Housing, Land, and Property Expert

About the role

The Housing, Land, and Property (HLP) Expert will provide technical oversight for the digitisation of land registry records in Damascus. The role ensures that all activities comply with international HLP principles, preserving the integrity, security and neutrality of land records while supporting capacity building within the Ministry.

Key responsibilities

• Advise the project team on integrating HLP principles throughout implementation and ensure digitisation is limited to preservation, indexing and secure archiving.
• Develop and review procedures for secure handling, transport, storage and chain‑of‑custody of physical land records.
• Assess digitisation workflows, metadata standards and indexing protocols, and conduct quality‑assurance reviews.
• Identify operational risks to land records, propose mitigation measures and contribute to the project’s risk‑assessment plan.
• Design and deliver training modules on HLP principles, record protection, ethical handling of property documentation and data confidentiality.
• Provide guidance on access controls, data‑protection measures and coordinate with cybersecurity specialists.
• Conduct field visits, prepare technical monitoring reports and support the development of SOPs for secure records management.
• Assist in preparing operational manuals, institutional arrangements and the final hand‑over and sustainability plan.

Required profile

• Advanced degree in Law, Land Administration, Urban Planning, Public Administration or a related field.
• Minimum three to five years of experience in housing, land and property programmes, land administration or cadastral systems.
• Proven experience in digitising land records or similar documentation projects.
• Strong understanding of international HLP standards and data‑protection best practices.
• Excellent analytical, advisory and capacity‑building skills.

Required skills

• Knowledge of international Housing, Land and Property (HLP) principles.
• Experience with land records digitisation, metadata and indexing standards.
• Familiarity with data‑protection and access‑control procedures.