Senior Programme Manager

UN-Habitat’s Syria Country Programme has worked closely with Syrian cities and communities to develop an urban resilience and recovery approach. UN-Habitat supports local authorities and communities to collect better urban data to reach a common understanding of urban recovery needs; jointly identify neighborhood and municipal area response priorities, straddling humanitarian, resilience-building and recovery phases; and to design and implement housing, infrastructure and basic services, urban environment, and urban cultural heritage projects that directly respond to these local priorities. UN-Habitat Syria currently has offices in Damascus, Homs, Aleppo, and Deir Ezzor, operationalizing projects across the country.

UN-Habitat is the United Nations agency mandated to promote sustainable urbanization and adequate housing for all. In Syria, UN-Habitat supports government institutions, municipalities and communities in urban recovery, housing, basic urban services, municipal governance and area-based development.

UN-Habitat will lead the overall programme, as enabling-environment, housing-service, urban and HLP assessments, HLP and area-based assessments, institutional-strengthening and associated infrastructure components, with other UN agencies/partners support on direct housing rehabilitation. Together, the programme aims to move from fragmented housing assistance towards a scalable and government-led national housing recovery programme.

Under the overall supervision of the Deputy Country Director, The Senior Programme Manager will provide strategic, technical and managerial leadership for UN-Habitat’s components of the programme and ensure effective coordination with UNDP, KfW, government counterparts, municipalities and other partners. The incumbent will oversee programme planning, implementation, financial management, procurement, monitoring, risk management and donor reporting.

The Senior Programme Manager will work the overall supervision of the Country Director of UN-Habitat Syria, reporting to the Deputy Country Director and in daily coordination with Unit Leads, as well as National Project Manager and Hub Managers

The purpose of the position is to lead UN-Habitat’s implementation of the Syria National Housing Support Programme, in partnership with Syrian Government partners and in particular the German Government through BMZ and KfW.

The programme responds to Syria’s extensive housing crisis, in which approximately 31 per cent of the national housing stock—around 1.3 million units—is estimated to be moderately damaged, severely damaged or destroyed. It seeks to combine immediate housing rehabilitation with the institutional, regulatory and municipal systems required to support housing recovery at scale.

Organizational Setting

UN-Habitat is the United Nations agency mandated to promote sustainable urbanization and adequate housing for all. In Syria, UN-Habitat supports government institutions, municipalities and communities in housing recovery, urban planning, Housing, Land and Property rights, land administration, basic urban services and area-based urban recovery.

The National Housing Support Programme is structured around three mutually reinforcing workstreams:

1. Strengthening the enabling environment and housing recovery ecosystem;

2. Neighbourhood-based housing rehabilitation for vulnerable households; and

3. Associated infrastructure and area-based recovery.

The Senior Programme Manager will:

• Provide overall leadership and management of the National Housing Support Programme, ensuring effective planning, implementation and delivery.

• Manage programme resources, including budgets, staffing, procurement, contracts, monitoring and risk management.

• Lead and supervise the programme team, consultants and technical partners.

• Serve as the primary focal point for donors, government counterparts, UN partners and other stakeholders.

• Ensure effective programme coordination, quality assurance, compliance, reporting and accountability.

• Support strategic programme development, resource mobilization and the design of future phases of the National Housing Programme.

• Ensure programme experience informs national housing policy, institutional strengthening and broader housing recovery efforts in Syria.

• Ensure compliance with UN rules, donor requirements, environmental and social safeguards, conflict sensitivity, gender equality and do-no-harm principles.

• Perform other related duties as required.

Ultimate Result of Service

The National Housing Support Programme is effectively managed and delivered on time, within budget and in accordance with the approved programme document, donor agreement and UN rules. The programme contributes to improved housing conditions, strengthened housing-recovery systems and more coordinated national and local adequate housing recovery.

Required:

• An advanced university degree in architecture, urban planning, housing, engineering, public policy, international development, project or programme management or a related field with at least 7 years of progressively responsible experience. OR

• A first-level university degree with at least 9 years of progressively responsible experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.

Required:

• Progressively responsible experience in programme or project management, housing, urban recovery, urban development or a related field.

• Experience managing large, complex and multi-year donor-funded programmes.

Desired:

• Experience managing multidisciplinary teams, substantial budgets, procurement processes, consultants and infrastructure contracts.

• Experience working with government ministries, municipalities, development banks and bilateral donors.

• Experience in housing recovery, urban development, municipal systems, HLP or area-based recovery.

• Experience working with KfW, BMZ, the United Nations system, or coordinating joint programmes is highly desirable.

• Experience in fragile or post-conflict contexts, including the application of environmental and social safeguards and risk management.

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