Senior Policy Advisor – Urban Recovery

Ukraine

Senior Policy Advisor – Urban Recovery

Organization

• UN Human Settlements Program

Posted 7 Nov 2025 Closing date 16 Nov 2025

Background

UN-Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable and resilient towns and cities. It is the focal point agency for all urbanization and human settlement matters within the UN system. UN-Habitat envisions well-planned, well-governed and efficient cities and towns, with adequate housing, infrastructure and universal access to employment and basic services such as water, energy, and sanitation. Responding to crisis and post-crisis context is part of UN-Habitat's mandate and strategic plan.

In Ukraine, UN-Habitat is supporting national and subnational governments in their recovery efforts, linking short term reconstruction needs to longer term resilience solutions. At local level, UN-Habitat provides support to recovery planning efforts of local governments, through its Urban Lab established in Kyiv. The programme also strives to increasing Ukrainian urban planning and design capacities, through support to academia, think tanks and practitioners among others. At national level, UN-Habitat provides support to the government of Ukraine, and more specifically to the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development, on the development of national policies and instruments that guide regional and local governments' recovery.

UN-Habitat's engagement towards a sustainable recovery of cities in Ukraine is underpinned by its efforts to strengthen the digital and data capacities of national, regional and local government entities to improve decision making and enable implementation of climate resilient recovery planning, through UNITAC, a collaboration between UN-Habitat, the UN Office for Information and Communication Technologies (OICT) and the HafenCity University (HCU).

Rationale and context of the assignment

UN-Habitat has been called upon to support early recovery in Ukraine to promote urban and territorial recovery and regeneration towards a greener, more resilient, healthy and inclusive urban future. The Ukrainian government has a strong ambition to 'build back better', where urban recovery planning and design on territorial, town and neighbourhood level can play a vital role in making cities and towns more sustainable and resilient. Aspects such as mixed land use, provision of housing and public space, improved access to public and social services and functions will be important, including promotion of local economic development. Similarly, there is a need to revisit and update instruments and frameworks for urban planning and housing, especially their application on local level for reconstruction of the built environment. UN-Habitat's support will inform progress towards implementation of the SDG's and New Urban Agenda.

UN-Habitat's support builds upon three main inter-linked components; 1) support to the national government and ministries for the improvement of regulatory frameworks and instruments for a sustainable urban recovery; 2) support to urban and territorial recovery towards more inclusive, green and healthy urban recovery in selected regions (Oblasts) and municipalities (hromadas); 3) strengthened urban planning capacity among urban stakeholders, and specifically within public institutions.

UN-Habitat is now planning to engage a senior expert to advise on UN-Habitat Ukraine engagement on the development of national policies critical for urban recovery in support of the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories and Infrastructure.

Duties and main responsibilities

The general purpose of the post is to advise on the development of an urban recovery framework and to provide technical and policy support, in line with the project "
Towards inclusive and resilient urban recovery in Ukraine
". The Senior Policy advisor – Urban Recovery will report directly to the Chief Technical Advisor of UN-Habitat in Ukraine.

The incumbent is expected to

• Housing policy:

• Formulate recommendations for the development of a Housing Profile for Ukraine, aiming at informing ongoing policy discussions and programming, and for UN-Habitat engagement in the Housing Strategy development.

• Thematic Papers:

• Review and formulate recommendations for the finalisation of the thematic papers related to housing.

• Contribute to the umbrella foreword of the set of thematic papers, incl. recommendations from the design and visual perspective.
• Review the thematic papers and extract key findings/ summarise relevant for UN-Habitat work and engagement in Ukraine.

• Formulate recommendations for follow up activities after the publication of the thematic papers.

• Urban Recovery Framework:

• Provide substantive inputs for UN-Habitat's knowledge management products development and reporting on the completion of an Urban Recovery Framework for Ukraine, including recommendations for future interventions.

Results Expected
The ultimate result of this assignment is to provide strategic and technical support to sustainable recovery and urbanization of cities and towns in Ukraine, including the implementation and localization of the SDG's and New Urban Agenda.

Reporting requirements

The Senior Policy advisor – Urban Recovery will work under the overall supervision of the Chief Technical Advisor of UN-Habitat Ukraine and will collaborate with relevant technical teams at the Ukraine Office and UN-Habitat's headquarters (if need be).

