National Civil Engineer Consultant for supporting the Ministry of Health in Infrastructure Renovation for Equipping 230 Perinatal Centres in Uzbekistan

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, health!

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

The Ministry of Health, in partnership with UNICEF, UNFPA, and WHO, is carrying out very important initiative to improve the quality of Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) services in 230 perinatal centres across the country. This comprehensive effort aims to address critical gaps in maternal and perinatal care, focusing on upgrading medical equipment and enhancing the skills of healthcare professionals.

Recognizing the importance of this initiative, UNICEF, UNFPA, and WHO are supporting the Ministry of Health in implementing a joint Maternal and Perinatal Care program. A significant portion of the program’s funding—75%—has been allocated to procuring essential medical equipment to ensure safe and effective RMNCAH services in these centres.

To assess the readiness of perinatal centres for the upcoming improvements, a rapid assessment was conducted in December 2023 and January 2024. Engineers’ evaluations revealed that extensive upgrades are needed before the new equipment can be installed. These necessary improvements include:

• Rehabilitation of neonatal intensive care units
• Installation of bed head trunking systems for better patient care infrastructure
• Installation of voltage stabilization systems and UPS devices to ensure a stable power supply
• Upgrading electrical networks, including grounding of distribution boxes, sockets, and lighting units
• Installation of new backup generators for uninterrupted power supply
• Upgrading oxygen supply systems, as well as hot and cold-water, sanitation, and heating systems

To support the Ministry of Health in overseeing these critical upgrades, UNICEF is seeking an experienced national Civil Engineer Consultant with expertise in hospital rehabilitation. The consultant will play a key role in providing technical assistance and monitoring the progress of infrastructure improvements across the 227 perinatal centres.

Additionally, the consultant will serve as a liaison for an international English-speaking Technical Supervision Consultant, who has been recruited to oversee construction and repair efforts both remotely and on-site.

This initiative represents a vital step towards improving maternal and newborn healthcare in the country, ensuring that perinatal centres are well-equipped and fully prepared to deliver high-quality care.

• Study the engineering assessment reports of all facilities.
• Create a monitoring visit plan based on facility readiness and report recommendations.

Conduct Regular Monitoring Visits

• Visit seven (7) regions of Uzbekistan every three (3) months to assess progress and meet with Ministry of Health (MoH) regional construction focal points.
• Each visit is expected to last one (1) day per region, but more time may be needed.
• Visits will include: Checking progress on planned activities; Discussing challenges and delays; Visiting hospitals to verify progress against monthly reports from MoH
• Monitoring visits will be conducted with the International Consultant.

• Offer daily assistance through phone, Telegram, and email to:
• MoH regional construction focal points
• Hospital construction teams

• Facility upgrades needed before equipment installation
• Equipment requirements and specifications
• Technical documentation (bills of quantities, design coordination, tender preparation, and monitoring)
• Compliance checks and final approvals

• Maintain regular communication with the English-speaking International Consultant via phone, Telegram, and email.
• Use Russian or English (with Google Translate as needed).
• Discuss project updates, facility improvements, and compliance issues.

• Participate in meetings with UNICEF, WHO, UNFPA, and MoH to discuss updates and challenges.

• Monitor Key Indicators

• % of facilities with grounded electrical distribution boxes
• % of facilities with grounding wires in all sockets
• % of facilities with voltage stabilization systems installed
• % of facilities with UPS systems installed
• % of facilities ready for equipment installation

• Follow up on perinatal facility improvement plans
• Discuss challenges and delays (bottlenecks) with key stakeholders
• Visit hospitals to verify progress on renovations and equipment readiness

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

• University degree in one of the disciplines relevant to the following areas: civil engineering, construction engineering, architecture or other relevant technical areas.
• Experience in engineering assessments and project monitoring, particularly in hospital rehabilitation projects. This includes expertise in evaluating and overseeing improvements in oxygen systems, medical air systems, bed service panels, electrical systems, water supply, sewerage, ventilation, elevators, accessibility, lighting, and fire safety measures.
• Experience working on UN or UNICEF projects related to healthcare facility assessments is highly desirable. The candidate should also have experience in monitoring projects using mobile data collection tools, such as Kobo.
• Language proficiency requirements include expert-level fluency in Uzbek, intermediate proficiency in Russian, and intermediate proficiency in English.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility jobs-near-me.org UNICEF.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.