Field Monitoring Engineer

UNOPS has been established in Sierra Leone since 2000 and currently has approximately 48 personnel in country, operating out of 3 main locations – in Freetown (with frequent visit to sites and other district) and home based.

During the last 15 years, UNOPS has delivered a variety of infrastructure projects nationwide, particularly in the fields of health and security infrastructure, and has procured a variety of vehicles, non-medical health related items and medical equipment.

Current projects include:

• Infrastructure Programme for Isolation Units; Construction of screening and isolation units for government hospitals under the Ebola Emergency Response Project (EERP) (with funding from the World Bank) and medical waste management and WASH (with funding from DFID) in support of the Ministry of Health.
• Procurement of non-health items and services to contribute to the Global Fund Programme in Sierra Leone, for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM)
• Construction of the new Administrative Headquarters of the Transnational Organised Crime Unit (TOCU) in Freetown, Sierra Leone for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Purpose and Scope of Assignment
In order to respond to the Ministry of Energy’s challenge of providing off-grid rural electrification solutions in Sierra Leone, UNOPS has been engaged to deliver the Rural Renewable Energy Project (RREP) with the objective of increasing accessibility to public services and enhancing economic growth in underserved rural communities.

The present four-year project has been developed with the target outcome to increase rural renewable energy access through private sector involvement, and support institutional development/reforms on regulatory frameworks and business model approaches. The RREP will implement sustainable technical and financial solutions to establish electrification of villages through mini-grids, along with the technical assistance required to support the sustainable development of this off-grid renewable energy initiative.

The RREP is developed around technical solutions designed under three work packages (WP):

Work package 1 and 1+: Installing stand-alone 6kWp solar photovoltaic (sPV) systems in a minimum of 50 communities by July 2017 (with the ambition to scale up to 80 communities subject to availability of funds).  The stand-alone 6kWp solar photovoltaic systems will provide electricity to the Community Health Centres, and subsequently be expanded into small mini-grids in the 50 villages by the end of 2017, to connect all other public institutions and households in the village.  The 50 small mini-grids (< ~36kW) will be operated by private operators with commercial interests or local communities associations, both ensuring long term sustainability by December 2017.

Work package 2: The project will support a range of public-private sector business models for providing rural communities electrification through installation of environmentally and economically sustainable mini-grids (> ~36kW). A minimum of 40 mini-grids will be completed by October 2020, adding up to 5 MW to the country’s power generation capacity

Work package 3: Technical Assistance (TA) and institutional development (capacity building) to both government authorities and private sector, as part of the holistic approach to facilitate mini-grids development and long term sustainable operations.

The Field Monitoring Engineer will be based on site, under the direct supervision of the Construction Manager.

Functions
1. General construction
2. Reporting
3. Knowledge management
4. Monitoring and control

i.        General construction

• Assist the Construction Manager to monitor UNOPS implementation plan including Quality, Health & Safety, Social and Environment.
• Where required assist the Contractor to manage, plan and coordinate monthly, weekly and daily construction activities including monitoring site safety and construction quality.
• Participate in construction approval and inspection activities.
• Liaise closely with Engineering staff, ensuring Engineering accuracy of construction activities.
• Identify and solve construction issues in a timely fashion, keeping the Construction Manager and Engineering staff informed.
• Liaise with, and provide support to other offices within the country as required.
• Promote a collaborative, client focused, quality and results-oriented approach in the Project Team.

ii.        Reporting

• Ensure accurate and timely reporting of progress and conditions on site through daily site records.
• Prepare and submit to the construction  manager weekly or monthly (or as requested) report within 5th day of the week-end, summarizing progress of contractor activities, quality control issues, resourcing and scheduling issues, and any other pertinent facts as required.
• Produce any appropriate documentation identified by the Construction Manager in a professional and accurate manner.

iii.        Knowledge sharing

• 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 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.

iv.        Monitoring and control

In order to carry out his/her tasks, the Field Monitoring Engineer will be required to carry out daily site supervision with frequent travel to other sites where works is being implemented (community health centers are scattered in regions/districts across the country):

Specific duties and responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:

• Understand the technical specification and scope of work of each contractor that has been assigned to him/her by the Construction Manager
• Assist the Site Supervisor in the implementation of Quality Plans for the project to ensure specified quality of the work is achieved
• Administer the contracts and supervise project activities to ensure the work complies with the design and specifications.
• Check contractor's claims and submittal against its accuracy and reality, and make recommendations to the construction manager
• Verifying and revising contractor reports, proposal for changes and request for payment issued by the contractor and transmit them (for eventual approval) to the Construction Manager, together with comments, or remarks
• Ensure the strict implementation of quality control standards and procedures on the sites and report regularly to the construction manager.
• Ensure Site Supervisors are carrying out their duties in line with ToR and Project requirements
• Take necessary steps to ensure timely completion of Contractors' work and control of project budget.
• Prepare project progress reports and project briefs to the construction manager and assist him/her in compilation of data for reporting and briefings.
• Draft periodical reports for the Technical  team leader
• Prepare and manage project documentation systematically, especially assuring the tidiness of the contractors' site registers.
• Take responsibility for UNOPS assets at project sites
• Ensure that the project activities are aligned with the overall project plan.
• Regularly update on the status of the project and propose workable solutions to recover from delays
• Report all errors, omissions, discrepancies and deficiencies to Construction Manager and record them on the project site register/s.
• Organizing and planning daily activities for site supervisors to follow
• Maintain daily contacts with the contractor and report any relevant issue to the Construction Manager/Technical team leader
• Perform other functions as may be assigned by the Construction Manager
• Cooperate with the Construction Manager/Technical team leader to ensure he is in the condition to provide needed support to the operation Actively support the Construction Manager and all relevant stakeholders with the supply of data and information including, but not limited to, reports, project completion report or any related closure documents

Impact of Results  
The effective and successful achievement of results by the Field Monitoring Engineer directly impacts the successful delivery of the project on time, budget and above all 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.

Expected results are:

• Site supervision team organization and operational capacity
• Manage day to day site running of activities and works implementation
• Adequate quality control of the construction process
• Appropriate technical dossier for every site up to date
• Site management procedures in place and aligned with UNOPS policies
• Diligent contract implementation and limited number of issues
• Timely and qualitative reporting
• Knowledge building and knowledge sharing including appropriate archiving of documents in UNOPS ERP system and documenting of lessons learned

• Master's Degree in Civil Engineering, Architecture or Infrastructure related field is required.
• Bachelor’s Degree with an additional 2 years of relevant (Civil or Buildings) work experience will be considered.
• Applicants with Technical/Professional Diploma Certification with an additional 4 years of relevant (civil or buildings) work experience may well be considered.

• Fluency in English is required
• Knowledge of Krio and/or other local languages is an advantage. 

• Knowledge Management and Learning
• Encourages office staff to share knowledge and contribute to practice areas
• Promotes a knowledge sharing and learning culture in the office
• Demonstrates strong coaching/mentoring skills, regularly providing helpful feedback and advice to others in the office
• Actively  works  towards  continuing  personal  learning  and  development  in  one  or  more practice areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills
• Development and Operational Effectiveness
• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting
• Ability   to   lead   recruitment,   contracts   management,   performance   appraisal,   career development management, build teams, maintain high staff morale
• Excellent knowledge of UNOPS HR strategy and policies
• Strong IT skills
• Ability to lead implementation of new systems (business side), and affect staff behavioral/attitudinal change
• Management and Leadership
• Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback
• Leads teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
• Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities