The Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECR), based in Geneva, is responsible for the effective management, coordination and oversight of UNOPS operations across the region. The ECR region spans the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, South Caucasus, and Türkiye, where UNOPS works with partners to achieve sustainable impact in health, education, environmental management, housing, rule of law, good governance, economic development, and social inclusion. With a wealth of experience in procurement, infrastructure, project and grant management, UNOPS in the region directly implements projects, provides technical advisory services and capacity building to advance the Sustainable Development Goals in support of national governments.

The UNOPS Ukraine and Eastern Europe MCO (UEMCO) operates in Ukraine, Moldova, and Poland, supporting urgent humanitarian needs while building pathways for recovery and development. In Ukraine, UEMCO delivers large-scale infrastructure, energy, housing, education, and mine action projects in partnership with UN agencies, international financial institutions, the European Union, and bilateral donors. Its agile portfolio responds to fast-evolving needs with strong procurement and implementation capacity. In Moldova, UEMCO supports justice sector reform and is exploring opportunities to expand its role across public sector modernization and infrastructure. In Poland, UEMCO works with government and private sector actors to strengthen ties with UN procurement and contribute to Ukraine’s recovery, leveraging Poland’s EU experience to support Ukraine’s future accession and integration.

UNOPS implements projects  which envisage development of technical specifications, procurement and delivery of vehicles and specialized machinery, including but not limited to truck-mounted concrete mixers, emergency repair vehicles, electric vehicles for emergency teams, excavators, cranes, backhoe/telescopic loaders, trucks, buses, vans, minibuses, car trailers, ambulances etc. UNOPS requires the services of a technical expert for these purposes.

The Lead Mechanical Engineer will provide technical expertise in the procurement of vehicles and specialized machinery, ensuring compliance with technical specifications, quality standards, and regulatory requirements. The role involves analyzing technical documentation, participating in tender evaluations, and resolving quality-related issues to support the successful implementation of UNOPS projects in Ukraine.

1. Technical Analysis and Support

• Review, assess and analyze the draft technical specifications for equipment that will be used as a baseline for for development of technical specifications
• Ensure the technical requirements are in line with the relevant Ukrainian and international technical and quality standards.
• Provide inputs to and refine  technical specifications and sign off on relevant technical specifications in the UNOPS procurement system.
• Conduct market research for the potential vendors/bidders
• Advise on the selection criteria for the tendering process and review general part of tender packages and provide recommendations for its improvement, if any
• Provide suggested responses to bidders’ technical requests for clarifications.

2. Tender Evaluation and Compliance

• Participate in tender evaluation panels, analyze the technical characteristics of equipment in supplier bid offers, and provide technical compliance evaluations.
• Provide detailed and specific comments on the reasoning behind finding bids compliant or non-compliant with specifications.

3. Quality Assurance and Issue Resolution

• Assist the Project Manager(s) with checking the completeness and correctness of technical documentation provided by suppliers at equipment delivery.
• Perform detailed inspection and quality assurance upon the delivery
• Provide technical advice to UNOPS on the acceptance of equipment in case of any deficiencies identified upon deliveries.
• Act as a point of contact for resolving quality-related issues and concerns raised by recipients upon deliveries or during equipment installation, in close cooperation with the Project Manager(s).

4. Information and Knowledge Management

• Train and educate project personnel on relevant technical quality standards upon request.
• Promote a culture of quality within the organization.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Mechanical Engineering or related fields with 7 years of relevant experience OR

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in any of the above or related fields with 5 years of relevant experience is required.

Required

• Relevant experience is work in Mechanical Engineering, preparation of technical specifications for the procurement of vehicles and specialized machinery, testing / quality control of vehicles and specialized machinery, evaluating compliance of the equipment with codes, standards, regulations and technical requirementsor related areas. 

• In-depth understanding of the technical characteristics for vehicles and specialized machinery.

Desired

• Experience of working in multicultural environments or UN system organizations or in large-scale projects in a developing country is desired.

• Experience in development or humanitarian contexts is desired.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• Please note that UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 
• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities. 
• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.