Antecedentes

In the early morning of 08 November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Yolanda, made its first landfall over Guiuan, Eastern Samar, following a north western trajectory. Passing over several provinces in Visayas and nearby Luzon and making landfall at least six times, the typhoon brought maximum sustained winds of 215 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 250 kph, leaving a trail of totally damaged houses, roads and important infrastructure. Winds brought by the typhoon were extremely powerful causing the massive destruction of structures lying in its path. The typhoon likewise occasioned a storm surge in coastal areas that reached up to as high as 20 feet, causing deaths and bringing about enormous quantities of debris. Over 10 million people have been affected by the disaster, with at least 3,982 deaths based on data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) as of 19 November 2013

Now that the Yolanda Typhoon response effort is moving towards the recovery and rehabilitation stage, UNDP is implementing a project for three years funded by the European Union (EU), the ‘Recovery and Resilience in Selected Typhoon Yolanda-affected Communities in the Visayas’. The overall objective of the program is to complement the efforts of the national and local governments in enabling the timely and sustainable recovery of selected communities in the Visayas (Region 8) devastated by Typhoon Yolanda, while building their resilience to future natural disasters.

 This project has a number of expected results including:

  • Infrastructure rebuilt in a disaster-resilient way and to higher standards, including model permanent row houses constructed by the trained beneficiaries;
  • Livelihoods in construction and manpower services restored and sustainable decent jobs created;
  • Land use management issues and shelter construction models addressed to ensure relocation of displaced populations;
  • Strengthened capacities for local governance disaster response and preparedness, including effective link to national level.

Part of the project under results #1 and #3 includes the day to day supervision during construction of a number of permanent houses and water supplies and monitoring of construction of various evacuation centers. The location of the project is across 15 municipalities and 2 cities.  However, this position will be based in designated municipalities with work across the other three hubs of Ormoc, Eastern Samar and Tacloban City.

Deberes y responsabilidades

Under the guidance of the UNDP Team Leader for Crisis Prevention and Recovery and the direct supervision of the Project Manager of the UNDP Yolanda Recovery Project, the Project Officer (Infrastructure) will perform the following functions:

  • Provide primary technical inputs in the formulation of construction implementation strategies and approaches to attain intended results for the project;
  • Coordinate with the Project Manager and relevant project staff in preparing detailed annual workplans to achieve infrastructure results and establish complementarity with other project interventions;
  • Ensure that infrastructure interventions are carried out in accordance with the workplan and quality assurance standards, ensuring that the status of infrastructure deliverables is regularly reviewed against targets and reported to management and concerned entities for proper action;
  • Consistent with government guidelines, formulate infrastructure policies and standards to facilitate standardization of infrastructure assistance across the project areas;
  • Draft appropriate guidelines and selection criteria for the engagement of construction firms, consultants, CSOs and other service providers in the implementation of infrastructure activities;
  • Ensure that project proposals relative to infrastructure development are properly evaluated, and make recommendations to management for consideration/deliberation and approval;
  • Perform contracts management according to UNDP rules (e.g. coordinating with the construction companies for the listing of defects and the company’s liability and subsequent variations);
  • Monitor the implementation of infrastructure activities, identify gaps, issues and risks and assist in addressing these as necessary; 
  • Perform other tasks as may be assigned by the Supervisor.

Competencias

Corporate competencies:

  • Professionalism;
  • Client orientation.

Functional Competencies:

  • Ability to plan and organize;
  • Capacity for teamwork and independence;
  • Ability to prioritize tasks and multi-task;
  • Technological awareness;
  • Basic Analytical Skills;
  • Basic Computer Skill;
  • Related Technical Skills; 
  • Communication Skills.    

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education: 

  • University degree in Civil Engineering or Architecture.

Experience: 

  • A minimum of 5  years of progressively responsible experience in building and construction;    
  • Experience in construction management and documentation during construction; 
  • Knowledge and understanding of the Philippines building code and standards;
  • Ability to understand building detailed design on ACAD which will lead to quality evaluation of the project to give additional inputs and recommend modification that suits actual field condition.   

Language:

  • English and Filipino;
  • Knowledge of regional languages in the Visayas an advantage.

Note:

The selected candidate will receive a salary that is commensurate with his/her background and work experience.  Interested applicants are encouraged to apply online and attach the UN Personal History Form (P.11), available on our website http://www.ph.undp.org/content/philippines/en/home/operations/jobs/   or send on or before 25 November 2015.  Kindly note that only completed P.11 forms will be reviewed.  UNDP is an equal opportunity employer.  Please note that we will contact only the short-listed candidates.