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Engineering Specialist (key expert)

Kramatorsk

  • Organization: UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
  • Location: Kramatorsk
  • Grade: Consultancy - SB-4 (SC8/SC9), Service Contract, Local Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Engineering
    • Crisis Prevention and Recovery
    • Crisis Response
  • Closing Date: Closed

Background

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

The ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine has had a direct and highly negative impact on social cohesion, resilience, livelihoods, community security, and the rule of law. Recognizing the need to urgently address reconstruction, economic recovery and peacebuilding needs in areas affected both directly and indirectly by the conflict, in late 2014 the Government of Ukraine requested technical assistance and financial support from the international community to assess priority recovery needs. In late 2014, the United Nations (UN), the World Bank (WB) and the European Union (EU) conducted a Recovery and Peacebuilding Assessment, which was endorsed by the Cabinet of Ministers in mid-2015.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been active and present in eastern Ukraine for the past decade, prior to the conflict, with a focus on community development, civil society development, and environmental protection. Work on addressing the specific conflict-related development challenges discussed above built on this earlier engagement, established partnerships, and started in 2015 through the Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme (RPP). The RPP is a multi-donor funded framework programme formulated and led by the UNDP in collaboration with the Government of Ukraine and in cooperation with a number of partnering UN agencies (UN Women, FAO, UNFPA). 
 
The RPP was designed to respond to, and mitigate, the causes and effects of the conflict. It is based on findings of the Recovery and Peacebuilding Assessment (RPA) and is aligned to the State Target Programme for Recovery as well as to the two oblast development strategies up to 2022. It takes into account, the opportunities that have arisen from the Minsk Protocol of September 2014 and the renewal of its cease-fire provisions and is also fully adjusted to the humanitarian-development nexus. It is an integral component of the UNDP Country Programme and is, therefore, fully aligned with the United Nations Partnership Framework (UNPF). It is closely interlinked with the Democratic Governance and Reform Programme, operating nationally and in all of Ukraine’s regions, and is consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong institutions). 
 
The Programme’s interventions are grouped under the following key Programme components, which reflect the region’s priority needs: 
 
Component 1: Economic Recovery and Restoration of Critical Infrastructure
Component 2: Local Governance and Decentralization Reform 
Component 3: Community Security and Social Cohesion.
 
The Programme, which operates on the basis of a pooled funding arrangement, follows a multi-sectoral programme-based approach and is implemented using an area-based methodology. It is a unifying interventions framework for 16 projects funded by 10 international partners and is worth about 52 million USD. 
 
In October 2018, four UN agencies (UNDP, UN Women, FAO and the UNFPA) have countersigned a new joint project document, funded by the EU. The overall objective of the project is to restore effective governance and promote reconciliation in the crisis-affected communities of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, thereby enhancing the credibility and legitimacy of local governments in the government-controlled areas (GCAs) of the regions. It will contribute to peace build and prevent further escalation of conflict in Ukraine through effective and accountable decentralization, gender-responsive recovery planning and equal access to services, as well as enhanced community security and social cohesion. 
This endeavour will be achieved through the pursuit of the following specific objectives:
 
1. To enhance local capacity for gender-responsive decentralisation and administrative reforms to improve governance, local development and the delivery of services.
2. To stimulate employment and economic growth by providing assistance to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) development through demand-driven business development services and professional skills training.
3. To enhance social cohesion and reconciliation through promotion of civic initiatives.
4. To support sector reforms and structural adjustments in health, education and critical public infrastructure to mitigate direct impacts of the conflict. 
5. Provision of technical support for the implementation of the early recovery loan, issued by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to the Government of Ukraine. 
 
One of the priorities of the Objective 5 is a continuation of UNDP’s technical assistance (TA) for the proper implementation of the Early Recovery Programme (ERP) loan, supported by the EIB. The main focus at this stage of the programme is completing the implementation of sub-projects on-time, within budget and to an acceptable standard. The overall objective of the TA is to support the proper implementation of the ERP framework loan provided by the EIB and to enhance the capacities of the promoter and final beneficiaries to effectively plan, operate and monitor the sub-projects to be financed under the loan. The TA will also support the social mitigation issues and local governance support in programme monitoring. In this regard, UNDP Ukraine invites applications from highly qualified and experienced Ukrainian professionals for the post of the Engineering Specialist to support implementation of the EIB Technical Assistance Project (TA) under the RPP.
 
The incumbent will promote UNDP’s mandate as a gender-responsive organization with zero tolerance to any kind of discriminatory and abusive behaviour, including sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse.
 

