Contract Management Advisor

Job Description

Position

2.1 Nature and Scope of Assignment

This assignment involves supporting a government-led capacity development programme within the energy sector/Ministry of Energy & Water. The successful applicant will be expected to work with and through his/her Afghan national counterparts, and to progressively transfer skills and knowledge to them. This position does not involve management or line responsibilities under any circumstance.

2.2 Duties and Responsibilities

The Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW) of Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan manages a number of contracts in the Electricity Sector. These contracts are for Electricity generation, transmission and distribution and cover:

• Supply of Materials and Equipment
• Design, Supply, Installation and Commissioning of electrical works

The contracts are procured through the Afghan Government procurement processes and rules. These contracts are managed and administered by engineers employed by MoEW. MoEW wishes to strengthen its contract management and procurement teams by employing a Contract Management Advisor who will mentor and train the MEW team.

The Contract Management Advisor will be required to mentor and teach members of the MEW contract management and procurement teams in the techniques and application of contract management in accordance with latest international practices. This will cover at least the following:

• Develop a clear understanding of the objectives and deliverables
• Identify the key parties to the contract
• Understand the obligations of each party to a contract in terms of action and timeframe
• Read and understand a project schedule
• Able to verify and certify contractors invoices for payment
• Able to maintain correspondence and related files required for proper recording
• Able to maintain proper financial records of the performance of contracts
• Able to write a project completion report
• Understand the operation of Letters of Credit
• Evaluate the existing methods/procedure of Procurement in the Procurement Department
• Improve the Procurement Management system, aligning it to the International Best Practices.
• Mentor Tashkeel Procurement officials for organizing Bidding, Evaluation, Award and Administration of Contract.
• Coach and mentor the designated counterparts in order to support their professional development and to enable them to discharge their responsibilities more effectively.

2.3 Deliverables

The deliverables of Contract Management Advisor are:

• Fully staffed, qualified and trained Planning staff
• Building human and institutional capacity
• QA/QC program for the department
• Attraction and motivation of private sector participation in various forms of energy production, utilization, metering / revenue collection etc.
• Achievements of skills and knowledge to engineers concerned with energy program in specific and capacity developments in general.
• Procurement system improved and aligned with international best practices
• Relevant national staff fully trained on bid evaluation, award and administration of contracts
• Relevant national staff fully trained in various aspects of contract management

2.4 Skills, Experience and Qualifications Required

The minimum qualifications and experience required for the position of Contract Management Advisor are:

• Masters’ Degree in an engineering or relevant discipline
• At least 10 years’ experience in project management, contract management or contract administration and procurement dealing with engineering contracts for supply and delivery; supply and installation or design. This experience shall have been gained working with international contracts.
• Demonstrated experience working with contracts based on FIDIC or International Financing Institution conditions of contract.
• Experience in capacity development, organizational development and/or Public Administration Reform is a plus
• Demonstrated history of providing training, coaching and mentoring to local counterpart staff is a plus
• Able to produce reports and other standards documents, in English, up to a professional standard
• Previous experience in under-developed, insecure or post-conflict environments a plus
• Fluency in Dari and/or Pashto is a strong plus

About the Organization

Average salary up to US$120,000.00/annum plus allowances based on relevant qualifications and work experiences

1. Organizational Context

Ministry of Energy and Water is the Afghan Ministry responsible for two important sectors of energy and water. Energy is our economy’s hope for growth, and electricity’s sustainable availability at affordable prices can improve our living standards. Historically, in Afghanistan most power generation has been based on hydropower, our most promising resource (generating over 54% of the total), and the rest from thermal sources, primarily through use of coal and natural gas. Power generation facilities suffered extensive war damage and neglect, and require significant rehabilitation and upgrading. Similarly water, improve the livelihoods of people both of present and future generations by providing access to safe drinking water, household food security, and sources of income while protecting them from the negative effects of droughts and floods, by developing and managing water resources in a sustainable way with user participation, and by contributing to the growth of the national economy by providing effective services for efficient water use in all sectors.

The Civilian Technical Assistance Programme (CTAP) is an Afghan government programme that aims to create stronger government institutions with more effective structures, efficient processes and skilled personnel. It assists Afghan government organizations to implement capacity development and performance improvement programmes by providing them with skilled international technical experts and capacity development advisors.

On behalf of the Ministry of Energy and Water, CTAP is now seeking to fill the position of Contract Management Advisor to work at the Procurement Department of the Ministry of Energy and Water, under the management of the deputy minister for Admin and Finance. This position is open to international passport holders only.