Architectural Associate

Uzbekistan Office currently manages a portfolio of USD 414.7 million contributing to Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3) - Good Health and Well-being - implementing the following projects:. The COVID-19 Emergency Response Project (CERP) – Strengthening pandemic resilience by upgrading over 150 Sanitary-Epidemiological Committee facilities. The project encompasses infrastructure improvements and upgrades across 45 national and regional laboratories, procurement of diagnostic and laboratory equipment, establishment of an ICT-based national epidemiological surveillance system, and comprehensive capacity building for medical personnel. Support to Development of Oncology Services Project – Enhancing access to quality cancer care by equipping the new National Oncology Center in Tashkent and 13 regional hospitals with advanced medical, diagnostic, radiological, and ICT equipment. The project also supports establishing a national Cancer Registry and providing specialized training for healthcare professionals. Kashkadarya Healthcare Infrastructure Project – Advancing healthcare reform through feasibility studies, technical designs, and the construction and equipping of two modern multidisciplinary hospitals in Karshi and Beshkent to meet national and international standards. Procurement of medical equipment for the new Multidisciplinary Medical Center in Tashkent Project - Equipping the New Multidisciplinary Medical Center with modern medical and diagnostic equipment and operationalizing it through trained medical staff 

Through these efforts, UNOPS supports Uzbekistan in strengthening its health systems and delivering improved quality of care for its citizens. 

This position is advertised in Tashkent but may be offered in Kashkadarya.

The incumbent provides technical support services in architectural design management, construction management, and technical documentation to the projects managed by their office. The role promotes a quality-driven, client-focused, and results-oriented approach to ensure compliance with UNOPS design review standards, policies, and health, safety, social, and environmental (HSSE) guidelines, while working closely with the Lead Civil Engineer, contractors, project managers, and various other stakeholders. In the discharge of their duties, the Associate Architect supports site supervision, work measurement verification, and progress reporting to ensure project delivery within scope, time, budget, and quality standards. 

1. Support to design management

• Assist the project team in preparation of the Scope of Services for design services contracts.

• Provide support with evaluation of the receipt bids for Design Services.

• Support in writing Design Briefs for all planned infrastructure designs including: conceptual designs, detailed design, technical specifications, quality standards, bill of quantities, health and safety measures, preambles,  timeframes and strategies for execution, inclusive of gender considerations, people with disabilities and sustainability criteria.

• Ensure that approved concept and detailed designs by the Project Boards are all complete and to the UNOPS Design Review standard, and further coordinate the activities to obtain the Design Review Certificate issued by the UNOPS Design Review team in Headquarters.

• For all certified detailed designs support activities that relate to the preparation, finalization and completion of the  tender documents, including: Scope of Works (SoW), site information, budget, technical specifications, schedules, Bill of Quantities (BoQ), calculations and construction drawings.

2. Support to construction management/supervision

• Assist the project team in the planning and coordinating work activities with the Lead Civil Engineer.

• Conduct site visits, monitor and inform Lead Civil Engineer to take action, communicate and report potential delays and/or cost overruns to the Lead Civil Engineer.

• Support monitoring of the project construction work progress to ensure construction works are completed on time and to quality standards as per the contract and project design documentation.

• Support the  implementation of quality controls (QC) and quality assurance (QA) procedures, to ensure all infrastructure projects are correctly initiated, managed, monitored, reported and closed in accordance with UNOPS policies and procedures;

• Assist the Project Manager in monitoring and measuring the works progress through the agreed Bill of Quantities (BoQ) as per the contract.

• Verify and inform Lead Civil Engineer that works are consistent with the project design drawings and technical specifications and inform promptly of eventual deviations.

• Provide support and general guidance to the contractor and assist in resolving site problems, as necessary.

• Assess the work activities of contractor/s, verify measurements books, measure completed work (in situ) and make recommendations to the Project Manager for progress and interim payments to contractors.

• Assist the preparation of relevant Health and Safety and Environmental Management related Risk Assessments, Method Statements, Inspection Reports, and all other mandatory procedures required by UNOPS HSSE Organizational Directive

• Assist project team on capacity building of local contractors subject to Health and Safety and Social Environment by providing training and briefing on HSSE Plans, Risk Assessment,  tool box talks, etc.

• Oversee dimensional control and site surveying works, engineering control of the works etc.

• Maintain project documentation, including payment registers, variation registers, site safety inspection registers, site diaries, instructions to contractor registers, drawing registers, visitor registers, sample approval registers, concrete test registers, progress photos, etc.

3. Support to technical documentation

• Assist on design management process for the office infrastructure projects for office by ensuring that the project design documentation and design reviews are completed accordingly, efficiently and in timely manner

• Coordinate and assist input to the work of the Design Consultant in design development and documentation as well as the associated Design Review process and certification to obtain the UNOPS Design Review Certificate.

• Assist the Project Manager and the Lead Civil Engineer in developing the work plan for construction of the new facilities at the selected location, to ensure its completion within the time, scope, quality and budgetary requirements defined in the Project Agreement.

• Assist the Project Manager and the Lead Civil Engineer in the preparation of project/contracts related documentations such as periodic progress reports, site monitoring reports, stakeholder meeting minutes, engineer’s instructions and variation orders, contractor’s bills review reports, certifications, client hand-over documents and contracts close-out reports.

• Assist the Project Manager and the Lead Civil Engineer to develop the Health, Safety, Social and Environmental Plans according to UNOPS’ rules and regulations.

• Support the Lead Engineer on preparing the Interim Payment Certificates (IPC) on a monthly or progress  basis for each site and prior the payments to the contractors.

• Prepare quality management templates and support the monitoring of the quality of the works as per UNOPS Quality Management System.

• Compare all changes to permissible variations and prepare the notes to the file in support of the changes.

• Support the Lead Engineer for registering and managing issues, risks and lessons learned, etc. using oneUNOPS Project tool.

• Prepare meeting agendas, minutes, etc., as required, in English and Uzbek and/or Russian, and provide translations, as required.

4. Reporting

• Provide weekly and monthly reports to the Lead Civil Engineer detailing all project matters including quality, health and safety, environmental and financial, as well as any issues relating to possible delays, cost overruns, variations and any other matter as agreed with the Senior Portfolio Manager.

• Support the Lead Civil Engineer in the provision of  data and information about project work to the Senior Portfolio Manager for reporting purposes.

• Monitor closely and report on the design services’ progress against the schedule, including all issues encountered.

• Assist the Lead Civil Engineer in updating the Project quality register, issue register, risk register and lessons learned log in the time frame stipulated by the Project’s strategic documents.

5. Knowledge sharing and management

• Contribute to the project evaluation process; highlight challenges associated with the project and feedback into a continuous improvement cycle.

• Assist in providing training and knowledge transfer to national/contractor personnel including advice on good construction and engineering practices, environmental management practices, and appropriate health and safety standards during construction.

• 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

• Provide feedback to Practice Leads on policy, supporting guidance with an aim towards continuous improvement of UNOPS policies.

Required

• Secondary school (or equivalent) with 6 years of relevant experience OR

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) preferably in Architecture, Civil Engineering, Project Engineering, Building or a related field with 2 years of relevant experience is required.

Required

• Relevant experience is work in project engineering and building construction management.

• At least one (1) year of experience implementing works under complex quality, safety and environmental management plans.

• Knowledge of CAD software (AutoCAD or alternative).

Desired

• Experience in full time site management directing engineering technical trade staff.

• Knowledge of MS Project.

• Prior experience with UNOPS

• Experience with Health infrastructure.

Fluency in Russian and/or Uzbek is required.

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
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• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
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