TERMS OF REFERENCE

Issued on 15 November 2023

Functional title: Junior Urban Planning Assistant

Duty Station of Assignment: Prishtina/ Pristina and partner municipalities

Type of Contract: Individual Contract (Consultancy Assignment- IC)

Duration of Assignment:6 working months

Closing date for applications:22 November 2023

Background

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the lead United Nations agency for cities and human settlements. The agency is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all and sustainable development. UN- Habitat has been actively assisting Kosovo institutions in the field of governance, spatial planning and municipal administration since 1999. Currently UN-Habitat is implementing the Inclusive Development Programme (2016- 2021+) which aims to build municipal planning and management capacities, strengthen the social contract and social cohesion, and enhance coordination within a framework of inter-municipal cooperation and multi-level governance with a view to foster inclusive development and good governance in northern Kosovo.

Within the Inclusive Development Programme, UN-Habitat has supported activities addressing cultural heritage issues from the spatial planning perspective in Municipal Development plans and Zoning Maps and have designed and implemented capital projects that have enhanced the cultural heritage values of respective places.

Building on its knowledge, tools and expertise, the UN-Habitat Kosovo Office provides at the demand of partners, strategic and comprehensive package of supporting. In that perspective, UN-Habitat Kosovo Office and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports in Kosovo are collaborating on a list of activities relating to cultural heritage aiming to promote sustainable spatial development of Cultural heritage sites through integrated conservation, participatory processes and innovative planning and design methods used to balance interests and needs.

Purpose

The general purpose of the post is to assist the UN-Habitat team working in the day-to-day work on activities within the programme, with focus on Spatial Planning and Cultural Heritage. Specifically, the Junior Assistant will be involved in data collection and processing, preparing the technical drawings, preparing maps and visualizations, research.

Skill Sets Required    

Selected skills will be preferred, among which: ability to collect, record and interpret data; architecture; spatial and urban planning; cultural heritage; and other related skills.

Main tasks

Directly reporting to the Task Manager/ Senior Spatial Urban Planner, the junior assistant will be responsible for the following deliverables:

1. Provide support for (field) research, data collection and processing and, required mapping (Good knowledge of GIS applications is an advantage), and technical drawings.
2. Contribute to knowledge-management, communication and outreach activities of the programme, including writing posts and news for the website and social media, graphic design, etc.;
3. Provide logistical support for the organization of meeting, workshop, training and other events, including liaising with partners; and assist in the compilation of minutes from various meetings involving UN-Habitat Kosovo team;
4. Assist with translation and interpretation, both verbal and written, when required. Provide language quality checks of written materials.
5. Provide logistical and administrative support and perform any other functions and tasks which may be required by the nature of the programme’s activities.
6. Provide monthly progress reports to the UN-Habitat Kosovo Head of Office and inputs to progress reports for the Prishtina/ Pristina office; and
7. Perform any other functions and tasks which may be required by the nature of the projects’ activities.

Deliverables and Schedule

For more information on deliverables, please refer to the document.

Duty Station

The work shall be performed from the UN-Habitat Prishtina/ Pristina Office. Transport to and from work will be the intern’s responsibility. Transport to partner municipalities will be covered by the programme.

Competencies

Professionalism: Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; – Ability to conduct data collection using various methods; – Conceptual analytical and evaluative skills to conduct independent research and analysis, including familiarity with and experience in the use of various research sources, among which electronic sources on the internet, intranet and other databases; – Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results.

Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; – Solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; – Is willing to learn from others; – Places team agenda before personal agenda; – Supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position.

Planning & Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; – Identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; – Allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; -Uses time efficiently.

Communication: Excellent and effective written and oral skills; ability to persuade people with varying points of view and to present information in a concise and accurate manner, ability to clearly communicate links between the organizations.

Qualifications and requirements

Education and experience

• Candidate shall have University degree (Bachelor or Master) in architecture, spatial planning, cultural heritage, or related fields.

Language

• English is the working language of UN-Habitat Kosovo Office; very good command of English is required – reading, writing and speaking; and
• Fluency (reading, writing and speaking) of at least one local language of Kosovo is advantage.

Others

• Good analytical, solution defining, creative and interpersonal skills;
• Knowledge and understanding of innovative participatory planning and urban design approaches;
• Knowledge of online communication, networking and collaboration tools;
• Capable of working in a team and undertaking initiative to ensure smooth relations and open communication within the team and with partners, incl. local level, and other entities, etc.;
• Experience working with UN system is an advantage; and
• Excellent digital skills are required, incl. Microsoft Office, computer-aided design (CAD) i.e. AutoCAD or ArchiCAD
• Valid driving license and the ability to obtain a UN driver’s license.
• Special considerations
• The candidate should be:
• Willing to take responsibility, act professionally at all times, and make sure tasks are fully completed;
• Be willing to work across the entire partner stakeholder’s geographical area, including temporary placements at other field offices;
• Sensitive to gender issues and issues of concern to vulnerable groups;
• Flexible and prepared to pursue goals through teamwork;
• Able to meet deadlines for reporting and all project work;
• Express enthusiasm and willingness to continue learning new skills and share experiences with other members of the team;
• Able to adapt to a multi-ethnic environment.

HOW TO APPLY

Interested candidates must submit an email quoting the post title and the duty station to the email address:

recruitment@unhabitat-kosovo.org

with the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

Cover letter explaining why they are the most suitable for the work

Completion of a CV in P11 Form which can be downloaded at:

http://unhabitat-kosovo.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/p11_form.doc

The CV shall include information on the past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references.

Financial Proposal. The offeror’s letter including form for the financial proposal can be downloaded at:

http://unhabitat-kosovo.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Financial_proposal_IC.docx

Copy of Diplomas and copy of Passport or National ID Card.

Deadline for applications: 22 November 2023

UN-Habitat does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process. If you have any questions concerning persons or companies claiming to be recruiting on behalf of these offices and requesting the payment of a fee, please contact: recruitment@unon.org