Civil Engineer

The Asia Pacific Regional Office, based in Bangkok, Thailand, provides strategic leadership and oversight for UNOPS operations across 17 countries, ensuring high performance, operational excellence, and alignment with organizational goals. Operations currently span Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Pacific Islands. Across these countries, we work closely with key stakeholders to strengthen partnerships and maximize impact through five main operating units: Afghanistan (AFCO), Myanmar (MMCO), South Asia Multi-Country Office (SAMCO), East Asia and Pacific Multi-Country Office (EAPMCO), and the Asia Regional Health Cluster (ARHC). Through these entities, we provide agile, client-focused service delivery across diverse sectors - including infrastructure, health, procurement, and project management - supporting the implementation of sustainable development solutions across the region.

The East Asia and Pacific Multi-Country Office (EAPMCO), headquartered in Bangkok, supports UNOPS operations across 24 countries in Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, and the Pacific. Established in January 2023, EAPMCO provides strategic direction, operational support, and quality assurance to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of projects across its portfolio. EAPMCO implements initiatives in priority areas such as energy transition, climate change, and sustainable development, drawing on UNOPS' core expertise in human resources, procurement, infrastructure, fund management, and programme management.

UNOPS has supported Papua New Guinea (PNG) since 2016, initially partnering with the Global Fund to strengthen public health services. In 2020, a dedicated country office was established to manage UNOPS’ growing portfolio, which spans infrastructure, procurement, and project management. UNOPS currently works with the Government of PNG, the World Bank, the European Union, and the Governments of Australia and New Zealand on initiatives in health, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and sustainable energy, supporting the country’s development priorities through tailored, results-driven solutions.

Organizational Context

The South East Asia and Pacific Multi Country Office (EAPMCO) supports, develops and oversees the UNOPS portfolio of projects in South East Asia and the Pacific. EAPMCO was established in January 2023 following the merger of the Thailand Multi-Country Office, which covered 20 countries across  North East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific, and the Cambodia Multi-Country Office, which covered 4 countries South East Asia - 3 countries in the Mekong Sub-region (Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam) and the Philippines.  EAPMCO currently covers 24 countries across North East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific. With its head office in Bangkok, the Multi-Country Office comprises nine business units: EAPMCO Thailand, EAPMCO Indonesia,  EAPMCO Pacific Operations Cluster, EAPMCO Papua New Guinea, EAPMCO China, EAPMCO Vietnam, EAPMCO Mekong, and EAPMCO Philippines.

In 2022, the UNOPS EAPMCO implemented projects worth more than USD 95.7 million, in the areas of Energy Transition, Digital Transformations, Sustainable Environmental Management, Climate Change, Waste Management, Rule of Law and Access to Justice, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Post Conflict Reintegration, Emergency Relief, Post COVID19 Economic Transformations, and Health, through HR, procurement, construction, contract management, fund and program management services.  

The Multi Country Office head office in Bangkok provides strategic direction, operational support, delivery oversight and assurance of the excellence of business processes and quality standards across all of the entire Multi Country Office locations. It is also responsible for developing, delivering and managing the portfolio of engagements in the country of the MCO location itself. 

UNOPS in Papua New Guinea

The EAPMCO Papua New Guinea was established in early 2020 to support the implementation of design and construction of infrastructure, sustainable procurement, capacity development to support technical and governance excellence, programme management, and to facilitate access to funding sources in Papua New Guinea.  

As an established office since 2022, EAPMCO PNG is demonstrating significant growth and portfolio diversification potential in a short period of time. Working with an increasing number of development partners, in 2023 EAPMCO PNG is quickly being recognised as a responsive and quality partner in climate change resilient infrastructure, sustainable procurement and governance support to the Government of PNG in its service delivery obligations to the people. There are a number of projects currently in the pipeline which will expand the portfolio of existing projects for the office.

Job Specific Context

Background Information – Impact Health Phase 2

The “Improving Access to and Value from Health Services in PNG: Financing the Frontlines Project” (IMPACT Health Project) aims to address critical challenges in Papua New Guinea (PNG), including the lack of key infrastructure, medical instruments, and supplies necessary for effective health service delivery.

The objective of the IMPACT Health Project is to increase the utilization of quality essential health services in the supported provinces: East New Britain, East Sepik, Central, and Chimbu. The government, through this initiative, plans to upgrade primary health care facilities by conducting comprehensive needs assessments and setting priorities for rehabilitation and equipment upgrades. Additionally, the IMPACT Health Project will strengthen the assessment and supervision of health facilities by implementing an integrated facility supportive supervision checklist.

This engagement contributes to Component 1 - Increase service delivery readiness and community-based service delivery, and Component 2 - Improve frontline service delivery performance of the IMPACT Health Project. The components of the scope of work of the engagement includes but not limited to:  

A. Facility Audit: Conduct a Health Facility Audit (HFA) using pre-approved audit tools from the Facilities Service Branch for Level 2 to Level 4 facilities in three (03) provinces: Central, Chimbu and East Sepik.

B. Costed and Prioritized Investment Plan: Identify essential equipment (both medical and non-medical) that can be provided to all facilities, including those owned by the government and non-government entities, to enhance service delivery. The second priority is to identify infrastructure improvements, particularly the rehabilitation of existing infrastructure, in the three provinces of Central, Chimbu and East Sepik. The list of priority interventions will be defined in alignment with the available budgetary envelope for this component. 

