Shelter Program Officer at Mercy Corps

Reference Number: MDG/HUMOPS/2018/00050
Locations: Bama and Gwoza - Borno

Program / Department Summary

• With the insurgency affecting North East Nigeria and displacing millions of people, some of the LGAs are retaken by the Nigerian Military in last couple of months where return has begun. Mercy Corps is expanding its humanitarian programming to support the retunrees in Gowaza and Bama LGAs of Borno state
• As a result of the wide-scale needs, Mercy Corps has secured ECHO funding to respond to early recovery phase to support returns to help them resume their normal life again.
• General Position Summary
• The Shelter Program Officer to directly assist Senior shelter program Officer, Shelter Program Coordinator and support the field shelter teams based in Gowaza and Bama
• This position has an interface with Mercy Corps’ operations & finance departments, field management, team leader, protection & gender and MEL internally and SC/CCCM sector, LGA level stakeholders and service contractors externally.

Essential Job Functions

• Design the permanent housing in consultation with community and prepare the BOQs
• Prepare the project engineering estimates and design drawings for the procurement and execution purpose
• Prepare the team work plans and project implementation plans
• Supervise the shelter assistants and field supervisors to ensure they are implementing program activities within the set timeline and are delivering according to the work plan.
• Build the capacity of the shelter assistants and field supervisors in program management
• Monitoring all shelter program activities, including the planning and execution of any required evaluations, to ensure that accurate and timely information is available.
• Supervise the construction works, and administer the works execution as per the contractual provisions and the design specifications.
• Collect and share data according to evolving needs.
• Develop documents on Shelter/NFI best practices, through capacity mapping and gaps identification.
• The Shelter Assistant is responsible in supporting the management of all shelter construction and to support in conducting sectoral needs assessments in liaison with other relevant team members such as protection advisor, community relief committee and WASH team.
• He/she would assist to develop technical components to shelter and preparation of BOQ and Estimates, Planning, Technical Details, Drawings, improve development techniques for the safer building/shelter and other all Civil and Architectural related projects.
• Support in carrying out shelter needs assessments taking into account the current situation, projected population planning figures and the expected scale of returns.
• Support in the developments of shelter strategies which are framed by Mercy Corps’s Global Strategy for Settlement and Shelter and take into consideration the local context, age and gender, culture, climate, environmental protection and the availability of local resources, including materials, capacities and existing infrastructure.
• Support in providing clear guidance on standards for shelter, including minimum emergency standards to meet basic and essential needs as well as guidance for phased improvement of shelter conditions that will be necessary as the duration of the displacement prolongs.
• Compiling, analyzing and mapping available information on shelter options in country taking into account relevant policies adopted by the Government and CCCM cluster. When planning shelter works, ensuring that the technical component reflects Sphere minimum standards for the provision of emergency and other types of shelter assistance and is within the budgetary requirements. Due consideration should be given to standards in other relevant sectors such as water and sanitation.
• Ensuring that specifications, bills of quantities and drawings are produced in a technically sound and standardized manner.
• Establish monitoring and evaluation tools to ensure that works are implemented according to plans and completed within the designated timeframe.
• Ensure that local communities and the community relief community have been consulted on all activities so as not to create unnecessary tension between the displaced and host populations.
• Support in monitoring of all shelter and infrastructure activities
• When identifying beneficiaries, ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable population of concern (POC) and host families are addressed. Mercy Corps’ vulnerability indicators should be applied in a participatory manner during the beneficiary selection.
• When planning shelter works, ensure that the technical component reflects Sphere minimum standards for the provision of emergency and other types of shelter assistance and is within the budgetary requirements. Standards for other sectors such as water and sanitation should be taken into consideration also.
• Timely actions on potential delays and/or cost overruns that can either be prevented or mitigated are to be quickly reported with recommended remedial actions for the Deputy Team Leader approval.
• Prepare project/contracts related documentations such as periodic progress reports, site monitoring reports, stake holder meeting minutes, Engineer’s Instructions and Variation Orders, Contractor’s bills review reports, certifications,etc
• Preparation of payment certificate and work progress record for the review of the contractors
• Works closely with contractors in the field with provision of technical support and guidance.
• Ensures that items procured meet specifications of the end-user while adhering to donor and Mercy Corps procurement guidelines and in a timely manner
• Develop and maintain working relationships and coordinate with relevant international and local agencies active in the shelter working group and related coordination platforms.
• Regularly monitor program sites in order to ensure that shelter programs are adapted to local needs, provide quality control assurance, and to conduct regular audits of program activities.
• Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission
• Any Other duties as assigned

Organizational Learning

• As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.
• Accountability to Beneficiaries
• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Accountability:

• Supervisory Responsibility: Shelter Assistants based in Gowza, Bama
• Reports Directly To: Senior Shelter Program Officer
• Works Directly With: Program, MEL, Operations, and support team.

Knowledge and Experience

• B.A/S in Civil Engineering, or other relevant field.
• 2-3 years’ experience implementing shelter programs/ activities
• Experience with emergency Shelter programs with a view on sustainable infrastructure, Cash-for-Work programming required
• Experience working with local stakeholders required
• Good organizational and program management skills and the ability to anticipate program needs.
• Ability to effectively represent the organization and its interests to a diverse range of stakeholders, including local and international government officials, local civil society organizations, donors, other international organizations, the media and the community.
• Demonstrated proficiency with the MS Office software (i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint) is required, with strong focus on Excel.
• Ability to analyze databases resulting from surveys
• Excellent oral and written English skills are an advantage, with local languages skills a bonus.
• Proven experience in working in insecure environment and through remote management.
• Fluency in English and Hausa, other relevant local languages is desirable.

Success Factors:

• The successful candidate will be capable of multi-tasking, rapid decision-making, have initiative, drive and a lot of energy, as well as high emotional intelligence, constructive mentoring skills and proven experience with capacity building
• S/he will be committed to long-term program sustainability and the delivery of high-impact activities at the community level. Successful Mercy Corps team members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and challenging environments, and make effective written and verbal communication a priority.
• Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions:

• The position is based in Bama and Gwoza, Borno State.