Engineering Specialist – Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Lesotho II
About MCA
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a U.S. government corporation focused on assisting countries dedicated to good governance, economic freedom, and investing in people. In May 2022, MCC signed a five-year agreement (“Compact”) with the Government of Lesotho (GoL) aimed at poverty reduction through inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the country.
The Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) – Lesotho II, is an entity established by the Government to act as the accountable entity to implement the Compact, with the authority to bind the Government with regard to all program activities.
Lesotho Compact
The Lesotho Health and Horticulture Compact aims to benefit 2.5 million people by growing, strengthening, and organizing the private sector in Lesotho and improving the government’s coordination to deliver critical services necessary to support private sector development.
It will achieve this goal through investments in Health System Strengthening (HSS), strengthening of the business environment and Market Driven Irrigated Horticulture (MDIH), providing sustainable income for smallholders and increasing climate resilience by replacing rain-fed subsistence farming with irrigated commercial horticulture in select locations.
The GoL is committed to passing several key reforms that will help make this compact successful, including reforms that address gender equality, working conditions and worker safety, as well as land and water rights. All of the Compact’s projects focus on overcoming barriers to the economic inclusion of women, youth, and the rural poor.
Market-Driven Irrigated Horticulture (MDIH) Project
The MDIH Project’s objective is to increase rural incomes related to commercial agriculture, including for women, youth, and the rural poor, and establish a sustainable and inclusive model of irrigation, water resource, and land management. The project provides extensive technical assistance and investments in institutional reforms and capacity building of both the GOL and beneficiaries of the project’s investment in irrigation infrastructure to develop a successful and sustainable horticulture industry. The budget for this project is $118 million.
Position Objective
The Engineering Specialist will have principal responsibility for managing, on behalf of the MCA-Lesotho II, the firms designing, constructing, reviewing and supervising implementation of the irrigated horticulture infrastructure projects. The Specialist will be responsible for project planning and management of the irrigated horticulture infrastructure contracts. The Specialist will also be responsible for quality assurance and will work with other MCA-Lesotho II staff, pertinent government agencies responsible for implementation, and other partners to address implementation challenges and opportunities in coordination with MCC and other project stakeholders. The Engineering Specialist will report to the Irrigation Infrastructure Activity Manager, under the Market Driven Irrigated Horticulture (MDIH) Director.
Key Responsibilities
- Manage all components related to the irrigated horticulture infrastructure including quality assurance, timelines, budgets, reporting, and other related project management tasks.
- Oversee the monitoring of the Design–Build (DB) contractor progress to ensure adherence to schedule and budget as well as compliance with GOL, MCA-Lesotho II, and MCC policy and guidelines.
- Contribute to the design and implementation of water and irrigation activities, including the development and tracking of monitoring indicators, as well as any evaluation activities.
- Partner closely with other MCA-Lesotho II staff and pertinent government counterparts.
- Work closely with the Environmental and Social Performance (ESP) and Health and Safety (H&S) Specialists to provide information and updates on relevant aspects to the environmental, resettlement, H&S and other relevant aspects and cross-cutting issues to ensure these aspects of the program are addressed in accordance with MCC and GOL requirements.
- Produce required status updates, monitoring reports and timely communications to the Irrigation Infrastructure Activity Manager, highlighting key implementation issues and opportunities.
- Prepare communications materials that highlight the irrigation infrastructure project’s progress, successes, and lessons learned.
- Work with the Stakeholder Engagement Manager and Communications Director on relevant plans and tasks.
Qualifications and Experience
- An undergraduate degree in irrigation engineering/civil engineering or related field.
- A minimum 10 years of progressively increasing technical responsibility designing and/or implementing irrigation, water resources or similar projects.
Skills and Competencies
- Ability to provide technical direction to projects, ensure high quality outputs, set realistic priorities, and guide successful implementation of water and irrigation sector activities.
- Demonstrated ability to communicate in a collaborative and respectful manner cross-culturally, using verbal (in-person and virtual) and written form.
- Strong organizational skills and experience working with donor projects in developing countries.
- Proficiency in English is required, proficiency in Sesotho will be an advantage.
- Ability to drive and travel throughout Lesotho.5 years of experience in stakeholder engagement and developing communication strategies for multiple stakeholders in the public and private sectors
How to apply
Complete applications must be submitted online, on or before Friday March 22nd, 2024.
Applications should be accompanied by the following documents:
- Curriculum vitae containing detailed work experience;
- Cover letter confirming interest and availability;
- Soft copies of higher education and professional certificates (if available);
- A completed online application form (can be accessed from https://lesotho-jobs.tenderwell.app – CV Template MCA Lesotho II)
Only applications that are submitted on or before the deadline will be considered.
We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Submit your applicationonline via:https://lesotho-jobs.tenderwell.app – Hard copy applications will not be considered.