Position Information
- Organization: UNDP Saudi Arabia, through Stars Orbit Consultants and Management Development (SOC).
- VA No. VA24-153
- Position Title: Urban Wayfinding
Consultancy Type: International Consultant - Duty Station: Makkah/Jeddah and remotely
- Duration: Up to 80 days over 6 months with possibility for extension
- Vacancy Date of Issue: 20 October 2024
- Vacancy Closure Date: 30 October 2024
- Expected Starting Date: November 2024
This vacancy is announced by UNDP Saudi Arabia through Stars Orbit Consultants and Management Development (SOC). SOC is a sub-contractor for UNDP Saudi Arabia, assisting the programme in implementing their activities through HR and contract management of consultants working in their support.
Project Description
Makkah City is one of the two holy cities of Islam in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the other being Madinah City. The two holy sites attract millions of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims every year. Indeed, the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages are the backbone of Makkah’s economy. However, the total population of Makkah City over the Hajj period reaches over 4 million, almost doubling the population density and severely straining infrastructure and services. Nonetheless, a key goal of the Saudi Vision 2030 — the Kingdom’s long-term development blueprint launched in 2016 which aims to cut Saudi Arabia’s dependence on oil, while promoting new sectors, from manufacturing and financial services to culture and tourism — is to provide quality services to 30 million international Umrah visitors (in addition to ~15 million local visitors) every year by 2030, tripling the international Umrah capacity existing today. The Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites (RCMC) was established by Royal Decree as a result of KSA’s commitment to improve the pilgrimage experience within Makkah and to transform the city. Its primary mandate is to improve services in Makkah City and the Holy Sites in a manner that is commensurate with their sanctity, with the overall aim of enhancing, strengthening, and evolving the city of Makkah for the benefit of all. The RCMC’s vision for the City of Makkah is of a polycentric, liveable, cultural touristic, resilient, and sustainable city for 2040. The scope of this focus of this project covers the update the Makkah City Strategy (Stream A), the development of its Spatial Development Framework (Stream B), the development of a Detailed Masterplan for the Central Area (Stream C), and finally, the development of Al Mashaer Concept Master Plan (Stream D) for the target year of 2040 (Plan). Streams A and B cover the entire Plan boundary (approx. 2700 km2); while taking the entire Plan boundary into consideration, Stream B focuses on the urban envelope (approx. 560km2), Stream C focusing on the Central Area inside holy Makkah’s second ring road (approx. 6km2) including the Grand Mosque and its plazas and, and Stream D focuses on Al Mashaer Al Muqqaddasa area (approx. 32 km2). Work on this Plan via a selected international consortium of over 10 world-renowned companies has commenced in February 2024.
The RCMC seeks to be an effective contributor to the achievement of the ambitious objectives of KSA. Vision 2030 and to providing quality services to 45 million Umrah visitors annually by 2030 as will be stipulated by the Plan. One of the main subject areas to be addressed in the Plan will be Utilities in a comprehensive manner with the aim of plugging any existing gaps and providing an adequate and integrated utilities network that is efficient, sustainable, and environmentally friendly towards 2040. The RCMC is the main beneficiary of the Support to the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites
Project through which UNDP will provide technical assistance, quality control, advisory services, and capacity development support to strengthen the capacity of the RCMC to deliver on its mandate, fulfil its responsibilities and achieve its vision for Makkah City and the specific objectives of the Plan while also contributing to the realization of KSA Vision 2030.
