Health, Safety, Social and Environmental Senior Associate - Occupational Health & Safety

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is a United Nations body responsible for infrastructure, procurement and project management (General Assembly Resolution 65/176 of 2010). Our mission is to help people improve their lives and countries achieve peace and sustainable development. UNOPS' three priority areas are:

i) Sustainable Infrastructure: Designing, building, repairing, and maintaining infrastructure in challenging environments, focusing on transportation, education, and health infrastructure.

ii) Public Procurement: Serving as a central procurement resource for the UN system and governments, emphasizing efficient, transparent, and sustainable delivery of goods and services.

iii) Project Management: Managing over a thousand humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding projects annually for various partners, ensuring quality, effectiveness, and results that meet the highest standards.

UNOPS' work seeks environmental, social, and economic sustainability, which contributes to the progress of equity and the common good of the countries in which it operates, thus promoting the improvement of the living conditions of the most needy people. UNOPS has a presence in 23 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The services, product,s and technical assistance comply with the principles of public administration of transparency, equity, integrity, free competition, impartiality, morality, effectiveness, efficiency, and respect for national institutions.

Project Information:

This project aims to strengthen the justice system in Sint Maarten by providing UNOPS turn-key services for the construction of a new Rule of Law Facility. The initiative will be implemented in two phases, with a total estimated budget of 50 million USD.

The second phase, expected to span 40 months, will focus on the construction of the Rule of Law Facility, including: Construction execution &Supervision and quality assurance of works. This phase will ensure full integration of human rights principles and incorporate social, gender, climate, and environmental considerations, aligning with international best practices for correctional facilities.

About Our Culture:

Our work contributes to building the foundations for countries and communities to achieve peace and sustainable development, guided by our values: Inclusion, Integrity, Humility and Humanity.

The objectives of the project are to:

• Urgently design and establish resilient and effective transitional facilities which meet human rights requirements for prisoners and detainees in Sint Maarten
• Contribute to strengthening national infrastructure capacity in the correctional sector enabling
• Adequate, safe, and humane detention, which facilitates reintegration of offenders back into society
• Contribute to improved capacity for correctional facilities operation and management in line with local and international standards

Under the guidance and supervision of the Lead Engineer, the Health, Safety, Social and Environmental (HSSE)  Senior Associate - Occupational Health & Safety will perform the following responsibilities/functions:

• Health, Safety, and Environmental Responsibilities
• Social & Environmental Responsibilities
• HSSE Coordination & Office Responsibilities
• Monitoring and Progress Controls

• Bachelor's degree preferably in Health, Safety and Environmental (HSSE),  water resources, ecological or social sciences, or engineering is required.
• A Master's degree preferably in one of the following disciplines in health, safety, and environment,  water resources, ecological, or engineering, is desirable.

• Minimum of 3 years of relevant experience in health, safety, environmental impact studies, monitoring and mitigation is required
• HSE management in construction, infrastructure projects is required
• Experience in research and data collection is required.
• Experience in conducting environmental impact assessments in Sint Maarten would be an asset.
• Experience in ecological, water resources or environmental surveys would be desirable.
• Experience in conduct of capacity building exercises for construction projects would be desirable.

• Fluency in English is required.
• Fluency in another UN official language is desirable.

Contract type: Local Individual Contractor Agreement 

Contract level: ICS7 equivalent to LICA 7

Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance. This contract is established in the Regular Monthly Contract modality; continuous service provision is required during the contract period;  the payments associated with the contract will be processed at the end of each calendar month

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 candidates with special needs, upon request.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 11:59 pm CST.

• 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. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. 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.