Job Description

A job description is a written statement that describes the employee’s role and responsibilities. The role and responsibilities shall be executed within the NRC framework. The job description facilitates the recruitment process by stating the necessary competencies. It is mandatory for all positions.

Position:           WASH/Construction officer (01). 

Reports to:        WASH coordinator.

Supervision of:  WASH coordinator.

Duty station:     Bor, Jonglei state.

The Norwegian refugee council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organization. Our task is improve international protection of refugees and internally displaced persons and offer humanitarian assistance regardless of race, nationality or political views.

Our efforts are founded on the principal that all human beings are entitled to a life in peace, liberty, safety and equality, as this is expressed in the universal declaration of human rights. NRC has been working in south Sudan since 2004. Our core activities include education, shelter, & WASH, food security and livelihood (FSL), and information, counselling and legal assistant (ICLA).

All NRC employees are expected to work in accordance with the organization’s core values: dedication, innovation, inclusivity and accountability. These attitudes and believes shall guide our actions and relationships.

1. Role and responsibilities; 

The purpose of the WASH/Construction officer is responsible for implementation of WASH activities of the project including; coordinating rehabilitation of boreholes, sanitation facilities and constructions, designing plans and develop BOQs, participate in report writing from the field. The WASH/construction officer shares regular updates with the programme WASH coordinator concerning project implementation, and any other situation that require immediate action.

The following is a brief description of the role.

Generic responsibilities (max 4)

These responsibilities shall be the same for all positions with the same title. The responsibilities shall be short and essential. Details belong in the Work- and Professional Development Plan.

1. Managing WASH assistant and incentives workers, pump mechanics, school hygiene club, Water user committee:
2. Assisting Project Coordinator in realization of project’s objectives – planning, implementing, and monitoring project’s activities,
3. Representing NRC on different forums (WASH Cluster, specific working groups, etc.),
4. Preparing weekly reports and including follow-up on the actions for improvements -preparing weekly reports and submitting to the Project Coordinator with the challenges and plans for the following week,

Specific responsibilities 

• Rehabilitation and repair of boreholes and other water points liaising with the authorities and partners.
• Preparing tools for WASH technical activities – forms, designs of technical structures (latrine structures, water systems), BoQs, technical manuals, guidelines, contracts, completing certificates etc.
• Designing a completion certificate to constructors and advice on the payment process of the constructor,
• Rehabilitating India Mark II/Mark III boreholes and Duba tropic pump; handing over to community; keeping photo documentation; preparing works reports.
• Liaising with Logistics Department to prepare/organize field trips and purchases of WASH supplies and to release spares from the stock for carrying out activities.
• Upgrading boreholes to mini or full water yards – providing technical design for water yards; carrying out technical analysis of given water point; purchasing necessary materials (sand, gravel etc.), assessing its quantities; liaising with causal laborers; erecting the structure; conducting bio-chemical analysis of water; preparing community hand over reports.
• Cooperation with local authorities and local communities – attending meetings, taking notes, informing the Project Coordinator about the outcome of meetings attended.
• Facilitating appropriate community involvement in the design and delivery of essential WASH services and facilities – mobilizing of Local Hand Pump Mechanics and providing information on water source operation and maintenance to communities.
• Cooperation with and training for local Pump Mechanics and Water User Committees – mobilizing communities; ensuring trainings are well balanced in terms of gender and age; carrying out trainings; keeping records of attendees.
• Regular water quality tests – getting oneself familiar with DelAqua kit; designating sources for analysis (household/water point); collecting samples; incubating samples in the laboratory; presenting results in digital form (Excel file).
• Setting up surface water treatment plants (SWATs).
• Constructing emergency latrines and rehabilitating existing institutional latrines.
• Participation in carrying out WASH assessments and report writing once required.
• Cooperation with the Project Coordinator in general, and specifically in managing procurement and logistics for project-related equipment and material – preparing and revising purchase requests from the technical side; analyzing quantities and quality of material for carrying out activities in accordance with NRC standards.
• Cooperating with the Monitoring and Evaluation team – conducting baseline and post-intervention surveys and any other relevant assessments in the given context.
• Maintaining an accurate record and taking proper care of all field equipment and material stocks for the NRC WASH Team. Representing NRC on different forums (WASH Cluster, specific working groups, etc.),
• Keeping proper records of field expenditures and reporting accordingly.
• Documentation and monitoring of water infrastructure, water point mapping in cooperation with other stakeholders;
• Assessing water points; collaborating with other WASH actors in given location as well as authorities and communities; analyzing the data for further repairs and upgrades
• Writing interventions reports in English using NRC templates.
• Translating programme IEC materials into vernacular or Arabic when required

