Urban Planning Expert NGO Job UN-Habitat

Project Management Jobs, UN-Habitat Jobs.

Responsibilites

Under the supervision of Head of Office in South Africa in close coordination with the Head of Sub-Regional Hub for Southern Africa, The Urban Planning Expert will be responsible for the following:

Policy Development and Substantive Support

• Provide technical assistance and policy recommendations to national/local governments and other stakeholders on matters related to urban planning and sustainable urban development.
• Develop urban development frameworks and technical guidelines related to urban/spatial planning, integrating principles and measures of sustainable, inclusive and resilient urbanization.
• Support municipalities in the development, updating and implementation of strategic spatial plans.
• Support localization of SDGs (especially SDG11), New Urban Agenda and other national/regional/international norms and frameworks through integrated planning approaches to enable resilient, inclusive and sustainable action.
• Assist in the development and review of Voluntary Local Reviews and Voluntary National Reviews Data and Analysis
• Support analysis on urbanization, dynamics between cities (primary cities, secondary cities) and urban-rural continuum, among others, to inform development policies and decision-making.
• Support municipalities in developing spatial profiling.
• Support the establishment and functioning of the integrated national Urban Observatory with data node/centres in the metropolitan cities and municipalities, to strengthen evidence-based approaches in urban planning

Capacity Building and Technical Support

• Provide training and capacity building for municipal urban planners and technical personnel on evidence-based and integrated planning and related methodologies including spatial profiling, territorial analysis, assessment, mapping, development of spatial development plans / master plans, participatory planning, among others.
• Provide capacity building, technical assistance and knowledge transfer on urban planning methodologies for disaster risk reduction/management, climate action, urban resilience.
• Support coordination among relevant departments and sectorial policies to enhance linkage of planning to investment programmes to inform investment decisions.
• Provide technical assistance to municipalities in implementing priority spatial planning interventions including implementation of climate-adaptive measures and informal settlement upgrading.

Others

• Support the overall implementation and coordination of UN-Habitat’s programmes in South Africa, ensuring alignment with national urban development priorities.
• Assist partnership development, and stakeholder engagement for UN-Habitat South Africa in close consultation with the Head of Country Office.
• Contribute to research, publications, and policy papers related to climate-resilient urban development and other thematic areas under the UN-Habitat mandate.
• Support reporting, monitoring, and evaluation of UN-Habitat South Africa Programme activities, ensuring timely submission of reports to UN-Habitat headquarters and donor agencies.
• Contribute to the development concept notes and project proposals
• Coordinate with other thematic experts (urban resilience, housing and human settlements, GIS, …) in work planning to ensure coherent support.
• Perform any other related duties as assigned by the Head of Office in South Africa and Head of the Sub-Regional Hub for Southern Africa

Qualifications

• Advanced University degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Urban Planning or related field is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
• A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in urban planning and related areas is required.
• Experience in implementing development programmes/projects, particularly in Africa, is desirable.
• Experience working with the United Nations system or an international organization is an asset.

How to Apply

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