Consulting Engineer – Infrastructure Development Expert (National)

Background

As part of its three key areas of work (Environment, Governance and Social Inclusion), UNDP is constantly expanding activities that involve construction interventions. A wide range of construction projects are either under implementation or are anticipated to start in the upcoming period. The most common types of construction projects UNDP is currently implementing include: hydraulic structures (e.g., dams, river regulations, irrigation and drainage canals, water supply systems, sewerage networks and wastewater treatment plants), transport infrastructure (e.g., roads, streets, bridges, culverts), (re)construction of public buildings (schools, kindergartens), one landfill and number of other structures.

For each of the construction projects, UNDP, in line with the pertaining national regulations, hires the key contractors for design, review, construction and supervision. However, aiming to further expand the internal capacity for management of construction projects, UNDP wishes to hire a long-term Consulting Engineer – Infrastructure Development Expert with extensive previous experience in planning, tendering, contracting, executing and supervising infrastructure projects.

Her/his main role will be to provide technical assistance in: a) drafting Terms of References for hiring design, review and supervision companies; b) support the preparation of the tenders (review of technical specifications, Bill of Quantities and drawings produced by designers and their adjustment for tendering purposes; proposing qualification requirements, licensing needs and other); c) support the evaluation of the bids as required (participate in evaluation committee as an observer with an aim to provide expert advice to the members of the evaluation committee on issues related to his/her domain of expertise); d) support the project teams in setting up ground for execution of works (e.g., provide support to review of work-plans, keeping records of the construction works, as required, in addition to the functions performed by the respective supervising engineers); e) support to supervision of works as required; f) support UNDP’s teams in their technical communication with the selected contractors as mandated by the respective Project/Programme Managers; g) additional review of interim and final payment certificate prior to processing of payments.

S/he will be expected to provide additional control over the produced documentation and compliance of completed works with the highest quality standards. S/he will work under direct supervision of the Project/Programme Managers of the respective units of UNDP, and in cooperation with the project team and the stakeholders.

 Scope of Work

The Consulting Engineer – Infrastructure Development Expert will provide expert support to different UNDP projects/programmes that include construction works. S/he will provide high quality expertise in the planning, tendering, contracting, monitoring and execution of the construction works. S/he will also assist the communication with the key actors in the construction projects (e.g. contractors, supervising engineers, authorities and others), reviewing the information of the completed works (interim and final payment certificates) and controlling the quality and timeliness of the executed works as required, in addition to the functions performed by the respective supervising engineers.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the respective Project/Programme Managers, and in close cooperation with the project team and the relevant authorities, the Consulting Engineer – Infrastructure Development Expert will undertake the following specific tasks:

1. Familiarize with the existing and planned construction projects based on review of technical documentation, site visits and meetings with relevant stakeholders;
2. Provide support in improving the quality of different technical documents (e.g., conceptual and basic designs, feasibility studies, guidance documents for construction works), by review and editing (as needed);
3. Support the preparation of the tendering documentation, including TORs for design, review and supervision contractors, as well as technical specifications and BoQs for construction works (e.g., by review of designs, advise on design adjustments to overcome potential issues  prior to tendering procedures);
4. Take part in tender evaluations (as observer) and provide expert input in the evaluation of bids as required (e.g., by commenting possible reasons for price differences between different bidders);
5. Advise on the national legal requirements and procedures, international standards applicable to construction works;
6. Support the monitoring of the execution of construction works and report on all technical issues including but not limited to timeliness, quality, compliance with technical specifications and contract conditions with an aim to alert UNDP on any irregularities and potential problems, etc.;
7. Bring to the attention of management any deviations from the schedule and/or quality of works/performance of contractors, and propose solutions for overcoming bottlenecks;
8. Support the review (in coordination with the respective supervising engineers) of the interim/final payment certificates before payments are authorized, as required;
9. Support the team in the verification of compliance of completed works with the design documents, including assessment of the quality of the used materials vis-à-vis defined standards. Alert UNDP on any identified deviation regarding the quality of materials used and construction methods applied in comparison to the requirements of the relevant national legislation and the tender documentation;
10. Provide on-demand support on any relevant issue related to the construction works raised by the project management.