Critical interfaces

By interfaces, NRC means processes and projects that are interlinked with other departments/units or persons. Relevant interfaces for this position are:

• Project planning: project coordinator.
• Area operations: Logistic support.
• Staff capacity building:  WASH PC, WASH PDU.
• Implementation: PC, WASH officers, incentives workers, pump mechanics, community hygiene promoters.

Scale and scope of position

1. Competencies 

Competencies are important in order for the employee and the organization to deliver desired results. They are relevant for all staff and are divided into the following two categories:

1. Professional competencies 

These are skills, knowledge and experience that are important for effective performance.

Generic professional competencies for this position: 

• Degree or higher diploma in WASH, Civil, hydrological engineering or related field.
• Minimum experiences of 2-3 years of working with humanitarian in WASH or engineering related.
• Ability to mitigate and mediate conflict and disagreement amongst teams.
• Knowledge on how to apply WASH approaches and integrate them into WASH cluster approaches.
• Knowledge on emergency and recovery interventions.
• Fluency in English, both written and verbal.
• Demonstrated previous experience from working in the related position.

Context related skills, knowledge and experience (shall be adapted to the specific position): 

• Ability to plan and lead.
• Experience in representing NRC and participating in meetings such Humanitarian coordination, cluster meetings when delegated.
• Ability to work independently in a result oriented multi-tasking and multi-culture environment and managing conflicts issues.
• Knowledge on prioritization of disadvantaged groups or population (IDPs, marginalized groups, returnee, GBV etc.).
• Flexibility and time management.
• Knowledge of the local language – Arabic and others.
• Knowledge of the local context in the area of operations.
• Knowledge of good practice standards: SPHERE standards.
• Experience in implementing community WASH projects and proven strategic experience.

2. Behavioural competencies (max 6)

These are personal qualities that influence how successful people are in their job. NRC’s Competency Framework states 12 behavioural competencies, and the following are essential for this position:

• Planning and producing results.
• Team spirit and management.
• Empowering others.
• Communicating with respect and impact.
• Team spirit.
• Working insecure environment.

1. Performance Management

The employee will be accountable for the responsibilities and the competencies, in accordance with the NRC Performance Management Manual. The following documents will be used for performance reviews:

• The Job Description.
• The individual Work- and Professional Development Plan.
• The Competency Framework.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Geneva leads NRC’s representation with the IASC and UN agencies, and coordinates donor engagement with the UN and Swiss donors. NRC strives to assist and protect vulnerable and displaced people during crises, especially in situations of conflict. Established in 1946, NRC is an independent, humanitarian, non-profit, non-governmental organisation working in around 31 countries with approximately 14’000 staff. NRC employs a rights based approach, challenging those with responsibility to uphold the rights of displaced people set out within national and International Laws. NRC endeavors to secure the acceptance of local stakeholders for activities and is committed to the principles of humanity, neutrality, independence and impartiality.

NRC seeks to engage with all relevant actors in order to promote the full respect for the rights of displaced and vulnerable people; secure and maintain access for humanitarian operations and promote the achievement of durable solutions. NRC Geneva, with the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC), are NRC’s primary presence in Geneva.