Mercy corps Nigeria - Since 1979, we have helped people grappling with the toughest hardships survive - and then thrive. That's the heart of our approach: we help communities turn crisis into opportunity.
Mercy corps Nigeria seeks interested individuals for the consultancy below:
Job Title: Engineering Consultant or Firm for Quality Review of Small-Scale Building Projects
Locations: Plateau, Kaduna, Nasarawa, and Benue
Background:
- Mercy Corps wishes to engage the services of a qualified engineer or engineering firm to provide the necessary engineering services as detailed herein. These engineering services include quality review of existing architectural and construction plans and construction inspection to ensure quality construction of a variety of small building projects. Interested firms shall submit a formal proposal to be reviewed by a consultant selection committee of Mercy Corps, as per instructions at the end of this document.
- Recurring violence in Nigeria's Middle Belt has consistently undermined the region's development. Conflict between pastoralists and farmers in the region has increasingly taken on religious overtones as Christian farmers clash with Muslim pastoralists over scarce natural resources. With funding from DFID, Mercy Corps is working to prevent and resolve conflict between pastoralists and farmers in four Middle Belt states, with an emphasis on conflicts that cross religious lines and negatively affect local livelihoods and economic growth. Our program addresses underlying drivers of community conflict by preventing the escalation of ethno-religious violence and creating incentives for government, the private sector and community members to work proactively to promote stability.
- The importance of improved sustainability of dispute resolution through economic and natural resource initiatives cannot be over emphasized. Linking economic development to dispute resolution is one of the strongest lessons learned by Mercy Corps through years of implementing peace building programmes. In order to support the sustainability of dispute resolution agreements and prevent the emergence of new conflicts, local leaders with inputs from their community will identify and implement economic and natural resource initiatives that will address the underlying drivers of the disputes and mitigate potential impacts on agreements.
Purpose / Project Description:
- Mercy Corps and partners Pastoral Resolve and Education as Vaccine are undertaking economic development projects aimed at bring together members of conflicting groups, primarily from farmer and pastoralist communities.
- These projects will address a substantial economic need - related to natural resource management - experienced by both communities, as determined through Mercy Corps assessments.
- The focal communities, in partnership with Mercy Corps, have decided on various projects that vary according to location and community needs.
- These projects include grain processing centers, livestock and agricultural produce markets, veterinary supply and agricultural input distribution centers, and potentially others.
Mercy Corps seeks the services of an experienced construction or building engineer who can provide guidance on quality building materials and processes, ensure quality implementation of construction through monitoring, and report to Mercy Corps on an as-needed basis.
Project Brief:
- Mercy Corps is implementing a peace building and conflict resolution programme in the focal communities using an economic and market Approach.
- The communities have identified various small-scale building and market projects as outlined above.
- This proposed project will serve as a platform for unity and peaceful co-existence among the conflicting communities. Mercy Corps has already engaged architects and construction firms to design and implement the following projects.
The following projects that are underway or planned are as follows (list subject to change as program progresses):
Kaduna: 2 projects
- Cassava processing center
- Livestock and agro-produce market, as well as veterinary supply and agro-input center
Plateau: Up to 7 projects
- Veterinary supply and agricultural input distribution centers (2-3)
- Livestock and agro-produce market (3)
- Other projects as determined
Nasarawa: Up to 4 projects
- Cassava processing center
- Veterinary supply and agricultural input distribution center (up to 2)
- Maize processing center
- Other projects as determined
Benue: Up to 3 projects
- Rice processing center
- Other projects as determined
The proposed projects are rural community projects and will require a community approach for execution. The Engineering Consultant sought under this advertisement will provide review of plans for the above projects as well as quality construction inspection in order to ensure the quality implementation of each project listed above.
Duties/Activities
The Consultant will:
- Advise Mercy Corps on standard processes and procedures involved in specific construction projects, on an as-needed basis
- Review and provide input into bills of quantity produced for construction managers
- Review and provide input into architectural drawings and building plans
- Review and provide input into review of quality materials procured by construction managers
- Visit construction sites during and after implementation to conduct construction inspections and monitor quality
- Provide a brief quality report following each site visit
- Provide direct guidance to construction managers on as-needed basis as requested by Mercy Corps
- Ensure that the project is carried out within the best professional practice.
- Ensure that the project implementation does not deviate from the initial concept presented
Responsibilities
- Mercy Corps is looking for an engineering consultant or engineering firm to call upon for services on an as-needed basis, and deliverables will vary according to need.
- Individual deliverables will be requested throughout the lifetime of the contract and will include verbal and written reports based on site visits and observation, feedback and input into documents.
- Mercy Corps would like an engineering consultant or engineering firm to enter into an agreement to provide services up to 128 days throughout the course of 14 months, Travel to the target states will be required and travel-related expenses will be reimbursed according to Mercy Corps policy.
Qualifications
- Advanced degree in Construction or Building Engineering, or highly related field.
- Experience supervising construction projects similar to those listed in this scope of work, including constructing processing centers, store houses, and markets.
- Fluency in Hausa and English, both written and spoken.
- Extensive experience implementing construction projects in rural communities in Nigeria.
- Prior experience working with international NGOs.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Evidence of Registration with Relevant Regulatory Agency
- Applicant wishing to apply must be registered with the relevant professional /regulatory agency.
Success Factors:
- Ideal candidate will be flexible and able to adapt quickly to changing project needs and on-the-ground realities.
- Candidate will be able to diagnose and articulate problems quickly and effectively.
- Candidate should have desire to improve the lives of community members in rural Nigeria.
- Candidate should have excellent presentation skills and should be able to communicate effectively with a wide variety of audiences.
- Candidate should have excellent critical thinking skills in addition to impeccable engineering skills and credentials.
Application Closing Date
7th November, 2014
Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates, including engineering consultants and engineering firms, should submit the following documents in a sealed envelope and the subject line Engineering Consultant or Firm for Quality Review of Small-Scale Building Projects should be written on the top right hand corner of the envelope. (Note: the financial proposal should be enclosed in a separate envelope)
- CV of candidate or CVs of personnel within firm
- A cover letter or small written explanation of how prior experience qualifies candidates/firm for the work described in this scope of
- work.
- Copies of credentials and certifications of engineering qualifications.
- References who we can speak to prior work.
- Daily rate or fees/budget for: (a) desk review of plans, drawings, and BOQs; and (b) Construction inspection days.
- Evidence of registration with relevant regulatory agencies. (CAC, Memorandum and article of association, registration certificates with relevant agencies etc).
All Bids must be addressed to the operations Manager and submitted to Mercy Corps office at:
5 Peka close,
off Buchanan crescent,
off Aminu Kano crescent,
Wuse II, Abuja.
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