1- Background

Mozambique is a highly susceptible country to risks and disasters. According to Global Climate Risk Index (2014), Mozambique falls in third place amongst the African countries that are most vulnerable to disasters such as floods, droughts, tornados, epidemics, earthquakes of small magnitude, among the most frequent and recurrent disasters.

A variety of factors contribute to the high vulnerability of Mozambique against the natural threats, namely(i) its location along the Rift Valley (one of the regions with the increased seismic  activities), (ii) the vast coastal area with about 60 percent of the population and the country’s largest school network of about 2470km (bordering one of the most active cyclonic basins southwest of the Indian Ocean), (iii) the extensive hydrographic network that guarantees food subsistence and livelihood for the majority of the Mozambican families, with nine (9) rivers of international importance flowing in the Indian Ocean, above-average rainfall- mainly due to tropical depressions or cyclones – and poor management of dams either in the national territory or in the countries where the rivers cause large floods that occur regularly in Mozambique.

It is estimated that 70 percent of schools in Mozambique are in high-risk areas. It has been shown that school infrastructure suffers more than US$2 million in damages per year (0,25% of overall annual education sector spending), which corresponds to 540 classrooms and 57,000 students affected annually Impact of climate events on health infrastructure is also high.

In a country where over 65 per cent of the population live in rural areas and most rely on agriculture as their source of income, the destruction caused by cyclones, droughts, floods and pests affects millions of people.

In addition, insecurity in Cabo Delgado Province has forced over 800,000 people – out of whom almost 50 per cent are children – to flee their villages and jobs.

Children are disproportionately affected by these crises. Violence and/or climate emergencies force children– especially girls – to drop out of school, as their families seek help in the fields or with domestic duties. Those who still manage to attend classes start their days on empty stomachs, which affects their learning and participation. When social shocks and disasters occur, school meals provide a strong incentive for families to keep sending their girls to school rather than taking them out to work or to engage in other activities, often harmful. Helping girls stay in school, especially into adolescence, is an effective way of preventing early marriage and of delaying first pregnancy, both of which can trap women into poverty and chronic ill health.

As a response to these challenges, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), in cooperation with the Ministry of Education of Mozambique and UNICEF, launched an Emergency School Feeding Programme in May 2021, financed by the Global Partnership of Education. The programme promotes school attendance and participation among children in crisis-affected areas, while improving their access to healthy food.

In this sense, The United Nations for Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) has been selected as the technical assistance to support WFP and MINEDH in the school feeding program through the construction of resilient infrastructures for this program, specifically, kitchens and warehouses in the provinces of Tete, Nampula and Gaza provinces. This project is aligned with the “Safer Schools” programme and also with an ongoing Technical Assistance to the Government on School Reconstruction in Mozambique. This project is considered important for children living in areas of fragility, conflict, and violence. It is expected that these infrastructures can contribute to the programme to meet the basic needs to fight hunger and protect the future of the world’s most vulnerable children, help stabilize and rebuild communities affected by conflict or emergencies, and prevent child marriages, teenage pregnancy and human rights violations that arise in conflicts.

UN-Habitat is committed to creating safe, inclusive, and resilient school environments that prioritize the well-being and protection of all children, especially girls and children with disabilities. This commitment includes integrating gender sensitivity, PSEA, and disability inclusion into all aspects of school infrastructure development and ensuring that children are protected from all forms of harm.

To support the proposed activities and to carry out the construction supervision of architectural projects including the incorporation of resilience measures on the education and other public infrastructures, UN- Habitat is hiring an Architect.

2- Objectives of the post

The Architect will contribute with the technical assistance related to the design, implementation, and monitoring of the project, as well as the delivery of training modules on resilient infrastructure ensuring that all projects prioritize gender equality, PSEA, disability inclusion, and child protection and ensuring that all the projects related to disaster risk reduction and reconstruction follow the guidelines and resilience measures emanated on the National Ministerial Diploma 122/2021 signed by MOPHRH and MINEDH and other documents related to educational infrastructures .The Architect will also support within the monitoring and development of training modules to reinforce the technical capacity of all of the intervenients of the construction process emproving the local capacity through training for local technicians, master builders, local contractors, and communities to strengthen coordination mechanisms with government entities at all levels in all of the provinces with special attention to Tete, Gaza and Nampula Provinces. S/he will also support the elaboration of maintenance guidelines to ensure that the proposed projects also have guidelines to provide the longevity of the infrastructures.