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Project Manager/Team Leader of the EIB-TA Project, RPP, the Engineering Specialist will be responsible for providing technical support on various aspects of engineering and related technical issues to regional and local government clients. Specifically, s/he will perform the following key tasks:
  • Support regions and final beneficiaries (municipalities, other public bodies in target regions) to fine-tune needs assessment that takes into account different experiences and needs of women and men, establish priorities and identify specific early recovery projects; 
  • Provide expert advice on recovery options: repair, rehabilitation, reconstruction, upgrading, etc.;
  • Provide support, as required, to municipalities and other public bodies (particularly those lacking proper construction and procurement sections) on project design and engineering, due diligence (social and environmental compliance with gender equality considerations), procurement, etc.;
  • Develop gender-responsive procedures and criteria for identification of priority needs of communities;
  • Facilitate the establishment of infrastructure plan in close consultations with the local authorities and communities;
  • Facilitate selected direct administration procedures and verify compliance with standard costs;
  • Identify simple project milestones for each scheme, and collaborate with Programme Implementation Unit (PIU) and Programme Management and Support Unit (PMSU) in following it up;
  • Prepare guidelines, provide advisory to final beneficiaries and assess adequacy of operations for repair projects;
  • Manage the preliminary feasibility studies of identified social infrastructures; prepare Request for Proposal (RFP) for engineering design works, and Terms of Reference for consultants that include clear indicators for gender equality, and the promotion of a safe and enabling environment free of any kind of discrimination and abusive behavior;
  • Ensure the engineering design for restoration of critical infrastructures are prepared based on universal design and gender equality principles;
  • Oversight that the procurement of goods and services for civil works are conducted in transparent, competitive, and conflict-sensitive manner as well as in line with UNDP bidding procedures;
  • Facilitate the process of construction/renovation of social care infrastructures in target areas;
  • Monitor the field activities, including oversight of re/construction of critical infrastructures, and provide technical support to ensure the Project results are delivered;
  • Provide technical advisory support to the line Ministries, local authorities and other relevant stakeholders on engineering and reconstruction of critical infrastructure;
  • Prepare annual, quarterly, and detailed implementation work plans, and other related documents for timely commencement and implementation of the TA activities;
  • Closely work with respective governmental organizations to ensure the TA activities are implemented timely and efficiently;
  • Ensure coordination with relevant governmental, non-governmental and international organizations, including UN agencies and projects at national and regional levels for mutually reinforcing impact;
  • Monitor the field activities and provide technical support to ensure the Project objectives are met;
  • Check and provide certification of satisfactory completion of works of consultants or IPs for payment of their completed works. Ensure budget for the TA is efficiently and properly utilized;
  • Maintain close liaison with national and regional project partners, ensuring optimum participation and promoting ownership of national authorities in the implementation of the Project;
  • Develop the professional platform for networking and partnership building with the national and local authorities, non-government, private sector and international development organizations or projects;
  • Participate in relevant working group meetings and share information with partners and UNDP;
  • Participate in local inspection visits;
  • Contribute to preparation and implementation of the Project communications strategy and plan;
  • Ensure full compliance of TA project activities with UNDP rules, regulations and procedures;
  • Prepare sections of the project reports, including progress and annual reports, as well as ad-hoc technical reports;
  • Assure that due security measures are observed during implementation of the TA activities;
  • Ensure the mainstreaming of gender equality and women’s empowerment considerations in the field of expertise, promote a safe and enabling environment free of any kind of discrimination and abusive behaviour, and use the principles of gender-responsive communications in line with the UNDP corporate standards;
  • Be aware of relevant gender issues and concerns in the field of expertise and be familiar with gender issues relevant to the country/region;
  • Carry on activities requested by the Project Manager.
Measurable Outputs of the Work Assignment: 
  • Full and appropriate implementation of the TA Project Activities using UNDP Financial Operational Policies and Procedures and UNDP Standard Operating Procedures;
  • Reporting, quality monitoring and closure activities completed.
Performance Indicators for evaluation of results:
  • Annual work plan for the TA is fully and timely implemented;
  • Funds delivery for TA within RPP reached 100%;
  • RPP operational requirements are carried out in strict accordance with UNDP rules and procedures.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:
  • Leadership;
  • People Management;
  • Communication;
  • Delivery;
  • Innovation;
  • Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity;
  • Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
  • Demonstrates corporate knowledge and sound judgment ;
  • Demonstrates/safeguards ethics and integrity;
  • Demonstrating zero tolerance to any kind of discriminatory and abusive behaviour, including sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse.
Functional Competencies:
  • Knowledge Management and Learning; 
  • Development and Operational Effectiveness;
  • Management and Leadership for gender equality and parity;
  • Conflict Management to address gender barriers and discriminatory behaviors within the office and with partners;
  • Result orientation with a focus on equally benefiting women and men;
  • Teamwork and empowering personnel to create an enabling environment and promote gender equality;
  • Self–management and emotional intelligence;
  • Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing;
  • Client Orientation:
    • oResearches potential solutions to internal and external client needs and reports back in a timely, succinct and appropriate fashion;
    • Organizes and prioritizes work schedule to meet client needs and deadlines;
  • Gender mainstreaming;
  • Innovation and Marketing New Approaches:
    • Generates new ideas and proposes new, more effective ways of doing things;
    • Documents and analyses innovative strategies/best practices/new approaches.
  • Ability to manage project for results, including the ability to translate strategic aims into achievable annual work plans; and prepare project reports in a timely manner;
  • Ability to handle politically sensitive issues and establish contacts with national and local government authorities and CSO’s community and within UNDP; 
  • Sound judgment and maturity to foster a safe and enabling work environment;
  • Demonstrated strong coordination and facilitation skills;
  • Demonstrated understanding and capacity to mediate human relations in participatory decision-making settings.

Required Skills and Experience

Education
  • Master’s degree or equivalent in civil engineering, architecture or related field;
Experience
  • At least 3 years of relevant work experience in project development/design and/or management in the area of social infrastructure and/or urban development/renewal, or related area;
  • Experience in development and implementation of complex and geographically diversified capital investment projects in a range of infrastructure sector areasis an advantage;
  • Experience in monitoring and evaluation of multi-sector infrastructure projects, and knowledge of current best practice in procurement, tendering and contract management is an advantage;
  • Experience working with EU/EIB procurement procedures in developing/transition country contexts (may be supplemented with training), experience with EIB environmental and social standards is an advantage;
  • Familiarity with national legislation in the area of IDPs and early recovery, norms and standards of construction works, including critical social infrastructures is desirable;
  • Excellent usage of computers and office software packages (MS Words, Excel, etc.) and knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages;
  • Knowledge of engineering design software such as AutoCAD, etc. is an asset
Language Requirements
  • Fluent English, Ukrainian and Russian.

Disclaimer

Important applicant information

All posts in the SC categories are subject to local recruitment.

Applicant information about UNDP rosters

Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

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