Engineering Analyst Recruitment at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life for themselves. It provides expert advice, training and grants support to developing countries, with increasing emphasis on assistance to the least developed countries. It promotes technical and investment cooperation among nations.

Headquartered in New York City, the status of UNDP is that of an executive board within the United Nations General Assembly. The UNDP is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states. The organization operates in 177 countries, where it works with local governments to meet development challenges and develop local capacity.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Position: Engineering Analyst (Nationals Only)

Job Identification: 7085
Job Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Grade: NOB
Job Schedule: Full time
Vacancy Type: Fixed Term
Practice Area: Governance
Bureau: Regional Bureau for Africa
Contract Duration: 1 Year with Possibility for extension
Slot: 2 Openings

Background

• The nexus of security-humanitarian-development issues around Lake Chad has given rise to an intractable extremist insurgency that has left tens of thousands of people dead, approximately 2.5 million displaced, and more than 10 million people in the region affected and in need.
• While robust national and multi-national military operations have re-taken territory previously controlled by Boko Haram, UNDP recognizes that a new approach is required to consolidate these gains and establish the conditions necessary to transition from military to civilian responsibility for security, and from the provision of humanitarian assistance to the resumption of stalled development processes.  In this context, the UNDP is strengthening its presence in the North East region by establishing a sub-office in Maiduguri.  
• The sub-office will serve as the centre of operations for programming which will include a Regional Stabilization Facility, a Disengagement, Disassociation, Reconciliation and Reintegration (DDRR) and Recovery and Resilience programme. 
• The Sub-Office (SO) for North East (NE) Region of Nigeria has been operational since 2017 and UNDP has established an Operations Service Centre to support management and operations functions related to the effective delivery of programmatic results in anticipation of launch of new programmes, including early recovery projects which aims to support recovery of the conflict-affected communities in the region in terms of recovery of livelihood of the community members, access to basic services, local governance and social cohesion.
• Provision of basic services through construction/rehabilitation of community infrastructure is one of the programme focuses of the integrated Recovery project, such as school and health facilities, water wells/systems, housing units, shops/markets, among others.  
• It is considered vital that the NE Sub-Office has a highly qualified technical team for implementing engineering work with sound quality and international standard, ensuring successful implementation of construction or rehabilitation of community infrastructures in Borno , Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) states in North-East Nigeria. To this end, UNDP is seeking to fill two (2)  positions of civil engineers one for the Early Recovery projects and the other one is for the RSF projects in NE.

Position Purpose

• RSF Civil engineer will be under the guidance and direct supervision of the Senior Civil Engineer.
• ER Civil Engineer will be Under the guidance and direct supervision of Recovery and Resilience Unit Leader and technical guidance of the Senior Civil Engineer and in close collaboration with the Project teams in NE Sub-Office.

The Civil Engineer will perform the following functions:

