Urban and Migration Advisor – Informality, Municipal Finance, and Social Cohesion

The UNOPS Global Portfolios Office (GPO) brings together diverse expertise to help partners deliver impact worldwide. With hubs in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, and expert teams operating globally, GPO leads multi-regional initiatives that advance sustainable development, climate action, and peacebuilding - including in some of the world’s most challenging environments. By leveraging our collective expertise and global networks, GPO supports UNOPS’ strategic priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals across more than 130 countries. We work closely with major global partners - including governments, international financial institutions, and UN agencies - to deliver a wide range of services, such as project management, fund management, hosting services, and HR support.

As part of the Global Portfolios Office, UNOPS Geneva provides comprehensive solutions in secretariat hosting, operational support, and fund management. We manage global programmes, including the Water, Environment and Climate (WEC) Portfolio, offering project management, procurement, HR, and financial services. Geneva hosts the secretariats of eight global partnerships focused on health (RBM, Stop TB, ATscale), nutrition (SUN), water/sanitation (SHF), humanitarian leadership (GELI), urban development (Cities Alliance), and disaster displacement (PDD). We also provide fund management for EIF and UN Water, and operational support to Geneva-based partners like the Global Fund and UNHCR. 

Cities Alliance, which is hosted by UNOPS, is a global partnership promoting the role of cities in poverty reduction and sustainable development. Managed by a Secretariat with hubs in Brussels, Nairobi, and Bangkok, it is a unique partnership with a diverse membership which has come together to strengthen both impacts and coherence in urban development. Cities Alliance is a global leader with a strong track record in grant-making, which supports strategic city planning, slum upgrading strategies and national policies designed to make cities more inclusive and sustainable. Through UNOPS, the Cities Alliance operates a Multi-Donor Fund supported by an efficient, flexible grant-making mechanism with global reach.

The Urban and Migration Advisor (Retainer Pool) is established to provide Cities Alliance with a roster of high-level experts who can be deployed on demand basis to support regional portfolios. Advisors within this pool will serve as strategic technical anchors, driving program coherence at the critical intersection of forced displacement, human mobility and rapid urbanization. The primary purpose of these positions is to provide on-demand advisory inputs that enable secondary cities to structurally upgrade informal settlements, strengthen municipal finance baselines, and foster long-term social cohesion. By leveraging specialized regional expertise, pool members will help position the organization as a thought leader and trusted partner for global donors and local government networks.

Under the direct supervision of the Senior Migration and Climate Specialist, the advisors within the Retainer Pool will provide strategic, technical, and advisory inputs to strengthen Cities Alliance’s programming, knowledge, and advocacy on an as-needed basis. 

Depending on the specific scope of work defined for individual demand based assignments, pool members will be responsible for the following key results: 

1. High-Level Technical and Strategic Advisory

• Deliver authoritative technical advisory services and peer reviews for complex urban development and migration programmes across multiple geographies.

• Advise local and national governments on integrated slum upgrading strategies, informal settlement regularisation, and inclusive housing policies.

• Provide strategic guidance on municipal finance frameworks, including capital investment programming, local revenue mobilization, public-private partnerships (PPPs), and municipal budgeting to ensure sustainable financing of urban infrastructure.

• Formulate entry points to manage rapid urbanization and demographic shifts, ensuring cities can structurally absorb incoming migrant and displaced populations.

2. Knowledge Production and Policy Guidance

• Advise the end-to-end development of flagship knowledge products, including thematic policy briefs, urban diagnostics, and regional programme strategies.

• Provide strategic and evidence-based guidance linking urban informality with municipal finance

• Lead the development of policy guidance on maintaining social cohesion and civic inclusion amid high-volume migration trends, preventing segregation within rapidly expanding secondary cities.

3. Global Advocacy, Representation, and Peer Learning

• Conceptualize, facilitate, and moderate high-level regional and international peer learning exchanges, technical dialogues, and policy workshops.

• Provide strategic guidance on Cities Alliance’s position on migration-responsive urban development by showcasing innovative approaches to social cohesion and inclusive urban planning.

• Deliver authoritative technical advisory in key international forums targeting global donors, local government networks, and development partners.

4. Project Formulation and Resource Mobilization

• Provide an authoritative voice in fundraising initiatives by developing high-quality concept notes and funding proposals for multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors.

• Design innovative programmatic interventions that explicitly combine urban planning, local government financing, and migration governance.

Monitoring and Progress Controls

Performance will be assessed based on the timely and high-quality delivery of agreed-upon deliverables, including:

• Technical soundness of reviewed urban planning, housing, and slum-upgrading project proposals.

• Serving as an authoritative voice on technical subject matter during strategic representation events, donor engagements, and fundraising initiatives.

• Quality of advisory inputs on municipal finance mechanisms and financial assessments for targeted local governments.

• Delivery of data-driven knowledge products tracking rapid urbanization, migration trends, and social cohesion indicators.

• Enhanced capacity of Cities Alliance internal teams and partner municipal authorities to implement cross-cutting urban and migration strategies.

Required

• An Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent), preferably in Urban Planning, Municipal Finance, Development Economics, Civil Engineering/Architecture, Human Geography, Migration Studies, Sociology, or a related urban/political discipline, is required.

• A first-level university degree (Bachelor's degree or equivalent) in related fields combined with an additional two (2) years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.

Required

• Minimum of seven (7) years of progressive professional experience in sustainable, inclusive urban development and international development in low-income countries is required.

• Previous experience working in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa is required.

• Proven experience of applied international development assignments on urban and migration is required.

Desired

• Experience in research and policy work on migration, sustainable and inclusive urban development in low-income countries is an asset. 

• Specific professional experience working in or advising on urban migration context challenges in Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is highly desirable and considered a distinct asset.

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.
  

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.