Lead Construction Management Engineer

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development projects around the world.  Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement, and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors, and United Nations organizations.  With more than 6,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical, and management knowledge they need, where they need it.  By implementing around 1,000 projects for our partners at any given time, UNOPS makes significant contributions to results on the ground, often in the most challenging environments.

Project Context
This project will support the strengthening of the chain of justice in the island of Sint Maarten by offering UNOPS turn-key services for the construction of a new rule of law facility. The project will be achieved in two phases for an estimated project budget of 40 MUSD.

The first phase (Programming, Design and Procurement) is estimated for a total of 20 months and will contribute to the complete definition of the components for the second phase ( Construction of the rule of Law facility). The project objectives are agreed as follows:

• Design resilient, sustainable and effective Transitional Facilities, which meet national and international human rights standards for prisoners and detainees in Sint Maarten.

• Design resilient, sustainable and effective Long-Term Facilities contributing to strengthening national infrastructure capacity in the correctional sector enabling adequate, safe and humane detention, which facilitates reintegration of offenders back into society.

The UNOPS Panama Multi-Country Office covering Panama, Costa Rica and the Dutch and English Caribbean will open an office on the island of Sint Maarten to ensure close coordination with relevant stakeholders of the justice sector.

The objective of the project is to strengthen Sint Maarten’s national capacities by planning for infrastructure improvements to the correctional infrastructure required to meet the local and international standards that apply to Sint Maarten.  The facilities will be designed to enable adequate, safe, and humane detention, which guarantees the protection of human rights and facilitates the prospects for the reintegration of offenders back into society of Sint Maarten. As part of the objectives, UNOPS also plans to assess the existing infrastructure and implement an appropriate transitional solution.The project will also strengthen the capacity of the Partner by transmitting knowledge and skills.

Under the direct supervision of the Senior Project Manager, the Lead Construction Management Engineer will provide technical services in all infrastructure activities

A. Technical Support

• Facilitate the planning and implementation of infrastructure activities

• Assist the Senior Project Manager with monitoring, control and assessment of designs produced by consultants

• Assist the Senior Project Manager with the elaboration of the bidding documents for the construction of the works

• Assist the Senior Project Manager with the evaluations of the offers for the construction of the works

• Liaise with the Procurement Officer to schedule and coordinate all the necessary activities related to the bidding process and offer evaluations 

 a. Education 

• A Master’s degree preferable in civil engineering, construction management, project management, or related field 

• A Bachelor’s degree preferable in civil engineering, construction management, or related field in combination with relevant years of experience may be accepted in lieu of Master’s degree.

• Project management certification (e.g. PRINCE2, PMI) would be an asset

b. Work Experience 

• Minimum five (5) years of experience (or more based on academic merits) in construction management or engineering of complex infrastructure projects is required.

• Experience with infrastructure design and project management is required.

• Experience with infrastructure bidding processes is required.

• Experience with prison projects is an asset.

• Experience in developing countries or post-conflict environments is an asset.

• Experience in small island developing states (SIDS) is an asset.

• Experience working with UNOPS in infrastructure projects is an asset.

• Knowledge of FIDIC contracts is an asset.

• Autocad or other technical proficiency is an asset.

c. Language:

• Fluency in writing, reading, and speaking standard English is required.

• Fluency in Spanish is an asset.

• Fluency in Dutch / Papiamento is an asset.

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.

UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate with special needs upon request.

• 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.