Background Information – UNOPS

UNOPS – an operational arm of the United Nations – supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by successfully implementing its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve peace and sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management, and human resources.

Working with us

We are proud of our people. With a wealth of knowledge and skills in various disciplines – engineering, finance, human resources, ICT, leadership, project management, procurement, and more – they help tackle some of the biggest challenges of our time. Their work around the world supports progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

At UNOPS, we offer a range of short- and long-term opportunities in various environments and duty stations – from Denmark and Kenya to Mexico, Switzerland, Myanmar, Senegal, Uganda, and many more.

Diversity

With over 5,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,400 personnel recruited on behalf of our partners, spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced and diverse labor force — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs. We continually strive to maintain our gender-balanced workplace. We encourage qualified underrepresented groups as per UNOPS Gender, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy to apply for our vacancies.

Background Information – Afghanistan

Afghanistan

With more than 20 years of experience in the country, UNOPS Afghanistan focuses on providing maximum support to the people of Afghanistan through the delivery of projects and services that improve the lives of people in need. The UNOPS Afghanistan Country Office (AFCO) serves as an organizational mechanism to deliver a range of projects for which UNOPS has been designated as the implementation agency.  At present, UNOPS AFCO activities cover a range of sectors including humanitarian, basic human needs, cash for work, infrastructure, development, procurement and HR services.

The functional objective of UNOPS AFCO is to contribute to improving the lives of girls, boys, men and women living in Afghanistan. The aim of UNOPS AFCO is to provide efficient and cost-effective implementation services on behalf of all our partners to support the humanitarian response and development of the country. UNOPS AFCO’s mission is to exceed the expectations of all stakeholders in the delivery of AFCO services, at all times, in all places, in all circumstances, in order to improve the lives of Afghans in need.

Background Information – Job-specific

Under the supervision of the design team leader, the Civil engineer provides drawings packages for all projects according to a scoping template which is filled by the site team, in accordance with UNOPS’ guidelines and procedures and other applicable national and international standards.

The Civil Engineer is a member of the infrastructure and engineering supervision team of the Project. Under the direct supervision of the line supervisor and overall leadership of Head of Project, the Civil Engineer coordinates the day-to-day construction activities across all projects under the engagement, in coordination with relevant team members. The Civil Engineer  demonstrates to engineering teams best practices and  techniques of key technical and construction management work areas, extensive practical experience in performing practical construction activities and supervising works in compliance with quality assurance and quality control requirements, and extensive skills in the mobilization and management labors, occupational health and safety as well as environmental management standards on site. The Civil Engineer will be based in Kabul and is expected to travel across all project sites, as required.

 Functional Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions

1. Coordination, delivery and performance
2. Monitoring and reporting
3. Knowledge building and sharing

1. Coordination, delivery and performance

• Support the design team leader in preliminary assessment, planning, formulation and design, and documentation of Road and drainages structures for all design projects.
• Prepare construction drawings for roads, all structures along the road and drainage Structures projects under UNOPS-CRLP in AutoCAD/Civil 3D, and prepare the final design packages to the design peer reviewer for approval of IPMG.
• Perform other related duties as required by the Design Team Leader.
• Participate in construction approval and inspection activities, liaising closely with engineering and Quality Assurance (QA)  personnel  and ensuring Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) measures are implemented within construction activities.
• Support the supervisor to ensure the overall and timely delivery of the project activities are within the project schedule.
• Coordinate with contractors and suppliers in inspecting all materials delivered to the project site, ensuring they meet the specification requirements and take corrective action where the quality of materials delivered does not meet the project technical specification requirements; prepare detailed reports on deliveries made to sites.
• Check and verify the contractor payment.

2. Monitoring and reporting

• Monitor and advise the site team and provide the best technical advice to speed up the scoping and meet the project deadline.
• Support the design team leader in preliminary assessment, planning, formulation and design, and documentation of Road and drainages structures for all design projects.

• Prepare construction drawings for roads, all structures along the road and drainage Structures projects under UNOPS-CRLP.
• Prepare the initial and final design packages to the design peer reviewer for approval of IPMG.
• Organize regular meetings with staff and prepare progress reports for the Head of Project Line  Supervisor.
• Collect and document site information in relation to contractor’s work including information on the contractor’s workforce, labor, weather, Risk register, issues register and progress of work and any other related information.
• Prepare Bills and Schedules of Quantities of materials, labor, and services required in the construction and engineering works.
• Prepare tender documents, Bills of Quantities and Engineer’s estimates for works, services and goods, variations and change orders.
• Prepare and analyze costing of bids received (price bid evaluations).
• Produce architectural design drawings that include plans, sections, elevations and details of working drawings using the latest version of AutoCAD & Civil 3D software.

3. Knowledge

• Contribute to the dissemination and sharing of best practices and lessons learned for development planning and knowledge building.
• Participate in the relevant Communities of Practice, actively interact with other Engineers and the Engineering community to share case studies, lessons learned and best practice on the Knowledge System.
• Collaborate with technical team members including but not limited to architects, engineers, project managers and quantity surveyors.
• Conducting training for the technical staff to improve the technical knowledge of the engineers.

Impact of Results
The effective and successful achievement of results by the Civil Engineer directly impacts on the development and performance of the project. It confirms UNOPS’ role as a key and trusted partner to the World Bank, and UNOPS’ position as a critical service provider, in all challenging work environments. Given the current political and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, this project would support the urgent repositioning of AFCO and strengthen UNOPS presence and visibility in Afghanistan, raising the profile of UNOPS  in the global humanitarian context.

Monitoring and progress controls will be in accordance with work plans that the Supervisor and incumbent will prepare at the beginning of the assignment.

 Education/Experience/Language requirements

a. Education

• Advanced University Degree (Master Degree or equivalent) in civil engineering is required.
• A professional certificate in Civil Engineering or a relevant field will be an advantage.

b. Work Experience 

• First-level university degree in Civil Engineering in combination with 2 additional years of experience in civil Engineering in lieu of an advanced university degree.
• Experience in using AutoCAD and Civil 3D & estimation is required
• Proven experience of project implementation in close collaboration with government authorities and community organizations is an asset.
• Knowledge of UNOPS/UN rules and regulations is an advantage.
• Working knowledge of cloud-based office software packages (Google Suite), MS Office programs, MS Project, and telecommunications equipment and systems is highly valued.

c.  Languages

• Fluency (oral and written) in English is required.
• Pashto and Dari languages are desired.

Please click on the below link for actual vacancy announcement to see the complete details and submission guideline as this is only an attempt for attracting female applicants for gender parity in organization. Please make sure you fill your profile/application properly with all relevant details in order to be considered for the next stage of recruitment/selection.

https://jobs.unops.org/pages/viewvacancy/VADetails.aspx?id=28356

https://jobs.unops.org/pages/viewvacancy/VADetails.aspx?id=28356