UNDP Jobs - 46489- Expert in Civil Engineering

Expert in Civil Engineering

Location :

Kuwait, KUWAIT

Type of Contract :

Other

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

31-May-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

Other

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

Arabic English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

6 Months with possibility for extension.

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.

Background

In the framework of the “Support to General Secretariat of the Supreme Council of Planning and Development (GSSCPD), to oversee the strategic planning priorities of the State of Kuwait” project, UNDP and GSSCPD are working jointly to ensure an enabling and conducive environment for the implementation of the national development plan; and to ensure optimal use of financial funds for this purpose.

State development projects are coordinated by the Consultants Department (CD) of the Consultants Selection Committee (CSC). Guided by the Government’s Strategic and Operational Plans and Annual Budgets, government entities submit their annual development project proposals and corresponding budgets to the CD. The CD reviews these proposals and the related budgets in light of plans, priorities and capital (including maintenance contract) budgets of the government, ensuring that the plans respond to the government’s plans and priorities, and are within allocated budgets. The Consultants Department consist of Qualified Engineers (Director, Supervisors, Controllers, senior and junior engineers, and support staffs); and specializes in verifying the terms of reference pertaining to study, design and supervision of national construction, rehabilitation, maintenance, Feasibility projects for ministries, government and independent agencies. This includes the following functions:

Participates in the preparation of the prequalification, short listing, and invitation to bid procedures of international and local consultants of construction projects for ministries, government agencies, and independent and line agencies;
Review and approval of Terms of Reference for tenders (and provision of assistance in their preparation, if required) in an objective, fair and impartial manner;
Active participation with other Government Ministries and Agencies (Clients) in the selection of the consultants through an evaluation process for the Design, Supervision, Project Management, Construction Management, Embedded design projects (EDP) and administrative projects;
Reviews and clear requests made by beneficiaries among the government agencies to alter or adjust the requirements and/or components of projects, and request for proposals (RFP) technical (TP) and financial (FP) proposals;
Manage Variation Orders Assessment and contract arbitration activities;
Within this context, The State Minister of Planning and Development is seeking the support of an expert in civil engineering to enhance the institutional and human capacity of the CD in the areas of construction
project management, variation orders and assessments of project execution progress.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of CD, in close consultation with GSSCPD, the expert will assume the following:

Assess the CD institutional and human needs gaps, develop and support the implementation of the recommendations to address them;
Review construction projects’ TORs submitted to the CD, to determine its conformity with the state’s rules, regulations and codes;
Review civil engineering projects’ TORs submitted to the CD, to determine its conformity with CSC standards;
Review and improve qualifying, selection and contracting criteria and procedures for national and international civil engineering consultancy firms to ensure its alignment with national standards, soundness and transparency;
Develop a monitoring and evaluation framework for CD, to monitor and evaluate the qualification, selection, contracting and implementation processes of national and international civil engineering consultancy firms;
Support to the development of an effective documentation and information management standards for the CD;
Support to development of institutional knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer framework;
Upgrade the structure of the local and international consultants data bank at CD; and support the update of its content.

Deliverables:

Assessment report developed and recommended interventions action plan implemented;
Guidelines manual for qualification, selection contracting criteria and procedures developed
New qualification, selection and contracting formats developed;
M&E framework developed and implemented;
Guidelines manual for documentation and information management standards developed;
Knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer framework developed and implemented;
Data bank structure upgraded and data updated;
Quarterly progress reports and a final report with recommendations on the way forward;
Reports, statues notes and presentations as required.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of GSSCPD;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional Competencies

Leads teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills;
Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors;
Remains calm and in control even under pressure;
Demonstrates openness and ability to deal with change.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Bachelor’s Degree in civil engineering with 20 years of experience in a relevant field (Preferred a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering with no less than 10 years of experience in a relevant field).

Experience:

At least 10 years of experience in construction project assessment and management;
Experience in conducting pre investment studies for economically feasible projects;
Experience in cost/benefit and risk analysis;
Experience in developing project visions and strategies (particularly large scales);
Some experience in project arbitration and mitigation;
Some experience in BOT, BOO, PPP and expenditure projects;
Analysis of variation order, particularly for large projects;
Expertise in design and supervision areas.

Additional Preferred Expertise:

Document and information management and analysis;
Value Engineering;
Technical writing;
Quality control and quality assurance for construction projects;
Legal expertise in the fields of local and international construction agreements and contracts;
Project life cycle analysis expertise particularly in the fields of project time optimization;
Maintenance management and maintenance expertise;
Statistical analysis;
Some knowledge in Urban and master planning.

Language:

Excellent communication, reading and writing skills in both English and Arabic.

Note:

The Consultant will be on a governmental contract administered by the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development.