WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (WRM) SPECIALIST

Position:- WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (WRM) SPECIALIST

Location:- Gode

Position Status: Full Time

Number of Position: One

Mercy Corps has been present in Ethiopia since 2004 working to drive bold and transformative ideas, working closely with government, the private sector and civil society actors to build a more resilient country, ensuring that programs are responsive to and influenced by participants and stakeholders. Our vision is to enhance the resilience of climate and conflict-affected communities through market systems development for improved livelihoods, access to food, and safe and clean water to thrive in the face of crises. Our strategy focuses on the four outcome areas of: 1) Economically marginalized populations have improved and diversified livelihoods, income, and assets; 2) Pastoralists, farmers, and households have access to sustainably produced, safe, nutritious food; 3) Social cohesion and inclusive governance processes are built in crisis-affected communities; and 4) People have equitable, sustained access to clean water and sanitation for domestic and productive use.  Currently we operate in the regional states of Afar, Amhara, Gambella, Oromia, Somali, Sidama, Southern Ethiopia, Tigray and Addis Ababa city administration working with a diverse base of donors that includes United States Agency for International Development (USAID), European Union, GAC, Hilton Foundation, United Nations (UN), JOA, Sweden, EKN, and other foundations.

Program / Department Summary

With USAID support, Mercy Corps proposes to activate the RIPA-North Crisis Modifier to implement Crisis Modifier 3 (CM3), an 18-month initiative that will improve water security and livelihood outcomes for more than 14,200 households (85,200 individuals) in Shabelle Zone of Somali Region. Through CM3, RIPA-North will directly contribute to the vision of the government of the Somali Regional State outlined in their Multi-Year Resilience Strategy (MYRS).

Essential Job Responsibilities

• Support and oversee all watershed stakeholder engagement including the establishment and strengthening of rangeland and watershed councils (RWCs) which will serve as a key institution for enhanced community resource management and coordination.
• Organize and facilitate FGDs, validation workshops, consultations, and other stakeholder engagement to:
  • Understand partner communities’ water-related risks, needs, and priorities; and
  • support data gathering for a landscape diagnostic using the Ecosystem Intelligence (EI) platform, which will be used to establish the target catchment’s baseline ecological performance;
• Through an iterative process, and in partnership with program partners and partner communities, support the development of a menu of locally relevant nature-based solutions for quantitative and community prioritization. This will include sourcing detailed information on intervention designs and local costing information and facilitating community consultations and workshops to promote participatory decision-making in water management interventions.
• Lead and facilitate the process for co-designing a comprehensive catchment /landscape management plan based on empirical findings from cost-benefit heat mapping and modeled performance scores.
• Collaborate with government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders to ensure coordinated and effective implementation of water projects.
• Develop and conduct training sessions and workshops to enhance the knowledge and skills of stakeholders in water management practices.
• Where relevant, work with CM3 engineers to oversee the design and implementation of water management infrastructure, ensuring compliance with USAID and GOE requirements and best practices;
• Ensure planned activities are implemented timely and with a high level of technical quality.
• Support the identification of innovative or sustainable financing sources and/or mechanisms to support the long-term implementation of catchment /landscape management.
• Identify opportunities and actively support the integration of programming and activities across CM3 objectives including water supply services improvement and market systems development.
• Design and support capacity-building efforts of RWC stakeholders and local government officials.
• Participate in regular field visits to assess the activities’ implementation progress, give technical advice/mentor, and provide feedback(s) for further improvement.
• Closely work with the Water Security Manager and M&E team to develop and use appropriate monitoring and evaluation tools to track impact and progress against targets.
• Support complementary research and learning initiatives as requested;
• In collaboration with the CM3 team and partners, build and maintain close relationships with key government partners and local implementers.
• Represent Mercy Corps professionally in cluster areas to bring credit and maintain its humanitarian and development mission.
• Prepare regular (weekly, monthly, and quarterly) and ad-hoc reports on project activities, progress, challenges, and outcomes for program management and donor reporting; and
• Other duties as assigned by his/her supervisor.

