West Africa: WASH Project Manager

Dec 16, 2015 | International Rescue Committee
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The International Rescue Committee, one of the world's largest humanitarian agencies, provides relief, rehabilitation and post-conflict reconstruction support to victims of natural disaster, oppression and violent conflict in 42 countries. The IRC is committed to bold leadership, innovation and creative partnerships. Active in public health, education, livelihoods, women's empowerment, youth development, and protection and promotion of rights, IRC assists people from harm to home.

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is unprecedented in scale and in the response required. No previous outbreak has had as many confirmed cases, or as wide of a geographic spread. The situation is complicated by the porous nature of the regions' borders, inaccessibility of the terrain and the presence of multiple active sites of transmission. The outbreak in Sierra Leone started in May 2014 and has rapidly spread due to pourous borders, insufficient contact tracing, community fears and misperceptions.

Currently the IRC is the lead organziaiton in the Ebola Response Consoritum (ERC) comprised of ten international NGOs. The ERC are currently implementing a project to support improved Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) at government hospitals. A core aspect of this project involves improving WASH infrastructure at district government hospitals. The IRC are directly implementing this project to support Bo government hospital in Bo districts.

SCOPE OF WORK:

The project manager will be the focal point for the project's WASH intervention, providing technical oversight and management for all WASH elements of the project. Working with MoHS colleagues, the WASH project manager will take the lead on improving the WASH infrastructure at the Bo government hospital. As well as supervising and coordinating required WASH infrastructural improvements, the project manager will also work closely with the IRC IPC team, including the IPC manager and IPC nurse mentor to support the design and implementation of WASH specific training for hospital staff.

The WASH project manager will be supported by the hospital management team and IPC committee, IRC field teams, country health coordinator, and will also have access to the IRC environmental health technical advisor at the health unit in the IRC Nairobi Office.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • Lead assessments of WASH infrastructure at the the Bo Government hospital and draft detailed implementation plans to achieve the project's WASH objectives
  • Manage rehabilitation and construction activies for Bo Government hospital including water supply, latrines/toilets, drains and sewage systems and health-care waste managmenent infrastructure
  • Develop and implement SOPs and protocols on core hospital WASH activities, and develop specific monitoring tools
  • In-conjunction with the IPC leads, conduct WASH training for hospital staff
  • Attend hospital IPC committee meetings
  • Provide technical assistance and guidance to local partners
  • Production and submission of project reports, as well as accurate budgets and budget revisions for the project

REQUIREMENTS (Essential):

  • Qualifications in a discipline related to WASH, Civil engineering, and/or environmental health
  • Minimum of 3 years professional WASH technical experience
  • Experience of working in African settings
  • Excellent knowledge of infection prevention control protocols, as wel as relevant standards and guidelines for WASH in health facilities
  • Demonstrated experience working with multiple partners and stakeholders
  • Strong interpersonal and verbal communication skills
  • Innovative and resourceful, with an ability to make solutions work in adverse conditions with limited resources

REQUIREMENTS (Desirable):

  • Experience in delivering WASH training
  • Experience in engineering and construction wihtin an African setting an advantage