National Consultant Building Engineer – 11 months Farchana (Chad)

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them realize their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, results

Since the outbreak of war in Sudan on April 15, 2023, more than 628,000 refugees and 201,000 returnees, 93% of whom are women and children, have flocked to eastern Chad. UNICEF estimates that 188,000 of these children are school-aged.

In the area of ​​women and child protection, since the beginning of this crisis, UNICEF has been tasked with supporting and improving the technical and institutional capacities of local government social structures. As a result, the Adré social center has been rehabilitated, and further work may follow.

In terms of health, the assessment showed a decline in vaccine storage capacity from 2010 to 2024.

To meet the needs of the eastern provinces, but also for the humanitarian situation in the Chad-Sudan cross-border area, the Chadian government has asked GAVI to finance, through UNICEF, the construction of a cold storage warehouse in Abéché.

Finally, regarding education, even before the Sudanese crisis, the eastern provinces of Chad (Ouaddaï, Sila and Wadi Fira) experienced very low enrollment rates. Before April 2023, the need for classrooms was estimated at 2,945 for the primary education sector alone. Up to 85% of school-age children were not enrolled, with 600,000 children deprived of their right to education. The average number of students per class ranged from 60 to 87, while the national standard is 40 children per classroom.

Despite the progress made by the government and partners in the sectors of education, protection of vulnerable people, and health, this situation in the east has created an additional acute need for funding for education, protection, and health of refugees, internally displaced persons, and host populations.

To learn more about UNICEF’s work in Chad, please visit the  UNICEF Chad website

How can you make a difference?

 

Objectives of the consultation

The objective of the consultation is to strengthen the capacities of the Construction Unit in monitoring the implementation of construction works in order to have infrastructures that meet the technical requirements and required standards.

Responsibilities/Methodology

Under the supervision of the Head of the Construction Unit based in N’Djamena, the Civil Engineering Consultant will be responsible for preparing construction files, managing the quality of the work and communicating with local stakeholders. He/she will be responsible for verifying the level of progress of the work, the technical monitoring of the construction works in close collaboration with the Technical Design Offices (BET) responsible for quality control as well as the engineers of the beneficiary Ministries. He/she will contribute to ensuring that UNICEF fulfills its obligations for the design of the works, the implementation and the monitoring of the quality of the construction works according to the specifications of the delegated project management for which he/she will be responsible.

He/she will assume the following responsibilities

• Contribute to developing and implementing the process and methods for monitoring and supervising work in order to guarantee the quality of work under the best cost/quality conditions and compliance with execution schedules;
• Follow up on recommendations on all issues related to contract management and execution (design and technical adaptation, analysis of responses, quality and payment);
• Ensure good flow of information between the work sites supervised by the BETs, the Zone Offices, the engineers of the different Ministries and the UNICEF Construction Unit.

More specifically and depending on the projects for which he/she will be responsible, the consulting engineer will be directly responsible for the following tasks:

• Produce plans and associated cost estimates for future construction projects;
• Support the Construction Unit in its mission of organizing and planning construction project preparation files;
• Inform UNICEF, provincial partners of all issues related to sites or technical specifications, in order to contribute to effective project management and the proper execution of works;
• Monitor work plans and identify risks in order to take the necessary actions with UNICEF and the companies/BET/communities involved;
• Ensure compliance with execution schedules;
• Inform the Construction Unit of problems and failures noted in the activities carried out by the engineering firms and construction companies, as well as probable recommendations;
• Prepare and submit spontaneous and/or periodic activity reports according to the schedule to be established by the Construction Unit Manager;
• Organize and participate as far as possible in the technical, provisional and final reception of works;
• Carry out field visits/missions to monitor and evaluate implementation, prepare progress reports monitoring the activities of companies and BETs, identify specific constraints encountered in implementation and propose measures to address these constraints;
• Carry out all other construction-related activities on behalf of UNICEF.

Expected results

To assume this role and be considered a defender of the rights of every child in Chad, you must have:

Academic background/Experience/Skills  :

1. Academic degree required

• Higher education diploma (bac + 4/5) in civil engineering, building engineer or architect

2. Professional experience required

• Five (05) years of continuous experience in infrastructure construction project supervision, reconstruction and logistics planning, management, monitoring and evaluation or in a related field. Professional experience in an emergency program would be an asset;
• Knowledge of various applications like AutoCAD, Archicad, Microsoft Project and others;

3. Required skills

• Great communication and interpersonal skills;
• Great ability to travel long distances and in rural areas;
• Good oral and written expression in French and working knowledge of English (oral and written) would be an asset;
• Ability to manage the difficulties linked to the remoteness and isolation of certain sites;
• Integrity and ability to resist pressure;
• Leadership and ability to work in a team;
• Having worked (in the field of infrastructure) with the UN in general and UNICEF in particular is an asset.

4. LANGUAGES

• Excellent communication skills in French (written and oral). Fluency in written and oral English is recommended. Knowledge of another UN language (Arabic) or the local language is an asset.

Working conditions

The consultation is planned for a duration of 11 months full-time including field missions with an estimate based on 21 working days per month, of the total number of working days over three months;

Consultants must provide their own laptop and other equipment, software and facilities necessary to complete their tasks.

Supervision

The Engineering Consultant will be under the supervision of the Head of the UNICEF Construction Unit.

Submission of technical and financial offers

Candidates will be invited to submit their technical offers (technical monitoring of construction works in close collaboration with the Technical Design Offices (BET) responsible for quality control as well as the engineers of the beneficiary Ministries), a recently updated and signed curriculum vitae

Candidates are invited to submit their financial offers in XAF following the following outline:

 

Description	Unit (Day/month)	Quantity (day/month)	Unit Price	Cout total (CFA)
Daily fee	Month	11
DSA field mission	Days	15 days maximum per month
Vehicle rental	Days	15 days maximum per month
Total

Reserves

UNICEF reserves the right to terminate the contract and/or withhold all or part of the payment if the rules and regulations regarding confidentiality, ethics, and procedures of UNICEF and partners are not respected, if performance is not satisfactory, or if the work/deliverables are incomplete, not delivered, or do not meet the deadlines. The deliverables will remain the property of UNICEF.

The consultant must respect the confidentiality of the information processed during the assignment. The documents and information provided must only be used for tasks related to this contract.

For each child, you must demonstrate:

UNICEF’s core values: Caring, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability

UNICEF reserves the right to terminate the contract and/or withhold all or part of the payment if the rules and regulations regarding confidentiality, ethics, and procedures of UNICEF and partners are not respected, if performance is not satisfactory, or if the work/deliverables are incomplete, not delivered, or do not meet the deadlines. The deliverables will remain the property of UNICEF.

The consultant must respect the confidentiality of the information processed during the assignment. The documents and information provided must only be used for tasks related to this contract.

Remarks

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce and encourages all candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, including persons with disabilities, to apply to become a member of the Organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on behavior incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be required to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. The background check will include verification of academic qualifications and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to complete these checks.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy contract will not be considered “staff members” under the United Nations Staff Regulations and Rules and UNICEF policies and procedures and will not be entitled to the benefits provided thereunder. Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contract for Consultant and Individual Contractor Services. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax obligations and for the payment of all taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

We encourage all qualified candidates who want to contribute to UNICEF’s goals of building a better world for all to apply to be part of this team in Chad.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and will proceed to the next stage of the selection process.

The award of a consultancy contract to UNICEF is subject to medical and vaccination requirements, particularly against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID).