Capacity Building Senior Officer

Together, we build the future UNOPS – an operational arm of the United Nations – supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by successfully implementing its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve peace and sustainable development. We are proud of our people. The UNOPS family brings together approximately 160 nationalities, represented by over 5,000 UNOPS personnel as well as some 7,800 personnel recruited on behalf of our partners. Spread across 80 countries, our workforce is rich in diversity and culture – with inclusion at its core. We understand the importance of balancing professional and personal demands and offer several flexible working options. Explore what we offer: https://bit.ly/3fpqivR

This home-based retainer position, Capacity Building Senior Officers (Integrated Territorial Development), is an excellent opportunity to contribute to integrated territorial development and capacity building within the Western Balkans, working directly with regional and local stakeholders to implement EU Cohesion Policy principles. The position offers a chance to apply specialized expertise in urban and spatial planning, strategic planning, and project preparation, while enhancing your skills in facilitation, training, and report writing within a dynamic international development environment.

The EU Support to Integrated Territorial Development – EU INTEGRA strengthens governance and fosters balanced socio-economic development in Serbia through an integrated territorial development approach. Funded by the European Union (EU) through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) 2024, the Programme is implemented under the leadership of the Ministry of European Integration (MEI), with two implementing partners: the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).

Targeting 144 local self-governments (LSGs) and regional development agencies (RDAs) across Šumadija and Western Serbia, Southern and Eastern Serbia, and Vojvodina, the Programme promotes the development and implementation of integrated projects through capacity building, technical assistance, and support for the use of EU territorial instruments such as Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI).

Through its two complementary components, EU INTEGRA aims to modernise public administration, enhance strategic planning, and prepare Serbia’s institutions for efficient use of future EU structural funds. The development of new territorial strategies, in line with EU Cohesion Policy 2021–2027 and Serbia’s Sustainable Urban Development Strategy until 2030, represents a key milestone in this process.

In order to support place based approach and to enhance capacities of the regional and local level to apply integrated territorial development, the Programme is recruiting Capacity Building Senior Officers (Integrated Territorial Development) with specialised professional backgrounds. The Programme will strengthen current teams by the pool of additional experts to support interdisciplinary working groups in development of territorial 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
• Integrated territorial development
• Strategic planning
• Project identification and preparation
• Capacity building
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Analytical Skills, Capacity Building, Comprehensive Planning, Facilitation, Project Management, Report Writing, Strategic Planning, Training Delivery, Urban Design

Competencies

Education Requirements

Required: 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.

Experience Requirements

Required:

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

Desired:

• Experience in use of graphic tools for preparation and design of thematics maps is an asset
• Experience in working under the framework of EU Cohesion Policy, EU negotiation process and relevant national documents and Laws is an asse

Language Requirements

English, Serbian

Additional Information

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.
• Please note that UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. 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. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers.
• 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.