National Consultancy: Electrical Engineer (Open to Malawian Nationals Only)

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, Protection...

Reliable electricity is critical to enable basic primary healthcare, store, and deliver vaccines and other medication, make available clean water and sanitation facilities, create a comfortable learning environment, and offer essential services to meet the needs of children and their families during the day and at night. UNICEF Malawi is accelerating outcomes for children from renewable energy systems, especially as growing climate change impacts threaten current and future energy services. As such UNICEF Malawi is providing sustainable energy solutions using solar energy for the health and education facilities in rural areas of Malawi. The health facilities selected under this project are in hard to reach areas, as defined by the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), to have the maximum impact on the immunization programme in the country. It highlights approaches to promote long-term sustainability of these systems and the benefits of working across sectors to address multiple child rights in the most vulnerable areas in Malawi.

For the successful solarization of health facilities project in Malawi, there is a need for quality assurance at various levels. This includes quality assurance of equipment e.g. through the establishment and enforcement of product standards. However, high-quality products will only provide the desired services if renewable energy systems are designed, installed and maintained by highly qualified individuals. Cognizant of this need, UNICEF Malawi, decided to support the development of health facilities for renewable energy services by establishing a certification which requires the services of a qualified electrical Engineer with skills bias towards solar electricity and renewable energy to help supervising and monitoring.

How can you make a difference?

The Electrical Engineer Individual Consultant will work from home with frequent monitoring visits to installation sites. Duties will include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Conduct site assessments to identify the needs for installation of the solar PV system
2. Supervise installation of the Solar PV system and its distribution network across the facilities including quality assurance
3. Preventive and corrective maintenance and technical inspection and commissioning of solar PV systems for both schools and health centers
4. Community engagement for the sustainability of the initiative
5. Liaise with MERA and facilitate certification of solar installation as needed

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Academic qualification:

• Minimum of university degree in Renewable Energy Technologies/Electrical Engineering. Proof of being a MERA certified installer.

Work experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of commercial PV system installation and design, permitting, construction, commissioning and operation and maintenance of solar systems
• Experience in providing technical support to energy-related projects with accountability for project performance and design
• Experience in supervision and inspection of solar projects

• Experience in value engineering of photovoltaic or other constructions projects

  Technical skills and knowledge:

• Strong knowledge of photovoltaic system installation and design including optimizing system components for energy production

• Good working knowledge of standard solar utility process for interconnection approval and design requirements
• Strong knowledge of solar electrical and structural design components and manufacturers
• Strong Knowledge in both local and international standards for solar photovoltaic systems
• Strong knowledge in supervising and inspecting solar projects

Competencies:

• Good analytical, conceptual and writing skills
• Strong facilitation and coordination skills, including participatory group discussion
• Strong communication, advocacy and negotiation skills

Languages:

• Fluency in English (verbal and written) is required, including in the local language.

Please refer to the attached full Terms of Reference Terms of Reference_Electrical Engineer.pdf for more details on the consultancy and requirements.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

HOW TO APPLY...

Interested Individual Consultants should provide the following:

1. Curriculum Vitae
2. Academic certificates
3. Brief technical proposal (no longer than five pages) demonstrating the Individual Consultant's understanding of the assignment and approach/methodology to the assignment
4. Financial proposal including a breakdown of their all-inclusive fees (including professional fees, stationery, communication, and other miscellaneous costs). Financial Proposal for Consultancy.xlsx Complete the attached form.
5. References details of of at least 3 previous supervisors.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.