Construction Architect – Individual Contractor

Result of Service

By successfully completing this assignment and ensuring projects meet high standards, UN-Habitat can significantly contribute to enhancing urban development in different areas of the country. In essence, this assignment ensures high quality of executed construction works, and timely implementation timelines. It also enhances the performance of contractors due the strict supervision and the professional advice provided by the IC.

Work Location

Beirut, Lebanon

Expected duration

3 months

Duties and Responsibilities

Organizational setting The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements development and the achievement of adequate shelter for all. For nearly forty years, UN-Habitat has been working in human settlements worldwide, focusing on building a brighter future for villages, towns, and cities of all sizes. Background After the 2006 July War, UN-Habitat initiated its Country Programme in Lebanon, responding to emerging issues through housing reconstruction, shelter provision and upgrading basic services, while laying the foundation for long-term sustainable solutions by means of urban profiling, data collection and urban policy analyses, supporting municipalities and much more. UN-Habitat Lebanon has been working effectively with partners and urban planning actors at the community, national and international levels for the past 17 years to develop and implement programmes and interventions that contribute to the achievement of the urban dimensions of the 2015–2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in line with the country needs and humanitarian frameworks. UN-Habitat Lebanon continuously adapts to the country’s situation by fostering inclusive and sustainable urban development, improving planning systems and frameworks as well as effective urban crises response – through a humanitarian, development and peace nexus approach. This includes contributed to the UN’s collective response to the Syrian displacement crisis, the protracted and ever deepening socio-economic and financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beirut Port explosion (BPE), the war on Lebanon in 2024 and other crisis related needs. UN-Habitat is currently implementing a number of rehabilitation and upgrading projects in many regions of the country. Following the BPE, UN-Habitat is implementing a housing reconstruction project in Beirut, responding to the critical needs in terms of emergency reconstruction of severely damaged multi-family apartment buildings of heritage value. In Tyre, UN-Habitat is rehabilitating a parking lot that will contribute to resolving traffic problems in the city. Also in Tyre, UN-Habitat is supporting the union of municipalities to assess and address the urgent needs resulted from the war in 2024. To support the timely implementation of above projects and initiatives, UN-Habitat seeks the services of a qualified Construction Architect who will be involved in the architectural design and in the monitoring of engineering projects. Reporting line The Individual Contractor will work under the supervision of the Urban Planning and Design Unit Manager. Duties and responsibilities The assignment of the Individual Contractor will be conducted over a period of 3 months. The Individual Contractor will follow up and supervise the implementation of several ongoing and planned engineering projects. The Individual Contractor will leverage the required expertise to deliver the following tasks: 1. Site and technical assessments • Take part in the engineering site assessments required for new projects as requested by the Supervisor. • Prepare Auto-Cad architectural drawings of assessed sites following the norms and standards applied by UN-Habitat engineering unit. • Contribute to the development of BoQs and specifications of different work items as per projects’ requirements. 2. Review and verification of technical and administrative documents • Assist in reviewing technical design documents and submittals from 3rd parties (consultants, contractors, etc…) to ensure compliance with Lebanese and international standards and respecting • Assist in reviewing and validating technical documents submitted and shared by the engineers working within concerned municipalities. 3. Site inspections • Support in the follow up on work progress through developing site inspection plans, responding to contractors Quality Control and Quality Assurance correspondences. • Participate in site inspection visits (daily and/or weekly basis) to collect technical information, and ensure compliance with approved designs and standards, as well as milestone achievements. • Support in preparing payment reports for contractors upon achieving the set milestones of each project in South Lebanon and Beirut. • Drafting minutes of meetings and ensuring proper archiving for each project under implementation. 4. Testing, commissioning, and handing over rehabilitated buildings • Participate in testing and commissioning processes, ensuring all installed services are properly installed and functional. • Support in conducting final inspection of services, in addition to verifying compliance to the scope, and following-up on corrective measures to be implemented by contractors. 5. Coordination, reporting and other tasks • Take part in meetings with contractors and design firms to discuss projects’ implementation matters. • Contribute to the preparation of progress, final reports and other reports or documents as requested and as relevant • Undertake other tasks related to the assignment and as advised by the Supervisor.

Qualifications/special skills

A high school diploma with supplementary training in architecture is required. Minimum of five (5) years of proven progressive experience in the field of Architecture, with a focus on working with municipalities is required. Experience within the development and/or humanitarian sector, particularly with the United Nations System is required. Experience and good knowledge in navigating Lebanese Municipal Laws is desirable. Experience in heritage preservation principles and knowledge in practical engineering strengthening solutions for heritage buildings, is desirable. Strong computer literacy in Microsoft Office, AutoCAD is required.

Languages

Fluency in both written and spoken Arabic and English language is required.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.