Job Description National Specialist in Green Urban Planning
Primary Location
: Algeria-Algiers
Organizational Setting
FAO successfully secured several national child projects within the context of the Sustainable Cities Integrated Program (SCIP), one of 11 flagship programs of the GEF-8 programming directions. This program addresses the unique challenge of sustainable urban development by delivering multiple global environmental benefits including inter alia climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and reduced land degradation. The program will place a strong emphasis on integrated land use planning both within cities as well as surrounding ecosystems, support institutional coordination, and catalyze integrated approaches to scale up innovative sustainability solutions. It will adopt a people centric approach with integration of gender, health, and inclusion which are critical to ensure sustainability and equitable distribution of environmental benefits.
The SCIP was Council approved in June 2023 and will be included in the GEF June 2024 work programme. The PPG phase of the national child projects will thus be initiated in June/July 2024. The GEF project design expert recruited under this contract will be engaged to develop the project documents of the Algeria national child project, under the GEF SCIP programme.
The Algeria SCIP child project will be developed under the GEF core indicators of (3.1) area of degraded agricultural lands under restoration, (3.2) area of forest and forest land under restoration, (3.3.) area of natural grass and woodland under restoration, area of wetlands under restoration, (4.1) area of landscapes under improved management to benefit biodiversity, (4.3) Area of landscapes under sustainable land management in production systems (agriculture and rangeland), (6.1) Carbon Sequestered or Emissions Avoided in the AFOLU and (11) people benefiting from GEF-financing.
As per the Algeria SCIP Concept Note, the project is expected to create an enabling environment, support technical interventions and knowledge management focusing on the domain of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for sustainable urban development, for three Algerian cities (Sidi Abdellah, Boughezoul and Hassi Messaoud). The final NbS’s must be identified during the PPG phase but will focus on, as for example, urban forests, productive green spaces, and rain gardens. The final intervention is expected to deliver (global) environmental and socio-economic benefits and align with above GEF core indicators.
The project documents will elaborate the engagements made in the context of the EOI and Concept Note.
Reporting Lines
The National Specialist will be under the overall supervision of the FAO Country Representative and the technical supervision of the Lead Technical Officer.
Technical Focus
The National Specialist will be supporting in project preparation processes (PPGs) of the above-mentioned project.
Tasks and responsibilities
• Develop of urban development/planning and environmental baseline of existing urban planning and environmental initiatives, based on a thorough desk review, site visits and consultations;
• Identify ongoing urban greening initiatives and potential synergies;
• Provide technical inputs regarding the outcomes, outputs and activities of the project;
• Provide sound inputs on the institutional arrangements from a sustainable cities’ perspective;
• Contribute to the successful organization of stakeholder consultations and project inception and log frame validation workshops;
• Provide sound inputs on implementation arrangements, beneficiaries and risk management matrix;
• Contribute to FAO project document and annexes including particularly a solid theory of change.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
• University degree in in landscape architecture, urban planning, urban forestry, agronomy or related discipline.
• Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in project management and implementation.
• Working knowledge of English and French
• National of Algeria or resident of the country with valid work permit.
FAO Core Competencies
• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
• Work experience in policy analysis, stakeholder engagement and mapping, and knowledge management.
• Extent and relevance of experience in working on GEF and/or FAO projects is an asset.
• Familiarity with UN policy and procedures is an asset.
FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing). Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted. Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications. For other issues, visit the FAO employment website: Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.
HOW TO APPLY
• To apply, visit the recruitment website at and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.
If you need help or have queries, please create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance:
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