Background Information - UNOPS

UNOPS – an operational arm of the United Nations – supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by successfully implementing its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve peace and sustainable development.

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

Working with us

We are proud of our people. With a wealth of knowledge and skills in various disciplines – engineering, finance, human resources, ICT, leadership, project management, procurement, and more – they help tackle some of the biggest challenges of our time. Their work around the world supports progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).


At UNOPS, we offer a range of short- and long-term opportunities in various environments and duty stations – from Denmark and Kenya to Mexico, Switzerland, Myanmar, Senegal, Uganda, and many more.

Diversity

With over 5,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,400 personnel recruited on behalf of our partners, spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced and diverse labor force — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs. We continually strive to maintain our gender-balanced workplace. We encourage qualified underrepresented groups as per UNOPS Gender, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy to apply for our vacancies.

 Background Information - Afghanistan

Afghanistan

With more than 20 years of experience in the country, UNOPS Afghanistan focuses on providing maximum support to the people of Afghanistan through the delivery of projects and services that improve the lives of people in need. 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 activities cover a range of sectors including humanitarian, basic human needs, cash for work, infrastructure, development, procurement and HR services. 

The functional objective of UNOPS AFCO is to contribute to improving the lives of girls, boys, men and women living in Afghanistan. The aim of UNOPS AFCO is to provide efficient and cost-effective implementation services on behalf of all our partners to support the humanitarian response and development of the country. UNOPS AFCO’s mission is to exceed the expectations of all stakeholders in the delivery of AFCO services, at all times, in all places, in all circumstances, in order to improve the lives of Afghans in need. 

 

Project Information

The World Bank (WB) has prepared the Water Emergency Relief Project (WERP), funded through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) to address the water supply and irrigation challenges in selected rural areas of Afghanistan and improve the quality of irrigation schemes. UNOPS is implementing Component 2 of the project:  Emergency solar powered surface water irrigation in selected rural areas implemented by UNOPS

The objective of the surface irrigation component is to provide reliable, environmentally and financially sustainable solutions for agricultural irrigation in selected rural areas. The project also aims to support the local private sector by engaging with several Private Energy Service Companies (PESCs) for the development of site-specific designs, installation works, and ongoing asset management to provide energy services (Energy as a Service, or EaaS) to their irrigation customers. 

Background Information - Job-specific

The Associate Civil Engineer is a member of the Water Emergency Relief Project (WERP) team. Under the direct supervision of the Engineering Team Lead and overall leadership of the Project Manager, the Associate Civil Engineer supports the engineering team with design, drafting, preparing bills of quantities and specifications, market research, survey, digital terrain modeling, construction monitoring, engineering analysis  and related engineering activities. 

The Associate Civil Engineer strongly contributes to the achievement of the project outputs, goals and objectives. The Associate Civil Engineer applies practices and  techniques of key technical and construction management work areas, ensures practical solutions appropriate to Afghanistan rural conditions, and supports the engineering team to ensure technical planning, design and construction oversight activities/ supervision of works in compliance with quality assurance and quality control requirements. 

 Functional Responsibilities
 

1. Coordination, delivery and performance

2. Monitoring and reporting

3. Knowledge building and sharing

Coordination, delivery and performance

• Assist the line supervisor to manage, plan and coordinate monthly, weekly and daily construction activities

• Under supervision of the lead engineer, support the design team in preparing detailed calculations, drawings, and specification 

• Provide inputs for technical reports.

• Support the supervisor to ensure the overall and timely delivery of the project activities are within the project schedule.

• Assist procurement team with information to prepare tender documents such as; specifications, cost estimates, and BoQs.

• Support with the preparation of project progress reports 

• Compile HSSE information from site engineers for reporting and monitoring purposes

• Support site engineers with preparation of payment certificates, including validation and checking of quantities

Monitoring and  Reporting 

• Assist in quality assurance by checking drawings, specifications, and other construction design documents for completeness and edits against approved checklists.

• Assist in monitoring project activities in alignment with work plans,

• Compile, for monitoring, analysis and reporting purposes, information provided by site engineers on contractors workforce, risk and issues registers, progress, HSSE compliance,  and related construction issues

Knowledge sharing

• 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 Engineers and the Engineering community to share case studies, lessons learned and best practice on the Knowledge System.

• Collaborate with technical team members including but not limited to architects, engineers, project managers and quantity surveyors.

 Education/Experience/Language requirements

I. Education

• Secondary school (High School or equivalent) with a minimum of six (6) years of relevant experience is required OR

• First level university degree (Bachelor or equivalent) in Civil Engineering or other related Engineering field is not required, but may substitute for some years of relevant experience

II. Experience

• A minimum of 6 years’ experience, related to construction or civil work design is required with a Secondary school (High School or equivalent) diploma 

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

• Working knowledge of cloud-based office software packages (Google Suite), MS Office programs, MS Project, AutoCAD and telecommunications equipment and systems is highly valued.

III. Language Requirements

• Competency in English – both written and oral is required

Please click on the below link for actual vacancy announcement to see the complete details and submission guideline as this is only an attempt for attracting female applicants for gender parity in organization. Please make sure you fill your profile/application properly with all relevant details in order to be considered for the next stage of recruitment/selection.

https://jobs.unops.org/pages/viewvacancy/VADetails.aspx?id=29355