Civil Engineer at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life for themselves. It provides expert advice, training and grants support to developing countries, with increasing emphasis on assistance to the least developed countries. It promotes technical and investment cooperation among nations.

Headquartered in New York City, the status of UNDP is that of an executive board within the United Nations General Assembly. The UNDP is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states. The organization operates in 177 countries, where it works with local governments to meet development challenges and develop local capacity.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Civil Engineer

Job ID: 33379
Location: Maiduguri, Borno Nigeria                                
Practice Area - Job Family: Crisis Prevention and Recovery - CIVIL ENGINEERING            
Grade: NOB
Vacancy Type: FTA Local
Posting Type: Common System
Bureau: Africa
Contract Duration: 1 Year with possibility for extension

Background
The nexus of security-humanitarian-development issues around Lake Chad has given rise to an intractable extremist insurgency that has left tens of thousands of people dead, approximately 2.5 million displaced, and more than 10 million people in the region affected and in need. While robust national and multi-national military operations have re-taken territory previously controlled by Boko Haram, UNDP recognizes that a new approach is required to consolidate these gains and establish the conditions necessary to transition from military to civilian responsibility for security, and from the provision of humanitarian assistance to the resumption of stalled development processes. In this context, the UNDP is strengthening its presence in the North East region by establishing a sub-office in Maiduguri.  The sub-office will serve as the centre of operations for programming which will include a Regional Stabilization Facility, a Disengagement, Disassociation, Reconciliation and Reintegration (DDRR) and Recovery and Resilience programme.

The Sub-Office (SO) for North East (NE) Region of Nigeria has been operational since 2017 and UNDP has established an Operations Service Centre to support management and operations functions related to the effective delivery of programmatic results in anticipation of launch of new programmes, including early recovery projects which aims to support recovery of the conflict-affected communities in the region in terms of recovery of livelihood of the community members, access to basic services, local governance and social cohesion.

Provision of basic services through construction/rehabilitation of community infrastructure is one of the programme focuses of the integrated Recovery project, such as school and health facilities, water wells/systems, housing units, shops/markets, among others.  It is considered vital that the NE Sub-Office has a highly qualified technical team for implementing engineering work with sound quality and international standard, ensuring successful implementation of construction or rehabilitation of community infrastructures in Borno , Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) states in North-East Nigeria. To this end, UNDP is seeking to fill a position of civil engineer for recovery projects in NE.

Duties and Responsibilities    
Under the guidance and direct supervision of Recovery and Resilience Unit Leader in close collaboration with the Project teams in NE Sub-Office, the Civil Engineer will perform the following functions:

• Provide technical support for smooth procurement and project implementation process of basic infrastructure projects, including support to ensure quality and technical soundness of the BOQ and specifications of infrastructure projects.
• Ensure quality of civil works and technical supervision at the project sites

Provide technical and civil engineering support for smooth procurement and project implementation process of basic infrastructure projects, including support to ensure the quality and technical soundness of the BOQ and specifications of infrastructure projects:

• Conduct the site visits to assess infrastructure facility needs and design the facility with a build-back better approaches  
• Certify designs of the facilities that are submitted by the respective authorities for civil works in BAY states
• Certify the Bills of Quantities (BoQs) submitted by the respective authorities and verify the BoQs before initiating the procurement process;
• Review and verify  the BoQs already prepared by the respective departments of national counterparts;
• Support technical evaluation process and provide advice on any procurement related issues;
• Support the project teams in NE Sub-Office in verifying the Variation Orders (VO) (if required);
• Verify the progress of civil work  payment requests submitted by the contractors before proceeding with disbursements of payments;
• Provide technical inputs to strengthen alignment and complementarity of UNDP’s support with government policies and plans.
• Assist UNDP as expert witness in litigation arising from the development or construction of the project and in bearings before various approving and regulatory agencies.

Ensure the quality of civil works and technical supervision at the project sites:

• Analyse and share information with the team and the local technical teams on basic infrastructure activities.
• Support the assessment of the project activities of the targeted sites in BAY states ;
• Support the implementation of construction/rehabilitation of infrastructure facilities, where required, and advise on project contracting requirements;
• Monitor day-to-day progress of infrastructure project activities and promptly report any abnormality or risks to the respective UNDP project managers and project teams
• Develop and design interventions based on the accurate information and risk analysis on the ground and utilizing lessons learned from the activities in consultation and coordination with respective Project Managers
• Follow up and oversee the rehabilitation of civil, electrical and mechanical works at site preparation and execution of the Works against the provided approved sketch and bill of quantities within the set time frame
• Conduct construction inspection including inspection of materials, equipment’s to be installed.
• Check materials received at construction/renovation sites against damages, missing parts and appropriate ratings; ensuring that the materials/equipment provided by the Contractor meets UNDP requirement and standards.
• Ensure that materials/equipment provided by the Contractor meets the accepted requirement and standards.
• Discuss site issues with the Contractor and promptly report back to UNDP if a problem arises that requires UNDP input.
• Checks and certifies substantial construction progress/ completion and the corresponding payments. Advice UNDP to withhold payments for any work which has been rejected or any work which is not in compliance with the contract documents.
• Ensure that the Contractor maintain safety on the site and clean the site after the completion of the rehabilitation work.

Required Skills and Experience
Education and Certificate:

• Masters' Degree or Equivalent in Civil Engineering. OR a University first degree with additional 04 years extensive/relevant experience
• Registration in the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) before 2018  

Experience:

• Minimum 2 years of extensive coordination and development experience including renovation and construction works.
• Experience in design, preparation of BoQ, estimated costs of civil structures;
• Construction supervision experience of buildings, utility services, schools, etc
• Experience in handling of tender documents for turnkey contracts, including technical inputs/specifications for the procurement of services using the conditions of international lending/funding agencies
• Preparation of work progress reports, daily, weekly, milestone, etc
• Proven ability to work with multi-disciplinary teams and liaison with authorities.
• Experience in supervising rehabilitation works and managing projects.
• Working experience with UN/UNDP is highly desirable;
• Technical skills required
• Functionally-related professional management skills.
• Ability to plan and prioritize work activities to meet organizational goals and organize and oversee work processes efficiently to achieve quality results.
• Knowledge of strategic planning processes, programming.
• Knowledge of fundraising, project and programme drafting.

Competencies:
Ability to think conceptually and flexibly, capacity to adapt, innovate, and propose multiple options:

• A team player with good interpersonal skills
• Ability to practice courtesy and diplomacy with high-rank officials.
• Time management skills.
• Enjoy sensitivity for research and academic integrity.
• Ability to work well under pressure and stressful environment
• Promoting ethics and integrity, creating organizational precedents
• Building support and political acumen
• Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication
• Leveraging conflict in the interests of UNDP & setting standards
• Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning
• Fair and transparent  decision making; calculated risk-taking

Language Requirements:

• Fluent in spoken and written English is a requirement.
• The ability to communicate effectively in Kanuri, Hausa, or other local language spoken in the NE region is an asset.

Application Closing Date
7th November, 2020 (Midnight New York, USA).

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Important Applicant Information
Applicant information about UNDP rosters:

• 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.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply    

Scam Warning:

• The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fees in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.