STRATEGY & VISION

• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
• Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions & resources to achieve objectives and contribute to countrywide strategy development.
• Develop and organize activities to secure resources for programs and convince stakeholders to provide support.

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

• Oversee program startup and ongoing program management and administration of teams across various field locations.
• Ensure that program implementation is responsive to communities and partners and consistent with Mercy Corps’ relevant program guidelines, principles, values, quality standards and strategic plan.
• Ensure that beneficiaries are effectively targeted according to established vulnerability criteria.
• Develop partners’ MoUs and contracts & oversee a training program for program partners.
• Develop program implementation strategies, including partnership frameworks, beneficiary targeting and distribution.
• Integrate community approaches, gender sensitivity, and capacity building into all activities as appropriate.
• Ensure program implementation is on time, target, and within budget, using effective M&E systems to reach desired impacts.
• Create and maintain systems ensuring effective and transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative reporting in line with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures.
• Fulfill Mercy Corps’ Program Management Minimum Standards based on the organization-wide guide.
• Ensure all interventions adhere to Mercy Corps’ Gender Policy, Do No Harm principles, and beneficiary accountability standards.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Develop the capacity of the team, deepen understanding of their roles and assist with career development.
• Assist team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance & reach objectives.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on ones and performance reviews.
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Hire, orient and lead team members as necessary.

FINANCE & COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT

• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to emergency programming.
• Draft and/or review the scope of work to hire and manage any technical consultants, including review for technical efficacy and contract budget.

INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION

• Collaborate with government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders to ensure coordinated and effective implementation of water projects.
• Represent Mercy Corps to all Platforms in the region and influence them.

GEDSI (GENDER, EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL INCLUSION)

• Adherence of gender minimum standards
• Allocate budget for GESI related activities and staff capacity building on GESI
• Make sure GESI issues are properly reflected during program management
• Support the organization’s commitment to age and gender inclusive team building process
• Promote an inclusive and equitable workplace culture
• Support Staff Capacity Building on Increase staff knowledge of GEDSI
• Coordinate with GEDSI Technical Team Improve gender-responsiveness of program /Project MEAL system
• Increased commitment to Gender Equality Diversity and Social inclusion

Supervisory Responsibility

Project officers, assistants, and daily laborers or enumerators

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Water Security Manager

Technical Line Report to Senior Engineer, Team Lead

Works Directly with Water supply engineers, MSD team, CLA team, and Administration/operations team.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Knowledge and Experience

• Minimum of bachelor’s degree in at least one of the following: water resource management, environmental science, environmental management, hydrology, conservation, economics, ecology, or other related subject;
• Minimum of 4 years’ experience in the private or public sector working to strengthen ecological management and community-level capacity to manage natural resources sustainably;

• Strong understanding of water management principles, sustainable development, and community engagement approaches. Strong preference for candidates with working knowledge of nature-based solutions;
• Proven experience in designing and executing community-based resource management projects, including infrastructure development and capacity building;

• Demonstrated experience in stakeholder engagement, watershed management, and community-driven solutions;
• Excellent facilitation, interpersonal, and communication skills for working and engaging with diverse stakeholders;

• Proficiency in relevant software and tools for data analysis and project management is highly desirable;
• Fluency in English and Somali (spoken and written); knowledge of other local languages is a plus;
• Ability to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team in challenging field conditions;
• Experience working in crisis-affected or challenging environments is a plus.

Success Factors

• Fluent in English and local language for the location applied: Somali (capable in all require basic skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing);
• Business minded, entrepreneurial, curious, great problem solving skills, unafraid to ask questions, and results motivated;
• Excellent communication, presentation, facilitation and networking skills with a wide range of actors across geographical areas;
• Computer literate especially in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

All qualified individuals are invited to apply for the advertised position. All applications, including a CV, three references, and all applicable official papers, must be sent electronically.

Only candidates that are short-listed will be acknowledged and called for interviews.

“Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer promoting gender, equity and    diversity. Qualified female and young candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. We are committed to empower women and youth.”

DEADLINE FOR ALL APPLICATIONS: 23 November 2023/ 4:00 PM