United States of America: Technical Adviser I - Emergency WASH, Humanitarian Response Dept

Organization: Catholic Relief Services
Country: United States of America
Closing date: 31 Dec 2014

Posting Date: 11/3/14

Job Title: Technical Advisor I – Emergency WASH

Location/Dept.: Humanitarian Response Department/HQ-Baltimore or Home of Record

Band: D

FLSA: Exempt

Reports To: Technical Advisor TAII Emergency WASH - Humanitarian Response Department

Req. Number: D2081

About CRS:

Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and as partners people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.

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 that support emergency program planning, rapid response, and capacity strengthening of staff and partners worldwide.

The TA will enhance the emergency WASH capacity of CRS, and provide technical guidance in developing operational frameworks and quality standards in water, sanitation and hygiene promotion programming.

Summary:

The TAI-WASH is responsible for providing technical support to new and ongoing emergency response and recovery program activities of CRS and partners. S/he provides the HRD with additional rapid deployment capabilities in the WASH sector. Tasks during response deployments could include carrying out assessments, designing WASH response strategies, developing and contributing to WASH proposals, and support the startup of WASH programming. As needed s/he will may also deploy to provide support to ongoing emergency response and recovery programs to monitor progress, measure impact and to identify and document best practices and learning. Deployments will vary from two weeks to two-months depending on the needs of the country program. During non-deployment time s/he will provide remote support to WASH programs and work on documenting best practices, capacity building, and engage in other activities to enhance CRS’ learning and be better prepared for future responses

Job Responsibilities:

• Provide technical solutions to CRS country programs and regions through contributions to strategic planning, design, implementation, and the monitoring and evaluation of water supply, sanitation and hygiene components of emergency response programs.
• Provide technical assistance to emergency programs - from the initial response phase to the recovery phase for a determined period of time (maximum of two consecutive months; usually 2-3 weeks). Provide technical assistance for sectorial assessments, intervention strategy development, implementation and management, including project monitoring.
• Design of appropriate hardware systems through technical drawings and BOQ’s for water supply systems, water trucking, gravity fed systems, sanitation facilities (toilets, latrines, septic tanks, drainages, etc.)
• Design appropriate hygiene promotion activities complementary and supportive to relevant hardware implementations including hygiene education, sanitation promotion, hand washing, food and water protection, and hygiene behaviors). Select, design, and upgrade the most appropriate form of sanitation system (to include excreta disposal, vector control, solid waster disposal and drainage) in accordance to SPHERE standards and taking full account of local conditions, resources, customs, and cultural norms.
• 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.
• In consultation with the Country Program Senior Management Team, maintain contact with relevant donor, government, and private organizations (e.g., NGOs including partners, research institutions), and in-country officials for plan input and implementation.
• Lead or support the development and writing of WASH proposals or sections related to WASH within multi-sectoral proposals.
• 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.
• Directly (or indirectly through consultants) conduct rapid program evaluations and support the identification and implementation of any needed corrective actions.
• Support the Technical Advisor TAII Emergency WASH in developing emergency WASH strategy and guidelines for use by CRS agency wide. .
• Keep up-to-date on the latest policies and procedures and to define and disseminate best practices and standards for WASH in emergencies.
• In consultation with the Technical Advisor TAII Emergency WASH design and develop training strategy for CRS and partner emergency program staff in collaboration with relevant members of the HRD, PIQA WASH staff and other WASH professionals in the agency and externally.
• 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
• As requested represent CRS at emergency response programming conferences and fora for the WASH sector. Promote and support CRS active participation in WASH Clusters during L3 emergencies.
• 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: Humanitarian Response Department team members, Regional and Country Program WASH staff and Technical Advisors, and HQ WASH and 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 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.
• Ability to provide technical assistance in multiple regions.
• 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 apply Catholic Social Teaching principles and represent CRS and its programs
• Ability to transfer knowledge through formal and informal training.

Foreign Language Required:

• French in particular is a plus. Arabic or Spanish, also a plus.

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 (40-60%)

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.

EOE/M/F/D/V

How to apply:

Please apply online at CRS,org.