Wash Officer at Mercy Corps

Location: Maiduguri, Borno State

Program/ Department Summary

• With the insurgency affecting North East Nigeria and displacing millions of people, Mercy Corps is expanding its humanitarian programming to support the conflict-affected population in Borno.
• In response to the ongoing crisis, Mercy Corps is scaling-up food security, non-food items, nutrition, protection, livelihoods, and water sanitation hygiene (WASH) activities in Dikwa, Ngala, and Jere Local Government Areas in Borno State to address emergency needs.

General Position Summary

• Mercy Corps is looking for a strong WASH Officer who will be responsible for the day to day Implementation of the WASH Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) component in Ngala and Dikwa areas. The person will be required to be based in Ngala or Dikwa.

Essential Job Functions 

• Works closely with the WASH Senior Officer to implement the project in line with Mercy Corps, Donor, Government requirements and standards in accordance with the approved work plan, budget, project documents and implementation strategy.
• Attends WASH Coordination meetings as may be requested by the supervisor.
• Operationalizes the implementation of all WASH related activities in regions like Ngala and /or Dikwa
• Works closely with beneficiaries in the area of WASH on a daily basis to identify and prioritize needs and closely monitors the implementation of all the WASH activities.
• Participates in site assessment and selection of rightful beneficiary communities.
• Participates in needs assessments and baseline surveys to identify a clear water, sanitation and hygiene situation in the selected project areas.
• Participates in the planning, design and implementation of Water, Sanitation & Hygiene projects in accordance with applicable technical standards and best practices.
• Carries out supervision and monitoring of all field activities related to the WASH component.
• Responsible for timely and well-planned delivery and distribution of the beneficiary items to the communities in the assigned project area(s).
• Participates in all relevant WASH trainings of committees for the operationalization of the program.
• Ensures good coordination and working relationships with relevant NGOs and UN agencies, beneficiary communities and local authorities.
• Mobilizes the community to fully participate in the project implementation for sustainability.
• Works closely with the Monitoring & Evaluation staff to capture the required data for measuring the impact indicators.
• Establishes and maintains good coordination and good working relationships with all leaders, the local government line departments, humanitarian actors in the area and beneficiaries. 
• Ensure that all his/her work follows international & national quality standards and best practices and that all WASH projects are technically environmentally sound.
• Responsible for establishing and maintaining a good working relationship with all Mercy Corps teams
• Conducts him/herself both professionally in such a manner that brings credit to Mercy Corps and not to jeopardize its humanitarian mission.
• Preparation of activity reports, weekly and monthly reports; ensure timely submission to the supervisor.
• Carry out any other duties or activities assigned to by the supervisor(s) from time to time.
• 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.

Knowledge and Experience

• Degree or a Diploma in Civil, Water Engineering or Community/Public/Environmental Health Sciences.
• At least 2 years of relevant experience in handling WASH responsibilities preferably from any setting (Private/ Public enterprise)
• Excellent skills and experience in the assessment and supervision of WASH and rural projects
• Proven ability to lead a team of professionals in the field of expertise in order to successfully achieve the objectives of the project.
• Ability to communicate fluently verbally and in writing in English Hausa, and preferably also in Kanuri.

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.
• In particular, the successful candidate will be willing to travel to locations such as Dikwa and Ngala according to the needs of the Mercy Corps program.
• This will mean sometimes staying and working in stressful environments with very basic living conditions, strictly following security protocols at all times and sometimes working long and irregular hours.
• 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 Mercy Corps' policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.