Lead Engineer - Construction Management

Background: VIEMCO

The Vienna Multi-Country Office (VIEMCO) was set up in August 2019 as a part of the UNOPS Europe & Central Asia Region (ECR). Specifically, VIEMCO 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

Background: Project

UNOPS, through ECR VIEMCO, is partnering with the Government of Albania and European Union to facilitate the post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction of a large number of key cultural heritage sites, museums, and cultural hubs. 

On 26 November 2019, Albania was hit by an earthquake 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.

Functional Responsibilities:

Under the direct supervision of the Infrastructure Project Manager, the Senior Engineer is responsible for facilitating the implementation and completion of the aforementioned project to a high standard and within the agreed timeframe and budget. The Senior Engineer will be working in complex and challenging environments with tight deadlines. The Senior Engineer will be working on the reconstruction, repair and rehabilitation of a number of different cultural heritage sites and monuments, and this will require resourceful and innovative thinking to accomplish work packages. 

The Senior Engineer will manage the relevant project outputs and deliverables, as well as work packages assigned, and, coordinate the work of team members under his/her supervision, as applicable. This may include technical experts and retainer engineers. The focus of the work will be technical and focused on the successful planning, implementation and hand over of infrastructure/works.

The following are the functional responsibilities:

• Provide advice and coordination on all potential and ongoing infrastructure works;

• Review and/or develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for all aspects and stages of infrastructures projects, work packages and outputs;

• Review and, where appropriate, conduct technical assessments for all planned infrastructure projects required for programme delivery;

• Review and advice on design feasibility aspects;

• Provide advice on, costing, timelines and requirements;

• Submit Design Briefs for all planned infrastructure designs including: conceptual designs, ideal design, detailed design, technical specifications, quality standards, bill of quantities, health and safety measures, preambles, , timeframes and strategies for execution;

• Ensure that approved detailed designs by the Project Boards are all complete and to the UNOPS Design Review standard, and further coordinate the activities to obtain the Design Review Certificate issued by UNOPS Design Review team in Head Quarters; 

• For all certified detailed designs ensure that  tender documents are finalized and complete, including: Scope of Works (SoW), site information, budget, technical specifications, schedules, Bill of Quantities (BoQ), calculations and construction drawings;

• Submit requisition for all approved infrastructure projects and coordinate with Procurement Unit to facilitate the competition of the procurement process, including: Development of relevant tender documents, evaluation of tenders, and issuing and management of works contracts;

• Implement quality controls (QC) and quality assurance (QA) procedures, to ensure all infrastructure projects are correctly initiated, managed, monitored, reported and closed in accordance with UNOPS policies and procedures;

• Ensure that issues, risks and lessons learned are identified, managed and documented throughout the project stages (using UNOPS tools) and shared with the supervisor;

• Ensure that the work on site is carried out in a safe manner, always referring to UNOPS Health and Safety policies and standards;

• Ensure final reports and handover reports are completed on time and to the required quality as per UNOPS Project Management Manual;

• Provide proactive performance management for all supervised personnel;

• Update and maintain project documentation and filing system;

• Performs any other related duties as may be assigned.

Education

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in engineering in a relevant subject matter such as Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, Construction Management or Architecture, with an additional 5 years of relevant experience

• First level university degree (bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in engineering in relevant subject matter such as Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, Construction Management or Architecture, with 7 years of relevant experience

• High school/technical/professional diploma in relevant subject matter such as civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, Construction Management or Architecture, with 9 years of relevant  experience is required.              

Work Experience

• Relevant experience required in engineering, including working on construction planning or construction management, in a public or private sector organization.

• Experience in implementing EU funded projects is an advantage.

• Past work experience with the UN/UNOPS and/or similar international/multicultural organization will be considered a strong  asset.

• Expertise in projects involving tangible heritage buildings, places and monuments is highly desired.

• Work experience in Albania or the Western Balkans and/or a good understanding of the country context, as well as construction sector and legislation, will be considered a strong  advantage.

Language requirement

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

• Contract type: Ongoing Local Individual Contract Agreement (LICA)

• Contract level: LICA-10

• Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.

• 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
• 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.