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Haiti Structural Engineer

Background:

The January 12 earthquake is one of the most challenging natural disasters a single country has ever experienced. Major obstacles were already present in Haiti before the earthquake as the island is one of the most impoverished nations in the Western Hemisphere with little development, lack of proper urban planning, high rate of unemployment, inappropriate economic policies, political instability, a shortage of good arable land, severe environmental deterioration, continued reliance on traditional technologies, migration of large portions of the skilled population, and the lack of a functioning judicial system.

Overall, 19 months after the earthquake the population living in IDP sites and informal settlements has further decreased from 634,000 in May 2011 to some 595,000 individuals in July. In the last six months, the pace of exit from camps has slowed down considerably, reflecting the complexity of the urban displacement crisis, homelessness and poverty. The largest majority of the population now remaining in camps (78 %) is primarily composed of former renters. The total number of continuously inhabited camps are 894 sites still confirmed as hosting IDP households.

In view of all this, the new government, as part of its program for the first 100 days, has identified as a priority the systematic closure of six iconic Port-au-Prince camps (Place St. Pierre, Place Boyer, Primature, Canape Vert, Stadium Silvio Cator, and Mais Gate ). Through this action, the original purpose of these public spaces could be restored, and a clear and visible signal would be sent to the public that the situation of post-earthquake displacement is being gradually addressed and resolved.

The Project 16/6 program is a government initiative to rehabilitate 16 earthquake affected neighborhoods and emptying 6 priority camps. One of UNOPS role in this overall program is to repair Yellow Houses. The Senior Structural Engineer will work under the Yellow House Repair Project and may provide some services to the other components if required.

  1. Purpose and Scope of Assignment

Reporting directly to and under the direct supervision of the 16/6 Project Manager, the Structural Engineer (SE) will use his/her technical expertise as required to manage and coordinate the quality assurance of the Yellow House Repair Program. He/she is responsible for managing the team of national structural engineers and ensures high quality work is carried out on time and on or under budget. Projects will be mostly in the earthquake-affected neighborhoods of the metropolitan Port au Prince area. Specifically, the SE will be responsible for the following substantive tasks; this list is not representative of all the duties required but indicates typical duties and responsibilities:

•Manage the quality assurance of the Yellow House Repair Program, specifically the teams of national enginners. •Ensures that the overall works are done in accordance with international and the haitian MTPTC repair guidelines. •Prepare training modules to build the capacity of the project engineers. •Responsible for timely delivery of the expected outputs from the Programme. •Assist in any relevant administrative and operational efforts of the Unit as requested by the Project Manager. •Carry out Structural Assessment of damaged buildings and provide input. •Provide advice in seismic engineering to our different partners. •Train junior engineers in the assessment of damaged buildings •Work closely with the project staff to identify potential project cost overruns. •Monitor delivery of repairs. Highlight possible non or late delivery prior to the event; •Monitor project activities and evaluate against the work plans and the outputs outcomes defined in the project agreement; identify problems and take appropriate and timely decisions to meet client needs; •Provide reports and project presentations as requested by senior management; •Proactively manage the project, ensuring that they meet the high standards expected by UNOPS, while delivering the program within its time and budget constraints; •Carry out structural site inspections and assessments as required; •Have a thorough knowledge of international building codes and material requirements; •Ability to liaise with international clients and government counterparts and address requirements;

  1. Qualifications and Experience

a. Education •Master’s Degree in Civil Engineer •Additional years of relevant work experience preferably in combination with a relevant bachelor’s degree, may substitute for the requirement for a master’s degree.

b. Work Experience •Minimum 3 years of experience •At least 2 years out of the 3 years should be of coordination, planning and managing works in the building field; •Previous experiences in developing countries and knowledge in the country context related field.

c. Key Competencies/Languages •Ability to capacity build and share knowledge with his/her national colleagues; •Excellence knowledge of seismic engineering; •Professionalism, integrity and commitment to project demands; •Expertise in planning, management and mobilization of resources; •Good communication skills (including ability to negotiate); •Ability to coordinate, communicate and manage project works and meet tight schedules under stressful environment and varied cultural context; •Knowledge and capacity to manage project documentation to professional and accurate standards; •Flexibility and ability to quickly grasp complex structures; •Good team player attitude; •Fluent in French •Haitian Creole is highly desirable • English an asset;

Contract type, level and durationEditDelete Contract type: International Individual Contractor Contract level: IICA 1 Contract duration: 5 Months

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link: http://www.unops.org/ENGLISH/WHOWENEED/CONTRACT-TYPES/Pages/Individual-C...

Additional ConsiderationsEditDelete•Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time (CET)

•Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. •Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified. •Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. •UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a level below the advertised level of the post •The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

How to apply:

Kindly apply to:

https://gprs.unops.org