International LPIS Advisor

This position is critical to Albania's ongoing land administration transformation, focusing on enhancing land governance, transparency, and economic development. Despite advancements in digitalizing ownership records and online land services, Albania faces challenges in data accuracy, incomplete property registration, and legal inconsistencies. The role is instrumental in supporting Albania's EU accession process, particularly in implementing the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) under Chapter 11: Agriculture and Rural Development. This involves modernizing cadastral records, facilitating first-time property registration, and developing an EU-compatible LPIS to improve property rights, ensure legal certainty, and align with EU requirements. The project, implemented by UNOPS over three and a half years, aims to build capacity, develop systems, and enhance services in collaboration with national authorities and stakeholders.

The International LPIS Advisor will provide expert technical advisory and support to the Project Manager and key stakeholders, including the Agricultural and Rural Development Agency (ARDA), for the successful development and implementation of a fully functional Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) in Albania. This role involves ensuring alignment with EU requirements, integrating with national systems, and building national capacities to enhance agricultural land management, subsidy compliance, fraud prevention, and environmental monitoring.

Under the Activity 5 (Developing a LPIS framework), the project will support the Government with technical advisory for the development of a fully functional LPIS that supports agricultural land mapping, subsidy compliance, fraud prevention, and environmental monitoring. The LPIS system will have to be compatible with existing national systems and EU regulations for agricultural development and subsidy management. The Advisor will provide technical advisory and support to the Project Manager on the key activities of the project for the successful implementation of the project and technical assistance to the Agricultural and Rural Development Agency (ARDA) and its working group, as well as other key stakeholders in relation to the development of the Land Parcel Information System LPIS, including the implementation of one or more pilots in selected areas. They will provide expertise on EU requirements and advise on the integration with national systems such as the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS).

The Advisor is expected to be able to work on following tasks, as agreed with the Project Manager:

• Work closely with ARDA, and other stakeholders to refine LPIS objectives and ensure alignment with existing national plans.
• Analyze existing LPIS models from EU countries, identify best practices, and assess institutional and technical capacities for system integration.
• Lead the design and implementation of LPIS pilot(s) in selected areas.
• Advise on the LPIS model selection based on national requirements, cadastral status, legal framework, and technological capacity.
• Support the development of Terms of reference, technical specifications and operational requirements for LPIS, ensuring alignment with EU accession criteria.
• Map existing data sources (cadastre, land maps, satellite imagery) and assess the integration needs for LPIS.
• Identify data gaps and technological limitations that need to be addressed to ensure the successful operation of the system.
• Provide recommendations for system design, ensuring it meets EU standards and CAP compliance requirements.
• Ensure the system integrates seamlessly with national platforms and propose strategies for future scalability.
• Provide technical advisory in setting up a dedicated LPIS unit/department within ARDA to manage the system effectively.
• Offer capacity-building support to ARDA’s LPIS working group, focusing on system design, data management, and integration.
• Support the establishment of agreements between relevant stakeholders to create a collaborative framework for LPIS implementation.
• Organize workshops to align stakeholders on requirements and implementation strategies and ensure active knowledge sharing and learning across stakeholders and capture lessons learned.

The Advisor is expected to work closely with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Agricultural and Rural Development Agency (ARDA), and relevant stakeholders and user groups. The number of days will depend on the tasks in line with the project implementation as identified by the Project Manager and agreed with the Advisor.

The Advisor is home based with travel to Albania as required and agreed with the Senior Project Manager.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) preferably in Agricultural Engineering, rural planning; GIS, Geographyor related fields with 9 years of relevant experience OR

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in any of the above or related fields with 7 years of relevant experience is required

Required

• Relevant experience is work in Land management systems related areas. 

• Familiarity with EU agricultural regulations, IACS, and LPIS

• Experience in EU integration processes. 

• Experience in working with national authorities, government agencies, and international donors in EU accession countries.
  
  

Desired

• Experience in the area of digitalisation processes in regards to property rights and land administration.

• 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.