Associate Site Planner – Roving, UNOPS IICA-1, Kabul

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering an Associate Site Planner position within the Shelter Unit in CO Kabul, Afghanistan.

UNHCR is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. Every year, millions of men, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and persecution. We are in over 125 countries, using our expertise to protect and care for millions.

• Title: Associate Site Planner – Roving
• Duty Station: CO Kabul, Afghanistan
• Duration: Six Months
• Contract Type: UNOPS – IICA I (equivalent to P2)
• Start date: as soon as possible
• Closing date: 16 June 2022

Organizational context

Afghanistan is a high-risk country with a very complex operational environment, characterized by uncertainty and frequent security incidents. Movement by all personnel is restricted, coordinated and monitored by the security officers. UNHCR in Kabul is located within the ICON Compound on the Supreme road of the Police district 9. It occupies 40 MOSS compliant rooms for staff accommodation with each room having its own washroom and other facilities. Offices are within the ICON compound. UNHCR and UN agencies jointly run JMS Level 1 medical clinic and satellite located in ICON. S/M on special prescription should travel with sufficient quantity. Medical facilities in Kabul include German Clinic, French Medical Institute for Mothers & Children (FMIC), Blossom Health Center and Iqarus International (AMC). COVID-19 MTF was established in ICON. Outdoor air quality is a health concern in Kabul. The degree of exposure and concentration of air pollutants can be detrimental to breathing problems, development of chronic diseases and deterioration of health status in individuals with chronic diseases. Air pollution contributes to comorbidities that are known to worsen outcomes among those infected with COVID-19. Air pollution can impair lung development in infants and children; increase probability of preterm birth and delivery of new-borns with low birth weight. office provides air purifiers both in the office and accommodation. Health problems contributing to years lost to illness, disability, or premature death in the country include diet, tobacco use, high fasting glucose and high blood pressure; as well as environmental risks such as pollution and water-borne disease. Road crash, conflict, terror are major causes of injuries. security situation is unstable, volatile, unpredictable with rise 2020-2022. A daily radio check is mandatory. All movements is strictly by Armoured Vehicle or by air and no road. A 4-week R&R cycle, staff are highly encouraged not to delay. Considering the serious restrictions on staff movement, it is crucial to demonstrate a record of maintaining a positive attitude whenever confronted with adversity and restraints in social life. Staff interested in the position should be mentally, psychologically, and physically fit and ready to face situations when required to be locked down in compound bunkers for an extended period due to security incidents.

The position

As the ES/NFI Cluster Lead agency, while continuing distributing NFIs, UNHCR will also provide cash for rent for a period of three months targeting 5,000 families mostly displaced in urban areas with a budget of USD 1.5 million. At the same time, wherever feasible, UNHCR will support shelter repair and provide transitional shelters either through cash for shelter or in-kind materials and tools to displaced families some of them opt to return to their areas of origin.

Duties and responsibilities

The Associate Site Planner will work under direct supervision of Shelter Officer to assume the following responsibilities:

• Ensure that UNHCR Field Operations are supported in carrying out shelter, construction and settlement needs assessments considering the current situation, projected population planning figures and the expected scale of returns and displacement.
• Contribute to the implementation of country level shelter strategies and construction Standard Operating procedures which are framed by UNHCR’s Global Strategy for Settlement and Shelter and take into consideration the local context, age and gender, culture, climate, environmental protection, and the availability of local resources, including materials, capacities and existing infrastructure.
• Provide clear guidance on standards and best practices for shelter and settlement, including minimum emergency standards to meet basic and essential needs.
• Organize and provide trainings to the field operations in construction techniques and practices leading to more durable solutions and drawing from local building practices and materials.
• Together with UNHCR’s implementing partners and field offices technical staff, compile, analyze available information on construction technical documentation in the country taking into account relevant policies proposed by the Government.
• When planning shelter works, ensure that the technical component reflects UNHCR minimum standards for the provision of emergency and other types of shelter assistance and is within the budgetary requirements. Due consideration should be given to standards in other relevant sectors such as water and sanitation.
• Ensure the shelter strategy is periodically reviewed to reflect the evolving situation in country and progressively transitioning to more sustainable shelter solutions. This process should be done in close collaboration with the beneficiaries and the host Government while bearing in mind the shelter needs of people upon their eventual return to their place of origin.
• Ensure that specifications, bills of quantities and drawings are produced in a technically sound and standardized manner and monitor programme performance to ensure works are implemented according to plans and completed within the designated timeframe.
• Promote the sustainability of technical interventions through local capacity building and self-help in collaboration with local partners in the field. Ensure that local communities have been consulted on all activities so as not to create unnecessary tension between the displaced and host populations.
• In consultation with UNHCR’s implementing partners and local communities themselves, identify the need for community based Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) that can benefit the local and displaced communities.
• Intervene with implementing partners on Shelter issues and construction activities.

Essential minimum qualifications and professional experience required

The ideal candidate will have:

• A Master’s Degree in Urban Planning or Civil Engineering Project Management, Architecture, Civil Engineering or other relevant discipline and two years of relevant experience OR University Degree (Bachelor’s Degree / first level) with a combination of three additional years of relevant professional experience in Project Management, Architecture, Civil Engineering, or other relevant discipline, may be accepted.
• At least 2 years relevant experience in the related field, including collaboration with different humanitarian organizations
• Field experience in responding to emergencies working with relevant governmental technical departments and various organizations in identifying, designing, delimiting, clearing, and developing land allocated to establish settlements
• Good knowledge of site surveying (including topography, hydrology, geology, land use physical planning, environment, engineering, etc.) and extensive experience in undertaking related topography assessments/ feasibility studies for site identification and environmental impact studies whilst using surveying tools (including GPS equipment, GIS software)
• Prior experience in site planning including layout of shelter plots, roads, communal infrastructures, and basic services
• Prior experience in designing and implementing shelter strategies
• Knowledge of UN standards and Sphere Standards and criteria for site selection, including consideration of cross sectorial issues related to protection, WASH, environment, land property issues etc.
• Prior experience in designing and implementing a settlement strategy, including host-community situations and collective shelters in emergency while considering the transition to more sustainable solutions.
• Project formulation, planning, supervision, and management skills