International Urban Planning Expert at UN-Habitat

Duties and Responsibilities

• The International Urban Planning Expert will represent UN-Habitat and interact with all the stakeholders of the project. Therefore he/she will be appointed on the basis of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.
• The incumbent will work under the overall supervision of the Head of UN-Habitat’s Country Office in Baku, Azerbaijan, and the Head of the Urban Lab, Nairobi, Kenya. Further, the International Urban Planning Expert will work closely and on daily basis with the urban planning team, the designated technical lead, supported by a Coordinator, in close coordination with the urban planning team of the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture (SCUPA) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the State Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan for Affairs of Refugees and IDPs, and the local authorities of East Zangezur. The incumbent is expected to fulfill the following general duties and responsibilities:
• Undertake reviews and assessments on relevant policies and strategies related to urban planning in general and the reconstruction of the Eastern Zangezur Economic region specifically, and document findings in short briefing reports to inform the urban planning activities; - Lead and coordinate the technical urban planning team in the preparation of urban planning proposals for needed housing units, public facilities, services, commerce and basic infrastructure in the selected territories and areas, including provision of technical/sectoral backstopping;
• Liaise, coordinate and collaborate with institutional and community stakeholders, thematic experts, and other partners in preparation of urban plans for select territories and areas;
• Advise and work collaboratively in analyzing, collecting, compiling and interpreting data to guide the development of contextually-specific and culturally appropriate strategies, plans and interventions;
• Provide quality assurance of draft and final outputs of the project; - Ensure the smooth coordination of implementing partners and local experts as needed; - Draft concept papers, presentations / slides and short progress reports on implementation of urban planning activities, for documentation, knowledge management, advocacy and outreach.
• Develop models for assessment and quality assurance of urban plans, as part of knowledge management, dissemination and outreach. - Develop visually enticing graphics to support analysis, diagnosis and proposals, such as maps, diagrams and sketches.
• Develop, organize and deliver participatory, multi-stakeholder processes tailored for stakeholders within the project; -Planning and delivery of capacity building interventions to be integrated in the urban planning process; deliver visual presentations where required.

Qualifications/special skills

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Architecture, Urban Development, Urban Planning and Design. A first-level university degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• At least 5 years of relevant work experience in the field of urban development and planning and design (and/or related fields) with direct proven experience of programme/project management is required
• Direct proven experience of urban planning projects/processes on a territorial and/or local level, in combination with e.g. housing, IDPs, urban resilience, mobility, project finance, and/or data systems is required.
• Proven experience in software for urban planning, e.g. AutoCAD, GIS, data analysis, visualization and production of maps is required. - Good hand drawing/sketching is required - Understanding of and experience from managing statistical urban data is an asset;
• Experience working in the public sector, e.g. local governments is considered an asset;
• Experience from the country or from other urban crisis/post-crisis contexts is an asset;
• Experience from coordinating implementing partners / private sector companies is an asset;
• Experience working on social change projects is an asset;
• Reading, designing and delivering capacity building processes is an asset;
• Working knowledge and understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (and their monitoring/evaluation) and of the New Urban Agenda is an asset; - Working experience with international development agencies and in particular the United Nations is an asset.