Head of Reconstruction HA (WASH-DRR-Emergency)

Background
The outbreak of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine on 24 February 2022 has resulted in destruction of infrastructure across Ukraine. The water supply, wastewater treatment systems, heating and energy infrastructure have all been affected. It is anticipated as the war continues that more systems will be destroyed mostly along the front line. This can cause the disruption to basic services and a loss of understanding of the operation of infrastructure because qualified personnel are displaced in Ukraine or across Europe. As energy supply and water/sanitation systems break down, the affected population might increasingly use untreated surface water, which will likely be contaminated with sewage and wastewater.

The Swiss humanitarian team is integrated into the Embassy of Switzerland in Kyiv. According to the humanitarian geographical focus and its coordination needs, a Swiss humanitarian antenna might move further towards the South-East of Ukraine (i.e., Dnipro). Humanitarian projects build, whenever possible, on the wide network of contacts, expertise, partners and experiences of Switzerland in Ukraine.

Switzerland’s humanitarian engagement in Ukraine imperatively follows a principled, needs-based approach aligned with the strategic priorities outlined in the Swiss International Cooperation Strategy 2021-24 and the Swiss Cooperation Programme Ukraine 2020-23 (extended until 2024). A new Cooperation framework for 2025-2028 is under preparation. SHA engagement should also capitalize on past experiences such as the humanitarian transports and relief items delivery to Eastern Ukraine organized from 2015 until 2021. Considering these elements and in order to focus its efforts in an overcrowded donor landscape, the Swiss Humanitarian Aid in Ukraine focuses its engagement in the thematic fields (domains) of the existing and future Cooperation Programme.

The SHA first phase of engagement in Ukraine through the Credit Proposal (CP) “Restoration of essential infrastructure WASH” was developed after the full-scale invasion in May 2022 and focused mainly on the delivery of equipment to VodoKanals. The second phase of the CP (June 2023 – 2024) targets a more comprehensive and advanced support to the conflict affected areas through improved engineering designs and Emergency Response.

The partnerships with organizations such as the NGO Water Mission (Emergency Response) or the State Emergency Service Units (SESU) are further developed, and thematic approaches such as Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate and Environment continue to be incorporated in the humanitarian response. In order to achieve maximum impact, a mix of intervention modalities and entities from the Swiss Government should be mobilised and utilized according to their expertise and added value.

 

Tasks
The objective of the position is to lead the Direct Action of the SDC-HA WASH/DRR/Emergency activities in Ukraine and contribute to the direction of the humanitarian WASH Programme for 2025 and beyond. This upscale requires the development of a multi-year engagement of the Swiss humanitarian response well-embedded in a vision of the overall recovery and reconstruction support by Switzerland and the Government of Ukraine, which is still to be defined.

 

To ensure synergies among multilateral and bilateral actors she/he will coordinate and collaborate with the following partners:

Bilateral partners

·     Ukrainian Ministry of Communities and Territories Development (Minregion)

·     State Emergence Service Unit (SESU)

·     UKR vodakanal. association of Water suppliers of Ukraine

·     VodaKanal Cell and VodaKanal Association, Kyiv

·     International and local NGOs

 

Multilateral partners:

·     UN WASH Cluster and/or Area-Based coordination platforms

·     ICRC Delegation and Sub-Delegation of WATHAB

·     All relevant UN organisations (OCHA, UNICEF, IOM, WHO)

The overall task of the Head of Reconstruction HA is to design, implement and monitor the impact of a program portfolio implemented through partners or in Direct Action modality. She/he will also manage the WASH team members. She/he will focus on following tasks:

·     Participate in the cluster meetings and maintain regular bilateral contacts with organizations working in the same geographical area, including the engagement of the private sector, development banks (e.g., World Bank) and other donors/Embassies.

·     Use coordination mechanisms to eliminate duplication of national and international assistance and streamline activities of different humanitarian actors in order to achieve best technical solutions and results.

·     Actively feed into Switzerland policies and strategies in the area of recovery & reconstruction and Triple Nexus approach by providing lessons learnt coming from the implementation of humanitarian direct actions.

·     Collaborate closely with the Head of Humanitarian programme to monitor the implementation and relevance of the programme in a constantly evolving environment (operations, security, humanitarian needs, principles, etc.).

·     Supervise directly-implemented field activities through regular field visits together with the Engineering team and/or relevant colleagues.

·     Oversee the support provided by Switzerland to national Governmental and Non-Governmental partners and its coherence with needs and opportunities in affected areas.

·     Explore and plan interventions in transversal themes in DRR, climate change, environment, Greening Humanitarian Assistance and Circular Construction initiative and define thematic areas for project implementation from emergency response to early recovery.

·     Coordinate and develop possible joint intervention with colleagues from SDC (Health Domain) and SECO (Sustainable Cities Domain), and closely with HA Protection and Health team at the embassy in Kyiv and/or PHRD, if relevant.

·     Liaising with other SHA’s expert groups such as CVA, Construction and DRR/Environment.

·     Coordinate closely with security staff for field missions and risk assessments.

·     Coordinate with finance team for procurement purchase, contracting and payment procedures and collaborate on a regular basis with HA-Finance department for efficient implementation of direct actions.

·     Supervise the Engineering team (SHA member(s) and national employee(s)) responsible for the engineering design (in collaboration with local engineering companies) and direct purchase of material and equipment.

·     As per the currently expected framework of the cooperation programme 2025 – 2028 (resilience – reconstruction – reform), which is yet to be confirmed, the foreseen action lines include responding to emergency situations, developing and managing the partnerships with national and international humanitarian actors, and increasing the resilience of public facilities via direct action.

Knowledge management: Interventions in the different municipalities should serve as pilots to be replicated by other donors or/and internally (IC strategy, WOGA approach on Reconstruction of Ukraine), therefore sharing of information, learning from best practice and proactive presentation of the results is an important part of the coordination with all actors interested (WASH Cluster, humanitarian donors’ group, area-based coordination mechanisms, etc.).

Project Cycle Management: She/he will contribute to the HA Reconstruction programme of SDC through different tasks, which can include (but are not limited to):

·     Develop Credit Proposals

·     Develop procurement and logistics procedures

·     Implement a monitoring and evaluation system of ongoing and closed projects.

 

Required qualifications

·     WASH generalist with a good knowledge of SDC programs and tools (secondments, direct actions, in kind donation, funding, backstopping)

·     Minimum 5 years of relevant work experience

·     Used to work independently, good understanding of security issues and measures,

·     Excellent social skills, team player,

·     Excellent written and spoken English. Russain or Ukrainian (even basic) is a strong asset

·     Experience of working in an integrated Swiss embassy considered an asset,

·     Familiarity with Ukraine humanitarian response or Soviet infrastructure considered an asset.

 

Duty Station
Kyiv, Ukraine

Starting date and duration
As of May 1st, 2024 for 12 months

 

This position is exclusively open to Swiss citizens (or Lichtenstein) or holder of a valid working permit (C permit) in Switzerland. Candidates who do not fulfil this condition will not receive response.

 

Contact

Odette Mauron

Odette.mauron@eda.admin.ch

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC

Humanitarian Aid

Field Resources H

Eichenweg 5

3003 Berne