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

Job Posting Organization:
Cities Alliance is a global partnership that promotes the role of cities in poverty reduction and sustainable development. It is managed by a Secretariat with hubs in Brussels, Nairobi, and Bangkok. The organization has a diverse membership that collaborates to strengthen impacts and coherence in urban development. Cities Alliance is recognized as a global leader in grant-making, supporting strategic city planning, slum upgrading strategies, and national policies aimed at making cities more inclusive and sustainable. Through UNOPS, Cities Alliance operates a Multi-Donor Fund with a flexible grant-making mechanism that has a global reach, enabling it to address urban challenges effectively.

Job Overview:
The Urban and Migration Advisor position is designed to provide Cities Alliance with a roster of high-level experts who can be deployed on demand to support regional portfolios. The advisors will serve as strategic technical anchors, driving program coherence at the intersection of forced displacement, human mobility, and rapid urbanization. The primary purpose of this role 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. This position requires leveraging specialized regional expertise to position the organization as a thought leader and trusted partner for global donors and local government networks. The advisor will be expected to deliver high-level technical and strategic advisory services, produce knowledge products, engage in global advocacy, and contribute to project formulation and resource mobilization.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• 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 regularization, 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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. Monitor and assess performance 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.

Required Qualifications:
An Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) 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. 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. 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.

Educational Background:
An Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) 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.

Experience:
A 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. 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.

Languages:
Fluent English is required. Intermediate proficiency in French, Somali, and Amharic is desirable.

Additional Notes:
The position is home-based and classified as a Senior Level role (ICS 11). The contract type is ICA - IICA - Retainer, with a contract level of IICA

• The posting start date is June 25, 2026, and the posting end date is July 9, 202
• The duration of the contract is for 1 year (up to 80 working days), renewable subject to satisfactory performance, availability of budget, and continued business needs. UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes and will not request candidates to make payments during the recruitment process. Applications must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date.