Scope of Work
Urban wayfinding and orientation can be defined as the consistent use and organization of sensory cues from the external environment to navigate urban areas and more specifically open urban spaces. Wayfinding is also related to the use of architectural elements, street furniture, signage, urban masses and landmarks, edges as well as landscape to aid orientation. It is critical that tools for urban wayfinding and orientation are looked at as integral elements of the urban environment and not simply ‘add-ons’ designed to solve individual or local urban situations. The scope of this mission revolves around this understanding, how these elements are fused into the planning work for the Central Area (stream C) and how they are being applied in the designs of six fast-track local intervention sites (currently in final design) as well as their alignment with the four levels of city-wide urban planning and design guidelines being prepared as part of stream B1. In addition to providing the specific technical support above, the scope of this short mission covers review and assessment of how wayfinding and its elements are being integrated into and addressed in the outputs of streams B and C that are being prepared and submitted by the consortium.
Duties and responsibilities (Tasks):
The expert shall ensure that the following are accurately captured and addressed with respect to the
process and outputs of the Plan being prepared by the selected consortium, specifically:
1. The current state of urban wayfinding and orientation in Makkah city in general but
specifically in and around the central area (Area within the 2nd ring road) and Mashaer.
2. How the subject matter of urban wayfinding and orientation is being captured in the
preparation process and outputs of streams B and C (possibly in D in due course) and in the
Crowd Management masterplan for the Central Area.
3. How appropriate and suitable are the elements of urban wayfinding and orientation being
proposed for the six selected sites inside the Central Area as well as the Mashaer to the local
conditions, how they fair against best international practice and how they align with the
different levels of guidelines being prepared under stream B.
4. What can be achieved on a short term against long term, considering that the detailed
masterplan for the Central Area will be completed by the end of 2025
As for general technical support to RCMC, the consultant shall:
5. Within the overall scope of this mission, support the RCMC Masterplan Department and
liaise with relevant stakeholders and consultants on any other relevant tasks by as much as
required to successfully undertake the above tasks within the context of the Plan and other
supporting projects within the RCMC.
Institutional Arrangement
The Urban Wayfinding expert will work under the overall guidance of the Urban and Local
Development Portfolio Management at UNDP Saudi Arabia Office. Technically, he/she will work
under the guidance of the UNDP Chief Technical Adviser (CTA), coordinate with the RCMC Project
Manager (PM) and team, relevant stakeholders in addition to the UNDP appointed team of
consultants throughout the duration of this mission.
Duty Station:
This assignment will be undertaken on a hybrid on and off-site basis with
the selected STE required to spend up to 45 working days on-site in Makkah/Jeddah, Saudi
Arabia. Adjustment to this modality can be agreed in discussion with UNDP and RCMC.
Qualifications and Competencies
Min. Education requirements
- BSc architectural design or engineering.
- MSc in a subject directly related to urban wayfinding and orientation/ guides/ regulations/codes.
Min. years of relevant work experience
- 10 after BSc
Required skills
- Full proficiency in the subject matter of urban wayfinding and orientation, guides, regulations, codes at both city and area-specific levels.
- Ability to participate actively in meetings and/or workshops.
- Ability and willingness to conduct and document site visits.
- Ability to understand, assess and if necessary, modify detailed urban, architectural, landscape plans, details and documents.
- Public realm planning, design and wayfinding skills.
Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section
- Interpersonal and communication.
- Basic AutoCAD skills
- Basic GIS skills.
Required Language(s)
- Full proficiency in the English is required. Ability to read/write/speak Arabic will be an advantage.
Professional Certificates
- An asset if acquired in relevant fields.
How to apply
- CV must be submitted online in PDF through SOC’s portal via the following link: https://jobs.my-soc.org/apply/20241020143609/qGQ4pXAJi7UOFfCIbsBaoT6tH
- Use the English language only.
- To review the full ToR, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ltUzHWJHF4RNHCf5Pidy8D8Vp5suLWwt/view?usp=sharing
- Indicate clear years of experience with each job (Month/Year)
- If the candidate is currently employed by a government institution, he/she must be able to provide an unpaid leave of absence for the duration of the consultancy.
- Only candidates who are short-listed will be contacted.
- By submitting your application, you have read the Terms of Reference for this position and agree that any false, wrong, or incomplete information might lead to your disqualification in this recruitment process.