WORK FOR AN AWARD-WINNING NON-PROFIT SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

Position: ARCHITECT OR CIVIL ENGINEER

Industry: Non-profit/International Development

Function: Architecture/Engineering, BIM developer

Job Location: Bogota, Colombia, with occasional travel within Colombia and Latin America

Start Date: Immediate

Contract type: Full time fixed contract

ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION

Founded in 2004, Build Change is a non‐profit social enterprise whose goal is to save lives in earthquakes and windstorms. Build Change designs disaster-resistant houses and schools, trains homeowners, builders, engineers and government officials to build them, works with governments to develop and implement building standards, partners with the private sector to improve building materials quality and create jobs, and facilitates access to incentive-based capital for reconstruction and retrofitting by partnering with financing institutions and government subsidy programs.

Build Change works in both post-disaster and mitigation contexts and currently has programs in Indonesia, Haiti, Philippines, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, Ecuador, Nepal, Türkiye, among others. In addition, Build Change regularly conducts reconnaissance, consultation or construction industry analysis and reconstruction support, including work in Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Dominica, St. Lucia, Sint Maarten and Micronesia after recent devastating windstorms. To date, Build Change has trained over 1.1 million people enhancing their safety and resilience against housing loss or education disruption in the event of a disaster. The organization has also impacted and changed 239 organizations, has protected more than 4.7 billion (USD) in assets and has more than 230,000 safer buildings since 2004.

To learn more about us and our programs, visit www.buildchange.org
 

POSITION DESCRIPTION

You will work within the technical team providing support to partners, clients and allies in the implementation of resilient housing programs and initiatives. This implies supporting the development of architectural, engineering and technology resources, carrying out evaluations and designs of structural improvements, as well as training and building capacities of partners to carry out these tasks in a systematic and efficient manner. Additionally, you will assist our partners and clients in the construction sites providing technical assistance to guarantee the correct execution of the activities in the field in accordance with the retrofitting design, the construction details, and the technical specifications. 

You will support the Building Information Modeling developments of the Build Change Architectural, Engineering and Design Team to continue the current developments for BIM implementation such as: Automated routines (Scripts) for housing retrofitting and improvement, integrating graphical components, structural analysis and architectural design. Quantities take off, cost estimations, construction details, among others.

This position is part of the Latin America Technical team and reports and receives direction from the Latin America Lead Engineer.

Main responsibilities are listed below:

• Develop a deep understanding and application capacity of the architectural and engineering resources developed for informal housing improvement, climate change adaptation and structural retrofitting by Build Change for Latin America.
• Participate in the review and development of new structural and architectural designs, construction quantities, checklists and training material for partners and clients.
• Assist in the development and implementation of training sessions (both in office and in field) for engineers, builders, architects, designers and other internal Build Change staff and for partners and clients.
• Supervise and provide technical support to partners and contractors on site.
• Contribute to the development of Build Change technological tools, which includes those related to BIM, using software like Autodesk Revit and Dynamo, Fulcrum, MagicPlan, among others.
• Solve problems and contribute to proposing architectural and engineering solutions for structural retrofits and climate change adaptation and mitigation, as applied to informal housing types.
• Prepare reports on projects and key activities.
• Provide technical assistance to partners, clients and Build Change staff in order to guarantee the correct execution of the construction phase of the projects, in accordance with the retrofitting designs, construction details and technical specifications.
• Support programming and budgeting analysis for structural improvement projects
• Provide support to other global and regional programs and projects as requested by the Lead Engineer and/or Country Director.

Skills and Qualifications:

• University degree in Architecture or Civil Engineering.
• A minimum of 2 years of relevant experience, implementing Building Information Modeling (BIM).
• A minimum of 2 years of relevant experience structural design or architectural design, home improvement, climate change adaptation and mitigation or related.
• Able user of Autodesk Revit, or similar BIM software. Familiarity with Autodesk Dynamo, or Robot is a plus.
• Coding skills or experience programming in Python or other similar software are a plus.
• Experience in construction supervision is desirable
• Ability to communicate technical concepts to non-technical persons.
• No ego, drama, or pessimism; the successful candidate will be flexible, humble, patient, solution-focused and have a good sense of humor.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English and Spanish is a must.

ARE YOU INTERESTED?

Then please visit http://www.buildchange.org/careers and select the link for this position. Applications will be accepted until filled and will be reviewed as received. Qualified women and citizens of Build Change’s program countries are strongly encouraged to apply. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. No calls please.

OUR COMMITMENT

Build Change is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information. It is the policy of Build Change that qualified individuals with disabilities are not discriminated against because of their disabilities in regard to job application procedures, hiring, and other terms and conditions of employment. It is further the policy of Build Change to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities in all aspects of the employment process. Build Change is prepared to modify or adjust the job application process or the job or work environment to make reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of the applicant or employee to enable the applicant or employee to be considered for the position he or she desires, to perform the essential functions of the position in question, or to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment as are enjoyed by other similarly situated employees without disabilities unless the accommodation will impose an undue hardship.