WASH and Engineering Officer

Our vision, our mission and our work are all defined by one goal ending extreme poverty, whatever it takes. We believe that no one should have to live in fear that they won’t have a home to sleep in or enough food to feed their children. For over 50 years, we have been working with the world’s poorest people to transform their lives.

Today we are a team of over 4,400 highly skilled and dedicated professionals from 50 countries who share an exceptional depth and diversity of experience. We want committed, values driven staff to join our HQ team and are currently looking for a Supporter Marketing Executive to be part of our Supporter Marketing team.

Concern offers in-house management and leadership courses and tailored organization-wide learning opportunities both in-person and online. We are committed to providing our staff with the skills needed to excel in their jobs. All employees are required to undertake training in equality, diversity and inclusion; the Code of Conduct; and safeguarding, along with any other training required for the role.

Our culture is values driven and friendly. A global engagement survey conducted in 2022, responded to by 3,577 of our staff, showed that 89% of our staff would happily recommend Concern as a great place to work and 94% are proud to tell people that they work for Concern.

Location: Dublin or Belfast or London

This role has 40% travel.

The job: The WASH and Engineering Officer will provide technical advice and support to Concerns infrastructure projects, in order to improve the quality and sustainability of these projects. These infrastructure projects mainly cover Water and Sanitation, but there is also a focus on other areas of construction such as school classrooms, health facilities, storage facilities and small bridges. The officer will also explore and promote innovative approaches to help ensure the provision of sustainable WASH services.

If you join us, this is what you will be doing:

• Provide support to country programmes to ensure that construction projects are implemented in line with donor requirements and in accordance with Concerns Engineering standards and, where WASH-related, Concerns WASH Strategy.
• Provide technical advice and support to all programme teams in planning and budgeting of construction activities, including supporting the development, assessment and/or approval of engineering designs.
• Provide support in the capacity building of WASH & Engineering staff through face-to-face trainings
• Conduct reviews of Engineering designs (WASH or otherwise), including analysing drawings, BoQs, and technical specifications for conformity; giving advice and approving, where appropriate, in consultation with the WASH & Engineering Advisor.
• Carry out country visits to support all elements of construction projects, from technical assessment of previous projects and planning of new ones, to approval of designs and supporting the project management of small works.
• Provide support to field teams to develop systems for monitoring the construction, operation, maintenance and management of infrastructure, working with the monitoring and evaluation team.
• Support with the management of standard operating procedures for engineering works in Concern.
• Provide technical support to field staff for their community mobilisation work related to construction, the management of infrastructure and the promotion of hygiene and sanitation.
• Explore and promote innovative approaches to help ensure the provision of sustainable WASH services and engineering technologies, to include at a minimum supply chain issues for spare parts, the funding of life cycle costs as well as operational management models.
• Support the development, dissemination and updating of Concerns construction contracts, standardised technical specifications, standardised designs and the Engineering Minimum Standards.
• Provide support to field teams writing funding proposals and reports, etc.
• Participate in Rapid Emergency Response as necessary (including deployment for up to 6 weeks).

Skills you will bring:

• Bachelors degree in Civil/Structural Engineering, with WASH elements.
• At least 3 years total professional experience in the field of civil engineering (or similar), of which at least one years experience with an NGO/local organisation in fragile, conflict affected contexts on hardware components associated with WASH (water pumps, latrines, water treatment, water storage etc.)
• Structural engineering experience for small-scale infrastructure projects
• Experience in working with contractors, technicians, government technical staff and community groups
• Knowledge of contract management, including contracts such as FIDIC
• Understanding of the role of quality assurance and advisory functions and how they link and contribute to overall programme quality.
• Good collaboration and interpersonal skills with local, national and civil society stakeholders
• Knowledge of programme monitoring and evaluation
• Good understanding of development & humanitarian issues with emphasis on participation and sustainability
• Understanding of the softer elements of WASH programming, such as hygiene promotion, CLTS and PHAST approaches, etc.
• Excellent report writing skills
• Word processing & excel skills, AutoCAD proficiency

Desirable:

• Fluency in spoken and written French
• Experience in construction of non-WASH infrastructure in developing country settings such as schools, health clinics and roads.
• Proficiency in other relevant analysis programs such as EPANET, Pipeflow, etc.
• Practical experience of contract management with managing small scale infrastructure projects, under FIDIC or other standardised contracts.

You will report to the WASH and Engineering Adviser (existing), as well as liaises with other units in the Strategy, Advocacy and Learning department, Country Offices, International Programmes Department and the Emergency Unit.

This is an 18-month contract, with the possibility of renewal.

• If the role is based in Dublin the salary will be – Band 4: 42,946– 50,524
• If the role is based in London the salary will be – Band 4B: 35,745 to 39,507
• If the role is based in Belfast the salary will be – Band 4B: 31,144 to 34,422

To apply: If this role sounds right for you, please submit, your CVs through our website at https://jobs.concern.net by closing date. Because of the urgency of the role, we might close and hire before the closing date!

Candidates must be legally entitled to work in Ireland or the UK.

We encourage all eligible candidates, irrespective of gender, ethnicity and origin, disability, political beliefs, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status to apply to become a part of the organization. Concern is against all forms of discrimination and unequal power relations, and is committed to promoting equality.

If this role sounds right for you, please apply with your CV and cover letter. We will respond to every applicant. Please be aware we may offer positions before the closing date.

If you have, any concerns about our recruitment process and need particular assistance – for example if you have a visual impairment or are neuro-divergent – please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you.

Important information:

Concern has an organisational Code of Conduct (CCoC) with three Associated Policies; the Programme Participant Protection Policy (P4), the Child Safeguarding Policy and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Policy accessible here. These have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from exploitation, and to clarify the responsibilities of Concern staff, consultants, visitors to the programme and partner organization, and the standards of behavior expected of them. In this context, staff have a responsibility to the organization to strive for, and maintain, the highest standards in the day-to-day conduct in their workplace in accordance with Concerns core values and mission. Any candidate offered a job with Concern Worldwide will be expected to sign the Concern Staff Code of Conduct and Associated Policies as an appendix to their contract of employment. By signing the Concern Code of Conduct, candidates acknowledge that they have understood the content of both the Concern Code of Conduct and the Associated Policies and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these policies. Additionally, Concern is committed to the safeguarding and protection of vulnerable adults and children in our work. We will do everything possible to ensure that only those who are suitable to work or volunteer with vulnerable adults and children are recruited by us for such roles. Subsequently, working or volunteering with Concern is subject to a range of vetting checks, including criminal background checking.

During this job application, you will provide Concern with your personal data. Concern takes its responsibilities towards this personal data very seriously and is committed to complying with all relevant data protection legislation.You have certain rights under data protection legislation. For more information on how to exercise those rights please visit www.concern.net/about/privacy