Infrastructure Specialist

The Government of the Republic of Serbia and European Investment Bank (EIB) signed three financial agreements worth 200 million Euros for the Project “Modernization, Development, Expansion and Extension of clinical centres in the cities of Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis and Kragujevac” (Four Clinical Centres in Serbia Project). The Project started in 2007 but due to the size and complexity, as well as limited resources and capacities of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU), established within the Ministry of Health at the start of the Project, the implementation is well behind planned timelines.

In order to support Project’s ‘back on track’ and to effectively use above mentioned loans from EIB, the Government of Republic of Serbia has requested UNOPS to provide technical assistance support in project management and infrastructure project management to assist in the planning and implementation of the Four Clinical Centres in Serbia Project, financed by the Government of Republic of Serbia and European Investment Bank (EIB).

The technical assistance includes the capacity building of the Ministry of Health and its Project Implementation Unit (PIU) to implement donor and international financial institutions (IFIs) funded projects based on project management principles in the future.

Under the supervision of the Project Manager, the Infrastructure Specialist will hold the overall responsibility for the successful provision of infrastructure related technical assistance to the Ministry of Health i.e. ‘the Ministry’ of the Republic of Serbia in identification, preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all activities related to the construction of the Clinical Centres Belgrade, Novi Sad and Kragujevac. In this process, all aspects of UNOPS project management processes will be respected.    

The Infrastructure Specialist will undertake the following tasks/duties:

Stakeholder management

• Establish and cultivate relationship with the line ministries and governmental bodies, local self-governments, public utility companies and public enterprises, professional associations all as appropriate and including key infrastructure personnel responsible in the European Investment Bank (EIB); and other key stakeholders in the field of infrastructure planning and development
• Provide contribution in collating and developing external reports and developments used to inform EIB and the Ministry and the key stakeholders of trends and conditions in the infrastructure sector
• Represent the UNOPS in infrastructure matters relating to the Clinical Centres, when appropriate
• Provide support to the Ministry communication and visibility activities as requested.
• Contribute to high national and international visibility of the project, government and EIB donors, and the other stakeholders

Delivery and performance

• Provide technical and advisory support to the PIU of the Ministry for the development of documentation for relevant tender documents
• Support PIU in activities related to the preparation of technical and planning documentation and tender work packages for each of the Clinical Centres (including developing of Terms of Reference, training sessions on project preparations, answering queries, closing the tender and assessment of bids, awarding of contracts, monitoring, completion of sub-projects and transfer of final payments and provision of reports with lessons learnt and recommendations)
• Other technical support to the PIU and the Ministry on engineering issues, with particular attention on coordinating activities with other sectors and departments of the clinical centres
• Coordinate infrastructure activities between UNOPS and PIU project staff
• Advise and support project technical staff in complying with UNOPS’ internal rules for sustainable infrastructure

Procedures

• Contribute to development, update and implementation of project work plans and strategies, while in particular ensuring there is effective coordination and synergies among activities
• Actively work on development and implementation of financial, procurement and human resources plans, and ensure compliance with the organisational directives and administrative instructions
• Contribute to identification and assessment of risks and implement mitigation measures in accordance with the risk management strategies of the UNOPS
• Support production of project reports related to infrastructure activities and lead in drafting the reports stipulated by the contract with the Ministry
• Manage and review quality of outputs of the UNOPS personnel (engineers)
• Contribute to efficient and effective use of UNOPS’ tools for monitoring of performance, outputs and benefits

Knowledge management

• Participate in the relevant UNOPS’ Communities of Practice
• Contribute to identification and sharing of lessons learned and best practices within the infrastructure group
• Contribute to preparation of the UNOPS publications related to the infrastructure
• Provide feedback to the Practice Leads on policy, supporting guidance with an aim towards continuous improvement of UNOPS’ policies

Personnel management

• Lead and motivate the engineering personnel in the project and ensure all respect professional standards of conduct
• Ensure good quality conduct of full appraisal cycle, completion of mandatory courses and encourage staff continuous learning and development
• Closely monitor and assess performance of external consultants
• Support personnel development through mentoring.
• Ensure incorporation of good governance, human rights and gender equality concepts, principles and best practices into the infrastructure activities in accordance with the UNOPS objectives and methodology.
• Perform other duties as may be reasonably required and in line with the incumbent’s scope of services above.
• At the request of Project Manager and as may be reasonably required, provide support to the UNOPS activities in line with the scope of the services of this ToR, in order to promote the common objectives of the UNOPS, EIB, Government.

Education

• Master Degree in construction management, civil engineering or related discipline is required
• Bachelor degree with a combination of two additional years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of the Master degree

Work Experience

• Five years of relevant progressive experience in construction/civil engineering or related discipline, preferably with the EU or the UN, or another international organisation is required
• Experience in applying knowledge of Serbian building code, and infrastructure and planning related laws is required
• Experience in managing large infrastructure projects and complex contracts, and in supervision of inter–disciplinary consultancies is required
• Experience in working with local governments and Ministries is highly  desirable
• Experience in managing health related infrastructure projects is an asset
• Experience in developing and managing complex ToRs for multi-disciplinary construction professionals is an asset
• Experience with working with IFIs is an asset

Certification

• Construction (Civil) Engineering License is required
• Project Management certification is an asset

Language Requirements

• Serbian as native language
• Fluency in written and spoken English is required

Driving licence

• Driving license and ability to travel independently is required

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.

In Serbia, UNOPS has been active since 2000, became the Project Centre (RSPC) in 2012, and was reclassified, due a growing portfolio, to Operations Centre (RSOC) at the beginning of 2017. Since 2017, RSOC operations have expanded to North Macedonia, Georgia and Montenegro.

UNOPS has been a reliable partner primarily of the Government of Serbia, and later of the Governments of North Macedonia, Georgia and Montenegro, in providing support for demanding socio-economic reforms and facilitating accession to the European Union.

Currently, the RSOC is implementing 13 projects focussed on sustainable socio-economic development, creation of more favourable environment for employability, business and infrastructure growth, increased security, improved education, enhanced social inclusion either via enabling durable housing solutions or providing access to health, education and jobs for the most vulnerable population. All projects have good governance and gender equality as transversal themes. UNOPS projects are contextualised within the broader Sustainable Development Goals framework and objectives.