Background

Swiss Church Aid/HEKS is the aid organization of the Protestant Churches of Switzerland and has its headquarters in Zurich/Switzerland. Swiss Church Aid/ HEKS works towards a more humane and more equitable world, assisting people and communities to overcome economic, social or humanitarian disparities in order to gain autonomy and to live with dignity both in Switzerland and abroad. Therefore, Swiss Church Aid/ HEKS engage in development cooperation, humanitarian aid and church cooperation and works in more than 30 countries and runs around 200 projects world-wide. Swiss Church Aid/ HEKS is a member of the ACT Alliance.

In Ethiopia, Swiss Church Aid/ HEKS has programs with focus on Natural Resources Management, WASH, and Inclusive Markets for Smallholder Pastoralists and Farmers and Humanitarian Assistance for drought and conflict affected communities.

Job overview

The Sanitation and Hygiene Officer will be part of HEKS/Swiss Church AID’s  WASH field team responsible for overall implementation of  Emergency WASH Response in Cholera, Drought and Conflict affected IDPs/Returnees and Host Communities in Moyale Woreda of Borena Zone, Oromia Region.

The overall objective of this project is to enhance the health status of cholera and drought-affected communities in target kebelles of Moyale woreda in Borena Zone, Oromia Region through improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene services.

The purpose of the position is to provide technical support in design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of hygiene and sanitation components of HEKS/Swiss Church AID’s Emergency WASH response in Borana. This position will directly reports to Field Office Coordinator and will works closely with Project WASH engineer, CO WASH coordinator and other CO and field teams. He/she also works with and establish relationships with community, local government and kebelle leaders to identify priority needs, beneficiary targeting, joint monitoring and post distribution monitoring of the project deliverables.

Major Responsibilities

• Develop detailed work plan and implement the project activities (hygiene and sanitation activities) as specified in the work plan.
• Coordinate with WASH field staff to ensure that the various aspects of the WASH activities are integrated.
• Develop hygiene promotion topics, prepare simple training modules and carry out training activities for health extension staff, hygiene promoters and the community on basic sanitation, proper water storage and use, hygienic food handling, proper disposal of waste, cleaning of public places and eradication of other hazards to sanitation;
• Develop Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials on safe WASH practices, including appropriate use of WASH facilities and WASH NFIs,
• Ensure that action is taken to mitigate priority water and sanitation related health risks and lead hygiene education training sessions
• Hold meetings with target beneficiaries and promote awareness on water sanitation and hygiene
• Conduct and closely monitor the distribution of WASH NFIs; carry out post distribution monitoring (PDM)
• Supervise activities related to hygiene promotion activities, (home to home visits, promotion of household latrines, hygiene mass campaigns, etc.) community counselling and education
• Facilitate targeting of eligible beneficiaries and ensure project deliverables are reaching the target community.
• Support water quality assessment and disinfection of sources as required
• Provides advice regarding procurement of WASH supplies including chemicals, detergents and kits;
• Monitor and follow up progress against project work plan; promptly identifying any current or potential challenges
• Prepare weekly and/or monthly reports as deemed necessary and submit to the supervisor
• Works closely with stakeholders in the dissemination of life saving health/hygiene related materials/information;
• Closely work with all SCA/HEKS field team on how to integrate and align the Emergency WASH response with other SCA/HEKS initiatives  and priorities
• Fully comply with SCA/ HEKS safety and security procedures and provide input to security monitoring and assessments to enable and promote a safe and secure environment for project implementation

Other duties

The position holder is managed by the field project coordinator and is responsible for any other duties as assigned by line manager.

Type of Appointment: Five (5) month fixed term contract.

Education: BSC in Environmental Health Science, Hygiene and/or Sanitation or equivalent combination of education and work experience.

Work Experience:  3-4 years of relevant experience in the area of hygiene and sanitation in rural areas. Preferably with an NGO setting

Desirable Qualities, Skill and Competences

• Demonstrated experience in emergency WASH response
• Excellent communication skills, both written and spoken in English and Afan Oromo is required.
• Excellent communication and coordination skill, preferably with the community and woreda line departments government
• Ability to understand financial requirements of a project and to manage activities in line with project budget
• Gender-sensitive and experience with inclusive approaches (work with people with disabilities, extremely poor families, minorities and other marginalized groups
• Ability to understand the cultural context of the pastoral community and use that culture as an input for community mobilization.
• Good level of computer literacy and ability to generate timely and quality reports
• Accountability & responsiveness within areas of responsibilities,
• Passionate, strongly dedicated and highly committed to work for the improvement of the poor community
• Knowledge of local contexts and operational areas.
• Knowledge and experience of the application of SPHERE links to emergency and longer-term development practice