Background:

The International Rescue Committee, one of the world’s largest humanitarian international NGOs, provides relief, rehabilitation and development support to vulnerable people and communities over 30 countries. We began work in Ethiopia in 2000 in response to severe drought in Ethiopia’s Somali region and are currently providing assistance to Ethiopians and refugees in six regions in Ethiopia, implementing emergency and development programs in health, water and sanitation, economic recovery and development (ERD), women’s protection and empowerment, education, child protection, and multi-sectoral emergency response.

Summary Statement of the Job and Detail Responsibilities

Under a joint supervision of the Senior EH Manager and Camp Manager (administratively), the Environmental Health Officer involves in planning, management and monitoring & evaluation of the water systems, sanitation infrastructures and capacity building of staff and volunteer refugees in Benishangul Gumuz Region, Gure-Shembolla RC. The officers responsible for the construction of WASH facilities and management of water supply system and operation in coordination with Water Technician. The position requires strong project and grant management skill, including the accurate management of the financial, material, and other resources under the program.

Detailed Responsibilities

Water Supply:

• Run the operation & maintenance/installation of WASH facilities including new construction, rehabilitation, expansion, facilitation in site selection & supervision for water well drilling, design for pipe lying, procurement & design for generators and pumps, follow-up the supply of electromechanical equipment etc.
• Ensure the proper operation and maintenance of motorized boreholes, river intake system, hand-dug wells, springs and rainwater supply systems at the Refugee Camp, transit centers and host community villages.
• Lead all aspects of water quality testing activities for turbidity and free chlorine residual.
• Coordinate with water technician and ensure the daily data for water production and quality is gathered and recorded is kept in soft and hard copies in the refugee camp and transit centers if any.
• Organize and facilitate for timely response to any water supply system breakdowns in the refugee camp and transit centers in coordination with the water technician and ensure that water supply is not disrupted.
• Produce all the necessary designs and bills of quantities, specification, drawings for the water system and prepare follow-up schedules and implement throughout the construction phase.
• Participate in emergency need assessment in the EH/WASH sector when required for the refugee and host community program.
• Supervise all outsourced construction activities for WASH facility construction and ensure the design and constructed facilities met the UNHCR & IRC standards.
• Initiate procurements as per IRC procedure and follow up the delivery of supplies required for construction of WASH facilities including building materials, generator sets, pumps, control panel, sanitation construction materials and pipes & fittings for sustainable operation of the system etc.
• Creative to bring long lasting, low cost and acceptable sanitation facilities design & implementation with innovative manner.
• Prepare Activity, Procurement & Spending plan for active EH grants and monitor the activity implementation and budget expenditure accordingly.
• Ensures that all refugee EH projects are implemented in a timely and professional manner (IRC standards), according to goal, objectives, and indicators and in line with donor requirements and beneficiary needs.
• Consistently review real-time budget monitoring system, BvA, follow-up budget expenditure against plan and ensure efficient budget utilization for EH active grants.
• Draft and share weekly and monthly progress reports in collaboration with the Hygiene Promotion & Water Technician Officers.
• Facilitate and coordinate in documenting EH related data and promotion records with soft and hard copies.
• Ensure the appropriate management of EH items at warehouse and liaise with the supply chain to ensure that bi-weekly checks are made on camp store stock records.
• Act as the focal person for all activities, participate on meetings regarding EH activities in the refugee camp as advised by supervisors.
• Perform other tasks as assigned by supervisors.

Staff Management

• Liaises with HR/Admin, Supply Chain and Finance Departments to ensure smooth operations of activities and procedural recruitment of skilled personnel, social incentive workers and other EH staff for the implementation of the program.
• Directly supervise a construction team assigned for refugee Camp WASH facility development.
• Assists and facilitate in the orientation of newly recruited camp based EH staff on behalf of EH team.
• Prepare annual Performance Goal, provide bi-annual Performance Evaluation report, and conduct joint evaluation with supervisors.

• University Degree in Hydraulic, Water Resource, Water Supply, Civil Engineering, and related engineering fields and 3 years of shown experience with first degree or 2 years for post graduate degree holders,
• Experience in Water Supply, Hygiene and Sanitation promotion activities, preferably in a humanitarian setting at refugee camp, transit centers & post conflict areas.
• Confirmed experience in project planning, management, monitoring and evaluation.
• Experience in interaction with other implementing partners in the camp context.
• Have knowledge of national WASH strategies and standards related to local community WASH access.
• Strong mentorship, advisory and sharing capacity for supervisee.
• Ability to work under pressure in a potentially unstable security environment within different contexts.

Skills Required

• Basic supervisory/managerial skill.
• Technical report writing skill.
• Computer literate.
• Proficient in spoken and written English.
• Good communication and interpersonal skill.
• Knowledge & skill of EPANET, AUTOCAD, WATERCAD and other engineering software.