Outputs and Expected Deliverables

The Incumbent Is Required To Provide The Following Outputs

• Detailed note informing the development of a concept note for a Housing Profile in Ukraine and UN-Habitat engagement for the national housing policy;
• Annotated version of the reviewed thematic papers on housing and advisory note for their publication;
• Note outlining the foreword of the publication of the thematic papers, incl. suggestions for their finalisation and the visuals to be used;
• Note of key findings across the thematic papers;
• Recommendations of follow up activities after the publication of the thematic papers;
• Guidance note to improve for UN-Habitat's knowledge management products;
• Mission report and note with recommendations for the final reporting of UN-Habitat, based on a review of the activities under the Recovery Project.

The above outputs should be delivered according to the below planned schedule:

Output 1
A detailed note informing the development of a concept note for a Housing Profile in Ukraine, including UN-Habitat's engagement in the national housing policy.

An annotated version of the reviewed thematic papers on housing, accompanied by an advisory note for their publication.

Timeline:
One working month, to be completed by
31 December 2025
.

Output 2
A note outlining the foreword of the publication of the thematic papers, including suggestions for their finalisation and the visuals to be used.

A note summarising key findings across the thematic papers.

Recommendations for follow-up activities after the publication of the thematic papers.

Timeline:
One working month, to be completed by
31 January 2026
.

Output 3
A guidance note to improve UN-Habitat's knowledge management products.

A mission report and note with recommendations for UN-Habitat's final reporting, based on a review of activities under the Recovery Project.

Timeline:
One working month, to be completed by
28 February 2026
.

Working location and travel

The assignment is expected to be conducted home-based, with travels to Kyiv, Ukraine, to engage with relevant teams at the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories, with UN-Habitat's teams as well as relevant organisations in Ukraine.

Competencies

Professional
: Technological Awareness. Keeps abreast of available technology, understands applicability and limitations of technology to the work of the office, actively seeks to apply technology to appropriate tasks, shows willingness to learn new technology.
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; Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed; Excellent drafting ability and communications skills, both oral and written; proven ability to communicate complex concepts orally; Ability to prepare written reports that are clear, concise and meaningful.
Teamwork:
Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; 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.
Planning and Organizing:
Ability to prioritize activities and assignments and to easily switch between different projects.

Required Skills And Experience
Education

• Advanced degree in urban development, spatial planning, economics, conflict studies, political science, public administration or a related social science field required;
• A first-level university degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience

• A minimum of fifteen years of relevant work experience in the field of urban development and planning and design (and/or related fields), with direct proven experience in national level policy support;
• Direct proven experience of national level policy work in crisis/post-crisis context and institutional development is required;
• Experience in housing, more particularly working on national level housing policies, is desirable;
• Past experience or knowledge of the context in Ukraine is desirable;
• Working knowledge and understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (and their monitoring/evaluation) and of the New Urban Agenda is an asset;
• Working experience with the United Nations, and in particular UN-Habitat, is an asset.

Language

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.

Key Skills

• Strong writing and drafting skills;
• Significant experience in engaging with national governments;
• Experience in post-conflict/post disaster analysis, in urban recovery frameworks development, national housing policies in conflict/post conflict or disaster contexts;
• Familiarity with donor, UN and assistance community actors;
• Pro-active attitude towards work and motivation to take on new challenges;
• Advanced working knowledge of MS Office (Word, Powerpoint, Excel and Publisher).

The Candidate Should Be

• Willing to take responsibility, act professionally at all times, and make sure tasks are fully completed;
• Able to work under pressure in diverse environments with minimum supervision;
• Sensitive to gender issues and issues of concern to vulnerable groups;
• Able to meet deadlines for reporting and all project work;
• Express enthusiasm and willingness to continue learning new skills and share experiences with other members of the team.

How to apply

Interested candidates must submit an email quoting in the email subject
the post title and the duty station
to the UN-Habitat Ukraine Programme, email address:

With The Following Documents/information To Demonstrate Their Qualifications

• Cover letter addressing precisely how the applicant meets the qualifications and requirements.
• Completion of a CV in P11 Form which can be downloaded at**:**

The CV shall include information on the past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references.

• Financial Proposal. The offeror's letter including form for the financial proposal can be downloaded at: t.ly/kDvQo
• Diplomas and copy of Passport or ID Card

Deadline for applications:
16 November 2025

Please note that applications received after the closing date stated below, will not be given consideration. Only short-listed candidates whose applications respond to the above criteria will be contacted for an interview.
Job details

Country

• Ukraine

City Kyiv Source

• UN Human Settlements Program

Type

• Consultancy

Career category

• Program/Project Management

Years of experience

• 10+ years

Themes

• Health
• HIV/Aids
• Recovery and Reconstruction

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