Cultural Heritage Advisor

Background: VIEMCO

The Vienna Multi-Country Office (VIEMCO) was set up in August 2019 as a part of the UNOPS Europe & Central Asia Region (ECR). Specifically, VIEMCO aims to enable achievement of Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement through global programmes and tailored interventions in the Balkans, South Caucasus, and Central Asia, focused on:

• Infrastructure

• Procurement 

• Project Management (full service, back on track)

• HR and Transactional Services

• Grant Management 

• Technical and Advisory Services

Background: Project

UNOPS, through ECR VIEMCO, is partnering with the Government of Albania and the European Union, as well as with the UN system, to facilitate the post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction of a large number of key cultural heritage sites, museums, and cultural hubs and to promote tourism and economic development of the sites. 

On 26 November 2019, Albania was hit by its most deadly earthquake in a century. The earthquake measured 6.4 on the Richter scale and caused significant casualties and property damage, resulting in 51 deaths, over 1000 injured, and nearly 14,000 people displaced. To measure and assess the economic damage, a Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) was conducted, estimating the total economic losses at nearly EUR 1Billion.  

The PDNA documented the destruction of public and private infrastructure. Of particular concern was the destruction of cultural heritage monuments and property, as 53 cultural heritage properties were significantly damaged by the earthquake. This project seeks to remediate the effect of the earthquake on Albania’s cultural heritage through the rehabilitation of monuments, as well as contribute to Albania’s socio-economic recovery through the construction and upgrade of these sites. It will be important also to support improvements in the capacity of institutions responsible for the management of these cultural monuments and sites to better accommodate tourism. A final outcome of the project is the effective communication of project results to the wider public and developing and implementing an advocacy platform resulting in better recognition of the important role of culture in the social and economic well-being of Albanian citizens.

Purpose and Scope of Assignment


Under the overall authority of the Senior Programme Manager and in close coordination with the Infrastructure Project Manager, the incumbent shall provide technical assistance, advice and supervisory management to the following activities:

• Conduct assessments of the existing cultural sites along with other experts, and provide recommendations for site selection based on project and client criteria for rehabilitation/ revitalization;

• Provide inputs into the design stage of each site, including approval of work scope and consideration to ensure all planned works meet necessary cultural heritage local and international standards;

• Conduct supervision of sites in coordination with UNOPS project engineering team to ensure all required heritage and restoration standards and good practices are being followed;

• Prepare management plans for each site to support the economic tourism benefits in coordination with the Ministry of Culture.
  
  

Education

• Advanced University degree (Master’s or equivalent) or higher in a heritage related field which may include conservation architecture, heritage management, civil engineering, archaeology is required.

Work Experience

• Proven experience (7 years) in preservation, management, promotion, design and development, reporting and monitoring of cultural heritage is required.

• Familiarity with budgeting and coordinating built heritage projects, including archaeological preventive screening/surveys/conservation and management, development of estimates and coordination of field personnel is highly desirable.

• In-depth understanding and knowledge of cultural heritage and World Heritage conservation desired.

• Experience of developing management plans for sites of culture and heritage for sustainable tourism is considered an advantage.

Language

• Fluency in English is  required. 

• Knowledge of Albanian language is considered an advantage.

Contract type: Regular, International Individual Contract Agreement (IICA)

Contract level: ICS-11 / IICA-3

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• 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 (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.