Technical Coordinator – Housing

Job Posting: Technical Coordinator - Housing 

October 15, 2026

About NIVAS

NIVAS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering marginalized communities, especially women and children, through sustainable and dignified housing solutions. By supporting access to safe and secure homes, NIVAS aims to break cycles of poverty and vulnerability while strengthening land and housing rights, construction skills, and livelihood opportunities.

NIVAS is expanding its housing programs across western and central Nepal through community-based construction, a homeowner-driven building model supported by local engineers, and reconstruction planning in districts affected by the 2026 Bhotekoshi flood. The Technical Coordinator – Housing will strengthen technical oversight and construction-quality systems to ensure that all homes are safe, disaster-resilient, cost-effective, and compliant with the Nepal National Building Code and relevant government standards.

The Role

As our construction programs expand, we are seeking a highly motivated community-oriented engineer to join the team and help manage that growth. Your work will center on two areas.

Expanding construction programs. You will provide technical oversight as our construction work grows. This includes homes built with our ground partners and our homeowner-driven model, in which partner homeowners hire their own contractors and receive technical support from NIVAS through local engineers. You will review designs, set and check quality standards, and ensure every building meets code and NIVAS's standards, from site assessment through handover.

Proposed Flood Reconstruction Program. Following the Bhotekoshi floods on August 26, 2026, you will support the team in assessing needs and developing a potential flood reconstruction and transitional shelter program, and serve as NIVAS's technical lead, coordinating with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA).

You will report to our Country Director and Executive Director, and work closely with our MEL (monitoring, evaluation, and learning) team and our field partners.

Key responsibilities

Technical oversight 

• Oversee the engineers at our ground partner organizations and the local engineers supporting homeowner-driven builds, providing technical direction, review, and support.
• Provide technical recommendations and approvals within delegated authority, while ensuring that statutory design approvals and certifications are completed by appropriately registered engineers and relevant government authorities.
• Review and approve designs, drawings, bills of quantities, cost estimates, and construction schedules prepared by partner engineers.
• Assess site suitability before design approval, including access, drainage, soil conditions, slope stability, flood exposure, and other environmental or geotechnical risks.
• Help set quality control standards and verify them through periodic site monitoring visits, partner reports, and photo documentation.
• Establish and verify milestone inspections at critical construction stages, including site layout, foundation, structural reinforcement, wall construction, roofing, finishing, and final handover; document deficiencies and required corrective actions.
• Maintain complete technical records for each home, including approved drawings, bills of quantities, inspection checklists, site reports, photographs, variation records, completion documentation, and as-built information where applicable.
• Confirm that every home meets the Nepal National Building Code (NBC) and local municipal permitting requirements.
• Review partner construction budgets and procurement plans for consistency with donor rules and NIVAS financial policies.
• Monitor contractor and builder performance, material quality, construction variations, cost changes, payment recommendations, and remediation of work that does not meet approved standards.
• Lead construction training where necessary for partner homeowners, partner OJTs (on-the-job trainees), and training attendees, in coordination with our ground partners.

Proposed flood reconstruction programming

• Work with NIVAS leadership and partners to define best practices for flood-resilient and earthquake-resilient housing in the Bhotekoshi-affected districts.
• Coordinate with the NDRRMA, DUDBC, and municipal and ward offices to ensure that any future NIVAS reconstruction program aligns with government recovery plans and standards.
• Track government guidance, including the Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA), and advice on what it means for site selection and design.
• Contribute to technical analysis and budgets that leadership can use in planning and proposals.

Reporting and learning

• Work with the MEL team to track construction outputs and quality data.
• Contribute technical sections to grant reports and proposals.
• Establish and monitor construction-site health, safety, environmental, and safeguarding requirements across all projects, and ensure that identified concerns are documented and addressed promptly.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in civil engineering.
• Registration with the Nepal Engineering Council.
• At least 5 years of experience overseeing residential or community construction in Nepal, including supervising or reviewing the work of other engineers.
• At least 3 years working with an NGO or international NGO (INGO), with experience meeting donor reporting and compliance requirements.
• Working knowledge of the Nepal National Building Code and seismic-resistant construction for low-rise homes.
• Experience with post-disaster housing reconstruction, such as the 2015 Gorkha earthquake recovery or flood recovery work.
• Fluency in Nepali and English, written and spoken.
• Experience designing and leading hands-on construction trainings for homeowners, masons, or other non-engineers.
• Willingness to travel semi-frequently to rural field sites, including multi-day stays.

Preferred

• Experience with site-level flood risk assessment or slope stability.
• Experience with locally sourced or alternative building materials.
• Coursework or experience in geotechnical engineering or disaster risk management.
• Familiarity with Dang and Nuwakot, and ideally Rasuwa or Dhading districts.
• Skill with AutoCAD, Excel, and Google Sheets, as well as relevant GIS software.
• Fluency in other languages spoken in Nepal.

Who thrives here?

NIVAS is a small, collaborative team. You will do well here if these describe you:

• You build trust easily with partner engineers, government officials, partner homeowners, and donors alike, and you enjoy the time it takes to do that well.
• You set your own priorities, manage your own schedule across remote sites, and flag problems early without waiting to be asked.
• You have worked inside an INGO and know what solid documentation, safeguarding, and donor accountability look like in practice.
• You see the women we work with as partners and decision makers in their own homes, and you respect their time and knowledge.
• You care about getting the engineering right, and you can explain it clearly to people who are not engineers.

Position details

How to apply. Send your Resume and a one-page cover letter to nivasbuilt@gmail.com with "Technical Coordinator – Housing" on the subject line. In your letter, tell us about one housing or reconstruction project you managed and what you learned from it. 

NIVAS is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of every gender, caste, ethnicity, religion, and ability, and we especially encourage women engineers to apply.

Application Deadline: October 30, 2026