Project Management Support Specialist (Local Law)

Since opening in 2019, the UNOPS Austria Multi-Country Office (AUMCO) in Vienna has served as a hub for operations across 12 countries in South-East Europe, Türkiye, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia. AUMCO delivers technical expertise, operational support, and sustainable infrastructure solutions for governments, donors, and international financial institutions. Flagship initiatives include Blueing the Black Sea—a GEF and World Bank partnership to reduce pollution and promote sustainable development—and Türkiye’s post-earthquake recovery programme, enhancing protective services for women and children. In Albania, projects revitalise cultural heritage and advance digital justice, while in Kosovo, new university infrastructure supports higher education. In Georgia, AUMCO facilitates the Eastern Partnership European School and strengthens rule of law and digital health access. Across Central Asia, activities range from health system strengthening in Uzbekistan to hazardous waste management in Tajikistan. AUMCO also supports UNOPS’ global Water, Environment, and Climate portfolio, reinforcing its role as a regional and thematic centre of excellence.

Established in 2020, the UNOPS Office in Albania supports national efforts to improve economic and social conditions in the wake of the November 2019 earthquake. Through its flagship initiatives, UNOPS is contributing to the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites and the digital transformation of the justice sector. By combining project management, infrastructure development, and technical expertise, UNOPS aims to strengthen Albania’s resilience, enhance public services, and promote sustainable development. The Albania office also plays a role in fostering connectivity and advancing healthcare standards across the country.

The Project Management Support Specialist will be crucial in addressing these challenges by providing legal analysis and advisory support, ensuring project activities align with national laws and EU regulations, and contributing to capacity building for national institutions.

This position operates within a project focused on transforming Albania's land administration system to enhance land governance, transparency, and economic development. The project involves the modernization of cadastral records, first-time property registration, and the implementation of an EU-compatible Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS). Despite progress in digitalization, Albania faces challenges in data accuracy, incomplete property registration, and legal inconsistencies. 

The Project Management Support Specialist acts as a seasoned professional, providing authoritative legal analysis and advisory support to the project team. This role involves independently managing legal aspects of the project, adapting existing policies to meet emerging needs in property rights and land administration, and ensuring compliance with national and EU regulations to facilitate Albania's land governance reform and EU accession.

• Under the supervision and guidance of the Senior Project Manager, the Project Management Support Specialist is responsible for providing support to the project team for the implementation of the activities, as follows:
• Legal Analysis: Assess existing national laws, regulations, and policies relevant for the implementation of project activities and provide the overview of the legislative base related to the identified processes and data flows; identify potential legal gaps, risks and compliance issues, and if necessary propose the judicial amendments.
• Legal Updates: Stay informed about developments on property rights, state cadastre and land parcel management. Monitor changes in national laws, regulations, and best practices, adapting strategies to address emerging legal risks and ensure alignment with current standards.
• Alignment with EU Regulations, Standards and Integration: Analyze and consider relevant EU regulations, standards, practices, and requirements related to property rights, land parcel management and administration. Ensure that project activities and outputs align with EU acquis and support Albania's broader objectives of harmonization with EU frameworks.
• Technical and Quality Support: Contribute to the design and development of proposed solutions by offering relevant legal analysis and advisory support, ensuring compliance with national and EU regulations. This includes:
  • Evaluating legal gap analysis, including addressing data protection and privacy concerns;
  • Analysing existing legal barriers to cadastral processes to facilitate the transition to modernized, efficient service delivery mechanisms;
  • Providing legal advice and support in the Business Process Review - assessing, optimizing, and strengthening the efficiency and transparency of the State Cadastre Agency business processes and service delivery mechanisms through the Land Administration Business Value Chain (BVC) for cadastral services;
  • Providing support in digitisation, and update and improvement of cadastral maps components;
  • Providing support to the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) component.
• Risk Assessment and Mitigation: Support the project manager in conducting preliminary risk assessments to identify factors that could impact project viability from regulatory perspectives, and recommend proactive solutions.
• Due Diligence and Documentation: Prepare a due diligence checklist, document legal advice and compliance activities as requested by the supervisor.

The advice provided by the Project Management Support Specialist will be limited to providing necessary local law advice in the context of project implementation and the matters listed above. Any issue that relates to other legal matters shall be referred to the UNOPS Legal Group.

Matters falling under the purview of UNOPS Legal Group include, but are not limited, to the following:

• Legal clearance and interpretation of engagements and any amendments thereof;
• Legal clearance of deviations to and interpretation of General Conditions in UNOPS grant agreements and procurement contracts, including works contracts;
• Legal advice related to disputes between UNOPS and external parties, including representation of UNOPS in legal proceedings;
• Other legal advice related to UNOPS’ operations that does not require local law advice;
• Legal advice related to UNOPS privileges and immunities and UNOPS’ status as a UN entity;
• Administrative law advice and personnel disputes.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) preferably in law or a closely related area with 7 years of relevant experience OR

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in any of the above or related fields with 5 years of relevant experience is required

Required

• At least 5 years experience in legal analysis and advising on national laws, with specific emphasis on property rights and land administration. 
• Familiarity with Albania's legal system and national regulations.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the Albanian property legal framework.
• Technical understanding and ability to bridge the gap between technical cadastral operations (e.g., geodetic mapping, registration records) and legal requirements.

Desired

• Expertise in data protection and privacy laws (e.g., GDPR or local data protection regulations). 
• Knowledge of information security regulations, and best practices for protecting sensitive data and systems. 
• Experience in providing legal advisory on EU accession.

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.
  

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.