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BACKGROUND

1.1       Hargeisa Water Supply Upgrading Project (HUWSUP)

1.1.1    Hargeisa Water Supply Situation: The current Hargeisa Municipal Water Supply (MWS) system was designed and constructed in the early 1970s, through assistance from the Government of China. It consists of the Geed Deeble wellfield (currently with 12 operational boreholes), a pumping and booster station, a 23 km long transmission pipeline, 2 water reservoirs, and a piped distribution system.
The original Hargeisa Water System was established when Hargeisa was about 5 times smaller than today, and the population was around 180,000. In addition to the piped water system, five small dams provided water for animals, laundry and other household tasks. However, these dams have now silted up and are no longer in use.
Currently, the Chinese-built water system, as it was developed more than 35 years ago, still remains the only available larger-scale water infrastructure in Hargeisa. The Geed Deeble wellfield provides 10,400 m³/day to the City, pumped through the old main pipeline into the “Chinese Reservoir” in Hargeisa. The pipeline, as well as other critical components of the water production and transmission system, is at risk of failure, due to a lack of maintenance and rehabilitation work. In addition to the main wellfield, there are a number of uncontrolled sources, which are used for trucked water supply and provide around 1,200 m³/day. The current total water availability for Hargeisa town is therefore limited to approximately 11,600 m³/day.
The average water availability for Hargeisa residents is less than 13 litres per capita per day (l/c/d), and could be as low as 10 l/c/d, taking into account the relatively high water losses due to leakages. The Hargeisa water supply situation falls far behind the minimum urban water supply of 32 or 40 l/c/d, commonly applied by International Organisations for towns and cities in developing countries, and the recommended urban water supply figure of 65 l/c/d. Consequently, the current water demand for Hargeisa ranges between 28,800 (minimum required supply) and 58,500 m³/day, while only about 40% of the minimum requirement is currently met.
With its rapidly growing population, aging infrastructure and inadequate coverage, the water supply situation in Hargeisa can be termed as precarious, and on the brink of collapse. The limited water availability is a critical shortcoming in essential service delivery, and seriously impedes the right to water access, local economic development, and employment generation. The Hargeisa Urban Water Supply System therefore urgently requires far-reaching rehabilitation, improvement and augmentation measures: in the first place, to avert an emerging humanitarian crisis, and secondly, to enable improved livelihoods for city residents, create employment opportunities, and foster the development of enterprises, the Hargeisa urban economy, and the region as whole.

1.1.2    HUWSUP Summary: Under a grant from the European Union and with additional support from the Somaliland Development Fund, UN-Habitat is implementing a USD 25 million project to rehabilitate and upgrade the principal water supply for Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland. The project started in December 2012, and the completion of construction expected by January 2016, followed by a period of testing, hand-over and reporting until mid-2016.

The Hargeisa Urban Water Supply Upgrade Project (HUWSUP) comprises the replacement of over 23 km of pipeline from the main wellfield of Geed Deeble, with a new, high-capacity transmission main that will be able to bring more water to Hargeisa. In addition, HUWSUP is building and installing a new pumping station, upgrading the wellfield collector system, and extending it to new wellfield area of Hora Haadely. In total, about 40km of new pipelines are being procured and installed. HUWSUP has also drilled 4 new boreholes and is exploring additional new water sources, in order to connect additional, sustainable sources of water to the upgraded pipeline system.

The project is of national importance and is the single largest infrastructure grant from the EU to assist the Somaliland authorities with its key development priorities of water supply rehabilitation and expansion.

1.2:      Purpose of the Assignment

• Provide Engineering support to all in-house designs and related construction works;
• Support UN-Habitat management and the Senior Engineer in the management of the project, carry out technical tasks and work packages as they arise. Offer guidance and assist national staff members to complete activities. Provide feedback to UN-Habitat management and Senior Engineer;
• Assist in the communication of technical issues of the project to third parties and stakeholders including, but not limited to, the Government of Somaliland, consultants engaged under other projects supporting HWA, project stakeholders, contacts and other interested groups.
• Assist UN-Habitat management and Senior Engineer, and provide support in the oversight of Consultants and Contractors engaged in HUWSUP related construction works.
• Support in the preparation of project proposals, concept notes, progress reports, minutes of meetings, etc.

1.3:    Need for a Technical Support Consultant / Engineer:

The technical complexity and workload of the project has gradually increased over the past 6 months, due to commencement of site works such as the HUWSUP Civil Works, the Main Construction Contract, borehole drilling works, as well as the Hora Haadley civil works and PE pipeline installation. The increased scope of works that was enabled by additional project funding has also contributed to additional activities.

