Associate Urban Planning Expert at United Nations Human Settlements Programme

Job Description

Within this context, UN-Habitat through its Country Office and the Urban Lab will support SCUPA in the preparation of urban plans and designs for settlements in the region with the objectives of:
1) guiding an accelerated development towards sustainable, resilient, smart and inclusive urban areas;
2) demonstrating how international and national planning frameworks, principles and goals can be localized and translated into the built environment;
3) strengthening institutional capacities and enhancing participatory and inclusive planning processes for long-term socio-economic sustainability;
4) increasing technical capacities of the local/regional government officials to plan and implement sustainable, resilient, smart and inclusive urban development, and;
5) capturing and disseminating lessons learnt from planning processes toward a refined vision for the future sustainable urban development in Azerbaijan, and specifically its reconstructed areas.

The project builds upon three inter-linked areas of work and deliverables, namely:
1) development of master plans for two settlements, including data collection and diagnostic assessments to inform the preparation of plans, and with supporting sectoral and detailed plans and design solutions;
2) knowledge generation and exchange, and;
3) building capacity among urban actors in Azerbaijan. UN-Habitat’s Country Office and the Urban Lab is thus planning to engage an Azerbaijani Associate Urban Planning Expert to support the delivery and implementation of agreed interventions, in close collaboration with UN-Habitat’s Urban Lab team based in UN-Habitat’s Headquarters (HQ) and the local authorities. The consultant should have urban planning background with specialist expertise within e.g. urban resilience, environment/climate, mobility, GIS, land and properties, social/socio-economy or other related area and preferably experience in recovery and reconstruction contexts. The consultant will form part of the project planning team which will be composed of experts from the Urban Lab working remotely and undertaking missions to Azerbaijan. The team based in Baku, Azerbaijan, will, in addition to the local expert, be composed of an International Urban Planning Expert. Further, a local partner for the preparation of executive drawings will be appointed. Reporting and Communication The consultant will be hired and work under the overall supervision of the Head of UN-Habitat’s Country Office in Baku, Azerbaijan and the direct supervision by the International Urban Planner and the designated technical lead. The consultant will be based in Baku, Azerbaijan, and work closely with the team members and other partners.

Duties and Responsibilities The incumbent will work under the overall supervision of the Head of the UN-Habitat’s Country Office in Baku, Azerbaijan and the Head of the Urban Lab, Nairobi, Kenya. The incumbent will work in close collaboration with the international urban planning expert that is to be appointed, 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; – Coordinate with the technical urban planning team for needed housing units, public facilities, services, commerce and basic infrastructure in the selected territories and areas, including the provision of technical/sectoral backstopping; – Liaise, coordinate and collaborate with local stakeholders and other partners in preparation of urban plans for selected territories and areas;

– Collaborate with the technical team in coordination and liaison with local implementing partners, institutional and community stakeholders and thematic experts;
– Planning, organizing and delivery of consultation workshops, meetings and outreach events and activities; – Developing, organizing and delivering 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. – Translation in Azerbaijani and interpretation of technical urban planning documents, as needed.
– Collaborate with the UN-Habitat’s country office and the technical team on other matters as required.

Qualifications/special skills
Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Architecture, Urban Development, Urban Planning and Design is required. 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. Work Experience: At least 2 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 in Azerbaijan, 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 a strong asset; Good hand drawing/sketching is an asset; Understanding of 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 in coordinating implementing partners / private sector companies is an asset; Experience working on social change projects is an asset; Supporting the design and delivery of capacity building processes is an asset;