Tiered Approach

In line with the commitment to safeguard capacity and support personnel already in the Organization, a majority of UNDP UNCDF/UNV vacancies are advertised using a tiered application process whereby:

Tier 0: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.
Tier 1: Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments
Tier 2: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers
Tier 3 or no tier indicated: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates

Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.

Background

UNDP is the UN's global development network and assists countries to build and share solutions to the challenges of globalization and human development. UNDP’s support to countries on climate change and disaster resilience is shaped by three important global agreements: the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. UNDP works with countries to help them reduce greenhouse gases and advance a long-term goal of zero-carbon development. At the same time, UNDP works together with partners to adapt to the impacts of climate change, enhance access to clean energy, reduce the risk of disasters and, where needed, support resilient disaster recovery. Taken all together, these efforts are the path towards sustainable development that is risk-informed, net-zero and resilient.

The Central Asia region has a long history of disaster impacts, which on average cost $10 billion in estimated economic losses and affect more than 3 million people annually. The region has a complex risk profile, with growing impacts of climate change, high environmental degradation, and pollution, conflicts, as well as new and emerging security risks and threats. The population of the region, especially in urban areas, is highly exposed to the impacts of these hazards, and urbanization is outpacing risk reduction and adaptation efforts of governments in the region.

Therefore, the Climate and Disaster Resilience Team of UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub is putting efforts to strengthen the urban resilience portfolio in the Central Asia region. These efforts are currently supported through two ongoing regional projects, funded by the Government of Japan.

The first project, so-called “Enhancing Urban Resilience to Disaster Risk and Climate Change in Central Asia” is under implementation in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The overall objective of the project is to support all five Central Asian countries in building climate resilience, focusing on urban areas. The project focuses on enhancing regional cooperation and partnership through the existing coordination platforms, while introducing innovative approaches in urban planning based on practical experiences from other countries, including Japan. New approaches to integrated climate and disaster risk assessment will transform urban planning from resilience lenses, while considering future intensity and magnitude of natural hazards due to the changing climate. Knowledge base and capacity building efforts will be institutionalized in the region to ensure sustainability of interventions beyond the project cycle. The project promotes a people-centered, gender sensitive and climate risk-informed holistic approach to break siloes in urban planning efforts.

The second project, namely “Strengthening the System for Region-wide Disaster Risk Reduction in Central Asia” is a new regional initiative launched in January 2026 and is expected to be implemented in the same five countries of Central Asia. The overall objective is to support the five countries in strengthening disaster resilience at both regional and national levels, with a focus on enhancing disaster coordination and improving earthquake awareness and readiness. It will specifically aim to strengthen regional coordination through the Regional Emergency Response Coordination Mechanism, ensuring a more operational and effective approach to preparedness, response, and recovery during large - scale transboundary disasters. The project will also prioritize raising awareness of earthquake risks, fostering readiness to mitigate impacts, and introducing innovative earthquake monitoring and alerting systems, drawing from the practical experiences of Japan and other countries. Promoting a people-centered, gender-sensitive, disability-inclusive, and risk-informed approach, the project seeks to break siloes in disaster preparedness, response and recovery coordination. Ultimately, it aims to enhance the capacity of Central Asian countries to manage disaster risks and boost the region’s overall resilience.

Both initiatives will be implemented through a portfolio approach that deliberately aligns objectives, sequencing, and delivery mechanisms to maximize synergies between urban resilience and disaster risk reduction, leverage shared regional platforms and knowledge, and generate cumulative, scalable impacts across Central Asia.

In addition to the above mentioned projects, a number of new initiatives and projects on disaster risk reduction are expected to be rolled out in Central Asia and beyond as part of UNDP’s growing portfolio of urban resilience interventions, contributing to enhancing the overall resilience of communities in the region.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Chief Technical Specialist (CTS) will be office-based and will provide high-level technical guidance, strategic direction, and oversight for the implementation of UNDP’s urban resilience portfolio. The CTS will ensure the achievement of relevant objectives and outputs through expert advice, capacity building, and the development and application of innovative approaches in urban planning and resilience building. Additionally, the CTS will undertake missions to the programme countries to ensure effective implementation and coordination, as necessary.

More specifically:

Provide technical guidance, strategic direction, and innovation in support of the urban resilience portfolio:

