On September 6, 2017, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) suffered extensive damage and widespread devastation from the passage of Hurricane Irma (HI). The territory was further impacted by hurricane Maria (HM) on September 20, 2017. No section of the economy has been spared from the devastation. Essential services such as health, social services, telecommunications, electricity, water, sewerage and waste systems have been and continue to be severely compromised.

The Government of the Virgin Islands (GOVI) formally applied to the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for financing for a project to assist in the recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction of social and economic infrastructure to overcome the cumulative damaging effects of floods, HI and HM.

The scope of the Project includes, among other things, the rehabilitation and reconstruction of critical social and economic infrastructure, such as roads, water and sewerage, docks, schools, education and other public buildings. Information and Communication Technology Equipment for various sectors and school supplies are also included in the scope, along with the provision of technical assistance (TA) for a climate risk and vulnerability assessment and design and contract supervision services, along with psychosocial support to targeted groups.

Implementation of the Project is led by a Project Coordinator (PC) assigned by the Projects Unit in the Ministry of Finance. Oversight of the recovery activities is being provided by a multi-sectoral Recovery Task Force (RTF) which is chaired by the Permanent Secretary in the Premier’s Office. 

To support the PC and the Projects Unit, initial project management support is provided to GOVI through an Implementation Support Team (IST) established with technical professionals assigned from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

UNDP proposes to engage the services of an Individual Consultant – Project Engineer to provide additional support to the IST in engineering/project management aspects of the project and to support the timely implementation of the CDB RRL projects. 

Objective

The objective of the consultancy is to provide technical support to the IST in ensuring a resilient recovery effort and long-term sustainable development, through effective implementation of the Caribbean Development Bank-funded Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Loan (RRL). 

Reporting lines

The Consultant will report directly to the Head of Project Office in the UNDP IST, BVI, to provide updates on the status of the work and seek inputs or clarifications, and will be responsible for technical supervision, project management, contract administration and quality assurance activities related to the technical/engineering aspects of the project.

In line with the relevant policies and procedures of CDB applicable to the Project, the Project Engineer will support the IST in the effective implementation of the project through the following non-exhaustive activities: 

Field visits and assessment of construction interventions:

• Visits to all the project sites to verify conformance with the requirements of the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Loan and adequacy of the proposed budgets; 

Support for the oversight of the specialist consultants and TA consultants, including: 

• Oversight of the conduct of the services by the assigned specialist consultants and the TA consultants, including, among other things, to ensure timely, efficient and effective completion of relevant studies, investigations, designs, procurement and contract documents pertaining to the respective contractors and suppliers, and the effective administration of the contracts for goods, works and services; 
• Ensuring that the specialist consultants adopt appropriate standards and codes for the respective infrastructure and equipment, consistent with objectives of GOVI; 

Support for the selection and engagement of contractors / suppliers and oversight of the construction works, supply of goods and services, including: 

• Assistance to the Projects Unit of the Ministry of Finance, GOVI, in finalizing the criteria for the evaluation of proposal submissions; 
• Evaluation of Expressions of Interest and Technical and Financial Proposals and recommendations of the awards for the respective services contracts; 
• Assistance to GOVI in the negotiation of contractors/suppliers contracts; 
• Oversight of the conduct of the services by the contractors, including, among other things, to ensure timely, efficient and effective completion of construction works, supply of goods and services pertaining to the respective contractors and suppliers, and the effective administration of the contracts; 

Supporting national institutions and partners through technical assistance and provision of quality assurance:

• Provision of technical support to government ministries and other key stakeholders; 
• Elaboration of guidance and technical documents as required; 

Strengthening national capacities, improvement of data management and training: 

• Provision of training and participation in capacity building initiatives, including training to the relevant GOVI officials and counterpart staff and ensure that arrangements for effective monitoring and evaluation of the Project are implemented; 
• Maintaining project database; entering data;

Identification and synthesis of best practices and lessons learned for organizational sharing and learning;

Any other duties as required by Supervisor or any other senior officers in order to contribute to the effectiveness and efficiency of the unit; 

Deliverables

The Consultant will submit the following deliverables:

• Project monitoring reports – monthly technical evaluation reports on the implementation of the project. 
• Contract completion Reports: for each goods, works and services contract, a project completion report to be submitted within the four (4) weeks of completion date. 
• Final report at the conclusion of the consultancy.  

