School Construction Engineer

Job Description

Organisation Overview

Street Child is an international charity based in the United Kingdom that aims to create avenues for out of school children to access education by through an integrated approach that strengthens the capacity of teachers, schools and communities to sustain their investment in the education for their children.

Street Child has recently registered in Nepal, and has been working with UNICEF and partner organisations to support the humanitarian relief effort in the earthquake affected areas of Nepal and is now exploring avenues for further impact. As a Senior Engineer, you will be part of an exciting stage of the organization’s growth, and will be working closely with the Street Child of Nepal team and partner organizations to support the delivery of project pilots and the design and development of emerging programs.

Position

The School Construction Engineer will be responsible for the management of Street Child of Nepal’s school construction projects, including emergency response and recovery projects in earthquake affected areas of Nepal. He or she will provide technical support by coordinating between authorities, implementing partners and community stakeholders to plan, implement, monitor and report on construction and ensuring strong and sustainable outputs and strengthened technical capacity across the organisation.

Education and Experience  

The ideal candidate will have –

• Masters degree in civil or structural engineering  
• Three to five years of professional experience in the development sector essential; experience working in post-disaster setting desirable
• Experience in structural design including use of Auto CAD and other relevant software applications
• Experience in technical supervision of construction and training and support of engineers and technical supervisors in safe and secure construction
• Experience in managing multiple projects and good knowledge of donor compliance rules and requirements

Skills and Attributes  

The ideal candidate will have –

• Understanding and commitment to the vision and mission of Street Child of Nepal
• Excellent project planning and project management skills and ability to allocate resources efficiently and effectively
• Ability to be resourceful and entrepreneurial in setting priorities and streamlining processes and procedures
• Strong strategic and critical thinking skills so as to conceptualize multiple approaches to solving a problem and drawing out a clear roadmap with roles and responsibilities
• Excellent cooperation and collaboration skills, with the ability to work with a multi-disciplinary, diverse and dynamic team
• Excellent communication and influencing skills with an ability to engage with a range of stakeholders
• Ability to work independently on a range of tasks and to take initiative to take on further responsibilities as appropriate

Job Specification

Responsibilities

• Provide engineering and project management services, applying best practices, standards and innovative technologies that comply with relevant standards and benchmarks

• Coordinate with all stakeholders including government authorities, implementing partners, community stakeholders, contractors and manufacturers from inception to completion of construction projects to ensure alignment on project design and delivery

• Conduct technical assessments of needs, selection of target communities and facilities to be constructed through surveys, interviews and observational site visits.

• Contribute towards analysis of proposed projects with respect to technical feasibility and provide appropriate recommendations to inform decisions

• Create construction specifications of projects, including implementation plans and secure approvals from authorities where necessary

• Manage preparation of bills of quantities, cost estimates and disbursement schedules within the limits of allocated budgets

• Manage procurement for construction, including establishment of purchase orders and selection of contractors through a transparent tender procedure and liaise with manufacturers to ensure materials meet strict specifications

• Manage logistics and central, district and site levels ensuring proper and timely procurement and delivery of materials

• Contribute to preparedness actions, providing technical recommendations and monitoring the management of risks

• Manage sites and supervise contractors and staff, encourage community participation and ensure safety at construction sites

• Design and deliver training and support for engineers and technical supervisors, as well as community stakeholders in safe and secure construction

• Resolve all challenges and conflicts at construction sites amicably and promptly, without any adverse effects on projects

• Monitor project implementation and provide technical support to implementing partners to strictly follow construction codes, ensure alignment with Government of Nepal standards, and assure structurally sound delivery using standard checklists

• Collate data and contribute to preparation of accurate and timely reporting on outputs to facilitate consistency of information presented to stakeholders

• Support the capacity building of engineering staff to facilitate continued development of organisational capacity for school construction