Urban Planner and Designer - Intern (International)

Organizational context:

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world.  Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement, and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors, and United Nations organizations.  With over 6,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical, and management knowledge they need, where they need it. By implementing around 1,000 projects for our partners at any given time, UNOPS makes significant contributions to results on the ground, often in the most challenging environments.

UNOPS Nepal Context: 

Since 2015, UNOPS has engaged closely with the Government of Nepal and several development partners in development efforts of the Government of Nepal including the modernization of the Nepal Police and the post-earthquake assessment of damaged buildings and enrollment of beneficiaries into housing grant schemes. UNOPS has helped to improve policing services. It has supported homeowners engaged in the reconstruction process, retrofitting damaged houses, and reconstruction of disability-friendly schools. It has also delivered essential equipment to support COVID-19 response efforts. The functional objective of UNOPS Nepal is to deliver its projects efficiently and effectively in alignment with government priorities following UNOPS rules and regulations. This is to drive forward the outcomes sought by the clients and funding partners and contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while ensuring gender, diversity, and inclusion are mainstreamed in all its work for the people of Nepal. 

Project Information: 

Cities in Nepal are growing rapidly, with a significant population moving to urban areas in search of better opportunities. This growth and the increasing climate vulnerability are leading to significant challenges, including the need for inclusive and resilient public infrastructures and urban services. The assignment assists in addressing these challenges by raising the demand for gender-responsive climate-resilient public open spaces in municipalities, piloting public urban infrastructure (with a focus on public open spaces), enhancing the urban planning and design capacity of the selected municipalities, and recommending policy reforms. The team working on this project is working closely with the Federal Government, Local Governments, communities, and knowledge institutions of Nepal to integrate inclusive and resilient urban planning and design into municipal infrastructure processes. 

Interns are provided the opportunity to be equal members and are offered a good mix of support work and meaningful work experience.

Interns that are not receiving funding through an internship programme external to UNOPS, or from a specific institution, are entitled to receive from UNOPS a monthly stipend designed to contribute to the cost of daily expenditures.

The Urban Planner / Designer Intern will work under the direct supervision of the UNOPS Project Manager. She/he will contribute to the Cities 4 Women project, by performing the following tasks:

• Do desk research, field surveys, and organization of expert consultations to prepare urban profiles and other knowledge products; 

• Prepare maps, charts, and reports and support the analysis;

• Documents inspiring practices on public open spaces and relevant project benchmarks; 

• Reports on meetings, panel sessions, conferences, etc.;

• Assists inorganizing and  conducting stakeholder and public consultations, and urban design workshops related to the project; 

• Support in project development, formulation, writing and publishing related to urban issues, especially on participatory planning process, participatory design of public open spaces, etc. 

• Undertake other activities that would support the work of the project including communications and knowledge management. 

Continuous interaction with colleagues, exchange of information, seeking cooperation, resolving routine administrative and process problems, referring complex issues to supervisor with recommendations for the course of action.

 Training components and learning elements

• Project Management

• Evidence-Based Infrastructure Planning

• Geographic Information Systems Mapping (GIS)

Participation in missions or training courses

In addition to accessing UNOPS online training courses and tools, the Intern is encouraged to attend and participate at learning events organized by UNOPS and other UN agencies in Kathmandu, especially on gender issues, public open spaces, etc.   

• Should be enrolled in a university program such as Bachelor, Master, or Ph.D. (or the equivalent) in architecture or urban planning and design. Candidates who have graduated from a University programme within the last 3 years by the date of the application, will also be considered. 

• A focus on urban planning and the the design of public open spaces is highly desirable.

Language Skills

•    Fluency in English is required.    

Computer Literacy

• MS Office, Database, GIS, Adobe Suite, Design Rendering Software (Autocad, Revit, Sketchup); 

• GIS software(ESRI or similar) is an advantage;

• Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and others. 

Internship-related experiences

The internship is for 12 months with no possibility of extension and will provide opportunities for exposure to urban planning and design of secondary cities in Nepal, evidence-based infrastructure planning, project identification, and sustainability.  

Additional requirements

Priority would have students with experience in organizing and/or participating in architecture and urban planning and design competitions, as well as those who have published written works on cities in journals, online platforms, etc. 

Contract type: Internship
Contract level: N/A
Contract duration:12 months. 

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions 

• 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 (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. For more information on a retainer contract here.

• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.