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Local Urban Planning Expert, Albania Local Governance, Tirana

Management Systems International (MSI) is a global international development firm based in Washington, D.C. providing specialized short- and long-term technical assistance. MSI is part of Coffey International Development, a global international development consulting firm. Together with Coffey ID, MSI now has more than 1,500 development professionals worldwide, a corporate presence in 11 countries and manages more than 200 projects worldwide. It currently manages more than 20 long-term projects in countries, including Iraq, Sudan, Colombia and Russia. Broadly, MSI implements a range of analytical and field projects in its core technical areas, including democracy and governance, strategic management and performance improvement, organizational capacity building, human development and natural resource management. For more information on MSI, please visit our website at www.msiworldwide.com.

Project Summary: Management Systems International (MSI), an international development consulting firm based in Washington, DC, is applying for the Albania Planning and Local Governance Project (PLGP), which will be funded by USAID. The purpose of PLGP will provide training and technical assistance to the Government of Albania (GOA) and local governments to help implement decentralization legislation and reforms; improve transparency and accountability; strengthen municipal services; and improve technical capabilities and cooperation regarding urban and regional planning between the GOA and local governments.

Position Summary: The national Urban Planning Expert will support training and technical assistance in urban and regional planning; he/she will consult with municipal officials, regional coalitions, citizens, and businesses to identify training needs and support the development and implementation of the training program. He/She will provide urban planning support and technical assistance to municipalities and regional coalitions to improve planning skills of officials; support the project’s urban and regional planning program; identify regional planning common interests and priorities among adjacent municipalities and priority project opportunities among participating municipalities. He/She will also support regional plans and priority projects for consideration by the GOA, the European Union, and other international donors. The Urban Planning Expert will report to expatriate urban planning manager.

The Urban Planning Expert must be an Albanian citizen and will be based in Tirana, Albania.

** Please note that this is a local position. Only Albanian citizens are eligible to apply.**

Responsibilities:

• Participate in the recruitment of urban and regional planning staff, consultants, and training institutions;
• Assess the urban planning skills of the urban planning staff of municipalities participating in PLGP;
• Develop and manage an urban and regional planning training strategy in consultation with officials from participating municipalities and regional coalitions;
• Advise the GOA, municipalities, and regional coalitions on urban planning policies and strategies that improve economic growth and contribute to improving municipal services;
• Develop scopes of work for urban and regional training and capacity building; • Monitor and assess the project’s training and technical assistance in urban and regional planning;
• Facilities regional planning and the identification of common interests and development priorities among municipalities; • Oversee the project’s urban and regional assessments, studies, or project development opportunities; • Monitor and assure high quality of data collection, studies, and project feasibility reports; • Support creation of a network of urban and regional planners in the interest of sustainability of the project’s results. Qualifications: a. A citizen of Albania with at least three (3) years of experience in urban planning, willing to make a commitment for the five (5) years of the PLGP.
b. At least two (2) years of experience managing donor-related projects (4 years preferred). c. Three (3) to five (5) years of experience managing donor projects in local governance, decentralization, or related areas. d. Strong technical skills in and knowledge of urban and regional planning in Albania.
e. Preferred advanced degree in urban planning. f. Excellent English language reading, speaking, writing skills.

Only candidates who have been selected for an interview will be contacted. No phone calls, please.

To apply, please visit our website: www.msiworldwide.com.