Civil Engineer (SC10) - PREP

Somalia has been moving on the path of development, when the country faces myriad of challenges emerging from decades of conflicts, terrorism, coupled with the natural desasters. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been supporting the governments’ efforts in effective implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP), which is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), in collaboration with the stakeholders, in Somalia. In order to effectively support the FGS’ NDP, UNDP Somalia has aligned its interventions in main thematic areas, such as (i) Poverty Reduction and Environment Protection, (ii) Democratic Governance, (iii) Rule of Law and Security, (iv) Human Development and Economics, and (v) HIV/AIDS. It supports to the governments in developing strategies and policies that translate into a number of programmes and projects, being implemented, in collaboration with the governments, private sector, civil society as well as bilateral and multilateral agencies. As a result, UNDP has been contributing to achieving the overall national goal of socioeconomic transformation for poverty reduction, economic revival and societal transfer in a socially just and gender equitable manner.

UNDP’s Poverty Reduction and Environment Protection (PREP) Unit is responsible for promoting inclusive and environmentally sustainable growth, economic development and jobs creation in Somalia.  Through its ongoing programmes and projects in the areas of youth employment, affordable clean energy and recovery, UNDP has been supporting Somalia for addressing the causes of poverty and continued vulnerability to climatic change. In Somalia, it is estimated that over 60% of population are young people and around 70% of them are unemployed or underemployed. Considering the priority needs of the total population and aligning with the NDP, UNDP/PREP, in collaboration with FAO, ILO, UN-Habitat and UNIDO, has been implementing a Federal Government of Somalia (FGS)-UN Joint Programme on Youth Employment Somalia (YES), since June 2015, in several regional states. The programme, funded by Italy, Sweden, Denmark, UN Peace Building Fund (PBF) and UNDP, aims at creating employment opportunities for young men and women in Somalia. To address the nation’s priority issue of youth unemployment, the JP YES has been working with the federal and local stakeholders, for creating short- and longer-term employment opportunities for youth and women, through value chain development, market-oriented skills development and labour-intensive public infrastructure rehabilitation. After almost 2 ½ years of implementation of UN JP YES, an evaluation exercise of Joint Programme is being commissioned and would inform the future direction of the intervention, as the ongoing programme will end in June 2018. Considering the country-wide devastation of infrastructure, the overall numbers of civil works and rehabilitation of infrastructure completed by UNDP Somalia has increased significantly, not only in volume and scope, but also in more complex site areas in Somalia. Against this background, UNDP/PREP Programme is enhancing in-house capacity to tackle with the projected civil works and is recruiting a National Civil Engineer, who will provide engineering support to the PREP team for ensuring high quality planning and implementation of civil works and rehabilitation projects in a timely fashion in all regions of Somalia.

The National Civil Engineer will provide technical and advisory support services, including the review of existing documentation related to civil works, identify and manage the associated risks, assess the compliancy with construction codes and local laws related to the civil works and construction, produce/revise technical drawings, prepare/revise Bill of Quantities (BoQ) and Cost estimates and other available documentation as well as monitor the ongoing civil works related projects and reporting.

Under the direct supervision of the JP YES UNDP Project Manager and technical supervision of UNDP Chief Engineer, as well as overall supervision of the Portfolio Manager, the National Civil Engineer will perform his/her duties and responsibilities in collaboration with other team members, UNDP operations and programme units, governments, private sector, civil society and regional engineers, ensuring successful implementation of the PREP/JP YES projects. The incumbent promotes a team-based leadership, client-oriented and problem-solving approach, consistent with UNDP rules and regulations.

Summary of Key Functions:

• Ensure effective planning and high standard technical advisory support;
• Ensure effective implementation and management of civil works activities and procurement processes;
• Ensure implementation of sourcing strategies;
• Ensure proper facilitation of knowledge building and sharing.

