Informal Settlements Urban Planning Senior Consultant

Informal Settlements Urban Planning Senior Consultant

Job Opening ID: 287263

Department/Office: United Nations Human Settlements Programme

Duty Station: DAMASCUS

Job Level: CON

Category: Affiliate Personnel – Consultants/Individual Contractors

Job Family: HST

Recruitment Type: Consultant

Posting Period Start: 2026-10-30T04:00:00.000Z

Posting Period End: 2026-11-09T04:59:59.000Z

Language: EN

Result of Service

Through this assignment, a comprehensive understanding of the selected informal area in Aleppo (Karm Al-Da'da'a and Al-Sukkari) will be established, covering its urban, housing, infrastructure, and socio-economic characteristics. The consultant will identify the key legal, planning, and development constraints affecting the area and evaluate opportunities for sustainable improvement. Based on detailed urban and legal analyses, feasible upgrading models will be developed and assessed to support informed decision-making. The service will culminate in practical and evidence-based recommendations, supported by a housing profile and an actionable framework to guide future interventions, investments, and urban development initiatives in the targeted area.

Work Location

Syria

Expected duration

5 months

Duties and Responsibilities

Background: The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the United Nations programme working towards a better urban future. Its mission is to promote socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements development and the achievement of adequate shelter for all. Since 2015, UN-Habitat Syria Programme has worked closely with Syrian cities and communities to develop an urban resilience and recovery approach. UN-Habitat supports local authorities and communities (1) to collect better urban data to reach a common understanding on urban recovery needs; (2) to jointly identify neighborhood and municipal area response priorities – from humanitarian to resilience, to recovery; and (3) to design and implement housing, infrastructure and basic services, urban environment, and urban cultural heritage projects that directly respond to these local priorities. UN-Habitat Syria currently has offices in Damascus, Homs, Aleppo, and Deir Ezzor. The UN- Habitat Syria program operationalizes projects across Syria. UN‑Habitat is implementing interlinked interventions for the protection of HLP rights and improvement of living conditions in formal and informal Settlements that have witnessed high damage and return. The target informal settlements are al Sukari and Karam Da’daa in Aleppo, Syria, with the aim of supporting early recovery, social cohesion, and sustainable urban development in conflict‑affected areas. The overall objective of the project is to support sustainable, inclusive, and resilient urban development in the informal settlements of Al Sukari and Karam Da’daa in Aleppo through the provision of specialized urban planning and advisory services aligned with the latest planning updates and the current Aleppo Master Plan. The project will generate evidence-based urban development solutions through comprehensive legal, spatial, and urban analyses, the assessment and development of appropriate upgrading models, and support to housing profiling activities. These interventions will strengthen planning and decision-making processes, improve living conditions in informal areas, and contribute to the long-term resilience, inclusiveness, and sustainability of urban recovery and development efforts in Aleppo. For additional information, please refer to the Urban Recovery Framework publication series on the UN-Habitat website https://unhabitat.org/urban-recovery-framework-publication-series. Duties and Responsibilities: The consultant will support UN-Habitat to provide specialized urban planning and advisory directives for informal areas of Karm Al-Da'daa and Al-Sukkari, as follows:

• Conduct a comprehensive urban analysis of Aleppo Master Plan and informal settlements, including the target areas of Karm Al-Da'daa and Al-Sukkari, covering land use, infrastructure, housing conditions, service provision, and other relevant urban development aspects.
• Identify key urban challenges and opportunities and propose priority interventions for informal settlements to support recovery, rehabilitation, and sustainable reconstruction.
• Undertake a legal and regulatory review covering land tenure, planning regulations, and urban development frameworks.
• Develop and assess urban upgrading models for Karm Al-Da'daa and Al-Sukkari, considering technical, social, economic, environmental, and institutional dimensions.
• Evaluate the feasibility, risks, and potential impacts of proposed upgrading scenarios and interventions.
• Prepare technical reports and planning documents summarizing analytical findings and proposed interventions.
• Develop evidence-based recommendations for the sustainable upgrading and development of the targeted areas.
• Provide technical advice and support to stakeholders and project teams to inform decision-making and guide future urban development initiatives. Supervision: The consultant will work under the overall guidance of the Head of UN-Habitat Syria Programme and daily collaboration with the Head of Urban advisory Unit and Aleppo Hub, in UN-Habitat Syria Office.

Qualifications/special skills

Academic qualifications: An advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent), in architecture, civil engineering or urban planning. A first level university degree in similar field in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in urban planning, development or control is required for MA holders.
• Proven experience in drafting or reviewing urban research, policy papers and/or planning documents in Syria is required.
• Proven experience working in urban governance systems at the local or national levels in Syria is desired.
• Experience working or collaborating with international organizations is desired.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position, English is required and Arabic is desired. The table below shows the minimum required level for each skill in these languages, according to the UN Language Framework (please consult https://languages.un.org for details).

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.