C. Rehabilitation: Carry out rehabilitation efforts in up to four (04) priority facilities per province for the four provinces. There will be detailed engineering design and tender document preparation for the rehabilitation works.

The Civil Engineer (Structural Engineering) plays a vital role in the day-to-day operation of the project as the civil engineer will provide technical expertise and quality assurance for the Health Facility Audit, structural condition assessment, and Detailed Engineering Design of the selected four health facilities in Simbu Province under the IMPACT Health Phase 2 Project. 

The role focuses on conducting the infrastructure assessment under the health facility audit and conducting the structural integrity and safety of existing health facilities, identifying rehabilitation requirements, and developing structural designs to ensure compliance with applicable engineering standards. 

The Civil Engineer (Structural Engineering) will also support the development of practical, cost-effective and climate-resilient rehabilitation solutions suited to remote health facilities in Papua New Guinea, while ensuring that identified deficiencies are adequately addressed through the design and construction stages. 

The incumbent provides technical expertise, promoting best practices in construction management and ensuring high standards of consistency and quality in project outputs. Through these responsibilities, the Civil Engineer (Structural Engineering) contributes to the achievement of organizational performance goals and overall project success.

1. Project Planning and Implementation

Conduct the Health Facility Audits (HFA), Building Condition Assessments (BCA), Detailed Engineering Designs (DED) and rehabilitation works in accordance with the project scope, budget and implementation schedule.

Conduct structural condition assessments of existing health facilities, including foundations, walls, floors, roofing systems and associated civil infrastructure, to identify structural deficiencies, safety risks and required rehabilitation interventions.

Develop the structural rehabilitation,  engineering designs, technical specifications, Bills of Quantities (BoQs), cost estimates and implementation schedules.

Conduct structural design calculations, drawings and technical documentation for the proposed interventions adequately address identified defects and comply with applicable engineering standards.

Lead the preparation of health facility audit report and tender documents including the bill of quantity  for rehabilitation works.

Assess the technical feasibility, constructability and cost-effectiveness of proposed interventions, considering the logistical and environmental challenges of remote health facilities in Papua New Guinea.

2. Quality Assurance

Provide technical oversight and quality assurance of structural condition assessments, engineering designs and rehabilitation works to ensure compliance with approved specifications, applicable standards and project requirements.

Ensure the completeness and accuracy of health facility audit reports, structural calculations, design drawings and proposed rehabilitation interventions.

Verify that structural defects and safety risks identified during condition assessments are appropriately addressed in the Detailed Engineering Designs.

Monitor field audit team compliance with quality requirements and applicable Health, Safety, Social and Environmental (HSSE) standards.

Coordinate with multidisciplinary engineering teams to resolve technical issues, address design deficiencies and recommend corrective measures.

Review proposed design modifications and assess their implications for structural safety, construction quality, cost and project delivery.

3. Monitoring, Reporting and Compliance

Monitor the progress and quality of condition assessments, structural design development and rehabilitation works against approved schedules, deliverables and project performance indicators.

Prepare technical assessment summaries, design review reports, site inspection records and progress updates to support project monitoring and reporting.

Identify structural safety concerns, design gaps, construction risks and technical non-compliance, and recommend appropriate mitigation and corrective actions.

Track the resolution of technical comments, identified defects and outstanding design issues to ensure timely completion of project deliverables.

Ensure that structural assessments, engineering designs and rehabilitation works comply with applicable NDoH standards, UNOPS requirements, relevant building codes and contractual provisions.

4. Stakeholder Coordination

Coordinate with the Project Manager, Provincial Health Authorities (PHAs) and health facilities management to facilitate the effective delivery of condition assessments, engineering designs and rehabilitation works.

Participate in technical consultations, design review meetings and site assessments to communicate structural findings, proposed rehabilitation interventions and associated technical risks.

Collaborate with architectural, mechanical, electrical and hydraulic engineers to ensure that structural designs are coordinated with functional layouts and building services requirements.

Provide technical advice to the Project Manager on the feasibility, safety and cost implications of proposed structural interventions.

Represent UNOPS in field assessments, technical meetings and stakeholder consultations as directed and authorized.

5. Knowledge Building and Sharing

Support capacity-building activities for PHAs on building condition assessment, structural defect identification, rehabilitation planning and construction quality assurance.

Contribute to the improvement and standardization of Health Facility Audit and Building Condition Assessment methodologies, particularly for structural integrity evaluation.

Share technical knowledge and lessons learned from structural assessments, design reviews and rehabilitation works to improve the quality and consistency of future project interventions.

Conduct research on appropriate structural rehabilitation methods, climate-resilient construction techniques and locally available materials suitable for remote health facilities in Papua New Guinea.

Participate in UNOPS knowledge-sharing initiatives and Communities of Practice (CoPs), contributing technical guidance, lessons learned and recommendations for continuous improvement.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Civil Engineering, Construction Management, Structural Engineering  [INSERT AREA] or related fields with 4 years of relevant experience OR

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in any of the above or related fields with 2 years of relevant experience is required

Desired

• A recognized professional certification or membership in a civil engineering association, at the national or international level, is desirable. 

Required

• Relevant experience is work in civil engineering, structural works, construction technology, construction supervision and monitoring or related areas. 

Desired

• Experience of working in multicultural environments or UN system organizations in a developing country is desired.

• Experience in development or humanitarian contexts is desired.

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