With works underway at multiple sites, the technical team in Hargeisa is extremely stretched. As a result, there is an urgent need for a Technical Support Consultant / Engineer to share the technical workload of the project, assist in the supervision of works and services, support national staff, and provide timely inputs to progress reports, proposals, overviews of completed works, etc.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF TECHNICAL SUPPORT CONSULTANT / ENGINEER

• Support UN-Habitat management and the Senior Engineer in the management of the project, carry out technical tasks and work packages as they arise.
  • Provide Engineering support to all in-house designs and related construction works; Assist with technical inputs to remaining designs, BoQs and technical specifications for additional works and variations that will be directly implemented by UN-Habitat. Prepare require engineering calculations and drawings, as required.
  • Provide technical inputs to tender documents for additional project components,  including specifications, BoQ and drawings and work directly with the Senior Engineer and Project Coordfinator in the getting documents ready for tendering.
  • Assist the Senior Engineer in any feasibility work or outline design work prior to detailed design.
• Provide inputs to and be part of the technical supervision team for the Civil Works construction at Geed Deeble, pipeline installation and minor cIvil works at Horaa Haadley, and other upcoming work components.
  • Undertake site supervision duties, and ensure that contract documents are followed according to technical specifications.
  • Ensure that the works are supervised daily and all necessary site monitoring, attendance, worksheets, and progress records are prepared. Monitor and report on site progress and provide an accurate record of quantity of water infrastructure works and installations done
  • Support overall quality control and monitor performance of sub-contractors, service providers, and consultancy firms;
  • Undertake regular visits to water infrastructure  project sites, oversee the works and guide the contractors on the activities and works, and provide concrete suggestions to the UN-Habitat Programme Management for improvement on the same if required
  • Assist in the preparation of payment certificates and overviews of completed work components, for signing by authorized UN-Habitat staff; Keep track of completed BoQ items, quantities, and their equivalent costs, and alert UN-Habitat management as soon as there are indications that quantities and budgeted costs might be exceeded.
• Offer guidance and assist national staff members in planning, carrying out and completing their tasks and activities. Provide feedback to UN-Habitat management and Senior Engineer;
• Participate in meetings with Programme Management, national counterparts etc; Provide occasional translation of relevant documents from Somali to English and vice-versa
• Assist in the communication of technical issues of the project to third parties and stakeholders including, but not limited to, the Government of Somaliland, consultants engaged under other projects supporting HWA, project stakeholders, contacts and other interested groups.
• Assist UN-Habitat management and Senior Engineer, and provide support in the oversight of Consultants and Contractors engaged in HUWSUP related construction works.
• Participate in the preparation of project proposals, concept notes, progress reports, minutes of meetings, visibility products, etc.
• Ensure systematic and complete filing and archiving of all technical documents, contracts, engineering drawings and reports for water infrastructure development
• Any other technical duties that may reasonably be requested by the Project Management in the interest of the Project.

3.         COMPETENCIES

Professionalism: Knowledge and experience of communication and public relations, including familiarisation with key software, hardware and communication tools.
Planning and Organization: Ability to work under pressure specially on Site Supervision and Site Works, establish priorities and plan, develop clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies, and use time efficiently.
Communication: Excellent written communication skills in English, with the ability to articulate ideas in a clear and articulate manner; the ability to prepare and edit a variety of documents, reports and briefs.
Team Player: Able to motivate and work in harmony with field staff, partners and stakeholders; strong sense of initiative; and willingness towards long working days if needed
Proactive: Results oriented; independent; and able to identify and carry out duties  and responsibilities with minimum supervision

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

At least 5 years working as a Civil Engineer.
Possess a Master’s level degree in Civil Engineering related subject, including an Undergraduate in Civil Engineering
Previous experience in Site Supervision
Confident in use of AutoCAD
Broad knowledge and design experience in the field of water treatment / pumping and pipeline design or distribution.
Experience in proposal writing
Excellent spoken and written English; Good communication skills and capability to work with colleagues and counterparts from a different socio-cultural environment;
Experience working with government organizations, NGOs and community organisations
Familiarity with the UN system is desirable

DURATION

The contract will be for 6 working months over a period of 12 months, beginning on or  around 1 August 2016, and ending on or before 31 July 2017 (depending on the contract start date).

6.          FEES
Fees will be based on established UN remuneration rates for individual consultants. The rate is determined by functions performed and experience of the consultant. The fees will be paid as per agreement. Payments will be based on deliverables over the consultancy period and satisfactory performance.  

APPLICATION

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