United Nations Program for Human Settlements (UN-Habitat)

Mozambique Country Office / Regional Office for Africa

Terms of Reference

Project/Area title: BUILDING BACK BETTER AND BUILDING RESILIENCE (Support

School Reconstruction within Mozambique Disaster Risk Management and
Resilience Program)
Grade: Service Contract (SB3)
Functional Designation: DRR/DRM Provincial Reconstruction Supervisor
Duration: The appointment will commence as soon as possible and will run for a period of
1 year with possibility of extension.
Starting date: Immediate
Duty Station: (1) Zambezia, (1) Manica, (1) Gaza, (1) Tete with inland missions

1. Background

Mozambique is a highly susceptible country to risks and disasters. According to Global Climate Risk Index
(2021), Mozambique in 2019 falls in first place amongst the African countries that are most vulnerable to
disasters such as, floods, droughts and cyclones among the most frequent and recurrent disasters.
A variety of factors contribute to the high vulnerability of Mozambique against the natural hazards, namely
(i) its location along the Rift Valley (one of the regions with the highest seismic activities), (ii) the vast
coastal area with about 60 percent of the population and the country's largest school network of about 2470
km (bordering one of the most active cyclonic basins southwest of the Indian Ocean), (iii) the extensive
hydrographic network that guarantees food subsistence and livelihood for the majority of the Mozambican
families, with nine (9) rivers of international importance flowing in the Indian Ocean, above average
rainfall- largely due to tropical depressions or cyclones - and poor management of dams either in the
national territory or in the countries where the rivers cause large floods that occur regularly in Mozambique.

In this sense, the United Nations for Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) in Mozambique has been
working with the Government of Mozambique in supporting several institutions such as: National Institute
for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (INGD), Ministry of Education and Human Development
(MINEDH), Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources (MOPHRH), Provincial and District
Governments, among others.

In the context of the implementation of safer school infrastructures, UN-Habitat has been supporting
MINEDH in partnership with MOPHRH, INGD and other partners to strengthen the resilience of schools to
disasters in three ways: Normative, demonstrative interventions and testing new approaches to retrofit and
repair existing classrooms, and design and implementation of resilient reconstruction programmes and/or
projects.

Also, the activities of UN-Habitat have progressively come to include policy-support, the revision of
building codes, the support in construction of community and disaster adaptive public buildings in cities
and communities of Gaza, Zambézia, Nampula, Maputo, Inhambane, Cabo Delgado and Sofala provinces.
Its portfolio includes national, local and community level activities, as well as the cooperation with, several
UN agencies, such UNICEF, WFP, UNHCR, IOM and others.

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In the early months of 2019 (March and April), the cyclones Idai and Kenneth hi Mozambique causing a
negative impact on the communities livelihoods. The disaster interrupted the delivery of basic services such
as water and electricity, it damaged roads and bridges that are essential for commercial activity, and
destroyed more than 4000 classrooms were partially or totally damaged and other social public buildings.

Recognizing the need to develop technical capacities for rehabilitation and construction of resilient
classrooms and taking into account the high vulnerability of school infrastructure in Mozambique to the
effects of climate change, MINEDH- Directorate of Infrastructure and School Equipment (DIEE)
contracted a consultancy services to provide technical assistance to the central and provincial level for the
rehabilitation and reconstruction of 3000 classrooms built on conventional materials for a period of four (4)
years integrating resilience issues in the school infrastructure, within the scope of the Mozambique
Disaster Risk Management and Resilient Program within the component of Building Climate Resilience of
Vulnerable Education Infrastructure Mozambique with World Bank funding.

To support the resilient (re)construction activities in the Mozambique Disaster Risk Management and
Resilient Project, UN-Habitat Mozambique is looking for a qualified National Architect or Engineer, and in
particular with experience and knowledge in resilient infrastructure with adaptative measures, will be
recruited with Service Contract (SC), for the period indicated above.

2. Objectives of the post

The Construction Supervisor will contribute to the organization of all technical assistance related to the
design, implementation, and monitoring of the project, as well as the development and delivery of
training modules on resilient infrastructure. It will develop local capacity through training for local
technicians, master builders, local contractors, and communities to strengthen coordination mechanisms
with government entities at all levels.

3. Duties and responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Head of Program and the Human Settlement Officer, the Construction
Supervisor will fulfil the following duties and responsibilities:

• Bring technical support for the design of architectural solutions, through an innovative and low-
cost approach responding to the existing needs in risk-prone zones.
• Deliver technical assistance to the partners of Mozambique Disaster Risk Management and
Resilient Program and in the elaboration of architectural solutions in resilient infrastructure.
• Gather field data collection, elaborate measurements, budgets and specifications, as well as
participate in the processes of acquisition of materials and equipment.
• Support UN-Habitat’s team in the meetings of the Mozambique Disaster Risk Management and
Resilient Program at provincial and district level.
• Conduct periodic monitoring visits to the locations where the project is being implemented, to
assist the related government field technicians and partners.
• Organize and conduct training sessions for local government technicians, master builders,
community members and other stakeholders involved in the projects.
• Support UN-Habitat’s team in the conception, design and elaboration of materials contributing to
readiness to cyclones, floods, droughts, earthquakes, as well as materials raising awareness.
• Write monthly reports on the activities conducted and other reports required by the donors or by
the implementation partners.

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4. Qualifications/Experience/Skills

Experience
• Minimum from 5 years of working experience with relevant knowledge of housing/public
building construction in particular school infrastructure in flood, cyclone, earthquake and
drought-prone areas.
• Working experience in emergency and disaster risk reduction construction works is an advantage.
• Working experience in overseeing processes and project of construction of Public Buildings.
• Working experience in small towns and remote rural areas, including public consultation and
community involvement.
Skills
• Solid computer skills (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.), AutoCAD, ArchiCAD, Adobe Photoshop,
Adobe InDesign among others architectural design software’s.
• Capacity to analyze and synthesize information.
• Ability to work independently with a high degree of responsibility, in a flexible manner and often
under pressure.
• Ability to conduct interviews and trainings.
• Good communication skills and capacities to lead and to coordinate with partners.
Qualifications
• University degree in Architecture, Engineering or equivalent degree in a related field.
Others
• Good knowledge of Portuguese, and professional working proficiency in English is desirable.
• License driver is an advantage

5. CONTACTS AND SUBMISSION

Please submit your application to:

United Nations Human Settlement Programme – UN-Habitat
Email: unhabitat-moz@un.org