Associate Civil Engineer, Multiple duty stations (Kavaja, Kruja, Durres, Tirana), Multiple positions

The Austria Multi-Country Office (AUMCO) was set up in August 2019 as a part of the UNOPS Europe & Central Asia Region (ECR). Specifically, AUMCO aims to enable achievement of Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement through global programmes and tailored interventions in the Balkans, South Caucasus, and Central Asia, focused on:

●        Infrastructure

●        Procurement

●        Project Management (full service, back on track)

●        HR and Transactional Services

●        Grant Management

●        Technical and Advisory Services

UNOPS, through ECR AUMCO, is partnering with the Government of Albania and the European Union, as well as with the UN system, to facilitate the post-earthquake rehabilitation, conservation and revitalization of a large number of key cultural heritage sites, museums, and cultural hubs and to promote tourism and economic development of the sites.

On 26 November 2019, Albania was hit by its most deadly earthquake in a century. The earthquake measured 6.4 on the Richter scale and caused significant casualties and property damage, resulting in 51 deaths, over 1000 injured, and nearly 14,000 people displaced. To measure and assess the economic damage, a Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) was conducted, estimating the total economic losses at nearly EUR 1Billion. 

The PDNA documented the destruction of public and private infrastructure. Of particular concern was the destruction of cultural heritage monuments and property, as 53 cultural heritage properties were significantly damaged by the earthquake. This project seeks to remediate the effect of the earthquake on Albania’s cultural heritage through the rehabilitation of monuments, as well as contribute to Albania’s socio-economic recovery through the construction and upgrade of these sites. It will be important also to support improvements in the capacity of institutions responsible for the management of these cultural monuments and sites to better accommodate tourism. A final outcome of the project is the effective communication of project results to the wider public and developing and implementing an advocacy platform resulting in better recognition of the important role of culture in the social and economic well-being of Albanian citizens.

●        Associate Civil Engineer will be involved in the supervision of contractors and other staff in the field and will oversee the restoration /construction activities that occur on the worksite. He or she will plan, oversee, and implement construction efforts at work sites and report to the project manager(Infrastructure).

●        Will be based in one of the mentioned duty stations above or travel and supervises several places during a day.

●        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 (Infrastructure).

●        Provide supervision of the project work progress and quality for on-time project delivery.

●        Monitor and measure the works progress through the agreed Bill of Quantities (BoQ) as per the contract.

●        Provide data and information about project work to the Project Manager (Infrastructure) for reporting purposes.

●        Provide weekly and monthly reports to the Project Manager (Infrastructure) 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 Head of Office.

●        As tasked by the Civil Engineer supervise construction works and administer works execution as per the contractual provisions and the design specifications.

●        Support the overall management of works implementation to ensure constructions works are completed on time, within budget and to quality standards.

●        Provide regular support of the project work progress and quality for on time delivery.

●        Assist the Civil Engineer 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 the Civil Engineer on reviewing projects detailed designs prepared by design consultants.

●        Support on preparation of solicitation documents for tendering such as BoQs, technical specifications, drawings

●        Oversee dimensional control and site surveying works, engineering control of the works etc.

Knowledge sharing and management

●        Contribute to the project evaluation process; highlight challenges associated with the project and feedback into a continuous improvement cycle.

●        Provide training and knowledge transfer to national/contractor personnel including advice on good construction and engineering practices, 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.

●        Participate in the relevant Communities of Practice, actively interact with other Engineers and the Engineering community to share case studies, lessons learned and best practice on the Knowledge System

●        Provide feedback to Practice Leads on policy, supporting guidance with an aim towards continuous improvement of UNOPS policies.

Reporting

●        Ensure accurate and timely reporting of progress and conditions on site through daily site records prepared and submitted by the engineering team.

●        Prepare and submit to the Project Manager (Infrastructure) as a minimum monthly (or as requested) report within 5 days of month-end, summarizing progress of contractor activities, quality control issues, health & safety issues, environmental issues, resourcing and scheduling issues, and any other as relevant pertinent facts as required.

●        Produce any appropriate documentation identified by the Project Manager (Infrastructure) and Civil Engineer in a professional and accurate manner.

Impact of results

The effective and successful achievement of results by the Associate Civil Engineer directly impacts the successful delivery of the project on time, budget and quality above the expectations of all stakeholders.  This consequently reinforces the visibility and image of UNOPS as an effective service provider in project services and management and strengthens its competitive position as a partner of choice in sustainable development and project services.

Education

●      Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Architecture, Building or other related Construction Management field is required

●      High school/secondary school diploma with additional 4 years of experience may be accepted in lieu of the Bachelor's degree

●      PRINCE2 certification would be considered an advantage;

Work Experience

●        A minimum of 2 years’ experience, related to the project requirements, in civil engineering/ building construction management is required.

●        Ability to deliver projects on time, within budget in a demanding cultural context with transitional government partners under challenging physical conditions and limited national infrastructure is required.

●        Relevant experience implementing works under complex quality, safety and environmental management plans is essential
●        2 years’ experience of full-time site management directing engineering technical trade staff is essential.

●        Experience in the UN system organizations and/or a developing country is desirable.

Language requirements

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required
• Working knowledge of Albanian is 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.