Project Engineer - Internal Vacancy Announcement

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.

The Department for International Development (DFID) through its Operational Plan is committed to support Nepal in its efforts to ensure communities can live in safety and security. Nepal’s own commitments in this area are particularly enhanced by the National Human Rights Action Plan (2011-2014), and, of special interest to the UK, the National Plan of Action Against Gender-Based Violence.

DFID’s proposed IP aims to improve security and access to justice for poor and traditionally excluded people, especially women and girls. It has been designed on the basis of extensive analysis that is set out in the DFID ‘Security and Justice for the Poor’ (SJ4P) Business Case.

The IP is a major initiative coordinated by a Board convened by the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of Nepal that aims to ensure inter-related initiatives are mutually reinforcing, notably on the Government and UK priority of tackling Gender-Based Violence.

The overall programme approach involves interlocking elements of:

a)         community-level awareness-raising about laws and services, and the facilitation of dialogue with state institutions;

b)         modernized and context-specific facilities and equipment for better public service delivery by state institutions and;

c)         improved institutional systems of resource utilization, performance management and oversight.

The overall programme will be holistic across hard Facilities and Equipment (F&E) and soft (Capacity and Skills Development, Police-Public Partnerships, Community Awareness-raising and Social Development etc.) elements. Institutional beneficiaries (Nepal Police and targeted state/ non state organizations) will be able to better service communities who will have a greater access to, and awareness of, the services proposed. Long term results will centre on the security and access to justice experienced, and perceived, by the poor and traditionally excluded, through improved delivery of service to the communities, increased level of awareness of services offered and thereby improved access. Disaster resilience and climate change considerations will also be cross-cutting priorities across the project investments.

1.1.     About the Modernisation and Improvement of Policing Project

Under this programme, UNOPS is to implement support to the component: Modernization and Improvement of Policing Project (MIPP). The MIPP is primarily focused on the Nepal Police, but will likely also encompass some related security and justice services in the targeted district. The MIPP will modernize, tailor and help sustain high quality service delivery through improved infrastructures and systems of resource utilization, performance management and oversight.

The elements would be to:

a)         Identify and prioritize F&E required for improved public service delivery for access to justice in approximately 25 districts determined by GoN in collaboration with DFID;

b)         Procure building refurbishment, civil works, specialized and non-specialized equipment and supplies;

c)         Procure forensic equipment for the central laboratory;

d)         Implement the construction, O&M plans;

e)         Provide technical advisory services related to performance management, improvement and oversight.

The project will be implemented over a 4-year period, through three operational segments, in up to 25-28 districts. It is envisaged that, in the latter part of the project, implementation will be handed over to the GoN with UNOPS taking on a technical advisory role.

The primary focus will be units of the Nepal Police, but complementary work would deliver public-facing improvements to justice-related services provided by District Administration Office, Women and Children Development Offices and, conceivably prisons.

2. Purpose and Scope of Assignment

The Project Engineer will be responsible for assisting the Senior Project Engineer or Project Manager to in (i) the assessment of rehabilitation works and the preparation of assessment reports including preliminary design and cost estimate, (ii) the execution of the construction/rehabilitation projects as undertaken by UNOPS. The Projects include the construction of buildings using private sector to get the job done.

• Review requests for new constructions or rehabilitation works, carry out assessments and prepare reports with recommendations for follow up actions;

• Liaise with the project stakeholders, develop plan of rehabilitation and required activities needs for the health facility buildings.

• Assist the Senior Project Engineer or PM to provide the technical input to the preparation of tenders, during bid evaluation process and in the preparation of the contracts award approval documents.

• As tasked by the Senior Project Engineer or the Project Manager, supervise the construction works, and administer the works execution as per the contractual provisions and the design specifications;

• Overall management of the works implementation in the field that will ensure the constructions works are completed on time, within budget and up to quality standards;

• Timely actions on potential delays and/or cost overruns that can either be prevented or mitigated are to be quickly reported with recommended remedial actions to the Senior Project Engineer or PM;

• Assist Senior Project Engineer or PM in the preparation of project / contracts related documentations such as periodic progress reports, site monitoring reports, stakeholder meeting minutes, Engineer’s Instructions and Variation Orders, Contractor’s bills review reports, certifications, client hand-over documents and contracts close-out reports.

• Assist in providing training and technology transfer to national personnel and contractor’s personnel and advise on good construction practices, good environmental management practices, and appropriate health and safety standards during construction;

• Represent UNOPS in project implementation activities in the field, as directed by the Project Manager and the Senior Project Engineer, in order to ensure that UNOPS procedures and the standards adhere to all project implementation activities.

• Support the Project Manager and the Programme team in any other matter as required;

Monitoring and Progress Controls:

• Regular supervision of the project work progress and quality for on time delivery

• Monitor contractor presence in the project site and monitor BoQ as per approved contract document

• Provide data and information about project work to Sr. Project Engineer or PM for reporting purposes

 Final Product:

• Support Sr. Project Engineer or PM in preparation of interim and final payment cortication’s, provide input to

• Senior Project Engineer or PM for drafting completion report 

• Follow up and submission of Handover corticated to the line department of the State Govt.

Education

• A Master degree in Civil Engineering or any other relevant field is required

• A Bachelor degree in combination with 2 additional years’ relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the Master degree.

Experience

• At least 2 years of experience in buildings and community infrastructure projects direct engagements is required.
• Experience in supervision of civil engineering construction activities is required.

Languages

• Fluency in spoken and written English and Nepali is required

• Position called for qualified female as preference.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• 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.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• 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.