Background
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UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
Water resources management is a pressing issue in Yemen due to its arid climate and limited water availability. Yemen faces significant challenges in this regard, including limited agricultural productivity, high levels of malnutrition, and vulnerability to natural disasters.
With BMZ funding through the German Development Bank (KFW), UNDP Yemen and KfW have established a partnership focused on enhancing water resources management and food security in the country. These collaboration aims to address the critical challenges faced by Yemen in these areas and contribute to sustainable development. In addition, KFW and UNDP Yemen acknowledge the importance of addressing food security concerns in the country. To tackle these issues, the KFW-UNDP partnership focuses on promoting sustainable agricultural practices, supporting small-scale farmers, and strengthening local food systems. By enhancing agricultural productivity and ensuring access to nutritious food, these initiatives contribute to reducing hunger and poverty in Yemen.
Recognizing the urgent need to address these challenges, KfW and UNDP have joined forces to implement an integrated water resources management project that aims to enhance the resilience of agriculture and food security in Yemen. The project (Integrated Water Resources Management to Enhance Resilience of Agriculture (ERA) and Food Security) includes the construction and rehabilitation of water infrastructure to increase agricultural production, promoting access to markets, and empowering women in agriculture value chain in Yemen.
The overall objective of the project to enhance the livelihood resilience of poor Yemenis who depend on primary water sources for productive uses. This objective of this 3 year-project will be achieved by investing in new water harvesting infrastructure aimed to augment existing supplies to efficiently capture surface water as well as sustainable groundwater such as small to medium surface and subsurface dams, dikes, weirs, etc. The objective will also be achieved by rehabilitating existing damaged or unmaintained infrastructure which could include community cisterns, shallow wells, canals, soil erosion control measures, bank protection, low-tech agricultural infrastructure, flood protection structures (gabions, terraces, and embankments). The project aims to contribute to the overall development of the agricultural value chain and market accessibility by rehabilitating Farm-Market Roads. These roads serve as vital links connecting farmers with local markets in the targeted districts, enabling efficient transportation of agricultural products and enhancing the overall agricultural value chain.
UNDP Yemen seeks to hire a Civil Engineer to support the implementation of the project described above.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the direct supervision of the Project Manager, the Civil Engineer (Analyst) will provide support and services ensuring high quality, accuracy, and consistency of work. He/She will work in close collaboration with the project staff, operations, and programme as required to exchange information and support project delivery. She/he will provide administrative, financial, and programmatic support as guided by the Project National Coordinator and the Project Manager.
Summary of Key Functions
The Civil Engineer will be responsible for the following key functions during initial assessment and design, tendering, and construction supervision:
- Provide technical support and inputs during the preparation of design documents for rehabilitation/construction interventions and ensure quality assurance.
- Review bidding documents in coordination with the relevant functional areas of UNDP and provides effective support throughout all stages of the project.
- Support the supervision and monitor the progress of infrastructure interventions.
- Facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing on engineering monitoring and evaluation.
- Ensure gender equality and women’s empowerment.
| Provide technical support and inputs during the preparation of design documents for rehabilitation/construction interventions and ensure quality assurance. |
- Conduct initial assessments and inception visits and consultations to gather necessary data and determine the rehabilitation or construction needs.
- Oversee comprehensive technical design plans and specifications, ensuring compliance with relevant codes and standards.
- Analyze and prioritize interventions based on feasibility, design challenges, and budgetary constraints and recommend innovative solutions.
- Provide technical inputs and guidance throughout the design and construction process.
- Review and comment on design documents prepared by consultants, RPs and IPs, ensuring accuracy and compliance with project requirements.
- Conduct technical assessments and audits to identify potential design issues or construction risks.
- Advise on materials selection, construction methods, and quality control measures to ensure adherence to project specifications.
- Monitor construction activities to ensure compliance with the design documents and ensure quality outcomes.
- Conduct regular site inspections, monitoring the quality of construction, materials, and workmanship.
- Prepare technical reports, including progress updates, recommendations, and any required corrective actions.
- Collaborate with construction teams and contractors to address technical issues, provide technical guidance, and ensure project success.
- Assist in establishing project management plan with requirements and ensuring effective and efficient management of the project.
- Assist in designing and preparing shop drawings, calculation sheets, technical specifications, Scope of Work, and BOQs for water and infrastructure projects.
- Assist in ensuring that necessary supporting documentation is in place prior to issuance of tender by procurement unit,
- Participate in evaluation of bids and selection of best bidder to the tender for (re)construction works and assessment of the bidder’s competencies and experience against minimum qualification requirements as per the Request for Proposal/Invitation to Bid requirements.
- Assist in the analysis of measures, quantities and description of each item in the offers against the advertised Bill of Quantities.
