Syria: WASH and Rehabilitation Coordinator

Sep 26, 2023 | Action Against Hunger
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Action Against Hunger is a global humanitarian organization that takes decisive action against the causes and effects of hunger. It saves the lives of malnourished children. It ensures families can access clean water, food, training, and health care. It enables entire communities to be free from hunger. With nearly 8,000 staff in more than 45 countries, its programs reached 20.2 million people in 2017. The world needs a better way to deal with hunger. Together, Action Against Hunger is creating it. For everyone, for good.

The Role

  • Provide strategic leadership to the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme with focus on strengthening the quality of the WASH programme. 
  • Represent Action Against Hunger in relevant external coordination meetings (WASH Sector meetings and relevant Sub-Sectors, Technical Working Groups, Donors Meetings, national and local authorities, and WASH partners).
  • Strength and develop AAH WASH component in Syria at technical, managerial, operational, and strategic level, including significant participation in identifying new potential interventions.
  • Build technical capacity of the WASH team on WASH and rehabilitation interventions (including cross-cutting and multisectoral support) to guarantee evidence-based planning and implementation of the projects, as well as support for future interventions.
  • Lead the development and design of AAH WASH strategy in the country together with the technical coordinators and wider Programmes team, as well as Support teams.
  • Ensure the integration of the WASH programme with Health, Nutrition and FSL sectors
  • Ensure compliance with global WASH standards, SPHERE standards, AAH WASH technical policy and good practices.

Key activities in this role will include

Objective 1: Provide strategic leadership to the WASH programme design and technically support implementation

  • Provide strategic leadership with focus on strengthening the quality of the WASH programme encompassing emergency response, preparedness, resilience, and early recovery.
  • Provide strategic and technical leadership of any rehabilitation in the overall Syria programme, including in FSL and Health and Nutrition programming 
  • Providing technical oversight, including monitoring of implemented works and quantities, in all rehabilitation works performed in Syria and in all sectors, to ensure quality, timely implementation and compliance of work performed (by contracted parties)
  • In close coordination with other technical sectors, provide leadership and technical support to the WASH team, team to reach a solid contextual understanding of community’s needs with special attention to the most vulnerable groups’ needs, as well as power dynamics.
  • Responsible for leading the design and drafting technically – sound WASH project proposals for funding, including coaching WASH team members on conducting needs assessments and project design.
  • Contribute to the development of multi-sectorial programming, including the country strategy thorough understanding and contextualizing the links between WASH and the other sectors (Health and Nutrition, Food Security and Agriculture, and Livelihoods), as well as between WASH and cross-cutting issues, including Gender, Protection, Environment, and Conflict Sensitivity as they impact WASH programming. 
  • Work closely with the MEAL team to enhance accountability, ensure that feedbacks and lessons learned feed into programme adaptation, design technical methodologies to effectively monitoring and evaluating the WASH programme.
  • Provide strategic and technical advice to implementation teams to envisage creative solutions to the delivery and monitoring of WASH services, in both accessible and inaccessible areas.

Objective 2: Capacity Building

  • Participate together with the HR Department and line managers in the recruitment of WASH staff.
  • Participate in the design of WASH job adverts and job descriptions. 
  • Technical matrix-manage the WASH team.
  • Contribute to the identification of capacity building needs for WASH team members and develop learning opportunities using the most appropriate approach.
  • Support technical capacity building assessment, planning and initiatives of relevant external stakeholders (LNGOs, Ministry of Water Resources).
  • Participate in the promotion of a correct and efficient information flow between WASH team members and other members of the AAH Syria mission.
  • Promote AAH mandate, strategy, procedures, and internal regulations within the WASH team.
  • Conduct technical WASH capacity assessments of local organisations collaborating with AAH and contribute to their capacity building.

Objective 3: Reporting and Capitalization

  • Lead the WASH components of monthly sitreps, ensure the accuracy of Clusters 4Ws, reviewing internal and external reports including donor reports. 
  • Document lessons learned, best practices and case studies to shape in-country strategies and programmatic approaches, and contribute to broader sector learning; conduct lessons learned workshops on technical themes. 
  • Capitalize all the WASH project experiences and lessons learned.

