Water & Sanitation Officer

Requisition ID: req47183

Job Title: Water & Sanitation Officer

Sector: Environmental Health

Employment Category: Fixed Term

Employment Type: Full-Time

Open to Expatriates: No

Location: Lodwar, Kenya

Work Arrangement:

Job Description

The International Rescue Committee(IRC) responds to the worlds worst humanitarian crises and helps people whoselives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive,recover, and gain control of their lives. The IRC has been working in Kenyasince 1992, providing crucial services across the two refugee camps, Dadaab andKakuma, and a number of counties (Garissa, Turkana, West Pokot, Samburu,Kajiado, Lamu and Nairobi) implementing programs in the sectors of health,nutrition, governance & rights, womens protection & empowerment,Economic Recovery and Development, as well as providing emergency responsethrough a network of field offices and a range of institutional andcommunity-based partnerships.

Position Summary:

The role of WATSAN Officer is toensure successful implementation and supervision of community based watersupply and sanitation interventions in the target areas. Additionally, thisposition will support development of staff and community capacity building inwater supply and sanitation operation, maintenance and management, participatein mobilization of WASH resources and ensure implementation is done in closecollaboration with program staff, the local community, the Local authority andother relevant agencies. The role will also involve to a large-scale technicaldesigns of various WASH infrastructures, estimation of costs, supportdevelopment of tender documents, bid review and evaluations, and generalconstruction contract management and discharge in accordance with IRC and GoKacceptable standards and specifications. During implementation of projectsactivities, the Officer will be required to provide feedback to relevantproject partners and the Local authorities with an aim of improving overall WASHprogram quality.

Main Responsibilities

The WATSAN Officer will identifyand assess the key needs of WASH facilities and services to be addressed andwhom to engage and develop an appropriate implementation strategy to eitherconstruct, rehabilitate or repair such facilities. They will ensure that anengagement approach to working with communities and the local authorities,other partners is employed and all activities are carried out in a way that iscritical to community needs and promotes the full and equal participation ofwomen, men, children and youth. Primary responsibilities include:

Project Planning and Design

• Spearhead rapid/field needsassessment including Baseline surveys in WASH activities and determine mosttechnically appropriate water supply and sanitation options.
• Design and develop relevantspecifications for WASH infrastructure including design reports, drawings,bills of quantities, technical specifications.
• Lead in the proposal developmentfor potential water supply, sanitation and hygiene interventions.
• Support in undertakingTopographical Surveys and GIS activities, feasibility studies, water resourcemapping, EIA support.

Project Implementation

• Preparation of tender documentsincluding technical specifications, bill of quantities, drawings, and terms ofreference.
• Supervise construction, repair andrehabilitation of water supplies systems and sanitation facilities in strictadherence to the Kenya government regulations, WHO and the SPHERE standard.
• In collaboration with the WASHofficer hygiene, support implementation of hygiene promotion activitiesensuring that technical and social aspects of water supply and sanitation areintegrated.
• Working with the WASH Officer Hygiene Promotion facilitate training WMCs, other Community structures (SMCs,CHWs, CHEWs, Youth Groups) and local authorities on operation/maintenance,management, and sustainability of WASH infrastructure.
• Build the capacity of staff, CBOs,and Water Users Committees to effectively run WASH facilities.

Project Monitoring and Evaluation

• Supervise WASH activities instrict adherence to IRC Kenya, Kenya government regulations, the donorsguideline, and the SPHERE standards.
• Ensure timely delivery of projectsactivities and successful completion of construction works with submission ofcompletion certificates to the Contractors.
• Ensure that up to date projectdocuments are in place including approved work plans, log frame, detailedproject implementation plan and financial forecasts Documentation of lessonslearnt and good practices.
• Supervision of the constructionprocesses of different water infrastructures to their completion including testpumping, interpretation of the test pumping data and water testing.
• Support in the development andimplementation of water safety and disaster risk management plans for the watersupply projects.

Fundraising and Networking

• Support in the development oftechnically sound proposals.

Reporting

• Develop and deliver in a timelymanner progress reports, monthly, quarterly, semi- annual and end of projectsreports.in accordance with donors and IRC Kenya requirements.
• Support development, monitoringand evaluation WASH project indicators and standards.
• Provide regular update reports onwater supply and sanitation activities and program progress against work planas maybe required.
• Maintain an up to-date activitytracking tool (soft copies and hard copies) of all water supply and sanitationinfrastructure related activities.
• Actively participate ininter-sectoral activities.
• Support WASH department in other tasks,roles and, responsibilities as may be assigned to by the supervisor.

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent experience inWater Engineering, Civil and structural Engineering, or related field. Aminimum of Three years experience working/programming in WASH, emergencies,relief, or development including implementing a large-scale community-basedwater and sanitation project with evidence of successful implementation ofsimilar projects.

Required Experience & Competencies:

• Minimum of 3 years relevant workexperience in ASAL.
• Strong skills in construction andsupervision of water supply and sanitation facilities crucial.
• Demonstrated skills in technicaldesign and costing of civil engineering works related to community-based watersupply and sanitation facilities.
• Experience in community engagementapproaches, participatory approaches, and community negotiation.
• Excellent verbal and writtencommunication skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills andability to establish and maintain effective working relations with a team.
• Ability to conduct community WASHneeds assessment, program planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluationof WASH activities.
• Good understanding of SPHERE andother humanitarian standards.
• Good computer application skills(MS-Office, CAD, application software to engineering designs)
• Experience working inmulti-cultural (particularly pastoralists in Northern Kenya),multi-disciplinary staff will be an advantage.

Standards of ProfessionalConduct: The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principlesoutlined in the IRC Way Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, andAccountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforcespolicies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, ChildSafeguarding, Harassment-Free Workplace, Fiscal Integrity, Anti-Retaliation,Combating Trafficking in Persons and several others.

Gender Equality: IRC iscommitted to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offerbenefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in ourworkforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols andother supportive benefits and allowance.

Kenyan nationals are encouragedto apply. International allowances are not available for this position. Salaryand employee benefits are compliant to the Kenyan NGO Sector.

IRC is an Equal OpportunityEmployer and considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard torace, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, maritalstatus, veteran status or disability.

Disclaimer:

Please take note thatInternational Rescue Committee (IRC) does not ask for any fees in connectionwith its recruitment processes.