WORK FOR AN AWARD-WINNING NON-PROFIT SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

Position Title:         Philippines Lead Engineer
Job Location:            Manila, Philippines
Start Date:                Immediate
Term:                         At-will employment, but a minimum two-year commitment is expected
Salary:                       Competitive, with health plan, housing and food allowance

WHO WE ARE

Founded in 2004, Build Change is an innovative international nonprofit social enterprise whose mission is to save lives in earthquakes and hurricanes. We do that by designing disaster-resistant houses and schools; training homeowners, builders, engineers and government officials to build them; working with governments to develop and implement building standards; partnering with the private sector to improve building materials quality and create jobs; and facilitating access to incentive-based capital for reconstruction and retrofitting by partnering with financing institutions and government subsidy programs.

Build Change is the recipient of multiple awards, including a 2017 Skoll Foundation Award for Social Entrepreneurship, 2016 OpenIDEO Urban Resilience Challenge Winner, and was a top three finalist in IBM’s inaugural Call for Code Developer Challenge in 2018.

To learn more about us and our programs in Indonesia, Colombia, Guatemala, Philippines, Nepal and the Caribbean, visit www.buildchange.org.

YOUR NEW OPPORTUNITY

As Lead Engineer, you will utilize a combination of your exceptional structural engineering, project management, advocacy, and program development skills to provide strategic direction for Build Change’s technical program in the Philippines. You will have the opportunity to contribute to the conception and execution of projects, manage a team of technical staff, represent Build Change with partners and clients, and advocate and collaborate with government agencies. As a member of the Build Change international engineering team, you will work in partnership with staff in other country programs as well as colleagues from the technology innovations and education (training) departments.

You are prepared to manage a variety of technical responsibilities that ensure quality in the design and implementation of our projects in the Philippines, which include the retrofitting and new construction of various masonry and timber constructions systems. These responsibilities also relate to QA/QC systems, developing and updating technical resources, and applying engineering judgment to solve problems and generate solutions to unique design challenges.

You are excited by the idea of working with various teams to implement work plans; recruiting, mentoring, training and overseeing the Philippines-based engineering and technical staff; and interfacing with the innovations team to support the adoption of technology for implementation at scale. And maybe not quite as excited but more than willing and able to prepare monthly reports and contribute to project proposals and reporting.

Accessing your full range of professional skills, you also look forward to the prospect of representing Build Change with government agencies, project partners, prospective donors, and local technical consultants to advocate for Build Change’s philosophy and practices in disaster-resistant construction design and implementation.

OUR IDEAL CANDIDATE:

You have:

• A Professional Engineering license (or equivalent) in civil (structural) engineering.
• A top-performing educational background in structural engineering, with strong earthquake-resistant design orientation.
• Familiarity with international building codes and guidelines, especially those applicable to the Filipino context.
• An understanding of earthquake- and typhoon-resistant design and construction of confined masonry, reinforced masonry, and timber buildings for both new and retrofit buildings.
• A project management skillset that includes ownership over milestones, work plans, and reporting using tools such as Excel and PowerPoint.

Your experience includes:

• A minimum of 8 years’ professional experience in structural engineering in a country with well-established building code adoption and enforcement.
• Substantive seismic design experience in a country/area that has high seismic loads.
• Managing a technical team with a demonstrated ability to create cohesion, motivation and accountability.

You are able to:

• Apply engineering principles to non-engineered buildings, generating creative solutions.
• Provide strategic direction and lead on developing or updating Build Change’s technical solutions, often relying on engineering judgment to keep solutions simple, affordable and appropriate.
• Work successfully in a team environment across technology, financing, technical and administrative disciplines and deliver outcomes on time.
• Communicate engineering concepts to non-engineers using simple, accessible language.
• Quickly iterate on project activities and work plans based on insights and feedback gathered.
• Support the development of new project ideas, including defining work plans and levels of effort. 
• Proficiently use Autodesk products and structural design software, particularly Revit.

You would describe yourself as:

• An exceptionally competent structural engineer who is equally skilled at working with and mentoring others who may be from a culture different than your own.
• An excellent communicator who is comfortable and capable of speaking in front of varying audiences, including management, clients, partners, donors, government agents, and international gatherings of engineers or development personnel.
• Creative, organized, drama-free, optimistic, flexible, patient, and having a good sense of humor.
• Fluent in English.

And you earn bonus points if you have:

• Experience in designing and supervising construction of earthquake- and typhoon-resistant buildings in a developing country.
• Experience working in the Philippines
• Familiarity with cutting edge technologies that can help Build Change implement simple, affordable and scalable technical solutions.
• Hands-on construction experience in masonry and/or carpentry.
• Familiarity with human-centered design approaches.
• Fluency in Tagalog or another Filipino language.