International Consultant – Architecture Engineer to oversee construction of UN Women Accommodation

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

UN Women builds on a long history of support to governments, civil society and other actors to promote gender equality and empower all women and girls. We stand behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on five priority areas: addressing gender perspectives in intergovernmental processes; women’s political participation and leadership; enhancing women’s economic empowerment; ending violence against women and girls; and promoting women’s participation in peace and security and humanitarian action.

Under the guidance and direct supervision of Operations Manager, the consultant will provide technical support to UN Women Afghanistan Country Office on construction of accommodation for UN Women staff. The consultant works in close collaboration with the operations team, construction company and security team ensuring compliances, effectiveness, transparency, and integrity throughout the full cycle of construction process.

Duties and Responsibilities

Develop detailed workplan for construction from the recruitment of construction company, monitoring plan, quality control and assurance, including final inspection of construction and monitoring of defects liabilities.
Develop a detailed Terms of Reference (ToR) with Bill of Quantities (BoQ) for Invitation-to-Bid (ITB) for construction of accommodation for staff at UNOCA, incorporate comments from UN Women team and revise the ToR as needed and obtain successful clearance from regional and team in headquarter.
Support procurement process and facilitate technical evaluation of proposals, this may include;

Set-up a list of potential suppliers and send invitation for pre-bidding meeting.
Organize an on-site visit to the construction site for potential companies, answer questions, and share relevant information as required
Facilitate the evaluation of bidders’ proposals which include construction plan, interior design/drawing/floor plan, proposed materials, supply and installation of furniture, fire/safety plan, budget timeline and risks
Prepare submission of Procurement Review Committee and make a brief presentation on selection process as required by RPC

4. Oversee and monitor construction project including ensure the quality of works is compliant with the contract.

Oversee and monitor the project implementation by construction company to the agreed project plan including products, milestones, quality assurance, compliance, and cost
Identify and resolve any issue with the renovation company, and escalate to key stakeholders regarding risk and issue management
Coordinate other installation from third-party suppliers such as water pipe management, electricity installation, security equipment for entrance door, and the Internet, etc.

5. Write a final inspection report upon successful implementation of the office renovation project

Expected deliverables and timelines

Tasks

Deliverables

Tentative Target dates

Develop detailed workplan for construction from the recruitment of construction company, monitoring plan, quality control and assurance, including final inspection of construction and monitoring of defects liabilities

Workplan with timeline

5 August 2022

Develop a detailed Terms of Reference (ToR) with Bill of Quantities (BoQ) for Invitation-to-Bid (ITB) for construction of accommodation for staff at UNOCA, incorporate comments from UN Women team and revise the ToR as needed and obtain successful clearance from regional and team in headquarter.

Terms of Reference and Bill of Quantities for the Invitation to Bid

15 August 2022

Support procurement process and facilitate technical evaluation of proposals

Meeting minute for the pre-bidding and site visit

PRC Submission Package

31 August 2022

Oversee and monitor construction project including ensure the quality of works is compliant with the contract.

Progress report

30 September 2022,

31 October 2022,

30 November 2022

28 February 2023

Write a final inspection report upon successful implementation of the office renovation project

Final inspection report and signed retention bond

15 March 2023

Competencies

Core Values:

Respect for Diversity
Integrity
Professionalism

Core Competencies:

Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
Accountability
Creative Problem Solving
Effective Communication
Inclusive Collaboration
Stakeholder Engagement
Leading by Example

https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

Strong communication skills
Strong analytical skills
Strong IT skills
Strong project management skills
Strong report writing skills
Strong knowledge of local regulations regarding office renovation
Strong expertise in engineering or architecture related to office renovation

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree or equivalent in architecture, civil engineering or a related field is required
A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree

Experience:

At least 15 years of overseeing and/or inspecting construction, infrastructure development or office renovation projects in similar contexts in the context of Afghanistan
Strong experience in architecture project management is required
Engineering architecture certification is required
Experience working with UN agencies is a strong asset
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional status is an asset
Understanding of and support for gender mainstreaming in office set-up is an asset
Work experience in a multi-cultural environment is preferred
Fluency in both written and spoken English

Evaluation

Applications will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis:

Technical qualification (100 points); weight: (70%)
Financial proposal (100 points): weight (30%)

A two-stage procedure is utilized in evaluating the applications, with evaluation of the technical application being completed prior to any price proposal being compared.

The total number of points allocated for the technical qualification component is 100. The technical qualification of the individual is evaluated based on following technical qualification evaluation criteria:

Technical qualification evaluation criteria:

Technical Evaluation Criteria

Obtainable Score

A) Education

20%

B) Experience and skills

70%

C) Language and report writing skills

10%

Total Obtainable Score

100%

Only the candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% of total points will be considered as technically-qualified candidates who may be contacted for validation interview.

Financial/Price Proposal evaluation:

Only the financial proposal of candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% score in the technical evaluation will be considered and evaluated.
The total number of points allocated for the price component is 100.
The maximum number of points will be allotted to the lowest price proposal that is opened/evaluated and compared among those technical qualified candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% score in the technical evaluation. All other price proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.