He/she will also support in the elaboration of technical documentation for resilient urban infrastructures and basic services and other technical documents necessary under the implementation of urban resilience plans.

He/she will participate and support in conducting technical meetings with the government, municipality and partners to evaluate, design and monitor the implementation of resilient urban infrastructures.

  1. Duties and responsibilities

Under the general supervision of the Program Manager of Climate Change and Building Back Better Unit and the direct guidance of the Project Manager, the Architect will fulfil the following duties and responsibilities:

  • Bring technical support for the design of architectural incorporating engineering solutions, through an innovative, affordable, resilient and low-cost approach responding to the existing needs in risk-prone zones ensuring designs are gender-sensitive, disability-inclusive, and prioritize child safety.
  • Deliver technical assistance to the partners of Mozambique Disaster Risk Management and Resilient Program and in the elaboration of architectural solutions in resilient infrastructure integrating gender-sensitive, PSEA-compliant, disability-inclusive, and child-friendly design principles.
  • Support UN-Habitat’s team in the meetings of the Mozambique Disaster Risk Management and Resilient Program and other related projects at provincial and district level.
  • Conduct periodic monitoring visits to the locations where the UN-Habitat projects are being implemented in Mozambique, with a special mentioning of Kitchens and Warehousesconstruction is being implemented in the province of Gaza, Tete and Nampula, to assist the related government field technicians and partners monitoring compliance with gender-sensitive, PSEA, disability inclusion, and child protection standards.
  • Organize and conduct training sessions for UN-Habitat local technicians, local government technicians, master builders, community members and other stakeholders involved in the projects implemented by UN-Habitat integrating modules on gender sensitivity, PSEA, disability inclusion, and child protection into all training programs, ensuring accessibility for all participants
  • Support UN-Habitat’s team in the conception, design and elaboration of materials contributing to readiness to cyclones, floods, droughts, earthquakes, as well as materials raising awareness.
  • Support UN-Habitat participating in the Education Cluster, providing all the necessary support to fill UN-Habitat’s role within this coordination Group.
  • Ensure that all community consultations and engagement processes are inclusive and accessible to women, girls, and persons with disabilities, and that children’s voices are heard.
  • Report any suspected cases of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), gender-based violence (GBV), or child abuse in accordance with UN-Habitat’s and WFP’s reporting procedures.
  1. Qualifications/Experience/Skills

Experience

  • Minimum of a 3 years of working experience within the implementation of School infrastructure projects/programs,
  • Proven working experience giving workshops and seminars using the Building Back Better –

Climate Resilience approach,

  • Experience in UN agencies and NGO is an advantage.
  • Demonstrated understanding of gender equality principles, PSEA, disability inclusion, and child protection and their application in school infrastructure projects.
  • Experience in implementing gender-sensitive, PSEA-compliant, disability-inclusive, and child- friendly measures in humanitarian or development contexts is highly desirable.

 

Skills

  • Solid computer skills in ArchiCAD, Windows Office packages especially the main programs Excel, Word, PowerPoint, MS Teams among others design software’s are an advantage.
  • Capacity to analyse and synthesize information.
  • Ability to work independently with a high level of responsibility, in a flexible manner and often under pressure.
  • Good communication and teamwork skills.
  • Ability to conduct meetings, surveys, and trainings ensuring inclusivity and accessibility.
  • Demonstrated ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive information related to PSEA and child protection.
  • Knowledge of accessibility standards and best practices for persons with disabilities and child-friendly design principles.

 

Qualifications

  • University degree in Architecture or equivalent degree in a related field

Others

  • Good knowledge of English and Portuguese.
  • Willingness to adhere to UN-Habitat’s and WFP’s Codes of Conduct, including strict adherence to PSEA and child protection policies
  1. Contacts and Submission

For the interested candidates, please share your CV to the below address with the following subject: “Candidate for the vacancy of Architect – Project Manager Assistant”

Date for submission of application: 28th of March 2025

Electronic address for submission of application: unhabitat-moz@un.org