Construction Specialist (P-3), TA (9 months), #136335, Qamishli - Syria, MENA

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to Deliver

Since the onset of the protracted crisis, Syria has experienced extensive damage to public infrastructure, severely affecting access to essential services for children and their families. UNICEF Syria implements a range of construction projects aimed at restoring and improving critical public service infrastructure, particularly in the Education, WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), Health sectors. These interventions form a core component of UNICEF’s mandate to support the continuity, recovery and resilience of basic services, contributing to improved learning environments, safer water and sanitation systems, and strengthened primary healthcare and nutrition service delivery.

How can you make a difference?

You report to the Construction Manager and manage and supervise construction works at the field office level under national oversight. You coordinate field teams and contractors and ensure systematic monitoring and reporting of construction activities. Your responsibilities include the review and validation of technical documentation, work progress, payment requests, variation orders, and claims, ensuring compliance with contract provisions and physical progress.

You support national engineering procurement processes, including technical and financial screening and due diligence of bidders and contracted parties, with particular attention to capacity, cash flow, and risk exposure. You ensure that all projects under your responsibility comply with UNICEF global standards, policies, and procedures, and deliver quality, efficiency, sustainability, and value for money.

You support the Construction Manager in coordinating construction‑related inputs from field offices, including facilitating timely information sharing, consolidating and analyzing project data, and preparing regular summary reports on progress, challenges, risks, and compliance to support evidence‑based decision‑making and effective programme management.

All construction interventions supported shall integrate UNICEF cross‑cutting priorities in line with organizational policies, including:

• Disability inclusion and universal accessibility, ensuring that facilities are safe, inclusive, and usable for all children, caregivers, and service providers.
• Climate change adaptation and environmental sustainability, to reduce environmental footprints and enhance the resilience of infrastructure to climate‑related risks.
• Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS), to identify, prevent, mitigate, and manage potential adverse environmental and social impacts throughout the project lifecycle.

You collaborate closely with UNICEF Programme/Operations in defining construction interventions to meet programmatic needs and achieve results for children.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Preparation of construction annual workplan
2. Collaboration with UNICEF Programmes/Operations and coordination with Government counterparts
3. Preparation of design and technical documents
4. Support with the procurement process
5. Monitoring construction projects

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  JD-Construction Specialist-P3.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in civil engineering, construction engineering, architecture construction management and any other related fields.
  A Bachelor or equivalent (First Level University Degree) in a relevant area combined with 2 additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
• Work Experience: A minimum of five (5) years of relevant experience, at the national and/or international levels, in project management, site supervision, quality assurance and/or other directly related technical fields is required. Understanding of development and humanitarian work is required.
• Skills: You possess demonstrated expertise in quality assurance, public procurement, risk management, building standards, technical documentation, and construction project management.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

Desirables:

• Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
• Emergency experience is an advantage.
• Professional experience with a United Nations agency, international NGO, or other humanitarian/development organization is an asset.
• Experience in integrating cross-cutting priorities such as disability inclusion, climate change adaptation, environmental and social safeguards (ESS), and social protection considerations into project design and implementation is desirable.
• Experience related to energy-efficient buildings and innovative construction technologies is considered a strong asset.
• Experience in the use of construction management and design tools (e.g., AutoCAD, project planning software) and familiarity with international norms and standards is an advantage.
• A master’s degree in engineering and/or specialization in energy-efficient buildings and innovative technologies applied to the construction sector will be considered a strong asset.
• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts. 

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships
(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
(3) Drive to achieve results for impact
(4) Innovates and embraces change
(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity
(6) Thinks and acts strategically
(7) Works collaboratively with others

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants' bank account information.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF's Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.