- Assist in the analysis and review the offered unit rates against the cost estimate in correlation BoQs, provided by contractors, and to assess whether they are realistic evaluation process with UNDP procurement procedures.
- Contribute towards the analysis of general physical conditions of proposed sites.
- Assist in preparation of written report about the compliance of the evaluation process with procurement procedure.
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| Review bidding documents in coordination with the relevant functional areas of UNDP and provides effective support throughout all stages of the project. |
- Oversee and review the technical project and tender documentation (ToR, tender dossier, tender evaluation, etc.) for the implementation of specific rehabilitation/construction tasks by contractors and IPs.
- Develop bid solicitation documents, including Request for Proposal (RFP) or Request for Quotation (RFQ).
- Collaborate with the procurement staff to ensure that necessary supporting documentation is in place prior to issuance of tender.
- Participate in the evaluation of bids and selection of best bidder to the tender for rehabilitation/construction works and assessment of the bidder’s competencies and experience against minimum qualification requirements as per the Request for Proposal/Invitation to Bid requirements.
- Full compliance with UN/UNDP rules, regulations, policies and strategies; implementation of the effective internal control, proper design and functioning of client-oriented engineering services workflows.
- Support in the business process mapping and establishment of internal Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in Engineering Services.
- Support in the constant monitoring and analysis of the operating environments, timely readjustment of the operations, advice on legal considerations and risk assessment that impacts on engineering services.
- Support in reviewing requests for new constructions and rehabilitation works, carry out assessments and preparing the follow up action plan with recommendations.
- Collaborate with procurement staff to identify potential bidders and ensure they are qualified, conduct pre-bid meetings to address bidder queries and provide clarification, and negotiate contracts terms and conditions.
- Oversee the bid submission process, ensuring compliance with UNDP requirements, and evaluate bids received, ensuring compliance with the bidding document and criteria.
- Prepare bid evaluation reports and recommend the most suitable bidder and provide support to procurement and legal teams for contract execution.
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| Support the supervision and monitor the progress of infrastructure interventions |
- Conduct field visits to several potential locations requiring specific technical assistance and based on performed assessment recommends the best solution for project implementation and contracts management, to mitigate any deviation and ensure timely delivery.
- Reviews Terms of References for detailed design for construction/ rehabilitation of interventions where needed.
- Support during the on-site monitoring of quality and quantities of works, costs, schedule, safety, and environment issues, in full compliance with the applicable laws, bylaws, regulations, technical standards and legal requirements in the Republic of Yemen.
- Monitor and evaluate the ongoing construction works and identify any deviations from design specifications and shop drawings. In addition, ensuring the correct implementation of the works according to technical specifications, drawings, workmanship and quality of materials.
- Monitor the progress of works prepare status report according to contract schedules, specifications and project plan.
- Review budget estimates based on the recommended solutions for project implementation and contracts management.
- Assist in providing an assessment of any variation for approval of the Civil Engineer
- Check completed works before they are covered by the contractor, taking photos and measuring/sketching.
- Take daily pictures and collating these in digital formats for the contract records and duly maintain an electronic library of photos of the progress of the works.
- Ensure that health & safety measures are adopted and followed to the full extent and with no deviation and if needed instruct additional safety measures.
- Coordinate the works and oversee the construction and supervision activities for the interventions under his/her responsibility.
- Check and verify quantities of works done and review and approve contractors’ payments.
- Assist in the preparation of inspection for the substantial completion and snag list and approval of as built drawings.
- Maintain a filing system for all site memos and instructions, measured quantities of work and materials on-site, reports, and other documents and correspondence related to the construction activities.
- Collate the quality and operational documents in digital formats for the contract records and maintain an electronic library of the progress of the works.
- Assist in the preparation of the completion event and technical site visit.
- Attend weekly and monthly site/office meetings and take minutes of meetings to be given to the project coordinator, project manager, and engineering unit.
- Ensure that the daily records are kept on the site workbook, sign on the site workbook.
- Inform the project coordinator, project manager, and engineering unit of any problem which may arise with the Contractor:
- Carry out any other tasks related to the works and the project given by the project coordinator, project manager, and engineering unit.
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| Facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing on engineering monitoring and evaluation: |
- Contribute to the dissemination and sharing of best practices and lessons learned for development planning and knowledge building, including those on gender-sensitive approaches, accessibility, and Climate -resilient infrastructures.
- Collaborate and coordinate with government counterparts, and other stakeholders on engineering issues, as well as conduct joint monitoring to strengthen cooperation and coordination.
- Train, coach and mentor national institutions, contractors, implementing partners and other stakeholders on the designing, BoQ preparation, technical specifications, reporting formats and on the supervision/monitoring of implementation, ensuring quality control and application of international standards.
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| Ensure gender equality and women’s empowerment: |
- Support gender mainstreaming in the implementation of project activities.
