Background

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, is the United Nations agency for human settlements. It is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate housing for all. The Land, Housing and Informal Settlements Section assists governments to formulate and implement policies and strategies designed to maximise the impact of adequate housing in socio-economic and urban development. It supports with in-depth local diagnosis of the state of the housing sector and provides technical support to the formulation of national housing policies and subsequent implementation strategies. UN-Habitat also provides tailor-made capacity development for all housing sector stakeholders. In June 2023, the Second Session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly adopted a Resolution on Adequate Housing for All which requested UN-Habitat to establish a publicly accessible platform to disseminate most recently available data on the provision of adequate housing – disaggregated by factors such as geography, gender, age, disability and any other relevant risks or causes of exclusion – and relevant policies, case studies, tools and best practices. The publicly accessible platform will serve as a valuable resource hub, facilitating knowledge exchange, data sharing, and collaboration among stakeholders working towards the goal of adequate housing for all. The creation of this platform is an essential step in advancing the objectives of the resolution, as it enhances the availability and dissemination of critical information, ultimately contributing to the achievement of adequate, safe and sustainable housing for all. The Land, Housing and Informal Settlements Section is seeking to hire a Consultant Web Developer to develop and launch the new Drupal Housing Knowledge Platform website, including back-end technical support with a special focus on international compliance on security, usability, and reach.

Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the Chief, Land, Housing and Informal Settlements Section; and the Programme Management Officer leading the Housing Knowledge Platform, the consultant will perform the following tasks and responsibilities:

• Design and implement the landing page of the Housing Knowledge Platform housing.unhabitat.org on the UN-Habitat website
• Design and implement a new Drupal 10 website to host the Housing Knowledge Platform to be connected to the UN-Habitat website landing page.
• Develop custom themes and templates based on project specifications.
• Conduct Drupal 10 site configuration and administration tasks.
• Ensure adherence to Drupal 10 coding standards, best practices, and security considerations.
• Troubleshoot and resolve issues reported by QA and clients.
• Stay updated with Drupal 10 updates, security patches, and industry best practices.
• Conduct an in-depth technical audit of the project specification while identifying any important best-practice elements that may be missing and present the gaps identified.
• Develop a comprehensive work plan based on the concept note of the Housing Knolwedge Platform, including its soft launch at the 13th session of the World Urban Forum in May 2026.
• Implement the work plan with a strict adherence to the timelines envisioned in the work plan.
• Develop a website launch plan integrating pre-launch, launch and post-launch activities and associated timelines.
• Provide technical backstopping to address any teething problems with the website.
• Regular updates of the website.

Project specifications

The Housing Knowledge Platform will offer the following key features: - Virtual Library: This will include publications showcasing successful housing solutions. As an example, the WUF 13 call for housing practices will be uploaded on this feature. UN-Habitat and partners’ publications and resources will be uploaded onto this feature as well. This will be a portal dedicated to case studies, practices, publications, and other resources presented in a synthetic format and explicitly linked to the different international housing agendas as well as to the recommendations of the OEWG-H. - Housing data portal, based on the visualisation of existing data already produced by UN-Habitat or partners, and not requiring very frequent updates. These data should be easily visualised by country, region or type of context. - Partners’ Portal: This feature will allow users to identify and connect with key in-house and external partners and online platforms. This feature will also provide an interface for the documentation of the Open Ended Inter-Governmental Expert Working Group on Adequate Housing for All, currently uploaded on UN-Habitat website. - Country pages: This feature will include a visualisation of the globe and individual country pages, with specific data and resources, summaries, relevant policies and interventions, which will facilitate the exchange of best practices and policy learning. - News and media: This section will feature news, events and a community subscription link that will provide regular monthly/fortnightly updates of new information on the platform to ensure connection with member states and non-state actors, in advocacy, outreach and communications of the latest housing data, policies, and best practices that are readily accessible to users.

Qualifications/special skills

An advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) in Information Technology, Computer Science or similar related field is required. A first-level university degree, combined with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience, may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree. Relevant certifications in Drupal development (Acquia Certified Drupal Developer) is required. A minimum of 2 years experience as a Drupal Developer with a focus on Drupal 10 is required In-depth knowledge of Drupal 10 architecture, best practices, and coding standards is required Proficiency in PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript is required Experience with Drupal theming and template customization is required Familiarity with version control systems, preferably Git is required Strong problem-solving and troubleshooting as well as excellent communication and collaboration skills is desirable Ability to work independently and as part of a team through an understanding of the Software Development Lifecycle and exposure to Agile or iterative SDLCs; Strong organizational skills and the ability to handle multiple tasks under tight deadlines is desirable Possession of the following tools and technologies is desirable: Drupal 10; PHP; HTML/CSS; JavaScript; Git; Theming and templating; Drupal module development

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations. For the post advertised, fluency in English is required.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE REC

• Design and implement the landing page of the Housing Knowledge Platform housing.unhabitat.org on the UN-Habitat website
• Design and implement a new Drupal 10 website to host the Housing Knowledge Platform to be connected to the UN-Habitat website landing page.
• Develop custom themes and templates based on project specifications.
• Conduct Drupal 10 site configuration and administration tasks.
• Ensure adherence to Drupal 10 coding standards, best practices, and security considerations.
• Troubleshoot and resolve issues reported by QA and clients.
• Stay updated with Drupal 10 updates, security patches, and industry best practices.
• Conduct an in-depth technical audit of the project specification while identifying any important best-practice elements that may be missing and present the gaps identified.
• Develop a comprehensive work plan based on the concept note of the Housing Knolwedge Platform, including its soft launch at the 13th session of the World Urban Forum in May 2026.
• Implement the work plan with a strict adherence to the timelines envisioned in the work plan.
• Develop a website launch plan integrating pre-launch, launch and post-launch activities and associated timelines.
• Provide technical backstopping to address any teething problems with the website.
• Regular updates of the website.

• Drupal 10 architecture, best practices, and coding standards
• PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
• Drupal theming and template customization
• Version control systems, preferably Git
• Problem-solving and troubleshooting
• Communication and collaboration skills
• Software Development Lifecycle and Agile or iterative SDLCs
• Organizational skills
• Drupal 10
• PHP
• HTML/CSS
• JavaScript
• Git
• Theming and templating
• Drupal module development

• Advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) in Information Technology, Computer Science or similar related field is required. A first-level university degree, combined with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience, may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
• Relevant certifications in Drupal development (Acquia Certified Drupal Developer) is required.