All Things Urban

UN-Habitat supports countries to implement the urban dimensions of the sustainable development agenda to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. We focus on four main domains of change: Reduced spatial inequality and poverty in communities across the urban-rural continuum; enhanced shared prosperity for cities and regions; strengthened climate action and improved urban environment; and effective urban crises prevention and response.

The Urban Planning and Design Branch supports countries in developing urban planning methods and systems that address current urbanization challenges. The Branch consists of three units: The City Planning, Extension and Design Unit (CPEDU), the Regional and Metropolitan Planning Unit (RMPU) and the Climate Change Planning Unit (CCPU). The vacancy in CPEDU is promoting urban planning approaches to address rapid urban growth and urban transformation processes in countries with rapid urbanization and where cities face a backlog of services and housing. CPEDU of UN-Habitat has various planning projects to support National Government and Local Authorities to achieve Sustainable Urban Development in various countries. UN-Habitat has also been providing capacity building support to different stakeholders including elected officials, technical officers and community leaders promoting urban planning as a tool to manage urban development in developing countries. Furthermore, for the past few years, CPEDU has been enlarging its portfolio in the humanitarian- development area supporting the new ways of approach in humanitarian contents in collaboration with different UN agencies such as UNHCR.

Daily responsibilities will depend on the individual's background; the intern's assigned office as well as the internship period. Under the Supervision of Programme Officer, the intern will: - Support the development of the normative outputs for various planning project by assisting in analyzing planning projects, contributing to preparation of documents, preparation of presentations and other dissemination materials. - Assist in the definition and implementation of different planning project outputs, such as urban planning methodology review, development of visuals, tools, documentation and evaluation reports. - Contribute to proposing and analyzing design options in the context of a spatial planning project; - Contribute to the organization of the preparation of field missions and scoping missions. - Perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Competencies Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively. Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately. Asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication. Tailors language, tone, style and format to match the audience. Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed. Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals. Solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others. Places team agenda before personal agenda. Supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position. Shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings. Client orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view. Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect. Identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions. Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems. Keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects. Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client. Education Applicants must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements: a. Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher). b. Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree program (minimum Bachelor's level or equivalent). c. Have graduated with a university degree and, if selected, must commence the internship within a one-year period of graduation. Be computer literate in standard software applications. Have demonstrated keen interest in the work of the United Nations and have a personal commitment to the ideals of the Charter. Have a demonstrated ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, which include willingness to try and understand and be tolerant of differing opinions and views. Preferred Areas of Studies: Project Management, Social Science, Urban/Regional Planning or other related fields. Work Experience: Applicants are not required to have professional work experience for participation in the programme. Languages: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this internship, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another UN Language is desirable.

The UN-Habitat Urban Design Assistant internship is for 6 months. The Internship is UNPAID and full-time. Interns work five days per week (35 hours) under the supervision of a staff member in the department or office to which they are assigned.

This job is available for international candidates.