Lead Civil Engineer (Roads)

Afghanistan

With more than 20 years of experience in the country, UNOPS Afghanistan focuses on providing maximum support to the people of Afghanistan through the delivery of projects and services that improve the lives of people in need. 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 activities cover a range of sectors including humanitarian, basic human needs, cash for work, infrastructure, development, procurement and HR services. 

The functional objective of UNOPS AFCO is to contribute to improving the lives of girls, boys, men and women living in Afghanistan. The aim of UNOPS AFCO is to provide efficient and cost-effective implementation services on behalf of all our partners to support the humanitarian response and development of the country. UNOPS AFCO’s mission is to exceed the expectations of all stakeholders in the delivery of AFCO services, at all times, in all places, in all circumstances, in order to improve the lives of Afghans in need.

Project Information

In this project, UNOPS will act as a “verifying agency” with the aim to scrutinize, verify and resolve the pending claims between the relevant De-facto Authority (DFA) employing ministry or agency and contractors, consultants and suppliers, both international and local, for the works and services completed before 15 August 2021 under the relevant externally financed projects in the country. The assignment includes the verification of different types of contracts including civil works, supply of goods and services by consultancy firms and individual consultants, mainly in the infrastructure sectors, across the country.  The verification work will also include verification of certain other project costs incurred before 15 August 2021.

UNOPS will provide the financier of the proposed project with a comprehensive overview of the state of potential unresolved project-related claims, clarify the amount of pending payments with credible supporting documents, and make recommendations for the amounts to be paid to each contractor, consultant, supplier or project-affected person.

Key project stakeholders are the financier of the proposed project, working level staff of Afghanistan De-facto Authority ministries, contractors, consultants, suppliers (both international and local).

Job-Specific Information

UNOPS is seeking a Lead Civil Engineer (Roads) to lead and supervise, both technically and from a management point of view, a team of national engineers (composed of one Team Lead for coordination and Field Monitoring Officers) to scrutinize, assess and evaluate the engineering technical component of the Claims mentioned in the above Project description. The Lead Civil Engineer (Roads) will lead and participate where necessary in the activities of verification of the quantity and quality of the works that various Contractors are claiming to have achieved, through desk review of documents, field visits, satellite images analysis and other means, as necessary.

The overall project team will be composed of a number of other technical teams, in addition to Finance, Legal and Contract Management Experts with whom the Lead Civil Engineer (Roads) will coordinate and collaborate. The Lead Civil Engineer (Roads) promotes a collaborative, client focused, quality and results-oriented approach in the Project Team.

Management and coordination

• Plan and coordinate work activities with the Senior Project Manager (SPM) or whomever the SPM will indicate for coordination role, and manage priorities within the Road team

• Provide data and information about project work to the SPM for reporting purposes.

• Take charge and guide technical teams on collection and analysis of existing documentation/desk review and field data

• Manage the team composed by Team Lead and Field Monitoring Officers

• Coordinate across teams (i.e. Contract Management Specialist, Legal teams and other Engineering teams) on the required documentation/information to be collected necessary for the verification of claims

• Coordinate overall activities across teams

• Provide regular supervision as per the work plan and monitor the progress in terms of achievement 

• Participate when necessary to the negotiations meetings with suppliers/contractors

• Participate in effective recruitment, work planning, performance management, coaching, and promotion of learning and development.

• Activities within the Road team can be delegated to the Road Team Lead, if appropriate

Technical

• Lead and guide technically the Road team members on collection and analysis of existing documentation/desk review and field data

• Define the typology of assessment, data to be collected, methodology and other technical aspects of the activities that the Field Monitoring Officers will have to perform in the field assessments, satellite images evaluations, or other means of verification 

• Provide technical guidance to the Team Lead and Field Monitoring Officers, perform quality control of the team products (reports, measurements, evaluations) and monitor progress of team tasks (with the support of the Team Leader) 

• Evaluate project/contracts related documentations, such as 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.

• Ensure HSSE while team is performing work in the field

• Contribute to the dissemination and sharing of best practices and lessons learned for development planning and knowledge building.

• Organize, facilitate and/or deliver training and learning initiatives for personnel on technical related topics. Guide team's collection of feedback, ideas, and internal knowledge about processes and best practices and utilize productively.

• Handle directly activities, assessments, evaluations when higher technical knowledge is necessary and that is not available within the team (Team Leader, Field Monitoring Officers)

a.  Education

• Advanced University Degree (Master Degree or equivalent) in Civil Engineering, or other relevant discipline with 5 years of relevant experience, OR

• First level University degree (Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent) in Civil Engineering, or other relevant discipline in combination with 7 years of relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree    

b. Work Experience 

Relevant experience is defined as an experience in design, supervision, monitoring and reporting in construction of road projects.

• At least 5 years (or more depending on academic credentials) of Roads projects (spanning from design to quality control during implementation), preferably with experience in Claims management

• Experience (3 years minimum) in managing a team of at least 3 supervisee 

• Experience of working in an international NGO, UN agency or other international technical cooperation agency is highly desired

• Experience in producing evidence-based evaluation reports is desired

• Experience with satellite images usage is desired

c.  Languages

• Fluent in English (read, write and speak) is required.

d.  Certification

• Certification in Project Management (PRINCE2 Practitioner, PMI, etc,) is an asset.

• Professional certification from an accredited institution (PEng, CEng, etc) is an asset

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions 

• 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 (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. For more information on a retainer contract here.

• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.