Engineering Specialist – Individual Contractor

Background

A number of countries in the Asia-Pacific Region that are served by UNDP have been successful in obtaining financing for projects from the Green Climate Fund (GCF). These projects are currently valued at $150M+, and other countries are in the process of submitting additional proposals to the Fund. Noting that several of the projects require large-scale procurement actions by UNDP Country Office (directly or indirectly in support of implementing partners) in Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Pacific Islands (with more in pipeline), the UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub intends to contract the services of an experienced Engineering Specialist to provide on-site and remote support (from Bangkok) in the next several months focusing on the following functions.

The engagement terms will be negotiated based on Project needs i.e., remote support from home location and in Bangkok with on-site missions to the Project locations across the Asia-Pacific region.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the Management Advisor and the Team Lead for Climate Change Adaptation Team in the Bangkok Regional Hub (BRH), the Engineering Specialist will be responsible for the following functions:

1. Technical Advice & Quality Assurance

• Provide advice and guidance on strategies for the overall design and implementation of projects to ensure that major risks to UNDP are effectively identified and managed;
• Provide expertise, support and advice regarding applicable design and construction standards and frameworks; contribute to procurement and selection of the most appropriate contract modalities; support contract management and quality assurance both with regard to engineering design and construction;
• Provide baseline advice, review and support with regards to the preparation of technical specifications, Bills of Quantities, bidding documentation, engineering drawings, construction methodologies, construction planning and programming, and assessments of technical capacity of supply market to deliver on the contracts;
• Assess the quality of engineering design and construction for construction contracts.

2. Implementation Support

• Provide substantive support to the GCF Project teams in Asia-Pacific Country Offices in the implementation of infrastructure projects;
• Advise project stakeholders on the application, interpretation and adoption of relevant UNDP policies, guidance and best practices regarding infrastructure projects;
• Review proposed mitigation measures to meet possible risks, bottlenecks and constraints during the implementation of infrastructure sub-projects, and provide feedback, where necessary.
• Advise the UNDP CO Project teams on design considerations and design review requirements including early engagement, being aware of their respective capacities and capabilities; support the formulation of capacity development programmes where short-falls exist;
• Assist in hiring engineering & design consultants/companies and/or construction companies by the UNDP Country Offices, when required;
• Provide technical support to BRH and Country offices in developing of all the phases of construction projects. (feasibility study, architectural & engineering design, works schedule preparation, BOQ development, tender process, contract preparation, construction, equipment installation)

3. Support to the Tendering Processes

• Provide technical assistance in establishing common ground for minimum standards for the implementation of specific (re)construction tasks as required by specific projects;
• Develop technical project and tender documentation (ToRs, tender dossiers, tender evaluations, etc.) for the implementation of specific design and (re)construction tasks as required by specific projects and as specified by the Programme/Project managers;
• Provide technical guidance and inputs to consultant companies for the preparation of technical documents such as EOIs (Expressions of Interest), ITBs (Invitation to Bid), RFQs (Request for Quotations), RFPs (Request for Proposals), etc.; and consolidate such technical documents ensuring that they are in compliance with procurement guidelines of UNDP.
• Participate in bid evaluation and selection of contractors for design and (re)construction works through an assessment of the bidder’s competencies and experience against minimum qualification requirements as per the bidding document requirements;
• Develop variance analysis and review the offered unit rates against the cost estimate in correlation with BoQs (Bill of Quantities).

Competencies

• Demonstrated skills in information technology including Microsoft Office;
• Ability to work both independently, against tight deadlines;
• Demonstrate an ability to undertake independent problem solving;
• Show initiative and enthusiasm for the consultancy;
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
• Be knowledgeable of UN system ideas and objectives;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Required Skills and Experience

Required qualifications/experience

• Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering  or Architecture with engineering experience is required;
• Minimum 7 years’ work experience in national/international engineering design and/or construction project management;
• Work experience in the Asia-Pacific region is preferred;
• Knowledge of applicable engineering design and construction standards in the Asia-Pacific region is preferred;
• Knowledge of current engineering design applications and software (such as AutoCAD or similar applications) is preferred;
• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.

Evaluation Criteria

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as a) responsive/compliant/acceptable; and b) having received the highest score out of set of weighted technical criteria (60%). and financial proposal (40%). Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP for the assignment.  Maximum obtainable points for each criteria are listed below:

• Education: 10 points;
• Proven experience in developing contract documents and bid evaluation: 15 points;
• Proven experience in construction management and contract management: 10 points;
• Proven experience in tender document preparation and contract management with FIDIC (International Federation of Consulting Engineers) norms and conditions: 10 points;
• Experience of working in Asia-Pacific Region : 10 points;
• Knowledge of design software: 5 points.

Financial Offer: 40 points

The financial offer will specify the daily fees in USD.

Travel :

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to Bangkok, Thailand and return to place of domicile in most direct and economy class. Should IC wish to travel on a higher class, he/she can do so using their own resources.

Any unforeseen travel during the period of the assignment will have to be approved by the project manager, and all costs travel and living expenses would be reimbursed to the consultant in line with standard UNDP policy(most direct/economy class)

CVs of Individuals technically qualified but not successful for this assignment would be retained in the RBAP IC roster. However, the addition of an individual in the roster does not guarantee a contract with UNDP.

Submission of offers

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document:

• Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided in Annex II;
• Personal CV and P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
• Financial proposal, as per template provided in Annex II.

Incomplete proposals may not be considered.

Annexes :

Annex I – Individual IC General Terms and Conditions;

Annex II – Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual IC;

Annex III – Personal History Form (P11).

For any clarification regarding this assignment please write to rbap.icroster@undp.org.

Payment terms and other conditions

• Considering the long term requirement, UNDP will negotiate the living costs in Bangkok with the selected consultant;
• Contractor will submit monthly reports, as needed, and a consolidated report within 15 days of completion of the Contract to the Supervisor;
• Payments of fees will be made on a monthly basis, upon certification of time sheet by Supervisor, except the fees for the last 15 days of the contract will be released upon submission of the final report as indicated above.