National Urban Planning Assistant - Socio-Economic Analysis and Community Engagement

About the role

UN-Habitat's Country Office in Baku, Azerbaijan, is seeking a consultant for a six-month assignment to support the reconstruction of the Garabagh and East Zangezur Economic Regions after the war. The work supports the Regional Plan for the area, the preparation of urban plans and designs for settlements, and the implementation of the SDGs and the New Urban Agenda. The consultant works in Baku under the supervision of the Head of the Country Programme and the Head of the Urban Lab, reporting regularly to the technical lead of the Urban Lab team.

Key responsibilities

• Review and assess policies, strategies and norms related to urban planning and the reconstruction of the Garabagh and East Zangezur regions, and report findings in briefings.
• Support the urban planning team in preparing proposals for housing, public facilities, services, commerce and basic infrastructure, including socio-economic and user-needs inputs.
• Liaise with SCUPA's Department on Project Management in the Liberated Areas, the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs, the Special Representative of the President of the East Zangezur Economic Region, local partners and community stakeholders.
• Analyze, collect and interpret data to guide sustainable, context-specific strategies and plans, and research socio-economic aspects through surveys.
• Ensure quality assurance of draft and final outputs and contribute to the quality assessment tool for urban plans.
• Organize and run participatory planning and design workshops for communities and IDPs, and help facilitate in-country missions, meetings and site visits.
• Draft concept papers, presentations, progress reports, social media posts and visual materials such as maps and infographics.
• Contribute to capacity-building interventions and to monitoring, evaluation and learning of the project.

Required profile

• High school diploma; supplemental training in urban development, urban planning and design, human geography, sociology, economics or a related field.
• At least 4 years of relevant experience in urban development and planning, including direct experience in Azerbaijan and in housing, urban resilience, IDP relocation or project implementation; 2 years less for a first-level university degree.
• Proven experience in socio-economic aspects of urban planning and in socially sensitive, participatory contexts.
• Fluency in English and Azerbaijani, written and spoken; Russian is an asset.

Required skills

• Urban planning software such as AutoCAD and GIS; Microsoft Office tools; Adobe Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop for maps and visuals.
• Experience in working with public sector institutions and international development agencies, including the United Nations.
• Understanding of the SDGs and the New Urban Agenda is an asset.