Construction Management Engineer

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.

With more than 20 years of experience in the country, UNOPS Afghanistan focuses on providing maximum support to the Government and people of Afghanistan through delivery of projects and services in line with the government’s national priorities. The UNOPS Afghanistan Country Office (AFCO) serves as an organizational mechanism to deliver a range of projects for which UNOPS has been designated as the implementation agency. At present, UNOPS AFCO is implementing a number of projects in a range of sectors including infrastructure (roads, bridges, justice and security, health, and water supply) development, procurement services, HR services, capacity building, and humanitarian protection, amongst others, on behalf of the Government of Afghanistan, the international donor community, and other UN agencies.

The functional objective of UNOPS AFCO is to contribute to the achievement of the development outcomes sought by the Government of Afghanistan. The aim of UNOPS AFCO is to provide efficient and cost-effective implementation services on behalf of all our partners to support the reconstruction and development of the country. UNOPS AFCO’s mission is to exceed the expectations of all stakeholders in the delivery of AFCO’s services, at all times, in all places, in all circumstances, in order to improve significantly the lives of all Afghans in need

1. Purpose and Scope of Assignment

The Construction Management Engineer is a member of the infrastructure and engineering supervision team  of the Support to RSHQ Programme. Under the direct supervision of the Infrastructure Project Manager, s/he  will coordinate the day-to-day construction activities across all projects under the programme, in coordination with relevant project managers. The Construction Management Engineer is expected to demonstrate to engineering teams best practices and  techniques of key technical and construction management work areas, extensive practical experience in performing practical construction activities and supervising works in compliance with quality assurance and quality control requirements, and extensive skills in the management of occupational health & safety as well as environmental management standards on site.

The Construction Management Engineer will be based in the RSHQ programme office and is expected to travel across all project sites, as required.

General Construction Management

• Assist the Project Manager to monitor UNOPS quality, health, safety and environmental management systems;

• Where required, assist Construction Management Sr. Associates and  Contractors 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, liaising closely with engineering and Quality Assurance (QA)  personnel  and ensuring Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) measures are implemented within construction activities.

• Identify and solve construction issues in a timely fashion, keeping project managers, QA, HSE and engineering staff informed.

• In close consultation with the Project Manager, manage and monitor project activities including project implementation plans, work schedules, budgets, facility requirements, and staffing schedules;

• Provide technical leadership, oversight, advice and guidance on all infrastructure work packages to stakeholders and other engineering project personnel;

• Assist the Project Manager in developing comprehensive project work plans, clearly defining objectives, expected outputs, including milestone achievements and detailed work plans, roles and responsibilities, and inputs required;

• Review surveys, field investigations, design submittals, drawings and specifications, recommending required changes needed to provide cost-effective solutions, where required.

• Ensure strict and consistent application of UNOPS rules and regulations and ensure the implementation of clear accountability mechanisms across all projects;

• Monitor all project activities in relation to the respective project work plans and take corrective action, when necessary, to ensure the timely and cost-effective delivery of project outputs; 

• Monitor contract obligations, develop management systems and accountabilities to ensure all contract obligations are tracked and met;

• Ensure that work methods as proposed by contractors are satisfactory, with particular reference to the UNOPS management systems compliance to ISO 9001 ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 and technical requirements of sound quality, occupational health and safety and environmental standards; 

• Make recommendations on applications for extensions of time, claims for additional payment and other contractual disputes between UNOPS and the contractors; 

• Ensure the highest possible quality of delivery and devise strategies for increased project delivery and quality programming; 

• Participate in business development and stakeholder relationship building, promoting a collaborative, client focused, quality and results-oriented approach in the Project Team.

• Participate in regular site meetings to report on relevant health & safety matters and to provide necessary advice.

Reporting

• Ensure accurate and timely reporting of progress and conditions on site through daily site records prepared and submitted by the site teams.

• Assist the Project Manager in the preparation of  a monthly (or as requested) report within 5 days of month-end, summarizing progress of infrastructure projects activities, quality control, health & safety, environmental, resourcing and scheduling, and any other relevant  issues.

• Support QA and HSE reporting and investigations, follow up with project teams to prepare reports on incidents (including near misses) and provide information for monthly QA and HSE reporting to the country office.

Knowledge sharing 

• Contribute to the project evaluation process, highlighting 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 and engineering 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.

• Participate in the relevant Communities of Practice,  actively interact with other PMs and the PM community to share case studies, lessons learned, and best practices 

• Provide feedback to Practice Leads on policy and supporting guidance, with an aim towards continuous improvement of UNOPS policies

5. Impact on Results

The effective and successful achievement of results by the Construction Management Engineer directly impacts the successful delivery of the project on time, budget and quality above 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.

 Education

• Bachelor’s Degree in Civil/Construction Engineering, or equivalent professional qualification. 

B. Work Experience 

• At least 7 years experience as a Building/Civil Engineer.

• A minimum 5 years’ demonstrable experience in on-site construction of buildings or construction supervision of building works.

• Proficient in the use of computers and cloud-based office software packages (Google Docs, Sheets, etc.), contract management and project scheduling software, and experience in handling web-based management systems.

• Knowledge and skills in using AutoCAD will be an advantage.

• Knowledge of UNOPS/UN rules and regulations will be an advantage.

C.  Languages

• Excellent knowledge of both written and oral English and Dari/Pashtu is required.

D.  Key Competencies 

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards.

• High degree of personal initiative and willingness to accept wide responsibilities and new work assignments.

• Demonstrated planning and organizational skills and ability to coordinate with various support service units, work on tight deadlines, and handle multiple concurrent activities.

• Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.

• Excellent communication skills (spoken, written and presentational), including ability to present sensitive issues/positions and to write reports and technical decisions quantitatively justified.

• Good analytical skills; resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgment.

• Self-motivated, versatile and adaptable to different cultures and people.

• Keeps abreast of new developments in the area of professional discipline and job knowledge.

• Ability to build and promote effective teams and enable competence by sharing knowledge.

• Ability to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

• 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
• 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 (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• 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.