Junior Urban and Regional Planner at UN-Habitat

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this consultancy is to provide technical inputs on urban planning and design and to contribute to the development of a new generation of transformative projects in partner cities.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of FSCP LAB Head Quarters Coordinator, the overall supervision of the leader of Regional and Metropolitan Planning Unit and the Outcome 2 Activity Coordinator.. . She/he will mainly contribute to the implementation of the regional and territorial component in the FSCP activities by performing the following tasks:

• Support the FSCP Head Quarter LAB planning team in the development of the following tasks:
  • Drafting and integrating regional and national levels inputs for 17 city profiles.
  • Support to up to 1 regional;/national level demonstration project from a regional and metropolitan planning perspective
  • Support to up to 12 rapid planning studio workshops from an integrated city, region and national policy and planning perspective
  • Undertake review regional and city plans, strategies and reports to ensure that regional and national dimensions are adequately covered and interlinked;

1. Review of proposals and design prepared by local planners for various pilot cities.
2. Develop critical analysis of existing planning documents and instruments.
3. Provide inputs to guide or facilitate the delivery of relevant urban legislation reviews and financial mechanism in view of plan implementation and planning processes support.
4. Develop and organize participatory, multi-stakeholder processes tailor made for the projects in a specific context.

• Take eventually part in field missions in collaboration with UN-Habitat’s regional and country offices.
• Participate in UN-Habitat missions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and attend other relevant meetings and conferences.
• Support the UN-Habitat Office in Riyadh and the Project Steering Committee in the urban and territorial planning activities related to the FSCP.

1. Support the Integrated Rapid Planning Studio preparation and execution in 12 cities from the regional and national perspectives.
2. Undertake other activities that would support the work of FSCP

EXPECTED OUTPUT

The consultancy will focus on enhancing the regional and national levels planning in developing 17 city profiles and the demonstration project through different methodological approaches.

4 types of outputs are expected:
1 Demonstration project at regional or national level

5 Concept Plans

• Draft sections relevant for urban regional and territorial planning in the City Profiles
• Support to HQ Lab coordinator in the integration of different teams’ inputs
• Preparations and follow up for validation workshops

12 Rapid Planning Studios (3 in 2017)

• Preparations and follow up for RPS workshops at the city-region or regional scale

17 City Profiles (8 in 2017)

• Draft integrated city profiles (integrating inputs received at all planning levels and from different teams including economy, legal, CPI in addition to planning)
• Develop policy recommendations for improving planning and design

Draft and review sections relevant for regional and territorial planning in the Table of Contents.
Output production will be documented regularly through interim reports covering the tasks above and one final report, summarizing the work done and presenting all outputs in electronic and hard copy format. Daily presence in UN-Habitat offices is expected.

Required skills:

• Professionalism: Knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts and approaches relevant to urban planning and design. Strong analysis of urban form, urban systems, underlying social, legal and financial mechanisms and the political context. Ability to develop strong graphic materials (concept plans, diagrams, street sections) as well as substantive reports. Knowledge of urban development issues. Ability to observe deadlines and achieve set goals. Ability to work and deliver under pressure.
• Communication: Excellent written and oral presentation skills in English. Excellent capacity to produce and manipulate graphic documents and drawings. Good presentation skills. Ability to communicate complex interventions in a clear language and convincing narratives. Sketching capabilities to effectively communicate in workshop settings and teams.
• Teamwork: Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues to achieve agreed goals.
• Planning and Organizing: Ability to prioritize activities and assignments and to easily switch between different projects.
• Creativity: Strong conceptual thinking. Is not bound by current thinking or traditional approaches, takes calculated risks on new and unusual ideas; thinks “outside the box”, and offers new and different options to solve problems or meet client needs. Can easily develop clear plans in contexts with limited information and datasets. Finds ways to extract and combine data and information to create base maps. Is both able to reduce complexity as well as sensitive to specific urban form and the landscape.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education:
Minimum advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Urban or Regional Planning, or related field that is relevant for sustainable urban and regional development. Experience in neighbourhood scale planning will be considered an advantage. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience:
Between 2 to 5 years of experience in urban planning and design with direct proven experience in drawing and preparing plan graphical material using computer assisted design tools. Strong writing and text editing skills in English required. Good hand drawing / sketching of macro-scale plans is an advantage. The candidate has a portfolio of plans and designs of which he/she is the author.
Urban and Regional planning experience in Arab countries and/or planning in contexts of water scarcity and extreme weather conditions will be an advantage.
Technical Knowledge:

• Urban planning contemporary approaches.
• Excellent writing skills, in English are required.
• Knowledge of Arabic is an advantage
• Research and analytical skills combined with good drafting and drawing skills
• Ability to manipulate graphic material and production of complex urban planning documents
• Able to work independently and as part of team and deliver on time under pressure.

Language Skills
For this consultancy, fluency in oral and written English is required. Although not a requirement, knowledge of Arabic will be an advantage.

REMUNERATION

Payments will be on outputs basis, subject to satisfactory delivery of agreed outputs and targets within the consultancy work plans. The rate is determined by functions performed and experience of the consultant. The fees will be paid as per agreement