Local recruitment: Technical Advisor (Georgia nationals)

Expertise: Engineer
Expertise Group: Engineering

Consultant Source: National
TOR Keywords: urban and water sector; project implementation

Objective and Purpose of the Assignment

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been supporting the Government of Georgia in the urban and water
sector through a portfolio of sovereign operations implemented by the Ministry of Infrastructure and
Regional Development (MoI), the United Water Supply Company of Georgia (UWSCG), the Municipal
Development Fund of Georgia (MDF), and other implementing agencies.
Loan 3982-GEO, financing the Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Development Program, was
signed on 15 October 2020 and is implemented by UWSCG. The project is now in its later implementation
stage, and the residual period is dominated by contract administration, works supervision, and
disbursement performance rather than by design or procurement start-up. Sustained, senior-level
engineering and contract management advice is required to protect the implementation schedule, manage
contractor claims and variations, and secure timely completion within the loan closing date.

In parallel, ADB requires independent technical review capacity across its wider Georgian urban and
water pipeline and portfolio — including projects under processing and results-based operations — to
quality-assure detailed designs, technical specifications, cost estimates, bidding documents, and bid
evaluation reports prepared by executing and implementing agencies.
Against this background, ADB seeks to engage an individual national consultant as Technical Advisor for
a short, targeted input of 60 person-days.

The consultant will:

• Accelerate physical and financial progress under Loan 3982-GEO by identifying and resolving
  implementation bottlenecks, with particular attention to the “bulk flowmeters” installation, a critical
  output of the project.
• Provide independent, technically rigorous review of engineering and procurement documentation referred
  by ADB across the urban and water portfolio.
• Strengthen the capacity of the executing and implementing agencies in ADB procurement, contract
  management, and covenant compliance through hands-on, on-the-job advice.

Scope of Work

The consultant will report to and take instructions from the ADB Principal Urban Development Specialist.
Given the limited input, tasks will be assigned and prioritized by ADB on a rolling basis. The
consultant is expected to work independently, exercise professional engineering judgment, and promptly
alert ADB to emerging risks together with proposed solutions. Detailed tasks are provided below.

Detailed Tasks and/or Expected Output

1. Implementation Support to Loan 3982-GEO (indicative 34 days)

• Undertake a rapid diagnostic of the current implementation status of ongoing works, goods, and
  consulting contracts under the project, including physical progress against contract programmes,
  financial progress against the disbursement projection, and the critical path to loan closing.
• Advise UWSCG on the administration of design and works contracts, including review of the Engineer’s
  determinations, interim payment certificates, variation orders, extension of time claims, price
  adjustment, taking-over and defects liability arrangements, and the settlement of contractor claims and
  disputes.
• Review the performance of supervision and engineering consultants, identify shortfalls against their
  terms of reference, and recommend corrective measures.
• Support the preparation, review, and ADB submission of procurement documentation for any remaining or
  repackaged contracts, including bidding documents, bid evaluation reports, and contract award
  recommendations, in accordance with the ADB Procurement Policy (2017, as amended) and the Procurement
  Regulations for ADB Borrowers.
• Monitor compliance with loan and project agreement covenants, identify actual or prospective non-
  compliance, and propose time-bound remedial actions.

1. Technical Reviews Across the Urban and Water Portfolio (indicative 16 days)

• Carry out independent technical review of detailed engineering designs, drawings, technical
  specifications, and bills of quantities for water supply, sewerage, wastewater treatment, and related
  urban infrastructure subprojects referred by ADB, and report on their technical adequacy,
  constructability, compliance with applicable Georgian and international standards, and consistency with
  the agreed project scope.
• Review engineering cost estimates and unit rates against prevailing market conditions in Georgia and
  advise on the reasonableness of estimated contract values and contingencies.
• Review draft bidding documents — including packaging strategy, qualification and evaluation criteria,
  contract conditions, and technical requirements — and advise on their suitability for attracting
  competitive, responsive bids.
• Review bid evaluation reports for technical soundness and internal consistency, and flag issues
  requiring clarification before ADB concurrence.
• Provide targeted technical opinions on specific engineering questions arising in ongoing or
  prospective operations, including climate resilience and asset sustainability considerations, as
  requested by ADB.

1. Site Verification, Missions, and Reporting (indicative 10 days)

• Conduct site inspections of works under implementation, verify reported physical progress, assess
  quality of workmanship and contractor site management, and record observations with photographic
  evidence and recommended corrective actions.
• Participate in ADB review missions and provide inputs to aide-mémoires, memoranda of understanding,
  and other mission documentation.
• Prepare concise progress and issues notes for ADB at agreed intervals, and maintain an updated issues
  and actions register for the project.
• Prepare an assignment completion report capturing findings, lessons learned, and recommendations for
  the residual implementation period and for successor operations in the sector.

Minimum Qualification Requirements

• Georgian national.
• Master’s degree in civil engineering, construction engineering, water/environmental engineering, or a
  closely related technical discipline. A bachelor’s degree with demonstrably exceptional and directly
  relevant experience may be considered.
• At least 15 years of professional experience in the implementation of large infrastructure projects,
  of which at least 8 years in a senior management or supervisory position within a public executing or
  implementing agency.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience administering FIDIC-based works contracts, including the review and
  approval of interim payment certificates, issuance of variation orders, taking-over certification, and
  involvement in claims and dispute resolution.
• Demonstrated experience with the procurement rules and procedures of ADB and/or other international
  financial institutions, including preparation and approval of bidding documents and bid evaluation
  reports for internationally procured contracts.
• Direct experience in the Georgian water supply and sanitation sector, including familiarity with the
  institutional and regulatory environment (MoI, UWSCG, GNERC) and with the management of IFI-financed
  operations and loan covenant compliance.
• Experience managing supervision and engineering consultancy contracts, and in organizing and
  supporting IFI review missions.
• Excellent written and spoken English; native or near-native Georgian. Working knowledge of Russian is
  an advantage.
• Strong analytical, drafting, and communication skills, and the ability to work independently with
  minimal supervision and to deliver under tight deadlines.

Minimum General Experience: 15 Years
Minimum Specific Experience (relevant to assignment): 15 Years