• Provide technical infrastructure needs assessment in the JAP locations and targeted areas.This includes prepare design and drawings, presentations, cost estimates and provide assessment report.
• Prepare and manage the preparation of the technical documents of the planned projects including Scope of Work, drawings, specifications and work closely with the quantity surveyors to prepare the Bill of Quantities and cost estimates.
• Provide technical support for smooth procurement and project implementation process of basic infrastructure projects, including support to ensure quality and technical soundness of the BOQ and specifications of infrastructure projects.
• Manage the civil works contracts and supervise the contract implementation to ensure quality of civil works and technical supervision at the project sites.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide technical infrastructure needs assessment in the JAP locations and targeted areas. This includes prepare drawings, presentations, cost estimates and provide assessment report
• Conduct the site visits to assess infrastructure facility needs and design the facility with a build-back better approaches.
• Support the assessment of the project activities of the targeted sites in BAY states.
•  Provide technical inputs to strengthen alignment and complementarity of UNDP’s support with government policies and plans.
• Provide cost estimate of the civil works intervention for budget planning.
• Prepare and manage the preparation of the technical documents of the planned projects including Scope of Work, drawings, specifications and work closely with the quantity surveyors to prepare the Bill of Quantities and cost estimates.
• Prepare high quality Scope of Work (SoW) including the description of the project, location, requirements, timelines and duration, milestone payments, health and safety requirements, staff requirements and qualifications, experience of the contractors, etc.
• Prepare high quality engineering design and drawings for the proposed infrastructures.
• Prepare the specification of all elements of the project.
• Certify designs of the facilities that are submitted by the respective authorities for civil works in BAY states
• Work with the quantity surveyor to prepare the Bill of Quantities.
• Certify the Bills of Quantities (BoQs) prepared and submitted by the respective authorities and departments of national counterparts.
• verify the BoQs before initiating the procurement process;
• Provide technical and civil engineering support for smooth procurement and project implementation process of basic infrastructure projects, including support to ensure the quality and technical soundness of the BOQ and specifications of infrastructure projects:
• Submit all technical documents to procurement unit for processing.
• Work closely with the procurement unit and support in advertising the civil works procurement cases.
• Support technical evaluation process and provide advice on any procurement related issues.
• Support pre-bids meetings and bidder clarifications.
• Support the project teams in NE Sub-Office in verifying the Variation Orders (VO) (if required).
• Verify the progress of civil work payment requests submitted by the contractors before proceeding with disbursements of payments.
• Assist UNDP as expert witness in litigation arising from the development or construction of the project and in bearings before various approving and regulatory agencies.
• Manage the civil works contracts and supervise the contract implementation to ensure quality of civil works and technical supervision at the project sites:
• Analyse and share information with the team and the local technical teams on basic infrastructure activities.
• Support the implementation of construction/rehabilitation of infrastructure facilities, where required, and advise on project contracting requirements.
• Monitor day-to-day progress of infrastructure project activities and promptly report any abnormality or risks to the respective UNDP project managers and project teams
• Develop and design interventions based on the accurate information and risk analysis on the ground and utilizing lessons learned from the activities in consultation and coordination with respective Project Managers
• Follow up and oversee the rehabilitation of civil, electrical and mechanical works at site preparation and execution of the Works against the provided approved sketch and bill of quantities within the set time frame
• Conduct construction inspection including inspection of materials, equipment’s to be installed.
• Check materials received at construction/renovation sites against damages, missing parts and appropriate ratings; ensuring that the materials/equipment provided by the Contractor meets UNDP requirement and standards.
• Ensure that materials/equipment provided by the Contractor meets accepted requirement and standards.
• Discuss site issues with the Contractor and promptly report back to UNDP if a problem arises that requires UNDP input.
• Checks and certifies substantial construction progress/ completion and the corresponding payments. Advice UNDP to withhold payments for any work which has been rejected or any work which is not in compliance with the contract documents.
• Ensure that the Contractor maintain safety on the site and clean the site after the completion of the rehabilitation work.
• Check and verify the milestone payments as per the progress of the work.
• Prepare variation orders if required.

Requirements
Education:

• Minimum of Bachelor's Degree or equivalent in Civil Engineering.
• Registration in the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) 2019  or before.

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in Civil Engineering construction and renovation of buildings, design, preparation of BoQ, estimated costs of civil structures.
• Experience in supervising rehabilitation works and managing projects
• Experience in buildings constructions, utility services and public infrastructures. etc
• Experience in handling of tender documents for turnkey contracts, including technical inputs/specifications for the procurement of services using the conditions of international lending/funding agencies
• Proven ability to work with multi-disciplinary teams and liaison with authorities.
• Working experience with UN/UNDP or International NGO’s is highly desirable.
• Experience working in challenging security environment is an advantage.
• Experience in using the Word, Excel, PowerPoint, MS project and engineering software’s like AutoCAD.

Technical Skills:

• Functionally related professional management skills.
• Technical related skills.
• Ability to plan and prioritize work activities to meet organizational goals and organize and oversee work processes efficiently to achieve quality results.
• Knowledge of strategic planning processes, programming.
• Knowledge of fund raising, project and programme drafting.

Language Criteria:

• Fluent in spoken and written English is a requirement.  The ability to communicate in Kanuri, Hausa, or other local language spoken in the NE region is an asset.

Competencies:
Core Competencies:

• Achieve Results - LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work
• Think Innovatively - LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking
• Learn Continuously - LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning
• Adapt with Agility - LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process
• Act with Determination - LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously
• Engage and Partner - LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion - LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making

Functional & Technical competencies:

• Business Direction & Strategy - Strategic thinking: Ability to develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNDP’s objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, potential risks and opportunities, linking the vision to reality on the ground, and creating tangible solutions
• Business direction and strategy - System Thinking: Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system
• Business management - Results-based Management: Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus on improved performance and demonstrable results
• Business management - Project Management: Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals
• Business management - Risk Management: Ability to identify and organise action around mitigating and proactively managing risks
• Business management – Communication: Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience
• Business management - Partnerships Management: Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies.

Important Notice: Candidates selected pursuant to this vacancy may be subject to UNDP’s policy on Probation upon assignment.