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates and supports the development of others. For people managers only: Acts as positive leadership role model, motivates, directs and inspires others to succeed, utilizing appropriate leadership styles. Demonstrates understanding of the impact of own role on all partners and always puts the end beneficiary first. Builds and maintains strong external relationships and is a competent partner for others (if relevant to the role). Efficiently establishes an appropriate course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a goal. Actions lead to total task accomplishment through concern for quality in all areas. Sees opportunities and takes the initiative to act on them. Understands that responsible use of resources maximizes our impact on our beneficiaries. Open to change and flexible in a fast paced environment. Effectively adapts own approach to suit changing circumstances or requirements. Reflects on experiences and modifies own behavior. Performance is consistent, even under pressure. Always pursues continuous improvements. Evaluates data and courses of action to reach logical, pragmatic decisions. Takes an unbiased, rational approach with calculated risks. Applies innovation and creativity to problem-solving. Expresses ideas or facts in a clear, concise and open manner. Communication indicates a consideration for the feelings and needs of others. Actively listens and proactively shares knowledge. Handles conflict effectively, by overcoming differences of opinion and finding common ground. Education/Experience/Language requirements

Education: Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in architecture or urban planning.

A first-level university degree with 2 additional years of relevant experience may be considered in lieu of an advanced degree.

Experience in providing strategic urban policy advice and programme design in Syria is required.

Experience in designing capacity building programmes on the national level related to urban issues for government, international organizations, and professional institutions is desired.

Expert knowledge of the Syrian institutional planning structure including housing, land administration, urban planning, and administrative regulations is desired Language Requirements: Fluency in written and spoken English and Arabic. Working knowledge of other UN language is desired.

Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce.

Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions

For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post.

For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses ( they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here.

All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.