Housing and Urban Development Specialist

We improve lives

The IDB Group is a community of diverse, versatile, and passionate people who come together on a journey to improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our people find purpose and do what they love in an inclusive, collaborative, and rewarding environment.

About this position

We are looking for an energetic, collaborative, and highly motivated housing and urban development specialist in Ecuador. As housing and urban development specialist you will bring international knowledge in the areas of housing policy, housing finance, and informal settlements, and apply your experience to:

(i) assess housing and urban development policies, strategies, and programs to adopt best practices and be responsive to the clients’ needs,

(ii) support the formulation and supervision of lending/non-lending operations in housing by applying a high degree of autonomy,

(iii) advance the positioning of IDB as a knowledge bank in your sector of expertise, and

(iv) provide advice to the country team’s strategic dialogue on specific topics related to the sector.

You will work in the Housing and Urban Development Division (HUD), part of the Climate Change and Sustainable Development Sector (CSD). This team is responsible for providing strategic guidance and analytical and operational support to the institution and its clients in city planning, sustainable and resilient urban development, and housing.

What you’ll do

Contribute to IDB’s policy dialogue with public and private institutions, development partners, and other stakeholders involved in housing and urban development at the national and subnational level; identify constraints and needs for development in the sector and design and implement possible policy and institutional reforms in key sectoral areas.

· Contribute to developing country strategies and programs, identifying priority action lines in housing and urban development with a strong emphasis on innovation and thematic value addition, to be captured in sector assessments and country strategy documentation.

· Originate, prepare, process, implement, and evaluate lending operations, ensuring high-quality technical and operational structuring and oversight.

· Monitor and evaluate existing HUD operations and consultancies, ensure quality control of government-prepared documents. Conduct the technical review of procurement activities, provide technical support to the counterparts and Project Implementing Units, conduct field visits when required, and continuously maintain the dialogue with Executing Agencies.

· Conceptualize, prepare, process, implement, and evaluate technical assistance programs supporting operations, client support, and research and dissemination.

· Identify/assist new opportunities to apply innovation, co-develop pilots for testing hypotheses in partnership with IDB’s Cities Lab, IDB Lab, and other initiatives, and follow through findings, which might include scaling up or policy actions.

· Contribute to strategic networking with housing-related partners at the national and sub-national levels, as well as academia, civil society, and private sector-related entities.

· Develop or contribute to developing high-quality, relevant analytical, empirical studies and high-impact presentations that advance original thinking in emerging themes relating to housing and urban development in LAC, with a special focus on Ecuador and other Andean countries.

· Promote synergies with partner divisions and units across the IDB Group to propose and develop sustainable and innovative solutions with a cross-sector perspective to respond to client needs.

What you'll need

Education: Master's degree or equivalent in economics, finance, public policy or a related field, preferably with a specialization in housing.

Experience: At least 4 years of relevant professional and international experience in public sector housing policy, finance and project design and implementation is highly desirable.

Languages: Proficiency in Spanish and English, spoken and written, is required.

Requirements

· Citizenship: You are a citizen of one of our 48 member countries. We may offer assistance with relocation and visa applications for you and your eligible dependents.

· Consanguinity: You have no family members (up to the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity, including spouse) working at the IDB, IDB Invest, or IDB Lab

Type of contract and duration

International staff contract, 36 months initially, renewable upon mutual agreement.

What we offer

The IDB Group provides benefits that respond to the different needs and moments of an employee’s life. These benefits include:

-A competitive compensation package, including an annual base salary expressed on a net-of-tax basis.

-Leaves and vacations: 24 days of paid time off + 8 personal days + sick leave + gender-neutral parental leave.

-Health Insurance: IDB Group provides employees and eligible dependents with a robust medical benefits program that covers medical, dental, vision, preventive care, and prescription drugs.

-Pension plan: defined benefit pension plan that provides financial security and support employees in planning for their future.

-We offer assistance with relocation and visa applications for you and your family when it applies.

-Hybrid and flexible work schedules.

-Health and well-being: Access to our Health Services Center that provides preventive care and health education for employees.

-Development support: We offer tools to boost your professional profile, such as mentoring, 1:1 professional counseling, training and learning opportunities, language classes, mobility options, among others.

-Other perks: Lactation Room, Daycare Center, Gym, Bike Racks, Parking, Spouse Career Program, and others.

Our culture

At the IDB, we work so everyone brings their best and authentic selves to work while finding their purpose. Our people consistently strive for excellence, and we recognize and celebrate the impact of their contributions.
In our efforts to drive innovation, we intentionally include all voices, cultivate a sense of belonging and champion fairness. We welcome individuals from underrepresented groups to join us and share their unique perspectives.
We ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to participate in the job interview process. If you require an accommodation to complete this application, please email us at accommodations@iadb.org.

Our Human Resources Team carefully reviews every application.