Senior Programme Manager
Organizational Context
UN-Habitat's Syria Country Programme focuses on urban resilience and recovery, supporting local authorities and communities in data collection, priority identification, and project implementation for housing, infrastructure, and services. The programme aims to transition from fragmented assistance to a scalable, government-led national housing recovery initiative, working across multiple offices in Syria.
Job Purpose
The Senior Programme Manager will lead UN-Habitat's implementation of the Syria National Housing Support Programme, a critical initiative addressing the country's extensive housing crisis. This role involves partnering with Syrian government entities and the German government (BMZ and KfW) to combine immediate housing rehabilitation with systemic improvements. The programme is structured around three key workstreams: strengthening the enabling environment, neighborhood-based housing rehabilitation for vulnerable households, and associated infrastructure and area-based recovery, aiming to scale up housing recovery efforts effectively.
Responsibilities
Provide strategic leadership and comprehensive management for the National Housing Support Programme, ensuring effective planning, implementation, and delivery. Oversee all programme resources, including budgets, staffing, procurement, contracts, monitoring, and risk management. Lead and supervise the programme team, consultants, and technical partners. Act as the primary liaison for donors, government counterparts, UN partners, and other stakeholders. Ensure high standards of programme coordination, quality assurance, compliance, reporting, and accountability. Support strategic programme development, resource mobilization, and the design of future programme phases. Ensure programme insights inform national housing policy and broader recovery efforts. Uphold compliance with UN rules, donor requirements, environmental and social safeguards, conflict sensitivity, gender equality, and do-no-harm principles.
Work Experience
Requires progressively responsible experience in programme or project management, housing, urban recovery, or urban development. Proven experience managing large, complex, multi-year, donor-funded programmes is essential. Desirable experience includes managing multidisciplinary teams, substantial budgets, procurement, consultants, infrastructure contracts, and working with government ministries, development banks, and bilateral donors.
Skills
Budget Management, Compliance Management, Project Management, Quality Assurance, Risk Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Strategic Planning, Urban Regeneration, Project Resource Management.