Ensure effective planning and high standard technical advisory support

•  Analyze information for preparation of civil works’ activities for the office and projects and monitoring of their implementation;
• Apply standard engineering practices and precedents in the construction, maintenance, repair and liquidation of structures and facilities;
• Apply commonly used engineering calculations, practices and precedents in completing portions of larger projects related to the construction or repair of buildings, roads, bridges, field defenses, and other related structures and activities in the field;
• Assure the quality of civil works undertaken by partners and contractors through checking the contractors physical works, quality and quantity of works, based on drawings, specifications, notifying the contractor of any defects found and requesting additional testing as considered necessary;
• Conduct preliminary site-investigations to obtain field data such as soil characteristics, drainage and other data required for building site selection;
• Assist in developing technical data regarding materials, size dimensions, quantities and costs to be incorporated into formal specifications;
• Estimate cost of repairs to damaged buildings, facilities and systems in order to determine whether repairs or replacement are feasible;
• Liaise with Chief Engineer and PREP Project and Counterparts responsible for related specialized phases to arrive at mutually satisfactory approaches to problems through exchange and comparison of data;
• Conduct investigations to develop improved construction techniques;
• Produce cost estimates on engineering-related requirements of current and planned field missions;
• Analyze project proposals to ensure technical feasibility and to ensure that project objectives are attainable within prescribed resources;
• Ensure continuous assurance of quality and quality control during the civil works construction process and independently verifies that all works are executed according to contract specifications and requirements

Ensure effective implementation and management of civil works’ activities and procurement processes

• Prepare and submit weekly reports containing brief description of actual versus planned progress, problems encountered and resolutions, and comments on the quality of work and Contractor performance. The reports shall include physical progress of initial rehabilitation and construction works and data regarding the current financial status of the contract including a comparison of the contract amount and the estimated total cost of completion based on an up-to-date appraisal of actual versus estimated quantities and unit prices as amended;
• Full compliance of procurement activities with UN/UNDP rules, regulations, policies and strategies; implementation of the effective internal control;
• Review the projects submitted by the Contractor for the execution of the Works to establish whether the methods, arrangements, order and timing of the activities are realistic and coherent in relation to the conditions pertaining on the Site.

Ensure implementation of sourcing strategies

• Assist in preparing bid documents and managing the bid process for infrastructure projects and assessing quotations submitted by the contractors for carrying out variations;
• collect market rates regularly and prepare market rate analysis of all components of civil woks;
• Develop and manage the rosters of prequalified suppliers, elaboration of supplier selection and evaluation criteria, quality and performance measurement mechanisms.

Ensure proper facilitation of knowledge building and sharing

• Conduct training programmes, as part of the capacity development initiative, for the operations/projects staff on civil works procurement;
• Synthesize the lessons learned and best practices in civil works procurement and disseminate them amongst the staff and stakeholders;
• Contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice;

Impact of Results 

The key results will have an impact on the overall success of the specific areas of cooperation under the UNDP country programme. In particular, the key results will have a direct impact on the effectiveness on the design, implementation and outcome of key project activities results.

Corporate Competencies:

•  Demonstrate integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards
• Promote the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP
• Display cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Treat all people fairly without favoritism

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge Management and Learning

• Promote knowledge management in project team and supports the creation of a positive learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example
• Actively works towards building professional knowledge and development in one or more Practice Areas, acting on learning plans and applying newly acquired skills

Development and Operational Effectiveness

• Ability to develop, organize and coordinate periodic evaluation documents
• Good knowledge of current development issues, particularly those pertinent to UNDP employment generation practice areas and IDPs;  ability to conceptualize issues and analyze data independently
• Good technical skills in monitoring and evaluation, including strong understanding of the methodological and operational dimensions of the project
• Ability to supervise teams
• Good knowledge of the Results Management Guide and Toolkit
• Strong reporting and editing skills

Management and Leadership

• Build strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback
• Consistently approach work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
• Demonstrate openness to change and ability to manage complexities
• Lead teams effectively and shows mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills
• Demonstrate strong oral and written communication skills
• Demonstrate ability to work with government institutions (including labor, youth, municipality) as well as other stakeholders including UN agencies, NGOs, training institutions and the media

Education:         

• Advanced university degree in Civil or Structural Engineering, Architecture or other relevant technical area.

Experience:       

• A minimum of 5 years of relevant experience including preparation of design, framing BoQs and site supervision;

• Knowledge of project cycle management;

• In-depth knowledge of UNDP/UN policies and programmes in crisis and post-crisis situations, and/or experience in Somalia is highly desirable;

• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web based management systems;

• Excellent knowledge of AutoCAD and Chief Architect;

• Ability to draft clear and concise reports;

• Ability to establish priorities and to plan and coordinate work;

• Good organizational skills and ability to work independently, multi-task and work and well under pressure;

• Able to work in a team and also work with the government institutions;

• Good computer literacy – MS office applications.

Language Requirements:            

Fluency in oral and written English and Somali required

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

Qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply.