1. Programme Background

ForAfrika is a leading African humanitarian and development organisation operating in eight countries, with a vision of an Africa that thrives. Under a three-year grant, ForAfrika South Africa will assume full operational responsibility for 101 solar-powered rural water supply systems across Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal.

The programme operates through a three-layer architecture: Layer 1 (Core Operations and Maintenance), Layer 2 (Food Security and Livelihoods to Social Enterprise), and Layer 3 (Hub Economic Activation), converting each water site into a community-owned Solar Water Enterprise Hub. ForAfrika's role is to maintain, operate, and transfer these systems to community ownership, ensuring compliance with the South African National Standards for water quality throughout.

2. Purpose of the Position

The Civil Engineer provides oversight of civil infrastructure across the South Africa portfolio. The position is responsible for the structural integrity, inspection, maintenance planning, and standards compliance of all civil works.

The role is central to determining the technical condition assessment of all sites, the site-tier triage, the remediation and drawdown planning of the Replacement Capex Reserve for civil components.

3. Key Responsibilities

3.1 Technical condition assessment and site-tier triage

• Lead the civil and structural component of the site-by-site technical condition assessment across all the sites within the first three months of the programme, covering tanks, towers, distribution networks, valves and fittings, pump houses, and civil structures.
• Contribute civil condition data to the site-tier triage and identify civil components requiring Day 1 or Year 1 replacement funded from the Replacement Capex Reserve.
• Support full condition assessment and Tier C remediation at the named priority sites.
• Verify and reconcile the civil elements of the sites including as-built and structural drawings (3m, 7m, and 10m tank towers; the 30-kilolitre high-capacity tank class), borehole completion reports, and site asset registers.

3.2 Routine civil inspection and maintenance oversight

• Design and implement the routine structural inspection cycle for civil infrastructure across the portfolio, integrated into the Tier 2 quarterly inspection programme.
• Procure, scope, and supervise specialist-chartered engineering inspections of 30-kilolitre reinforced-concrete tanks in compliance with applicable SANS standards, managing the specialist sub-contract and certifying deliverables.
• Develop civil maintenance specifications, bills of quantities, and scopes of work for repairs, rehabilitation, and upgrades; supervise contractors and certify completed works.
• Assess and prioritise Parent-site civil infrastructure within the cluster maintenance model, recognising that a Parent borehole failure cascades to hydraulically dependent Child sites.
• Support reactive repair response for civil failures in line with the tiered service-impact protocol.

3.3 Standards compliance, quality assurance and reporting

• Ensure all civil works, inspections, and rehabilitation comply with applicable SANS standards and relevant national and municipal regulations, and that water infrastructure supports compliance with SANS 241:2015 water quality requirements.
• Maintain the civil asset register, structural inspection records, drawings library, and defect logs within the programme's field management system.
• Contribute civil infrastructure data and analysis to monthly cluster reports, quarterly donor reports to Donor, and the MEAL dashboard .
• Support the DMEAL team with means-of-verification documentation for infrastructure-related KPIs.

3.4 Capacity building and transition

• Train ForAfrika field engineers, community pump attendants, and Water Management Committee members in basic civil infrastructure surveillance (visual inspection of tanks, towers, standpipes, and soakaways) as part of the Tier 1 community operator curriculum.
• Contribute civil O&M content to site-level O&M manuals, sustainability plans, and handover documentation supporting the Year 3 transition to community and Water Services Authority management.
• Advise on civil aspects of Capital Sinking Fund calibration, aligning contribution rates to civil component lifecycles (10/20-year classes).

3.5 Stakeholder engagement

• Liaise with the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), provincial Water Services Authorities (Ehlanzeni DM, Greater Tzaneen, Makhado, uMkhanyakude DM), and municipal engineers on infrastructure standards, co-maintenance arrangements, and cost-sharing Service Level Agreement negotiations.
• Coordinate with DWS-listed certified solar technical partners and Mvula Borehole Drilling (Pty) Ltd to ensure integrated electromechanical and civil maintenance delivery.
• Represent ForAfrika in technical forums and site meetings with government, communities.

4. Qualifications and Experience

Essential

• Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering (BEng/BSc Eng) from a recognised institution.
• Registration with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) as a Candidate Engineer, with Professional Engineer (Pr Eng) or Professional Engineering Technologist (Pr Tech Eng) registration strongly preferred.
• Minimum five (5) years of progressive experience in civil/structural engineering for water supply infrastructure — reservoirs, elevated tanks, pipelines, and rural water schemes.
• Demonstrated working knowledge of SANS standards applicable to water infrastructure (including SANS 241:2015 and structural/civil codes for reinforced-concrete water-retaining structures).
• Proven experience in condition assessment, structural inspection, and rehabilitation of water-retaining structures.
• Experience preparing scopes of work, bills of quantities, and supervising contractors.
• Valid driver's licence and willingness to travel extensively (up to 60%) to remote rural sites across three provinces.

Desirable

• MSc/MEng in Civil, Structural, or Water Engineering.
• Experience in the NGO/development sector or donor-funded WASH programmes.
• Familiarity with solar-powered water systems, borehole infrastructure, and rural water utility operations.
• Experience engaging municipal Water Services Authorities and DWS regulatory frameworks (Water Services Act, including Section 19 Water Service Intermediary arrangements).
• Proficiency in AutoCAD/Civil 3D, EPANET or equivalent hydraulic modelling tools, and GIS applications.
• Proficiency in one or more of IsiZulu, Sepedi, or Siswati is an advantage.