AutoCAD Expert (Retainer)

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world.  Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organizations.  With over 6,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, where they need it.  By implementing around 1,000 projects for our partners at any given time, UNOPS makes significant contributions to results on the ground, often in the most challenging environments.

Established in 2009, UNOPS Ethiopia Office has been providing services to various partners, including the government of Ethiopia, UN agencies such as WHO, UNHCR and WFP, and other international organizations. Since 2014, the UNOPS Ethiopia multi-country office manages and coordinates the UNOPS activities in Ethiopia, Sudan and Djibouti. The UNOPS Ethiopia multi-country office team is composed of approximately 100 national and international women and men, and offers a broad range of services such as infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial and human resources management. 

Position Background

UNOPS strategy for Ethiopia Multi Country Office is aimed at providing support to the Government and people of Ethiopia, Sudan and Djibouti through the delivery of projects and services in line with the governments’ own priorities and also under the UN Delivery as One initiative. The UNOPS Ethiopia Multi Country Office (ETMCO) has been established as an organizational mechanism to deliver a range of projects for which UNOPS has been appointed as the implementation agency. At present, UNOPS ETMC office is implementing and negotiating a number of projects in a range of sectors including infrastructure development, Procurement Support to Government Ministries and other UN agencies and  HR support to UN agencies. The functional objective of UNOPS ETMCO is to deliver projects in an efficient and effective manner, to achieve the development outcomes sought by the Government of Ethiopia and the donor community, where capacity building is always considered and encouraged.

• Assist in preparing design concepts, drawings, technical specifications and presentations required to ensure timely, cost effective and quality delivery of the work including:

• Participating in preparation of proposals for new projects, and is responsible for the relevant preliminary planning and design documentation.

• Contribution in revising the design and drawings of existing buildings and infrastructure, for rehabilitation.

• Preparation and checking technical specifications and detail BoQ of assigned projects.

• Advice on good project management and construction practices.

• Providing assistance to UNOPS technical team in the design/works; architectural and engineering designs; selection of materials, equipment and manpower requirements. 

• Advice on good environmental practices and controls during construction and mitigate environmental impacts of the works. 

• Assisting in generating regular project reports in accordance to the contractual agreements; maintaining updates and progress reports as required by UNOPS standard procedures.

• Attending co-ordination meetings when required.

• Contributes in revising the details, design and drawings if and when required during the project life.

• Actively engage in knowledge sharing and also improve one’s professional skills.

• Maintains design and construction records and contributes in the production of “As Built” drawings and details.

• Checks technical specifications and detail BoQ of assigned projects.

• Maintain updates and progress reports as required by UNOPS standard procedures.

• Active participation in daily design team/project meetings.

• Active participation in weekly project progress meetings and project staff meeting.

• Maintaining accurate, quality and completion documentation as identified in responsibilities above.

Technical tasks:

• Produce architectural design drawings that include plans, sections, elevations and details of working drawings using the latest version of AutoCAD software.

• Produce structural design drawings such as structural floor plans, columns, beams, steel structures, details of reinforcement bars etc based on information by the project Engineer.

• Review the design drawings for the projects from the field in term of accuracy and suitability to overall design and construction requirements, including Identifying improvements in the designs and be able to propose practical solutions.

• Review the accuracy of the bill of quantities of the projects proposed matching the international standards.

• Ensures the drawings are done according to instructions, schematic drawings and technical specifications as per contractual agreement.

• Check and approve material and equipment incorporated in the works.

• Ensure as-built drawings and maintenance manuals for the finished materials used in the works.

• Improved efficiency in the delivery of infrastructure projects; 
• High-quality Architectural design drawings and reporting 
• Improved staff capacity

a. Education

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture, Engineering, or equivalent is required.

• A Technical Diploma in Architecture and Engineering with an additional four (4)  years of relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of a Bachelor's Degree.

• Certification in AutoCAD  ArchiCAD, or any relevant architectural and engineering software is required

b. Work Experience

• Two (2) years of relevant professional experience in assisting in the development of a complete set of architectural design drawings is required.

•  At least two (2) years of preparation of architectural and engineering drawings including drafting/ using the AutoCAD latest version software is required.

• At least two (2) years of experience in AutoCAD, and ArchiCAD is required, and any relevant architectural/ engineering software is an added advantage 

• UNOPS design experience is an added advantage 

• Experience working with the UN or other Humanitarian/Development agencies is an added advantage 

• Experience working with international/local projects in conflict/disaster-prone areas is an added advantage

c. Language

• Fluency in written and spoken English and the local language (Amharic) language is required.

Information Technology - AutoCAD ( 2 years) Required

Contextual Skills - Humanitarian experience (Optional)

Contextual Skills - UN experience (Optional)

Contextual Skills - Conflict and post-conflict (Optional)

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.

• 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.