Вакансія: Construction Advisor

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Ukraine is seeking qualified professionals for the project “Strengthening Urban Resilience” to fill the position of the

Construction Advisor (full time, Kyiv)

(internal SAP code: Construction Advisor)

Since the beginning of the Russian Federation’s war of aggression on Ukraine in February 2022, as of February 2023, 8.1 million Ukrainians are in neighboring European countries, and more than 5.3 million people have fled within Ukraine (source: UN Refugee Agency for UNHCR, April 2023). Large parts of the civil infrastructure have been destroyed. In addition to the destruction of housing, critical utility infra-structure (heat, gas, electricity, water, sewage, mobile communications, internet) in particular is a direct target of attacks. The situation in Ukraine remains volatile, with the frontline continuing to run through the eastern and southern parts of the country.

Utility infrastructure and housing are two of the sectors most affected by destruction, with deficiencies directly impacting people’s lives. Total estimated physical damage to buildings and infrastructure exceeds $135 billion.

Critical utility infrastructure and housing are vital to the population and the functioning of the economy. The provision of sufficient housing and the repair of damaged or destroyed utilities infrastructure are essential to ensure the habitability of the most affected regions. In view of the ongoing war and the resulting destruction of housing and utilities infrastructure, Ukraine, and in particular Ukrainian municipalities, are currently unable to provide basic services to the population on their own”. The international donor community supports Ukraine to ensure this basic supply.

In the framework of Transitional Development Assistance the project Strengthening Urban Resilience (SUR) has been commissioned by the German Government to rehabilitate housing as well as damaged utilities infrastructure. 

Responsibilities:                                                               

• providing all technical services in agreement with the management and in line with the governing GIZ rules and regulations;
• performing technical activities and providing technical support to the project on infrastructure and construction projects throughout projects planning, design, tendering and execution/supervision;
• handling all technical aspects related to consultancy services contracts of infrastructure and construction projects from initiation to closing;
• undertaking daily operational aspects of all issues related to infrastructure and construction projects;
• coordinating infrastructure and construction project matters with GIZ Head office;
• coordinates relevant activities with other GIZ SUR units;
• represents the SUR Construction Unit in coordination with local authorities in close coordination with the Project Manager (Construction);
• conducts technical clarification meeting with relevant authorities and civil society organizations in close coordination with the Project Manager (Construction);
• coordinating data collection and compilation, and providing technical advices related to the monitoring and evaluation of infrastructure and construction projects.

Tasks:

The construction Advisor

• provides technical assistance and advises on all issues related to scope identification, planning, design and supervision of infrastructure and construction projects that get identified;
• is jointly responsible with the Project Manager (Construction) for the supervision of the preparation of terms of reference for infrastructure and construction projects preliminary and feasibility studies, design, and supervision;
• performs consultants’ procurement, evaluation activities and consultancy services for contracts preparation in coordination with relevant colleagues;
• monitors the work of international and national engineering consultants on the design, tendering, procurement and supervision activities;
• participates in formulating projects action plans and helps in synchronising the planning and budgeting systems and counterparts relevant work;
• conducts regular monitoring and evaluation site visits, writes technical reports on site visits and coordinates recommended actions with relevant parties;
• takes a lead role in preparing progress and completion reports, and following up on the reporting process of infrastructure and construction projects;
• is responsible for the elaboration of Minutes of Meeting for all meetings conducted with Authorities and Beneficiaries;
• participates in the elaboration of reports as per BMZ requirements;
• coordinates and provides technical support in payments processes and administration between consultants/contractors and relevant colleagues;
• ensures the timely implementation of construction projects according to agreed time schedules;
• conducts evaluation of contractors’ claims in terms of additional works;
• provides technical assistance on the elaboration of operational and maintenance plans;
• ensures compliance between GIZ and the national procedures related to issuing of building licenses, procurement, contracts preparation and implementation;
• provides technical orientation for junior advisors and internships;
• ensures cooperation, regular contact and dialogue with partners; carries out PR work and cooperates with local communities, relevant organisations, non-governmental agencies and individuals in the project/programme environment and with other projects to improve and maintain good working relationships;
• is responsible to liaise with local governments and other appropriate bodies to ensure smooth implementation of the measures/interventions;
• provides technical assistance to local and international experts;
• communicates local interests and efforts, forwards these and encourages sharing ideas and information for the benefit of the project/programme;
• maintains repeated field visits to the regions in accordance with the requirements of the Construction Unit and the project;
• travels (abroad) in the region regularly, in accordance with project requirements;
• develops and maintains contacts with key actors from local authorities, community representatives and consultants as well as other stakeholders and maintain regular contact and dialogue;
• communicates local interests and efforts, and encourages sharing ideas and information for the benefit of the project;
• gets involved in advisory activities and meetings with relevant stakeholder (e.g. Districts, Governorates, Communities) when needed;
• provides technical and operational assistance to local and international experts;
• supports the project personnel with their communication and networking activities on technical related matters;
• compiles lessons learnt from projects implementation and makes them available to the company.

Required qualifications and experience:

Qualifications

• master’s degree in engineering (civil engineering, infrastructure planning, architecture or comparable qualification).

Professional experience

• at least 15 years of command experience in construction and infrastructure projects of the whole project cycle (planning, design, procurement, supervision, public sector and government bodies work relationships etc.);
• demonstrated ability to provide advisory and consultancy services, especially in the field of technical infrastructure and construction;
• in depth knowledge in management, design and construction supervision of urban infrastructure projects;
• in depth knowledge and relevant professional experience in working with Ukraine local authorities on Governorate and District level;
• specific experience in preparing tender documents according to applicable procurement procedures is obligatory;
• in depth knowledge about work contracts and their stipulations;
• ability to collect, collate and assess information from different sources prior to disseminating relevant reports and conclusions.

Other knowledge, additional competences

• excellent analytical, interpersonal and communication skills;
• capacity to liaise easily in a multicultural and multilingual environment;
• high sense of responsibility and confidentiality and the ability to work in politically sensitive areas as well as in a big team;
• experience in dealing with international development cooperation would be an asset;
• good working knowledge of IT related software, computer applications (e.g. MS Office, MS Project and engineering software AutoCAD, etc.);
• digital literacy
• advanced communication skills; ability to explain complex problems to a non-technical audience;
• experience to serve a wide range of clients and multiple stakeholder interests at the same time;
• fluent in Ukrainian and English languages is mandatory;
• willingness to travel to fields regularly;
• willingness to upskill as required by the tasks to be performed – corresponding measures are agreed with management.

We offer:

• Official employment;
• Salary fixed in EUR, performance-related bonuses and 13th salary;
• Medical insurance, 29 vacation days annually;
• Language classes, hard and soft skills trainings;
• Individual and group psychological support;
• Possible remote and flexible work;
• Meaningful and valuable work, international environment.

Employment conditions:

Full-time position with 40-hours working week. Place of assignment is Kyiv. The contract duration is till 30 April 2025, with the option of extension. The assignment starts as soon as possible.

GIZ is an equal opportunity employer and offers an attractive and challenging working environment with opportunities for skill enhancement.

Application:

Application comprising of the candidate’s CV and a cover letter in the English language explaining the motivation to apply for the job is to be sent to [email protected] until COB 29 August 2023, Tuesday.

By sending the application the candidate gives the consent for the personal data processing for recruitment processes solely.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the next stages of the recruitment process. The shortlisted candidates may be offered the task to complete to check the level of their proficiency and written English.