Senior Hydraulic Engineer (National Contract)

Position Title: Senior Hydraulic Engineer

Duty station: Lebanon, Beirut office with visits to field areas across the country as needed

Reporting to: Water Advisor

Collaborating with: Water Governance Program Manager, Consortium Partners’ Project Managers, Local Economic Development Project Manager, and Procurement and Logistics Manager

Managing: None

Starting date: March 2021

Contract Length: 12 months (with possibility of extension)

Deadline for applications: 2 February 2021

WORKING CONTEXT

WeWorld-GVC has been working in Lebanon since 2006 and is now supporting vulnerable populations through WASH, shelter, basic assistance and protection interventions aiming at increasing the resilience of the concerned communities, in North Bekaa (Baalbek-Hermel Governorate) and in Akkar.

WeWorld-GVC is implementing projects supporting public water, waste-water, and irrigation services in partnership with other organizations and funded by different donors (AFD, EU-MADAD, EU-ENI). WeWorld-GVC’s Water Governance Program uses a three-pillar approach of (i) Infrastructure Improvement to improve service delivery, (ii) Capacity Building to improve Water Establishments’ management and cost-recovery, and (iii) Community Engagement promoting water accountability and public participation. In coming years, the organization will lead the implementation of the Establishment-Led Service Improvement and Cost Recovery (ELSICR) Modality directly with the Bekaa Water Establishment, and with all other Water Establishments through partners. A recently launched Local Economic Development project also contains a significant component aimed at improving sustainability, efficiency, and equity of irrigation systems in North East Bekaa.

Within this framework, WeWorld-GVC seeks to recruit a Senior Hydraulic Engineer (SHE) to support ELSICR implementation and development, as well as to provide technical advisory and capacity building to staff from the organization and its partners, including Water Establishments. The SHE will work closely with engineers at WEs and partners and communicate regularly with Project/Program Managers. On a day-to-day basis, the SHE will work directly and through engineers at local offices of all WEs, many of whom will be seconded by WeWorld-GVC and partners.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Technical Oversight (50%)

• Provide QA/QC of engineering work within the Water Governance Program and other projects where relevant; recommend corrective action; backstop engineering staff where necessary.
• Participate in and guide the surveying and assessment of existing water schemes by WE engineers and technicians; support production and calibration of hydraulic models.
• Lead the design of rehabilitation and upgrade works implemented under ELSICR; review and provide recommendations on designs prepared by external consultants elsewhere.
• Support the Program/Project Managers in ensuring that the supervision of implementation of infrastructure works in the field complies with contracts, designs, standards, and good practices.
• Audit data produced by WE or partner teams or received from external sources and ensure compliance with established models, structures, protocols, and SOPs; supervise regular ground truthing exercises.

Capacity Building (30%)

• Participate in and guide the technical component of the assessment of Water Establishments’ local office operation and maintenance teams, equipment, and practices.
• Determine the appropriate equipment to be provided to WEs and match them with capacities identified; recommend for each local office the extent of outsourcing necessary and prepare a medium-term insourcing plan.
• Conduct regular training for engineers and technicians focusing on surveying, maintenance, rehabilitation, design, modelling, and other relevant skills in-line with their educational backgrounds and skills.
• Ensure continuous coaching of engineers and technicians on all aspects of works implemented under the SHE’s oversight, aiming at the development of in-house capacity of WEs and partners to operate with increasing autonomy.
• Support the development and optimization of WE service improvement, operation, maintenance, contract management, and workforce management processes.

Procurement Processes (10%)

• Participate in tender preparation, evaluation, and contracting lead by the Procurement team and Program/Project Managers; lead the development of technical specifications within areas of expertise.
• Support Program/Project Managers in contract management and provide recommendations on good practices in supervising contracting works.
• Participate in negotiations with external service providers where relevant as a technical expert.

Research for Development (10%)

• Provide technical advisory on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus project under development.
• Provide technical advisory on the Localizing Water Metering Solutions project under development.
• Participate in the development of other research for development projects where relevant.

REQUIREMENTS

Education

• An advanced university degree or equivalent in the field of Water/Hydraulic Engineering or similar.

Work Experience

• Minimum of 5 years of engineering experience in water-related consulting, contracting, operations, institutions, academia, research, etc;
• Previous experience in Lebanon;
• Previous experience working with public utilities;
• Experience in tendering and contract management of infrastructure works contracts above EUR 1M;
• Proven experience in delivering training/coaching to both engineers and technicians.

Skills and Abilities

• Good written and spoken communication skills;
• Commitment to knowledge transfer and capacity building of colleagues and partners;
• Ability to maintain professional relationships with partner organizations, public institutions, and service providers;
• Proven organizational skills and ability to effectively manage multiple tasks and perform under pressure;
• High tolerance for lengthy processes, and ability to patiently and persistently follow-up;
• Ability to think strategically and conceptually and to translate these into concrete results;
• Capacity to work autonomously and in problem prevention/resolution;
• Integrity in line with WeWorld-GVC’s values and ethical standards;
• Cultural, gender, religion, and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Availability to commit for a long-term deployment.

Languages

• Professional mastery of both written and spoken English;
• Excellent spoken Arabic.

Computer Skills

• Full professional competency in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint;
• Advanced skills in CAD and GIS;
• Expert skills in Hydraulic Modeling software.

Desirable skills and competencies

• More than 10 years of engineering experience;
• Experience in tendering and contract management of infrastructure works contracts above EUR 2M;
• Experience across multiple areas of Lebanon and with diverse communities and teams.
• Research or academic background and associated experience in the development of sectoral development interventions.