Provide strategic and technical leadership across the urban resilience portfolio, supporting the design, implementation, and scaling of both ongoing and new initiatives at regional, national, and city levels.
Provide expert technical and policy advice across all portfolio components, including key outputs such as:
- the establishment and strengthening of regional and sub-regional collaborative mechanisms for urban resilience and disaster coordination;
- the advancement of transformative, inclusive, and multi-level risk governance frameworks; and
- the design and piloting of innovative climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and earthquake awareness and preparedness measures.
Ensure that all portfolio initiatives are aligned with international best practices, regional and country priorities, and global frameworks, including the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Work closely with Project Managers and portfolio leads to ensure strategic coherence, technical quality, and integrity across projects, in line with approved project documents and broader urban resilience objectives.
Contribute to the preparation of annual progress reports, knowledge products, and technical documents, ensuring accurate reflection of portfolio achievements, challenges, lessons learned, and strategic directions.
Provide technical inputs and recommendations for the implementation of portfolio activities in close coordination with key partners, including UNDP Country Offices, the UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub, regional institutions, and national and local governments.
Promote a cohesive and integrated portfolio approach by coordinating and aligning technical components and outputs across projects, maximizing synergies, fostering cross-project learning, and avoiding duplication of efforts.
Provide technical direction and hands-on guidance to project teams and responsible parties, supporting problem-solving, addressing implementation challenges, and enhancing overall portfolio performance and impact.
Lead the development and refinement of integrated approaches to climate and disaster risk assessment, urban planning, and regional resilience-building, ensuring these approaches are risk-informed, net-zero, inclusive, and resilient to both current and future climate and disaster risks.
Introduce, adapt, and mainstream innovative methodologies and approaches for urban and regional resilience-building, drawing on global and regional experiences and best practices, including those from Japan and other relevant contexts.
Continuously identify and integrate emerging innovations, tools, and methodologies to strengthen urban resilience against climate change and geophysical hazards, ensuring that lessons learned are systematically captured and applied across the portfolio.
Promote the adoption and scaling of new technologies, data-driven tools, and planning approaches that enhance urban planning, disaster risk management, and resilience-building, ensuring their practicality, sustainability, and applicability within the Central Asia context.

Capacity building and knowledge sharing:

Support and guide the design and implementation of urban resilience as well as earthquake awareness and preparedness initiatives for key stakeholders, including experts, practitioners, and community representatives.
Facilitate the exchange of knowledge and best practices between project countries and with international partners, in coordination with project manager and the UNDP’s Istanbul Regional Hub.

Regional collaboration, coordination and implementation

Support the establishment and strengthening of regional collaborative mechanisms for urban resilience and regional disaster coordination mechanism for preparedness, response and recovery. Ensure effective communication and coordination among the five participating countries, regional organization and other key project stakeholders. Ensure effective communication and coordination among the five participating countries.
In collaboration with UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub and the project manager, work with regional stakeholders to enhance existing coordination platforms and promote collaborative approaches to addressing climate risks and urban resilience, as well as disaster coordination, with focus on large scale disasters with transboundary impacts.
Strengthen strategic engagement with Japan and other development partners by facilitating knowledge exchange, showcasing Japanese good practices and innovations, and ensuring donor visibility through coordinated communications, joint events, and high-level regional and national engagements.
In coordination with project manager, if needed, undertake regular field missions to each of the programme countries to oversee the implementation of project activities, provide on-site technical support, and engage with local stakeholders.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact
Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems
Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands
Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

Business Direction & Strategy

System Thinking
- Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system
Strategic Thinking
- Develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNDP’s mission and objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, opportunities and potential risks; link the general vision to reality on the ground to create tangible targeted solutions; learn from a variety of sources to anticipate and effectively respond to both current and future trends; demonstrate foresight.

Business Management

Portfolio Management
- Ability to select, prioritize, and control the organizing's programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity; ability to balance the implementing of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimizing return on investment.

Business Development

Collective Intelligence Design
- Ability to bring together diverse groups of people, data, information, ideas, and technology to solve problems and design solutions or services.
- Knowledge and understanding of Collective Intelligence Design principles, methodology and practices

2030 Agenda: Planet

Nature, Climate and Energy
- Climate Change Adaptation: Livelihoods
- Climate Change Adaptation: Urban Resilience
Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery
- Urban Resilience
- Urban and Local Level Disaster Risk Management

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced degree (Master´s degree or equivalent) in Development, Governance, Urban and Regional Planning, Disaster Resilience, Environmental Planning, Environmental Science, Engineering, Climatology, Economics, or related field is required, OR
A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in the above mentioned fields in combination with additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree

Experience:

Minimum 5 years (with Master’s degree) or 7 years (with Bachelor’s degree) of proven track record experience in project/programme management, especially in the areas of urban resilience, disaster risk reduction, disaster coordination, earthquake preparedness, climate change, urban/ environmental planning, land use and physical planning

Required skills:

Working experiences on urban development, earthquake preparedness, disaster coordination, as well as disaster risk reduction and climate change issues, particularly on mainstreaming efforts in the region of Europe and Central Asia.
Deep subject‑matter expertise in DRR, climate adaptation, and seismic risk – demonstrated experience advising on policy and operations, including design/piloting of innovative adaptation, DRR, and earthquake awareness/preparedness measures.
Regional coordination & mechanism-building – experience establishing/strengthening regional and sub‑regional collaboration for urban resilience and disaster coordination.
Strong communication skills, including demonstrated written and presentation skills and the capacity to relate to both internal and external constituencies of the project; and
Demonstrated ability to work well in multidisciplinary teams and manage complex tasks.

Desired skills:

Research in environment, earthquake preparedness, disaster coordination, natural resources management, climate change adaptation, urban planning, urban resilience or other relevant fields is an asset.
Experience managing projects of UN, development partners or other international organisations is an asset.
Experience in technical oversight in the areas of climate change adaptation, earthquake preparedness, resilience, disaster coordination and disaster risk management, urban studies such as urban resilience/planning, or other relevant fields is desirable.

Languages:

Fluency in English and Russian is required.
Knowledge of another Central Asian language will be considered as an asset.

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination.

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Scam alert

UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see www.undp.org/scam-alert.

Chief Technical Specialist [Open to internal and external applicants]