Senior Structural Engineer (Retainer, multiple positions)

Contract

This is a IICA-3 contract. This kind of contract is known as International Individual Contractor Agreements. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's an external contract. It usually requires 7 years of experience, depending on education. More about IICA-3 contracts.

Background Information - UNOPS

Disclaimer! The TORs are translated into Spanish and French languages. In case of any discrepancy, the English version of the TOR prevails.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

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

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.

Background Information - Job-specific

Background information - IPMG

UNOPS strategic focus places increased emphasis on national capacity development and sustainable approaches to project management, procurement and infrastructure services. A key objective is to be recognized as an organization that delivers world-class infrastructure and project management, which is both economically and socially sustainable, even in the most challenging environments. To achieve this goal, UNOPS has established the Infrastructure and Project Management Group (IPMG).

Within UNOPS, it is IPMG’s objective to serve the organization’s personnel and partners by broadening their infrastructure and project management capabilities, while disseminating best-practices in both of these areas. Through this work, the group helps facilitate the successful delivery of programmes and projects around the world.

To achieve its objectives, IPMG has established three interrelated and interdependent work streams: Strategic Positioning; Standards; and Implementation Support.

• Strategic Initiatives focuses on thought leadership in infrastructure and project management, supporting the strategic position of the organization and developing and piloting new products and services.
• Standards work stream aims to reduce organizational risks, improve project performance, and promote excellence across UNOPS projects by having fit for purpose infrastructure and project management standards in place.
• Engagement Assurance work stream supports the successful development, design, and delivery of engagements to help reduce organizational risk and improve project performance.

The Senior Structural Engineer will work in support of Standards and Engagement Assurance streams, and may also work directly on behalf of projects.

Functional Responsibilities

Since the early stage operations in 2016, the technical complexity and scale of infrastructure projects evaluated by Design Review have increased significantly. Within the current infrastructure portfolio, Senior Engineers (including Structural Engineers) are called on to evaluate and determine engineering code compliance for multi-discipline, multi-site designs, including both new and renovation works, that are proposed for several unique regions of a particular country. Within this current complexity and scale, the home-based Senior Structural Engineer will be responsible for the provision of structural engineering expertise to IPMG work streams, country offices, and project teams. For design review services, the Senior Structural Engineer will review and provide technical comment in particular for designs of medium and high-risk infrastructure projects. In an advisory capacity to projects and country offices, the Senior Structural Engineer will provide expert advice on the development of infrastructure projects and/or the resolution of complex technical issues. Due to the challenges of the current UNOPS operational context, the Senior Structural Engineer will be required to apply engineering judgment and experience to consider technical issues and associated risks and assure code compliance within the challenging operating environments faced by UNOPS project teams.. The exact scope of responsibilities services will be defined in each individual request for services and may include technical review, design, or guidance, as well as technical advice to project development.

The Senior Structural Engineer will play a key role in ensuring the safety and quality of UNOPS infrastructure works. On a request basis from IPMG and country offices, the Senior Structural Engineer will be expected to fulfill the following responsibilities in line with industry standards and applicable national and international codes and guidelines:

1. Technical review of design documentation

Review structural design drawings, technical specifications, and BOQs in terms of accuracy and suitability to overall design requirements, identifying aspects where designs do not comply with minimum codes and standards and IPMG policies, and providing practical guidance for design improvement to achieve technical objectives.

2. Support to design development Apply technical expertise and professional experience to support/advise project and design development in especially challenging circumstances. The Senior Structural Engineer Expert will advise project teams on the options to achieve safe, functional, and quality infrastructure, including novel or innovative means of achieving technical objectives of structural designs, and may be requested to ensure the accomplishment of these technical objectives.

3. Application of professional judgment To ensure the safety, functionality and fitness of infrastructure while recognizing the circumstances and constraints of the UNOPS operational context, the Structural Engineer will be required to apply professional judgment in the application of relevant codes, standards, and UNOPSpolicies. In interactions with UNOPS project and design teams,, the Senior Structural Engineer must also be able to address diverse perspectives to advocate, promote, and drive the improvement of UNOPS infrastructure as well as provide strategic technical advice

4. Independence, integrity, and objectivity In the performance of professional services, the Senior Structural Engineer will act as an independent technical expert, free of conflicts of interests, and must be able to maintain the integrity of his/her technical opinion.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

Education requirements: - Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering with specialty in Structural Engineering from an accredited university - Bachelor's Degree or equivalent with two additional years of relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of Master’s Degree (total 9 years of experience).

Work Experience: - At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in structural engineering with strong expertise in civil engineering, rehabilitation and construction of new building and transport infrastructures (bridges, tunnels, etc.), particularly the design and calculations of complex structural systems is required. - Understanding of and experience with structural modeling and calculations of the stability, strength and rigidity of structures, including loads, stresses and safety factors, among others is highly desired. - Understanding of and experience with the physical laws and empirical knowledge of the structural performance of different materials and geometries is highly desired. - Understanding of and experience in the development infrastructure sector is desired. - Knowledge of sustainable and resilient approaches to structural engineering and green technologies is an asset. - Knowledge of seismic-resistant design and calculations is an asset. - Knowledge of specific areas such as coastal, airports and energy infrastructures is an asset.

Languages: - Fluency in English required. - Fluency either in Spanish OR French is required

Certifications: - Membership of a Professional Institution at Chartered / Professional Eng / Eur Ing or similar is an asset.

Additional Considerations

• A retainer Individual Contractor Agreement (ICA) is issued for a period of time during which the services of the individual contractor may be required intermittently.
• A retainer ICA will specify a unit price (e.g. amount per day actually worked). For budgetary purposes, a monetary limit will be specified at the time the ICA is awarded and issued.
• UNOPS shall have no obligation to obtain any minimum quantity of Services from the Individual Contractor during the duration of the retainer ICA.
• Payment will be made only after completion of work (if any) or reaching agreed milestones.
• A retainer ICA does not accord any exclusivity to the Individual Contractor with respect to the Services listed in the job description. UNOPS shall have no limitation on its right to obtain Services of the same kind from any other source at any time.
• UNOPS Individual Contractors must comply with the standards of conduct required of a UN civil servant, when carrying out their official UNOPS responsibilities and also all other times. This includes the standards of conduct set forth in the UN Secretary-General’s Bulletin of 9 October 2003 entitled “Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse” (ST/SGB/2003/13) and the UN Secretary-General’s Bulletin of 18 June 2002 entitled "Regulations Governing the Status, Basic Rights and Duties of Officials other than Secretariat Officials, and Experts on Mission" (ST/SGB/2002/9) as they may be amended from time to time.
• UNOPS Individual Contractors must comply with all applicable UNOPS policies and instructions. This includes the obligation to declare any outside activity that could result in an actual or perceived conflict with the interests of the UN; as well as to refrain from using information gained through the UNOPS Individual Contractor Agreement contract for the Individual Contractor’s own purposes or to help a third party (unless the information is already in the public domain), in particular but not only in relation to procurement of works, goods and services.
• UNOPS Individual Contractors must abide by UN safety and security policies, instructions, directives, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

The standard terms and conditions of the UNOPS ICA as of the present date can be found at https://content.unops.org/HR-Documents/ICA_contract/Annex-A-ENGLISH.pdf

Contract type, level and duration

Contract type: ICA Contract level: I-ICA3 Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link: https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx

Additional information