Urban Planning and Environmental Assessment expert

Volunteering Environment

Overview

Support the revision and development of a climate-resilient urban greening master plan.

You have:

• Minimum 7 years of professional experience in urban master planning, infrastructure feasibility, and environmental assessments
• Proven experience conducting Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and Social Impact Assessments (SIA)
• Experience in performing economic viability studies, including cost-benefit analysis (CBA)
• Previous involvement in similar assignments in post-conflict or fragile contexts
• Prior work experience in Iraq or the MENA region is an asset
• Technical proficiency in GIS, land use planning, and engineering or infrastructure design
• Strong knowledge of climate change adaptation and sustainability frameworks
• Familiarity with SDG alignment and climate finance mechanisms such as carbon credits
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
• Strong stakeholder engagement, facilitation, and coordination abilities
• Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills
• Accuracy and professionalism in document production and editing
• Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners
• Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel

Contract

This is a UNV International Expert contract. This kind of contract is known as International UN Volunteer. It is normally internationally recruited only. More about UNV International Expert contracts.

In collaboration with the Erbil Governorate Joint Coordination Centre (EJCC), UNDP is supporting the revision and development of a comprehensive, climate-resilient urban greening master plan aligned with the broader Erbil City Master Plan. The 2011 master plan requires updating to integrate updated technical, environmental, and socio-economic data, address sustainability imperatives, and improve feasibility for investment and implementation. The consultant will support the government’s technical team in revising the plan and conducting a multi-dimensional feasibility study to ensure climate finance eligibility and programmatic coherence. The engagement is key to enhancing environmental resilience, carbon sequestration, and socioeconomic benefits through informed design and execution.

Revision of the 2011 Masterplan and Current Situation Analysis • Review the existing master plan and validate gaps. • Conduct detailed site assessment (land use, ownership, infrastructure, hydrology, soil/topography, biodiversity). • Integrate updated socio-economic data. • Ensure climate change considerations and alignment with the Erbil City Masterplan. Multi-faceted Feasibility Study • Technical Feasibility: Assess irrigation systems, reforestation design, and plant species selection. • Economic Feasibility: Develop a cost-benefit analysis (CBA), explore income streams (carbon credits, eco-tourism), and identify funding gaps. • Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA): Preliminary EIA, air/soil quality analysis, and carbon sequestration estimates. • Social Impact Assessment (SIA): Analyse job creation, social benefits, and community engagement implications. Design Optimisation and Phasing • Collaborate with local experts for value engineering. • Develop phased implementation plan.

Proposal and Bill of Quantities (BOQ) Preparation • Prepare project proposal with clear Sustainable Development Goals (SDG alignment), climate finance eligibility, and implementation framework. • Develop sector-based Bill of Quantities (BOQs) covering land preparation, irrigation, planting, infrastructure, fencing, structures, supervision, and contingencies. • Provide pricing basis, cost disaggregation, and funder-friendly breakdowns.

• Accountability • Adaptability and flexibility • Creativity • Judgement and decision-making • Planning and organising • Professionalism • Self-management

• Minimum 7 years of professional experience in urban master planning, infrastructure feasibility, and environmental assessments • Proven experience conducting Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and Social Impact Assessments (SIA) • Experience in performing economic viability studies, including cost-benefit analysis (CBA) • Previous involvement in similar assignments in post-conflict or fragile contexts • Prior work experience in Iraq or the MENA region is an asset • Technical proficiency in GIS, land use planning, and engineering or infrastructure design • Strong knowledge of climate change adaptation and sustainability frameworks • Familiarity with SDG alignment and climate finance mechanisms such as carbon credits • Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English • Strong stakeholder engagement, facilitation, and coordination abilities • Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills. • Accuracy and professionalism in document production and editing. • Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for development. • Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel.

UN personnel in Iraq operate in a volatile security environment. In Erbil, personnel work in se-cured compound with limited access outside of the city, which usually can only be done with stringent clearances and depending on the destination, a military escort. Erbil is a non-family duty station and is classified as security risk moderate. UN personnel in Erbil live in Minimum Operational Security Standards (MOSS) compliant residences outside of the UN compound. International personnel operating in Iraq must take online security awareness in the field training prior to arrival in Iraq and undertake a mandatory Security Induction Awareness Training (SAIT) immediately upon arrival. The Rest and Recuperation (R&R) cycle in Erbil is 8 weeks, with the designated place of R&R being Amman, Jordan. Currently there are UN flights (UN-AMI and UNHAS) to and from Iraq, covering Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan. There are many international flights to Erbil, Baghdad and Basrah. As this is an international UN Volunteer expert assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. International UN Volunteers receive a volunteer living allowance to sustain a basic, adequate, and safe lifestyle. This allowance varies from one location to another depending on local living costs, but all International UN Volunteers experts in the same location receive the same allowance. Below is a summary of the Conditions of Service. Allowances The purpose of allowances for international UN Volunteers experts is to enable the international UN Volunteers to sustain a modest and secure standard of living at the duty station. The allowances are in no way to be understood as compensation, reward or salary in exchange for the volunteer work. Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA): All international UN Volunteers experts are entitled to a monthly volunteer living allowance of USD 4,569.93 The purpose of this allowance is to cover the basic living costs of the international UN Volunteer. The allowance is to ensure that the volunteer can sustain a basic, adequate and safe lifestyle. The monthly allowance rate is a fixed rate for the duty station as established by UNV headquarters. There are some ATMs operational in Erbil (Northern Iraq). The dominant currency in use in Iraq is USD. The Iraq dinar is used with an exchange rate of approximately USD 1 = 1,320 Ira-qi dinars. Market is mostly cash-based; both USD and Iraqi Dinar are widely accepted. Payments by credit cards are accepted in limited number of shops. UN personnel need to be culturally sensitive and adjust to the culture of the country.
You can check full entitlements at the duty station at https://app.unv.org/calculator. The complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos.”

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Potential interview questions

Added 11 months ago - Updated 11 months ago - Source: unv.org