Construction Engineering Technician - Analyst (Estimation and Costing)

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.

Afghanistan

With more than 20 years of experience in the country, UNOPS Afghanistan focuses on providing maximum support to the Government and people of Afghanistan through delivery of projects and services in line with the government’s national priorities. The UNOPS Afghanistan Country Office (AFCO) serves as an organizational mechanism to deliver a range of projects for which UNOPS has been designated as the implementation agency. At present, UNOPS AFCO is implementing a number of projects in a range of sectors including infrastructure (roads, bridges, justice and security, health, and water supply) development, procurement services, HR services, capacity building, and humanitarian protection, amongst others, on behalf of the Government of Afghanistan, the international donor community, and other UN agencies.
The functional objective of UNOPS AFCO is to contribute to the achievement of the development outcomes sought by the Government of Afghanistan. The aim of UNOPS AFCO is to provide efficient and cost-effective implementation services on behalf of all our partners to support the reconstruction and development of the country. UNOPS AFCO’s mission is to exceed the expectations of all stakeholders in the delivery of AFCO’s services, at all times, in all places, in all circumstances, in order to improve significantly the lives of all Afghans in need.

The Estimation and Costing Engineer shall work under the supervision of the Senior Civil Engineer and in close relation with the engineering team working in the Design Management Unit (DMU). The Estimation and Costing Engineer will prepare an up to date unit rate analysis for the items included in the AFCO engineering projects, participate in the designs and technical documentation produced by the design team, and specifically designs and reviews drawings, technical specifications and work methodologies according to applicable standards to ensure most economically efficient design sections and materials are adopted .

She/he will be expected to, but not limited to, perform the following duties and responsibilities:

• Responsible for reviewing the drawings and specifications of the projects prepared by the design team, and accordingly creating the final detail or Bill of Quantities (BoQ).

• Obtain – in coordination with Procurement Department – material and construction prices for cost estimation, develop and maintain necessary systems to ensure delivery of required cost estimations.

• Determine accurate cost estimates for complex Pay-items.

• Responsible for creating rates breakdown for each BoQ project item.

• Provide Cost Estimates on potential change orders, and changes in scope.

• Create and maintain an accurate Cost Estimating database of unit prices for the AFCO design unit.

• Update the Cost Estimating Database based on updated rates – materials, machinery and personnel – and the feedback from the companies responsible to implement the AFCO engineering projects.

• Perform cost comparisons and advise the most efficient combination of cost.

• Based in the Kabul Office, but available to undertake short visits to the projects site for data collection.

• Perform any other duty as requested by the Senior Civil Engineer.

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering or similar field is required. A Master's Degree in Civil Engineering or similar field is preferred.

• At least 2 years’ experience as an Estimation and Costing Engineer, for multi -disciplined engineering, construction or construction management companies.

• Previous experience working with the UN, particularly UNOPS, is advantageous.

• Knowledge of UN/UNOPS rules and regulations preferred. 

• Have strong computer knowledge on Cost Estimation Spreadsheets, Databases, and Estimating packages.

• Understanding of construction, working drawings, and engineering  technical specifications and standards.

• Good knowledge of the local market rates in the engineering/construction field.

• Working knowledge of MS Office applications with advanced MS. Excel skills.

• Able and willing to travel to all provinces within Afghanistan, including insecure and volatile areas.

• Capable of working both individually and as part of a team to undertake tasks in a fast paced environment.

• Ability to overcome challenges and work in difficult work environments/conditions.

• Excellent English skills, both written and verbal 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.
• 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
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• 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.