Specialist – Housing and Urban Development
JOB DETAIL
Specialist – Housing and Urban Development
Location: Suriname
The IDB Group is a community of diverse, versatile, and passionate people who come together on a journey to improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our people find purpose and do what they love in an inclusive, collaborative, and rewarding environment.
About this position
We are looking for an energetic, collaborative, and highly motivated individual to join our team in Suriname and manage our portfolio of projects in Suriname and Guyana, helping us in this way change people’s lives in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Housing and Urban Development Division (HUD), part of the Climate Change and Sustainable Development Sector (CSD), provides strategic guidance and analytical and operational support to the institution and its clients in city planning, sustainable and resilient urban development, and housing.
What you’ll do
You will bring extensive international knowledge in the areas of urban and territorial planning, resilient urban development, housing and urban heritage preservation and renovation, and apply your experience to:
(i) Assess urban development and housing policies, strategies, and programs to adopt best practices and be responsive to the client’s needs;
(ii) Support the formulation and supervision of lending/non-lending operations by applying a high degree of autonomy,
(iii) Advance the positioning of IDB as a knowledge bank in your sector of expertise, and
(iv) Provide advice to the country team’s strategic dialogue on specific topics related to the sector.
As a team leader/member, you will:
- Contribute to IDB’s policy dialogue with public and private institutions, development partners, and other stakeholders involved in urban development and housing at the national and subnational level; identify constraints and needs for development in the sector and design and implement possible policy and institutional reforms in key sectoral areas.
- Contribute to developing country strategies and programs, identifying priority action lines in housing and urban development with a strong emphasis on innovation and thematic value addition, to be captured in sector assessments and country strategy documentation.
- Originate, prepare, process, implement, and evaluate lending operations, ensuring high-quality technical and operational structuring and oversight.
- Monitor and evaluate existing HUD operations and consultancies, ensure quality control of government-prepared documents. Conduct the technical review of procurement activities, provide technical support to the counterparts and Project Implementing Units, conduct field visits when required, and continuously maintain the dialogue with Executing Agencies.
- Conceptualize, prepare, process, implement, and evaluate technical assistance programs supporting operations, client support, and research and dissemination.
- Identify/assist new opportunities to apply innovation, co-develop pilots for testing hypotheses in partnership with IDB’s Cities Lab, IDB Lab, and other initiatives, and follow through findings, which might include scaling up or policy actions.
- Contribute to strategic networking with urban-related partners at the national and sub-national levels, as well as academia, civil society, and private sector-related entities.
- Develop or contribute to developing high-quality, relevant analytical, empirical studies and high-impact presentations that advance original thinking in emerging themes relating to housing and urban development in LAC, with a special focus on Suriname and Guyana.
- Promote synergies with partner divisions and units across the IDB Group to propose and develop sustainable and innovative solutions with a cross-sector perspective to respond to client needs.
What you’ll need
Education: Master’s degree or equivalent, in urban planning, architecture, engineering, economics, finance or a related field.
Experience: At least six years of relevant professional and international experience in public sector urban development and housing projects (design and implementation) is highly desirable. Excellent interpersonal, problem-solving, and team skills with the ability to find balanced, pragmatic, and implementable solutions in a multi-disciplinary context. Specific experience managing strategic alliances (with donors, private sector, and international organizations) and policy dialogue with governments is a plus)
Languages: Proficiency in Spanish and English, spoken and written, is required. Knowledge of Dutch would be a plus.
Key Skills
- Learn continuously
- Collaborate and share knowledge
- Focus on clients
- Communicate and influence
- Innovate and try new things
Requirements
Citizenship: You are a citizen of one of our 48 member countries. We may offer assistance with relocation and visa applications for you and your eligible dependents.
Consanguinity: You have no family members (up to the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity, including spouse) working at the IDB, IDB Invest, or IDB Lab.
Type of contract and duration
International staff contract, 36 months initially, renewable upon mutual agreement.
What We Offer
The IDB Group provides benefits that respond to the different needs and moments of an employee’s life. These benefits include:
- A competitive compensation package
- Leaves and vacations: 24 days of paid time off + 8 personal days + sick leave + gender- neutral parental leave
- Health Insurance: IDB Group provides employees and eligible dependents with a robust medical benefits program which covers medical, dental, vision, preventive care, and prescription drugs.
- Pension plan: defined benefit pension plan that provides financial security and support employees in planning for their future.
- We offer assistance with relocation and visa applications for you and your family, when it applies.
- Hybrid and flexible work schedules.
- Health and wellbeing: Access to our Health Services Center which provides preventive care and health education for employees.
- Development support: We offer tools to boost your professional profile such as mentoring, 1:1 professional counseling, training, and learning opportunities, language classes, mobility options, among others.
- Other perks: Lactation Room, Daycare Center, Gym, Bike Racks, Parking, Spouse Career Program, and others
Our culture
At the IDB Group we work so everyone brings their best and authentic selves to work, willing to try new approaches without fear, and where they are accountable and rewarded for their actions.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) are at the center of our organization. We celebrate all dimensions of diversity and encourage women, LGBTQ+ people, persons with disabilities, Afro-descendants, and Indigenous people to apply.
We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job interview process. If you are a qualified candidate with a disability, please e-mail us at diversity@iadb.org to request reasonable accommodations to complete this application.
Our Human Resources Team reviews every application carefully.
About the IDB Group
The IDB Group, composed of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), IDB Invest, and the IDB Lab offers flexible financing solutions to its member countries to finance economic and social development through lending and grants to public and private entities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
About IDB
The Inter-American Development Bank is devoted to improving lives. Established in 1959, the IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts ground breaking research and provides policy advice, technical assistance and training to public and private sector clients throughout the region.
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