Pool of Capacity Building Senior Officers (Urban Development Strategic Planning) (two retainer positions), Multiple positions

The European Union for Local Development Programme - EU PRO Plus will contribute to more balanced socio-economic development in Serbia by enhancing territorial development management, supporting economic growth, and improving social infrastructure and social cohesion of 99 local self-governments in two regions: Šumadija and Western Serbia and South and Eastern Serbia. The European Union (EU) has allocated 30 million Euros through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) 2020 to fund the Programme which will be led by the Ministry of European Integration and implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) over a period of 36 months.

There are three results that the Programme will achieve in targeted municipalities:

• Result 1: Improved development planning and introduction of the Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI) concept

• Result 2: Enhanced economic growth 

• Result 3: Improved social infrastructure and social cohesion

While building on the momentum created by its three predecessors, the Programme also focuses on four cross cutting aspects: good governance, digitalization and innovations, environmental and climate change aspects and gender equality. In addition, EU PRO Plus will, through its activities, where relevant and feasible, strive to remedy some of the negative COVID-19 effects.

The direct beneficiaries of the EU PRO Plus are the Ministry of European Integration, 99 local self-governments, local administration structures, regional development agencies, other business support organisations, local SMEs, and civil society organisations (CSOs). The final beneficiaries are the inhabitants of 99 municipalities. 

All programme activities will be undertaken in partnership with the Government of Serbia, while respecting the national policies and priorities, in order to ensure national ownership and help develop national capacities. The EU PRO Plus is based on the National Priorities for International Assistance in the Republic of Serbia until 2025 (NAD), crucial for economic and social development and the EU integration process, while particularly contributing to preparation for the fulfilment of the requirements under Chapter 22 of the EU acquis - Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments.

Under the direct supervision of the Senior Officer for Capacity Building Sector and coordination of the Capacity Building Specialist for ISTD, the Capacity Building Senior Officers (Urban Development Strategic Planning) will be responsible for the provision of technical assistance to the Programme and respective LSGs in developing Sustainable Urban Development (SUD) strategies and designing and delivering activities aiming to support strategic planning process and preparation and implementation of projects derived from territorial strategies.

In order to support the introduction of the National Model for Integrated Sustainable Territorial Development (ISTD) and to enhance capacities of the regional and local level to introduce concepts of integrated territorial planning, the Programme is recruiting a pool of Capacity Building Senior Officers (Urban Development Strategic Planning) with specialised professional backgrounds. The Programme will form multiple teams from the pool to support interdisciplinary working groups in development of Sustainable Urban Development (SUD) strategies, for the territories previously selected through a transparent process. 

Therefore, the Capacity Building Senior Officers should be specialised in one or more of the following fields:

• Urban and spatial planning

• Sustainable Integrated urban development

• Strategic planning

• Project preparation and implementation

• Strategic Planning trainings preparation and delivery 

More specifically, the Capacity Building Senior Officer (Urban Development Strategic Planning) will undertake the following activities/ responsibilities:

• Contribute to development of the methodology for the establishment of Sustainable Urban Development (SUD) Strategies 

• Promote and present methodology for SUD strategies to the stakeholders within selected territories and other relevant regional and national stakeholders

• Coordinate and guide the work of assigned team members for development of particular SUD strategy

• Guide the strategic planning processes and facilitate work of working groups for development of SUD strategies 

• Review and revise material and parts of the SUD strategies prepared by the working group, and finalise draft SUD strategies as assigned 

• Lead the preparation and deliver trainings related to sustainable and integrated urban development and strategic planning

• Lead the identification of priority projects derived from priority areas of intervention within SUD strategies

• Provide on the job support to the awarded territories/grantees during implementation of integrated pilot projects

• Contribute to identification and sharing of Programme’s lessons learned and best practices in the area of SUD

• Collaboration with other teams engaged on development of SUD strategies and harmonization and standardisation of products

• Produce monthly progress reports, training evaluation reports and additional reports on the progress of activities on as needed basis

• Perform other duties as may be reasonably required and in line with the incumbent’s scope of services above.

Education 

• Master Degree in Urban/Municipal/Spatial Planning, Urban Development, Architecture or related field is required. A Bachelor's degree with two  additional years of relevant experience may be considered in lieu of the master’s degree.

Work Experience 

• Minimum two years of experience in strategic planning and/or urban/spatial planning conducted in participatory manner is required 

• Experience in use of graphic tools for preparation and design of thematics maps is required  

• Experience in working under the framework of EU Cohesion Policy, EU negotiation process and relevant national documents and Laws is an asset

Language Skills 

• Fluency in Serbian and English languages is required

Driving license 

• Driving license and ability to travel independently is asset

• 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.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.