Objective 4: Contribute to programme quality standards

  • Develop guidelines and tools for key intervention identified in AAH-Syria Technical Programmatic Framework, to ensure AAH, CORE Humanitarian Standard, SPHERE standards and any other relevant international standard is followed during the whole project cycle. 
  • Uphold humanitarian principles and AAH principles at all stages of WASH programming and provide pragmatic guidance to the WASH team on this matter to support their principled decision making.
  • Effectively collaborate with other technical departments and field-based teams to ensure the integration of the WASH programme within the whole programme as per AAH’s standards.
  • Provide technical support to operational staff for the implementation of WASH and rehabilitation activities in Syria – including ensuring coherence, standardized approaches, programme quality, and integration with other sectors across the WASH programme.
  • Ensure that the programme is inclusive of marginalised and vulnerable individuals and communities, that it promotes the full and equal participation of women and that accountability to affected communities is central to the ways of working.
  • Develop cross cutting themes framework (Gender, Protection, Environmental Sustainability, Conflict Sensitivity) within the WASH portfolio 
  • Coach and support the WASH team in ensuring cross cutting themes are embedded in the implementation: Safeguarding, Protection and Gender mainstreaming including risk analysis, conflict sensitivity mainstreaming and environmental considerations are taken into account.
  • Function as one of Syria mission’s Gender and Protection Focal Points, which includes supporting mission staff internally with the tasks of:
  • Supporting and encouraging the achievement of the Gender Minimum Standards (GMS), and
  • Promoting gender-related initiatives (sensitization sessions, events around international days, gender talks, etc.). 
  • Develop and revise in collaboration with the MEAL team the methodologies and tools for monitoring and evaluation. 
  • Provide technical support in the development and implementation of national programme evaluations, learning events and specific WASH programme related research activities.
  • Provide technical support to Health and Nutrition, Food Security and Livelihoods interventions on common areas of work as WASH in health care facilities, hygiene promotion, and irrigation infrastructure, among others.

Objective 5: Coordinate with support Departments

  • Contribute to the application of the log/kit forms and procedures pertaining to the supply chain, procurement, transport/movement.
  • Participate in the design of new budgets related to WASH activities, in collaboration with Field Coordinators, Program Managers and base WASH staff.
  • Coordinate with support departments in the planning and technical support of WASH interventions
  • In coordination with the safety and security department, keeps in mind the security constraints of the area of operations for the design and implementation of the programs.
  • Coordinate with Logistics to ensure that WASH and rehabilitation-related procurement, tendering and contracts are of adequate technical standards, cost effective, timely and appropriate to the context.  

Objective 6: Representation and Coordination

  • Actively participate in WASH cluster meetings and relevant technical working groups.
  • Represent WASH programming on a technical level to donors
  • Effectively coordinate with external humanitarian WASH actors intervening on regular and emergency interventions.
  • Develop and maintain relationships with key WASH stakeholders at technical level, including donors, government authorities and international agencies.
  • Influence key decision makers on sound technical solutions to overcome WASH challenges based on evidence 
  • Contribute to advocacy efforts in WASH and rehabilitation-related matters

Qualifications

  • Degree and/or master’s degree in water engineering, civil engineering, public health or international development. Technical background/training is desirable.
  • Solid project cycle management knowledge 
  • Proved experience in proposal writing and strategic planning
  • Technical knowledge in implementing WaSH emergency intervention
  • Good experience in reporting
  •  Knowledge of the Middle East context desirable.
  • Previous experience in the humanitarian field as coordinator or similar (at least 3 years) and preferably with AAH and in Middle East; 
  • Good experience in working with local/national partners, Ministries, experience in implementing WaSH emergency interventions and capacity building for partners.
  • English (compulsory working language, fluent spoken, read and written); Arabic (preferable but not required).
  • IT systems:Windows domain, Compulsory expertise in Excel
  • Mobility (national/ international)

Action Against Hunger seeks to promote gender equality and is committed to empowering women to participate effectively in their communities, it strongly encourages women to apply.

 AAH strongly encourages people with disabilities to apply.

Action Against Hunger has a zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation, sexual harassment, and abuse (SEA)

AAH remuneration package:

AAH offers immediate incorporation to a dynamic international network with the following competitive remuneration package:

  • Base: Damascus
  • Formal work contract: 12 months contract
  • Salary: according to Action Against Hunger salary scale and according to candidate’s previous experience
  • Action Against Hunger – Spain remuneration system allows a salary progression based on the annual development appraisal. 
  • This packaged includes:
    • Expatriate insurance (health, live, repatriation, travel, etc.)
    • Yearly holiday return flight ticket
    • Accommodation and housing expenses (in a shared guest house)
    • Travel costs to and from the mission.
    • 25 working days of paid leave per year
    • Break on 6 or 8 weeks cycle: additional rest period of 5 working days, including a lump sum for travel cost to a reference area and economic contribution. 
    • Extra benefit per month and per child (Under 18 years old – according to standard list of Action Against Hunger – Spain). 
  • Candidates may be contacted for other suitable positions within Action Against Hunger.
  • Due to the high number of application received, only potential applicants will be contacted.

Given the urgency of this position, the vacancy may close on or before the deadline.

In the process of recruitment, selection and appointment Action Against Hunger implement a range of procedures and actions including Criminal Background Checks/International vetting/Certificate of good conduct to ensure children and vulnerable adults are safeguarded and abuse is prevented.

Action Against Hunger provides equal opportunities to candidates regardless of their origin, nationality, race, gender, regional and sexual orientation. This vision aims to integrate equal treatment and opportunities among females and males in all HR processes and policies within the organization.

Action against Hunger is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behaviour at work such as but not limited to sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse, lack of integrity and/or financial misconduct; AAH expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through endorsing its code of conduct and other related policies and only those who share its values and code of conduct will be recruited to work for AAH.

Duration : 12 months


Start date : 01-Oct-2023