 Main Outputs/Deliverables

The Consulting Engineer – Infrastructure Development Expert will be responsible for producing the following outputs (deliverables):

• Reports from the review of the technical documentation
• Reports from site visits
• Revised TORs/BOQs and technical specifications for contracting purposes
• Other technical reports as required (e.g., input to the Lessons Learnt log)

Competencies

Core competences

• Communications and networking skills;
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team;
• Strong interpersonal and negotiating skills;
• Sound judgment and discretion

 Technical/Functional Competencies

• Experience from similar assignments (as supervising engineer, site engineer, resident engineer, construction projects superintendent, construction engineering consultant, construction contract manager)
• Knowledge of national regulations regarding management of construction projects
• Knowledge of international standards for construction projects (e.g., FIDIC), as well as experience from EU and other donor funded construction projects
• Knowledge of UNDP’s procedures for tendering and managing construction contracts is considered asset
• Communication skills in a complex multi-stakeholder environment in construction projects
• Ability to work under time pressures and considerable work-load
• Ability to successfully perform field/site supervision duties and desk reviews and analyses
• Report writing abilities

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• University degree in Civil Engineering (preferably in hydraulic engineering). Advanced degree shall be considered an asset;

Experience

• Minimum 10 years of relevant professional experience in various infrastructure development projects;
• Record of participation in at least 7 assignments/projects of similar nature and degree of complexity (e.g., as supervising engineer, site engineer, resident engineer, construction projects superintendent, construction engineering consultant, construction contract manager). The relevant construction projects would include: construction/reconstruction of water infrastructure, transport infrastructure, geotechnical works and similar.
• License A for supervision of civil engineering projects according to the national regulations;
• Previous experience from UNDP-implemented construction projects is considered an asset;
• Excellent communications, report writing and analytical skills.

Language

• Macedonian and English language proficiency.

Terms and Conditions

Contract modality and duration

The Consulting Engineer – Infrastructure Development Expert will be hired under IC – Framework Agreement modality as per UNDP procedures for a period of 12 months. Maximum 180 expert-days are anticipated for the entire period of the assignment.

The contract does not form a financial obligation or commitment from UNDP at the time the IC is signed, and that such an agreement is non-exclusive (i.e., it does not prohibit UNDP from entering into another such framework agreement with another individual or entity). Financial commitments will only be established each time the services are requested within the scope of IC, through the agreed triggering document that signals commencement of a given engagement.

Possible contract extension will be considered depending on funds availability and presence of construction projects.

Reporting

The expert will report to the respective UNDP Project/Programme Managers in charge of different construction projects. The produced documentation needs to be submitted in English and/or Macedonian language (case specific).

Travel and other associated costs

The Consulting Engineer – Infrastructure Development Expert is expected to travel to the project sites as required. Cost for use of private vehicle for official authorized travel shall be reimbursed in accordance with UNDP rules and procedures. Authorized overnight stay will be paid in accordance with UNDP’s applicable rules and procedures if/when pre-approved by UNDP (NOTE: travel has to be authorized by the respective Project/Programme Manager in advance).

Payments schedule

The payment for the services will be in flexible time intervals, based on the accumulated number of used expert-days in line with previously assigned working packages and approved time sheets (to be certified by the respective Project/Programme Managers prior to the payments of the installments).

Rendering of service within the period of contract

Whenever expert services are required, the respective UNDP Project/Programme Managers will send a request to the consultant using the standard form (Annex 1). The form should clearly indicate the deliverables expected, duration in days and possible travel. The standard working day is considered 8 hours, if necessary daily fee will be pro-rated.

