Technical Advisor I – Emergency WASH

Dec 5, 2016 | Catholic Relief Services
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Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Within CRS the Humanitarian Response Department (HRD) provides leadership and support to CRS emergency programming. The HRD strengthens CRS’ impact through high quality, innovative programs; improved technical and management capacity at the field level; and active engagement in global efforts to promote excellence and learning in humanitarian response. The HRD has technical staff who support emergency program planning, rapid response, and capacity strengthening of staff and partners worldwide.  The Technical Advisor (TA) will enhance the emergency, recovery and DRR WASH capacity of CRS, and provide technical guidance in developing operational frameworks and quality standards in water, sanitation and hygiene promotion programming. 

Summary of key responsibilities of the TA1-WASH:

  • Responsible for providing technical support to CRS and partners’ WASH emergency responses, recovery and DRR programs. 
  • Provide technical guidance in developing operational frameworks and quality standards for water, sanitation and hygiene promotion programs. 
  • During non-deployment time he/she will provide remote support to WASH programs and work on documenting best practices, capacity building, and engage in other activities to enhance CRS’ capacity, innovation and effectiveness of WASH programs.

Job Responsibilities:
1. Provide technical assistance to emergency and recovery programs. Tasks during deployments could include:

  • Design and carry out WASH assessments to identify needs and appropriate interventions.
  • Provide technical solutions to CRS country programs through contributions to strategic planning, design, proposal development, budgeting, implementation, and monitoring/evaluation of water supply, sanitation and hygiene/public health components of emergency response, recovery, DRR and development programs.

2. The TA1-WASH will be expected to be able to:

  • Design appropriate hardware systems through technical drawings and BOQ’s for water supply systems/schemes, water distributions strategies
  • Design water systems including source selection (ground water, surface water, rainwater), abstraction, storage, treatment, distribution and water quality surveillance for new systems and/or the rehabilitation of old systems.
  • Design sanitation solutions (excreta disposal, waste water treatment, solid waste solutions, drainages, vector control, other) 
  • Design appropriate Hygiene Promotion activities complementary and supportive to relevant hardware implementations including KAP surveys, hygiene education, and environmental health approaches

3. Identify and document best practices and learning from WASH interventions

4. Ensure WASH strategies and activities adheres to CRS ERR Strategic Guidance, SPHERE, WHO and other international standards and taking full account of local conditions, resources, customs and cultural norms.

5. Integrates WASH and Shelter activities and use market based program approaches to resolve WASH needs when appropriate.

6. Monitor progress and measure the impact of WASH interventions and support the identification and implementation of any needed corrective actions.

7. In consultation with Country Program Senior Management Team, maintain contact with relevant donor, government, WASH Cluster and private organizations (e.g., NGOs including partners, research institutions).

8. Work collaboratively with Country Program staff and partners and provide on-the-job training as needed. Help with local/national emergency WASH staffing in terms of contributing to the development of SOWs and JDs, and assessing, interviewing and selecting candidates.

9. Support HRD WASH Team in consolidating Minimum WASH Requirements for emergencies and WASH strategy and guidelines for use by CRS agency wide.

10. Keep up-to-date on the latest policies and procedures and to define and disseminate best practices and standards for WASH in emergencies.

11. Designs and develops strategic trainings for CRS and partner emergency program staff in collaboration with relevant members of the HRD and other WASH professionals in the agency as well as externally.

12. Identify WASH training needs and requirements for emergency program staff in country programs, regions and HQ and lead the design and facilitation of the training

13. As requested by manager represent CRS at emergency response programming conferences and fora for the WASH sector.  Promote and support CRS active participation in WASH Clusters during emergencies.  

14. Support ongoing collaboration with relevant donor and research institutions through relationship building and information sharing as the opportunities arise.

Emergency Competencies: Each CRS staff member working in emergencies is expected to use the following competencies to fulfill his or her responsibilities and to achieve the desired results.

  • Communicates strategically under pressure
  • Manages stress and complexity
  • Actively promotes safety and security
  • Manages and implements high-quality emergency programs

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff): These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.

  • Serves with Integrity
  • Models Stewardship
  • Cultivates Constructive Relationships
  • Promotes Learning

Key Working Relationships: Internal:  HRD staff, PIQA WASH staff, DRD PQs, field based WASH staff, Heads of Programs, PIQA health staff. External: Local and international NGOs involved in emergency support, cluster leads, partners, donors, research institutions and private sector companies, as appropriate.

Qualifications:

  • A Bachelor’s degree is required. Master's in Water and Sanitation Engineering, Civil Engineering, Hydrology, Hydrogeology, Environmental Engineering and Public Health or a related field strongly preferred. 
  • Three to five years of relevant international experience in an advisory or management role for WASH programming, with preferably three to four years working in the field contributing to or managing WASH projects.
  • Demonstrated knowledge of best practices for water supply, sanitation and hygiene in emergency programs. 
  • Knowledge of emergency and recovery WASH programming including access to and provision of safe drinking water, practical and effective sanitation solutions, and behavior change though hygiene and public health promotion.
  • Previous experience developing successful proposals for external donor funding. Strong technical writer.
  • Capable of leading the development of monitoring and evaluation reports, learning documents, and technical papers.
  • Familiarity with current standards and guidelines for water supply, sanitation and hygiene in humanitarian emergency response, in particular Sphere Standards.
  • Good understanding of and experience coordinating with the WASH cluster mechanism in humanitarian crises.
  • Excellent interpersonal diplomacy and negotiating skills and ability to manage conflict and move groups towards consensus.
  • Strong interpersonal and communications skills.  
  • Strong understanding of relationship management best practices. 
  • Ability to relate to people at all levels of the organization and with diverse partner organization staff.
  • Ability to work well as a member of a team.
  • Capacity building experience and skills – understanding and use of adult learning techniques.
  • Proactive and solution oriented. Seeks innovative, practical and cost effective solutions that are culturally appropriate, and makes use of locally available human and material resources.
  • Strong PC skills (MS Office) and ability to use computer-based applicant tracking systems
  • Ability to transfer knowledge through formal and informal training.  

Foreign Language Required:

  •  English and French are required languages for this position.
  • Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese are advantageous. 

Physical Requirements/Environment:

  • Ability to live and work in disaster affected areas
  • Ability to deploy on short notice (within 48-72 hours) when needed
  • Willingness and ability to travel overseas as required (50/60%)

Note: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skills, efforts, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

Equal Opportunity Employer