Job Description
This is an excellent opportunity to lead mechanical engineering aspects of infrastructure projects within a dynamic and impactful environment. The position offers exposure to diverse projects across the Horn of Africa, contributing to sustainable development and enhancing the quality of life for communities in need.
The Lead Mechanical Engineer will be responsible for delivering high-quality mechanical engineering designs that comply with local codes and international standards. The engineer will ensure mechanical systems are efficient, cost-effective, safe, and sustainable throughout the lifecycle of the project. The assignments include Building HVACs, water supply systems, pumping systems, PVs, sanitation, fire-fighting systems in line with UNOPS guidelines, National Building Code, Standards set by relevant government agencies and international practice for buildings and other infrastructures under the project and ensure quality in their implementation. The position requires frequent travel to project sites in all regional states of Ethiopia and other countries in the Multi-country office.
Reporting to the Senior Project Manager, the Lead Mechanical Engineer will manage projects independently within existing frameworks, guidelines, and rules, providing authoritative advice on the application of established policies and procedures, and adapting existing policies, approaches, and models to meet emerging client or project needs.
1. Site Assessment
- Conduct needs assessments for mechanical systems and infrastructure, including HVAC, medical gas Systems, plumbing, fire fighting, and integrated building services.
- Review and manage requests for new construction or rehabilitation works, WASH projects, evaluating technical feasibility, risk, and resource requirements.
- Participate in feasibility studies and conduct on-site inspections and assessments of existing systems to evaluate performance gaps, operational efficiency, and compliance with applicable standards, preparing detailed reports with clear recommendations for follow-up actions.
2. Design Works
- Apply technical expertise to support the design development of mechanical systems, ensuring alignment with project technical objectives.
- Review and prepare mechanical design drawings, technical specifications, and Bills of Quantities (BoQs).
- Identify design gaps and provide practical guidance for improvements, ensuring efficiency, reliability, and resilience of mechanical systems.
- Outline design requirements for procurement of design services, including concept, preliminary, and final design stages.
- Ensure that all inspections, assessments, designs, specifications, and supervision activities comply with recognized national and international standards and guidelines, including Ethiopian Standards (ES/EN), ASHRAE, NFPA, UNOPS Guidelines, ISO standards, and FIDIC conditions of contract, as well as other relevant local or international codes of practice for mechanical systems, including HVAC, medical, and sanitary installations.
- Provide technical guidance to the procurement team in the preparation of tender documentation, bid evaluation, and compliance verification.
3. Construction Supervision and Quality Control
- Supervise mechanical construction works according to contractual provisions, design specifications, and quality standards.
- Ensure quantity, quality, and timeline consistency in project execution, reporting any deviations promptly.
- Monitor integration of HVAC, medical, sanitary, and electrical systems, ensuring coordinated implementation across disciplines.
- Enforce Health and Safety compliance on-site, reporting irregularities and providing technical solutions to mitigate risks.
- Conduct progress monitoring and quality control, preparing periodic supervision reports to ensure on-time delivery of project milestones.
4. Leadership, Coordination, and Stakeholder Engagement
- Coordinate with multidisciplinary design and construction teams, including civil, electrical, sanitary, and bio-medical engineers, to ensure integrated system functionality.
- Liaise with government authorities, regulatory bodies, and other stakeholders to ensure compliance with standards and project alignment with policies.
- Provide technical leadership to contractors, consultants, and site teams, fostering problem-solving, accountability, and professional excellence.
5. Knowledge Management and Capacity Building
- Develop and maintain technical manuals, guidelines, and standards documentation for mechanical systems, ensuring alignment with standards , and other relevant codes.
- Document lessons learned, project reports, and technical recommendations for future reference and institutional learning.
- Provide training, coaching, and mentorship to local engineers, contractors, and operational teams to strengthen technical capacity and sustainability of mechanical systems.
- Support capacity-building initiatives, mentoring junior engineers and technical staff on best practices in mechanical engineering and integrated systems design.
