Urban Planning Associate

UN-Habitat’s Syria Country Programme has worked closely with Syrian cities and communities to develop an urban resilience and recovery approach. UN-Habitat supports local authorities and communities to collect better urban data to reach a common understanding of urban recovery needs; jointly identify neighborhood and municipal area response priorities, straddling humanitarian, resilience-building and recovery phases; and 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, Aleppo, and Deir Ezzor, operationalizing projects across the country.

UN-Habitat’s Aleppo hub is responsible for overseeing coordination, partnerships and project implementation in northern Syria. The hub supports recovery planning, rehabilitation of infrastructure, public spaces, housing and public buildings, cultural heritage preservation, strengthening Housing, Land and Property (HLP) rights, and capacity building of local authorities, among other activities.

UN-Habitat’s projects in Syria build on comprehensive multi-sectoral urban analysis and a participatory area-based approach that integrates key considerations such as cultural heritage, gender and social cohesion, among others. This process supports the identification of prioritized recovery interventions which, in turn, support a balanced and sustainable recovery of urban areas and create an enabling environment for returns of displaced populations. The success of the project portfolio builds on the diverse expertise, skills and experience of UN-Habitat’s team of urban specialists.

The purpose of this role is to strengthen UN-Habitat’s evidence-based, integrated support to urban recovery and development across northern Syria. The role will particularly focus on providing technical assistance to further integrate gender, cultural heritage, and multi-sectoral data analysis into the different phases of project development and delivery. The role will also support practical aspects of project implementation, such as workshop organization, technical design, and project coordination.

Under the daily supervision of the Area Urban Planning Expert in Aleppo, the Urban Planning Associate is expected to provide technical assistance and logistical support to implementation of a variety of projects. This includes:

• Data management: Assist in collecting, analyzing, verifying and organizing data for city- and neighborhood-level profiles, in coordination with technical teams and other stakeholders.

• Meeting documentation and workshop support: Assist in organizing technical meetings and consultative workshops, including preparing agendas, coordinating logistics, moderating sessions, and documenting and communicating outcomes.

• Urban profile and recovery plan development: Support in preparing written inputs to urban profiles and recovery plans for cities and neighborhoods across northern Syria, based on data, analysis, and engagement with stakeholders.

• Project coordination: Assisting project managers, as necessary, with budgeting, cost control, financial oversight, reporting, following up work plans, and recording minutes of meetings.

• Any other tasks as required by the supervisor.

Required: Secondary School Diploma or equivalent is required.

Desired: Bachelor’s degree in urban planning, architecture, or engineering is desirable and may replace some years of experience. 

Required: 

Minimum of six (6) years of progressive experience in supporting project management, urban planning, coordination, or less according to education level. 

Experience in supporting organization of community workshops.

Ability to work on Word and Excel.

Desired:

Professional experience with international organizations in supporting project management and urban planning. 

Experience in supporting cultural heritage preservation and/or restoration.

Ability to work on Photoshop and Illustrator Adobe programs.

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
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• 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. 
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• 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.