Project Chief Engineer

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 guidance and supervision of the Project Manager, the Project Chief Engineer is responsible for provision of construction management knowledge and skills related to all aspects of managing the design, construction and equipping of the clinical centres in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Kragujevac. He/she will play an important role in design of the project activities related to construction and in ensuring that the outputs are the most adequate for achievement of the desired outcomes. The Project Chief Engineer will manage technical teams for Belgrade, Novi Sad and Kragujevac and regularly advise PIU infrastructure, procurement and financial departments in ensuring synergy among different project components, conduct analysis of projects’ progress, scope of works and variations. He/she will liaise with the PIU and provide advice to the Project beneficiaries i.e. clinical centre directors and their departments, Ministry of health etc. related to the project design, construction, commissioning and operations.

The Project Chief Engineer will undertake the following tasks/duties:

Stakeholder management

• Provide contribution in collating and developing external reports used to inform EIB and the Ministry and the key stakeholders
• Assist in representing the UNOPS in infrastructure matters relating to the Clinical Centres, when appropriate
• Provide inputs to the Ministry communication and visibility activities as requested.

Delivery and performance

a)     General construction

• Plan and coordinate work activities on Belgrade, Novi Sad and Kragujevac clinical centres with the Project Manager and the PIU.
• Take timely action to prevent potential delays and/or cost overruns that can be avoided.
• Report and recommend remedial actions regarding potential delays and/or cost overruns to the Project Manager.
• Organise monitoring and supervision of project work progress and quality for on-time project delivery for Belgrade, Novi Sad and Kragujevac clinical centres.
• Assist PIU to monitor contractor presence on the project site, including Bill of Quantities (BoQ) as per approved contracts.
• Provide data and information about project work to Project Manager for reporting purposes.
• Provide monthly report to Project Manager detailing all project matters including quality, health and safety, environmental and financial, as well as any issues relating to possible delays, cost overruns, variations and any other matter as agreed with the Project Manager

b)      Feasibility study/needs assessment

• Engage and manage consultants for the review of requests for possible new construction and rehabilitation works and prepare reports with recommendations for follow up actions.
• Assist the Project Manager in redacting the tender dossiers, with particular focus to the technical documents (drawings, BoQ, technical specification and standards).

c)      Design Management

• Outline design requirements (e.g. timeline) to procure design services for Kragujevac clinical centre, including concept, preliminary and final stages where applicable.
• Manage the design plan ensuring deliverables are available on time, and to the required quality.
• Assist the procurement team with technical assistance in preparation of tender documentation and bid analysis where required.

d)      Construction supervision

• Asist PIU to supervise construction works and administer works execution as per the contractual provisions and the design specifications.
• Ensure quantity/quality control and time schedule consistency.
• Verify that works are consistent with the project technical specifications and inform promptly of eventual deviations.
• Support PIU in the overall management of works implementation to ensure constructions works are completed on time, within budget and to quality standards.
• Assist PIU in the preparation of project/contracts related documentations such as periodic progress reports, site monitoring reports, stake holder meeting minutes, engineer’s instructions and variation orders, contractor’s bills review reports, certifications, client hand-over documents and contracts close-out reports.
• Oversee surveying works, engineering control of the works etc.

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
• Assist in preparation of financial, procurement and human resources plans
• 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
• Manage and review quality of outputs of the UNOPS personnel (engineers)

Knowledge management

• Assist in providing training and technology transfer to national personnel and contractor’s personnel and advice on good construction practices, good environmental management practices, and appropriate health and safety standards during construction
• Contribute to the dissemination and sharing of best practices and lessons learned for development planning and knowledge building.

Personnel management

• Manage and motivate the engineering personnel in the project and ensure all respect professional standards of conduct
• Manage and assess the performance of on-call engineers
• Support staff development through mentoring.

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, architecture 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, architecture or related discipline, preferably with the EU, UN, or an international financial organisation is required
• Experience as responsible engineer/designer on building construction projects in Serbia is required
• Experience in managing multimillion dollar infrastructure projects with value over 15 million USD is required
• Experience in supervision of inter–disciplinary consultancies is required i.e. design, works supervision, procurement, contract finance, and similar
• Experience in working with local governments and Ministries is an asset
• Experience in managing health related infrastructure projects an asset
• Experience with working with IFIs an asset

Certification

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

Language Requirements

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

Driving license

• Driving license and ability to travel independently is required

This is a local position, it is therefore open to nationals of the Republic of Serbia and to individuals who have a valid residence/work permit.

Contract type: Ongoing ICA
Contract level: Local ICA Specialist - 10
Contract duration: Open-ended subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and/or to satisfactory performance

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:
https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx

• 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.