Senior Infrastructure Planning and Management Specialist

Nature and Scope of Assignment

This assignment involves supporting a government-led capacity development programme within the Ministry of Education’s Infrastructure Services Department (ISD). Under the supervision of the Director, the successful candidate will provide technical advice, management support and technical inputs required to allow ISD to achieve the target of giving the school children of Afghanistan a safe learning space.

The successful applicant will be expected to work with and through his/her Afghan national counterpart, and to progressively transfer skills and responsibilities to them. This position does not involve management or line responsibilities.

Duties and Responsibilities

Working with the Director of ISD as counterpart, with assistance from the CTAP Capacity Development team and other relevant staff and advisors, the Senior Infrastructure Planning and Management Specialist will:

Work with the Director to develop a comprehensive set of policies, procedures and standards such as standard designs, RFPs, costings, Bills of Quantity, operating manuals, guidelines and so on, along with a system for disseminating these materials and ensuring that they are used and updated appropriately, both centrally and sub-nationally.
Develop and implement a set of streamlined processes by which ISD carries out its core functions such as maintenance, surveying, construction management etc, in partnership with the ISD Director and key staff of the Directorate.
Assist senior staff and advisors of the Directorate in the development and implementation of an efficient organizational structure in line with ISD’s strategy and mandate.
Ensure that functions and units within ISD that are not currently in place, e.g. an M&E function, a Qquality Aassurance function and an inter-departmental coordination function, are designed, rolled out and operational on a sustainable basis.
Assist the development of a comprehensive skills development system, to ensure that all staff in ISD (both in the centre and in the provinces/districts) have access to and undergo training appropriate to their function, and to monitor the outcome of training delivered by the system.
Support the development and use of systems to store, analyze and report on information concerning the assets, finances and operations of ISD, in collaboration with relevant sections, staff and technical experts
Assist ISD in designing and implementing a system of reporting and Monitoring & Evaluation for the department
Facilitate monitoring and evaluation of all CTAP advisors in ISD by both the CTAP Secretariat and by the Ministry of Education committee formed to evaluate the performance of CTAP advisors
Support the general organizational development and strengthening of ISD
Coach and mentor the Director of ISD in order to promote his/her professional development

Deliverables

The deliverables of the Senior Infrastructure Planning and Management Specialist are:

A set of standards, manuals, procedures and guidelines (including but not limited to standard designs, Bills of Quantity, costings, maintenance schedules and RFPs/RFQs) which have been fully disseminated and are fully operationalized both centrally and sub-nationally.
Streamlined and fully documented core business processes for the design, construction and maintenance of Ministry of Education Assets both in the centre and at sub-national level.
An efficient organizational design for ISD which balances ISD’s mandate with available resources enables effective coordination and is formally recognized by the Civil Service Commission.
A full set of teams, units and functions within ISD necessary for the implementation of ISD’s strategy and work plans, with fully defined roles, responsibilities and working procedures, including a fully functional Quality Assurance function.
A comprehensive skills development function that includes a system for Training Needs Analysis, a system for sourcing external training providers or delivering training internally, a system for managing the delivery of individualized training programmes and a system for monitoring training outcomes.
A management information system that gives full management oversight of ISD to the Director and senior members of Ministry management.
A comprehensive reporting and Monitoring & Evaluation for ISD.

Skills, Experience and Qualifications Required

The successful candidate should have the following skills, experience and qualifications:

· University degree, preferably in Engineering, Business Administration or a related field, preferably at Masters’ Level or above

· Minimum 10 years’ experience in project management, including at least 5 years’ experience in the management of construction projects

· Previous experience of establishment or significant expansion of a construction project or organization a plus

· Previous experience of providing training, coaching and mentoring to local counterpart staff

· Previous experience of change management, business process reengineering and organizational restructuring initiatives a plus

· Ability to focus on and follow through priority activities and assignments. Ability to handle effectively multiple tasks without compromising the quality, team spirit and constructive working relationships with all colleagues.

· Ability to actively seek and improve services, offer new and different options/initiatives to solve problems and meet client needs, and promote and persuade others to consider new ideas.

· Previous experience in under-developed, insecure or post-conflict environments a plus

· Fluency in Dari and/or Pashto a plus

Organizational Context

The Civilian Technical Assistance Program (CTAP) is an Afghan government program 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 program by providing them with skilled international technical experts and capacity development advisors. The Ministry for Education is mandated to develop human capital base through all levels of education. It aims to provide equitable access to primary, secondary and tertiary education for all children and adult students. It seeks to maintain a high quality of education through monitoring and evaluation and constant performance appraisal. This ministry is responsible for general education, Vocational Training, teacher training, management of education infrastructure, Islamic education, technical and vocational training, curriculum development and literacy in almost every district in Afghanistan. It is the largest public service organization comprising 67% of the total public service workforce. On behalf of the Ministry of Education (MoE), CTAP is now seeking to fill the position of Procurement Advisor to work in the Ministry of Education’s Infrastructure Services Directorate, under the management of the Director. This position is open to international passport holders only: Afghan expatriates and nationals of regional countries are especially encouraged to apply.

Afghan expatriates and nationals of countries in Afghanistan’s region are especially preferred for this position.