Application procedure

The Consultant is expected to provide the following:

• CV/United Nations Personnel History form (P-11)
• Reference list of relevant assignments/projects, position held and contact details of the clients (minimum 7 required)
• Financial offer in MKD expressed as daily fee for the services excluding travel related costs.
• Copy of the license A for supervision and/or execution according to national regulations

Application instructions:

Step 1:

• Click on the "Apply now" button
• Input your information in the appropriate Sections: personal information, language proficiency, education, resume and motivation; You can type in, or paste your short Resume into the last box;
• Upon completion of the first page, please hit "submit application" tab at the end of the page. On the next page, you will be asked to upload other required documents listed in the step 2;

Step 2:

The system will allow only one attachment. Therefore, please upload all documents listed below as one file.

• CV or Personal History Form (P11)
• Reference list of at least 7 relevant work/projects, position held and contact details of the clients
• Financial offer in MKD expressed as daily fee for the services excluding of travel related costs.
• License A for supervision and/or execution according to national regulations;

Failing to submit any of these documents may result in disqualification of application.

Evaluation procedure

The cumulative method will be applied in the evaluation of the applications. The contract will be awarded to the candidate achieving the highest cumulative score from the technical and financial parts of the proposal. The technical part accounts 70% of the total score and the financial proposal will account for 30% of the total evaluation score. The shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview.

The evaluation/selection process will be conducted in the following three steps:

Step I: Screening / Longlisting

Applications will be screened and only candidates meeting the following minimum criteria will progress to the pool for shortlisting:

• Minimum 10 years of relevant professional experience in various infrastructure development projects;
• Record of participation in at least 7 assignments/projects of similar nature and degree of complexity (e.g., as supervising engineer, site engineer, resident engineer, construction projects superintendent, construction engineering consultant, construction contract manager). The relevant construction projects would include: construction/reconstruction of water infrastructure, transport infrastructure, geotechnical works and similar.
•  
•  License A for supervision of civil engineering projects according to the national regulations;
• Previous experience from UNDP-implemented construction projects is considered an asset;
• Macedonian and English language proficiency.

Step II Shortlisting by Desk Review:

UNDP will conduct a desk review on applications to produce a shortlist of candidates by evaluating:

Education:

• University degree in Civil Engineering (preferably in hydraulic engineering). Advanced degree shall be considered an asset;

Years of professional experience:

• Minimum 10 years of relevant professional experience in various infrastructure development projects;

Number of relevant projects:

• Record of participation in at least 7 assignments/projects of similar nature and degree of complexity (e.g., as supervising engineer, site engineer, resident engineer, construction projects superintendent, construction engineering consultant, construction contract manager). The relevant construction projects would include: construction/reconstruction of water infrastructure, transport infrastructure, geotechnical works and similar.
• Experience from UNDP-implemented construction projects

Step III: Interview with invited shortlisted candidates

The final ranking will be based on the technical evaluation of candidates following an interview with the invited shortlisted candidates. The interview evaluation will focus on the following key competences:

Criteria	Weight	Max Points
Experience from similar assignments (as supervising engineer, site engineer, resident engineer, construction projects superintendent, construction engineering consultant, construction contract manager)	25%	25
Knowledge of national regulations regarding management of construction projects	15%	15
Knowledge of international standards for construction projects (e.g., FIDIC), as well as experience from UNDP-implemented and other donor funded construction projects	15%	15
Communication skills in a complex multi-stakeholder environment in construction projects	15%	15
TOTAL Technical Evaluation:	70%	70

FINANCIAL EVALUATION

Upon completion of the technical evaluation, the panel members evaluated the financial offer of the candidate that met the minimum threshold.

Price assessment:

• The offer with the lowest price receives the total of 30 points
• The other offer with higher prices receives the respective score according the following formula:                                                                                           

                                                          Lowest Bid

                                                30    x          ----------------

                                                              Proposed Bid

Individual contract is awarded to the candidate with the highest cumulative score based on the technical and financial evaluation