• Good interpersonal and teamwork skills and proven ability to work in a multi-cultural setting and teams with diversity of background and skills, while at the same time being capable of working independently to agreed work plans
• Demonstrated organizational and planning skills, and ability to meet deadlines and to manage multiple tasks effectively and efficiently
• Demonstrated ability to multitask under pressure and to meet strict deadlines;
• Excellent organizational skills, ability to prioritize tasks and to work effectively in teams, delivering through and with others;
• Ability to manage heavy workloads and solve complex problems with minimum supervision.

Education

• BSc in Construction/Structural/Civil Engineering or similar studies from a recognized university. Master’s degree would be an asset; 

Experience

• A minimum of ten years’ experience in engineering / project management aspects of  the construction and rehabilitation of infrastructure of the type included in this project;
• Experience in working in complex and large infrastructure and/or civil works, particularly in the field of technical supervision, project management, contract administration and quality assurance activities related to the technical/engineering aspects of the project.
• Expertise in the area of Project Management;
• Previous work experience working with multilateral agencies would be an asset;
• Strong analytical skills, exceptional ability in communication and networking, negotiations and writing; 

Language Requirements

• Excellent fluency in English, both written and verbal communication.

Execution arrangements

• The consultant should be able to assume duties within one week of signing the contract.
• The consultant will be responsible for all the equipment, communication devices and tools that may be required for the implementation of the assignment. UNDP IST will be responsible for providing office space.

Application Submission process:

The application package containing the following (to be uploaded as one file):.

• Technical Proposal/CV: The offer should include: (1) a cover letter and an updated CV including past relevant experience in similar projects and at least 3 references. To note, a completed PH 11 Form will be required at the time a consultant signs an Individual Contract (IC) or his/her employer, if employed, signs a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA) for work associated with this assignment.

Note: The above documents need to be scanned in one file and uploaded to the online application as one document.

Shortlisted candidates (ONLY) will be requested to submit a Financial Proposal.

• Financial Proposal: Financial proposals must be all-inclusive and must be expressed based on a daily fee in US dollars.  The term ‘all inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, travel related expenses, communications, utilities, consumables, insurance, etc.) that could possibly be incurred by the Contractor are already factored into the daily fee.

The Financial Proposal is to be emailed as per the instruction in the separate email that will be sent to shortlisted candidates.

Evaluation process

Applicants are reviewed based on Required Skills and Experience stated above and based on the technical evaluation criteria outlined below.  Applicants will be evaluated based on cumulative scoring.  When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Being responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation where technical criteria weighs 70% and Financial criteria/ Proposal weighs 30%.

Technical evaluation - Total 70% (70 points):

Criteria of desk review:

• Number of years (higher than 10) of relevant experience in in engineering / project management aspects of  the construction and rehabilitation of infrastructure of the type included in this project – 40 points
• Experience in working in complex and large infrastructure and/or civil works, particularly in the field of technical supervision, project management, contract administration and quality assurance activities related to the technical/engineering aspects of the project– 40 points
• Expertise in the area of Project Management – 10 points
• Previous work experience working with multilateral agencies - 10 points

Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (70 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria (100 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

Financial evaluation - Total 30%

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Contract Award

Candidate obtaining the highest combined scores in the combined score of Technical and Financial evaluation will be considered technically qualified and will be offered to enter into contract with UNDP.

Institutional arrangement

The Consultant will be supervised by the Head of Project Office in the UNDP IST, BVI.

The Consultant will be responsible for providing her/his own laptop.

Annexes (click on the hyperlink to access the documents):

• Annex 1 - UNDP P-11 Form for ICs
• Annex 2 - IC Contract Template
• Annex 3 – IC General Terms and Conditions
• Annex 4 – RLA Template