Technical Editor

Result of Service

The assignment will result in two technically edited, coherent and accessible Issue Briefs. Deliverable 1: Issue Brief 1, edited Word file with tracked changes and editorial queries, followed by a clean version incorporating consolidated feedback round, due in December 2026. Deliverable 2: Issue Brief 2, equivalent tracked and clean edited versions, due by the end of January 2027. Both briefs should communicate the evidence, qualitative insights, lessons learned and research implications clearly for non-specialist Canadian audiences. Final factual verification, research judgments and publication approval remain with the project team.

Work Location

Home based

Expected duration

2 months

Duties and Responsibilities

UN-Habitat is the 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 shelter for all. The Canada Office of UN-Habitat strengthens the organization’s mission to address the global housing crisis by serving as a focal point for partnerships, applied research, and policy engagement in Canada and across North America for the implementation of UN-Habitat’s 2026-2029 Strategic Plan. Operating from the City of Montreal, the Canada Office plays a central role in four domains: partner engagement and resource mobilization; research-policy-action interface; advocacy and communication; and the advancement of sustainable urbanization agendas within the Canadian and North American context.

The Canada Office places particular emphasis on knowledge and innovation with a view to accelerating housing solutions that are affordable, adequate, resilient, and compatible with national and global commitments.

In this context, the Canada Office is implementing a strategic housing initiative commissioned by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The project, Global Housing Supply Systems – Lessons for Canada, examines international housing supply systems through applied research, analysis, and expert engagement to identify practical lessons for Canadian housing actors and decision makers.

The research covers five thematic areas: municipal finance; market-based and hybrid models for affordable housing provision; Indigenous-led housing supply models; the role of investors and safeguards against unintended market consequences; and the integration of equity, inclusion, and climate resilience into housing supply strategies. This assignment focuses exclusively on the technical editing of Issue Brief 1 (municipal finance) and Issue Brief 2 (international housing supply approaches), drawing on drafts, research materials, interview evidence and consolidated comments supplied by the project team.

The project research supports the strengthening of housing supply pathways aligned with Canada’s housing priorities and international commitments, while also contributing Canadian expertise to global housing discourse. The initiative reinforces the Canada Office’s role as a bridge between domestic innovation and UN-Habitat’s global normative and operational work.

The two Issue Briefs are intended for Canadian practitioners, including non-specialist readers, and must communicate the findings, comparative lessons and research implications in accessible, precise language.

UN-Habitat Canada Office is seeking an experienced Technical Editor for a part-time, home-based consultancy, anticipated to begin in late November 2026 and conclude by the end of January 2027. The assignment will be undertaken on an agreed daily-rate with deliverables and review cycles coordinated with the project team.

Reporting line

The Technical Editor reports directly to the Programme Management Officer, under the overall guidance of the Head of Office, Canada, and works closely with the project research team and designated CMHC counterparts through the Programme Manager.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Technical Editor will undertake substantive and technical editing of two CMHC project Issue Briefs, strengthening their clarity, structure, narrative flow, analytical presentation and suitability for an educated but non-specialist public audience. The editor will work from existing drafts and written feedback, retaining the underlying research findings and ensuring that proposed changes are clearly identified for author review.

The editor will help the team move from descriptive summaries toward clearly articulated lessons learned, highlight the contribution of qualitative interviews where supported by the source material, reduce repetition, and present trade-offs and strategic implications in plain language.

Specifically, the consultant will:

1. Review Issue Brief 1 and Issue Brief 2, together with the consolidated comments and relevant supporting materials provided by the UN-Habitat project team, and identify editorial priorities for each document.
2. Substantively edit both briefs for logical organization, coherent argumentation, clear transitions, consistent terminology and an accessible, public-oriented narrative appropriate for non-specialist Canadian readers.
3. Strengthen the presentation of findings, lessons learned, practical implications and relevant trade-offs, distinguishing evidence-based insights from descriptive background material without changing the substance of approved research.
4. Work with the authors to bring forward insights from key informant interviews and qualitative research where these are documented, including suggested placement of attributable or appropriately anonymized quotations subject to source verification and clearance.
5. Reduce duplication, overly technical language, unnecessary detail and passive or academic phrasing; improve headings, executive summaries or introductory framing, key messages and conclusions as appropriate to each brief.
6. Check internal consistency of facts, figures, terminology, citations, tables, references and cross-references; flag apparent gaps, inconsistencies or unsupported statements for resolution by the research team rather than independently validating or generating new evidence.
7. Ensure consistency of editorial style, tone, structure and presentation across Issue Briefs 1 and 2, while preserving the distinct subject matter and findings of each document.
8. Provide edited manuscripts in Microsoft Word with tracked changes and concise editorial queries or comments identifying issues requiring author decisions, verification or additional evidence.
9. Participate remotely in an inception discussion and focused review calls with the project manager, authors and, where requested, CMHC counterparts to clarify feedback and resolve editorial questions.
10. Incorporate one consolidated round of author and project-team feedback for each Issue Brief and prepare a clean, publication-ready editorial version, subject to final substantive approval by UN-Habitat.
11. Deliver Issue Brief 1 by the end of December 2026 and Issue Brief 2 by the end of January 2027, according to a mutually agreed review schedule.

Qualifications/special skills

An advanced university degree in Communications, Journalism, English, Public Policy, Urban Studies, Housing Policy, or a related field is desirable. A first-level university degree with two additional years of qualifying professional editorial experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree. At least 5 years of professional experience in substantive editing, technical editing, policy communications or publication development, preferably involving research-based reports for public-sector or international audiences is required. Demonstrated experience editing issue briefs, analytical reports and other evidence-based publications for clarity, readability, logical structure, accuracy of presentation and consistent editorial style is required. Proven ability to translate complex technical research into accessible, engaging, plain-language content while preserving analytical nuance, source integrity and the author’s intended meaning is required. Familiarity with housing policy, urban development, or comparative public policy, including the Canadian policy context, is desirable. Experience incorporating multiple reviewers’ comments, working collaboratively with researchers, and delivering tracked-change and clean manuscripts to tight publication deadlines is required. Experience with UN agencies, international organizations, government institutions, research organizations is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the official working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this assignment, excellent written English and demonstrated professional editing proficiency are required. Knowledge of French is desirable.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.