- Ensure coordination with the gender officer/focal points to dedicate and keep track of the gender activities.
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| The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization |
Competencies
| Core |
Level |
| Achieve Results
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- LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline
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| Think Innovatively
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- LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements
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| Learn Continuously
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- LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback
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| Adapt with Agility
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- LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible
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| Act with Determination |
- LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident
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| Engage and Partner
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- LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships
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| Enable Diversity and Inclusion
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- LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination
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Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies:
| Thematic Area |
Name |
Definition |
| Business Management |
Communication |
Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience.
Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels |
| Business Development |
Collective Intelligence Design |
Ability to bring together diverse groups of people, data, information or ideas, and technology to design services or solutions. |
| Business Direction and Strategy |
Effective Decision Making |
Ability to take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one’s authority, area of expertise and resources. |
| Business Direction and Strategy |
Negotiation and Influence |
Ability to reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain advantage in the outcome of dialogue, negotiates mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and creates “win-win” situations. |
| Technical Competencies: |
| Digital & Innovation |
Design thinking |
- Solving problems by putting people at the centre, visualising ideas, and making them tangible in order to improve them through and iterative process of developing and testing.
- Strong empathy skills, being able to put yourself “”in someone else’s shoes””, understand needs, abilities, preferences, motivations, (everyday) experiences from different perspectives as well as their cultural, social, economic, and political contexts.
- Ability to identify and challenge assumptions, (cognitive and social) biases and dominant mental models by generating new perspectives and frames that help redefine the problem, solution, and opportunity space.
- Being able to work with incomplete information, ambiguity and opposing views, needs and constraints and synthesise them into solutions that are viable, technically feasible and useful.
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| Digital & Innovation |
Solutions mapping |
- Ability to engage and build rapport with vulnerable communities and get consent, facilitate participatory processes and navigate intricate power relations and cultural dynamics.
- Having the sensitivity and ability to identify grassroots solutions, capacities, assets, coping strategies that impacted communities have developed or used to address (emerging) development challenges.
- Being able to understand these solutions from a people’s perspective and learn about the conditions that enable or prevent communities from developing such grassroots solutions or coping mechanisms.
- Understand how solutions and needs are paired, and how grassroots solutions can be used as an entry point to identify unaddressed or unmet development challenges and how to use these insights to inform policy design.
- Ability to reverse engineer solutions, understanding what aspects (artefactual, principles, conditions, configuration) can be scaled and how, being able to assess their potential to be transferred to other domains, regions or contexts and build a case for that.
- Ability to appreciate and integrate various sources of knowledge (academic, experiential, observational, traditional, indigenous) in problem solving processes.
- Set up structures and processes to collect ideas, solutions and facilitate matchmaking between supply and demand of solutions
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| Administration & Operations |
Building, facilities & office space
management |
Knowledge and ability to facilitate the renovation and upgrade of offices including review of complex engineering/architectural drawings; negotiate technical agreements to ensure fully operational building infrastructure and services; design policy & procedure (POPP) for premises and facilities including space standards; manage premises and facilities; validate financial statement notes on leasehold data. |
Required Skills and Experience
| Education requirements |
- Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Civil Engineering or related field is required. or
- A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree in civil engineering) in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.
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| Min. years of relevant work experience |
- Minimum of up to 2 years (with master’s degree) or 2 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience of relevant professional experience in water/hydraulic infrastructure, including experience managing construction contracts and supervising community infrastructure projects (irrigation canals, water harvesting, flood mitigation measures, soil erosion protection, … etc), as well as supervision of rehabilitation of roads (Farm-Market roads).
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| Required Skills
|
- Record of participation in at least 5 assignments/projects of similar nature and degree of complexity (e.g., as supervising engineer, site engineer, resident engineer, construction engineering consultant, construction contract manager). The relevant construction projects would include construction/reconstruction of water infrastructure, including dams, irrigation and drainage canals, flood protection, or complex infrastructure development projects that include combination of works (e.g., water infrastructure, transport infrastructure, geotechnical works) or similar.
- Experience and Knowledge of international standards for construction projects and contracts management (ISO standards, British Standards, FIDIC contracts…..etc), as well as experience from international donors funded construction projects.
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| Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section |
- Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc), Engineering Programs (AUTO-CAD, CIVIL-3D), Arc-GIS, and advance knowledge of web-based management systems.
- Knowledge and working experience with UNDP, the United Nations system, and INGOs particularly with construction works.
- Experience and Knowledge of geotechnical and topographic assessments and surveys for water infrastructure and irrigation canals.
- Proven ability to work with multi-disciplinary teams and liaison with local authorities.
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| Required Language(s) |
- Fluency in both written and spoken English and Arabic required.
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Disclaimer
Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment.
UNDP is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.
Applicant information about UNDP rosters
Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.
Non-discrimination
UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.
UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.
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