Construction Specialist, P3, Lilongwe, Malawi

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you for the position of Construction Specialist, P3, Lilongwe Malawi.

UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child. UNICEF has spent 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families. Defending children's rights throughout their lives requires a global presence, aiming to produce results and understand their effects. UNICEF believes all children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfill their potential – to the benefit of a better world.

For every child,

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favouritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. To achieve equity in such a low resource environment as Malawi it is necessary for the UNICEF Malawi to increasingly become a data driven organisation so as to use evidence in the formulation of programmes, their implementation, monitoring and the in the way we communicate about change for children.

Given the complexity and centrality of this undertaking, it is becoming necessary to manage data-based innovation as a distinct project that includes but not limited to the Geospatial/Big Data Hub, in order to facilitate innovative use of data in areas such as real-time monitoring, 360 degree communication, output-based management, predictive analytics, and other deep data insights. Moreover, it’s becoming crucial to have an in-house expert to guide the office in exploring and applying data science techniques such as spatial modelling, data mining, predictive modelling, artificial intelligence, machine learning, etc. To coordinate this project, it is envisaged to recruit an Information Management Specialist (Programme Manager for “Innovative Use of Data” on a Temporary assignment at the P3 level.

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you.

How can you make a difference?
The incumbent will  lead the Construction Unit within the Malawi Country office, and ensure effective and efficient delivery of all construction related activities.  

Key Expected Results

• Implementation of processes and systems that support the effective and efficient delivery of construction activities within the Country Office
• Robust Construction Roster in place that meets the needs of the Country Office
• Effective system of communication in place to ensure all stakeholders are fully informed of progress of construction activities within the Country Office
• Effective monitoring in place to ensure that contractors and engineering services companies comply with the terms and conditions of the contract
• Where disputes do occur, there is an evidence based approach to resolve issues quickly and amicably
• Technical support and guidance available to support all areas related to construction related activities within the Country Office

Key Accountabilities and Duties & Tasks

• Assess the needs of the country office related to construction activities, taking into consideration resources and objectives, and recommend how the Construction Unit should be organised to effectively and efficiently respond to all requirements. 
• Manage the Construction Unit, including the workload distribution, staff performance and development, resource allocation and stakeholder management
• Draft Guidelines and/or SOP related to Construction activities within Country Office and ensure all relevant staff are fully orientated
• Review and advise on Grant applications related to construction, to ensure all technical items have been fully taken into consideration
• Responsible to draft any Local Procurement Authority (LPA) requests with input from the concerned section, and follow up on queries and approvals with Supply Division.
• The Construction Unit are not responsible to undertake the procurement process, which is led by the Contracting Unit, but incumbent should provide advice and oversight from a technical perspective.  As such, the incumbent is responsible to ensure that all technical documentation required to commence a construction related procurement process are robust, through and complete.  During the procurement process the Construction Unit should provide technical input into the evaluation process, pre contract negotiations (if required) and CRC submission.
• Responsible to ensure that effective implementation, monitoring and supervision tools are developed and implemented, to enable monitoring and analysis of contract performance to be easily undertaken and ensure that contractors and engineering consultancy companies are working in compliance with contractual terms and conditions.
• Ensure contract close out it completed, along with completed Contract Performance Evaluation
• Responsible for the management and ongoing development of the Construction Roster.  Lead the UN joint working group to review and analyse the use and expansion of the roster to meet the required needs.
• Analysis of Country Office needs and advise on potential Procurement Strategies in coordination with Supply and Procurement Manager, which could include the establishment of Long Term Agreements.
• Provide technical support and guidance on appropriate technical, financial and institutional capacity building approaches to achieve construction programme goals. Attend technical cooperation meetings and undertakes follow-up action and coordination related to rehabilitation implementation and monitoring.
• Any other activities are requested by the supervisor

To qualify as a/an [champion or advocate] for every child you will have…

• A Advanced university degree in civil engineering, construction engineering, architecture or other relevant technical area
• Five years of experience in the management of construction activities in a developing country context
• Strong project management experience in construction related activities
• Experience in the procurement of construction and construction related services and related contract management
• Experience of designing processes and systems to support and monitor construction related activities would be an advantage
• Experience of successfully supervising a team of technical personnel
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

Our core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

This position is classified as “rotational” which means the incumbent is expected to rotate to another duty station upon completion of their tour of duty,

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified candidates from all backgrounds to apply.