Shelter Assistant at Mercy Corps

Location: Dikwa and Ngala

Program / Department Summary

• 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.

Essential Job Responsibilities

• 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.

Knowledge and Experience

• Bachelors or higher in Building Engineering or Civil Engineering.
• 2-3+ years in building and construction sector
• Experience in building shelter in humanitarian context etc.
• Fluency in both verbal and written English highly preferred. Fluency in Kanuri is required
• Multi-tasking, coordination, organization, prioritization skills essential. Demonstrated strengths in analytical skills, monitoring and evaluation, and report writing
• Highly-developed computers skills, with strong familiarity with MS Office, Power point, Outlook, Excel, Word, and infrastructure design software
• Ability to work independently and cooperatively with team members required. Ability to work under pressure
• Strong interpersonal, intercultural and communication skills.

Success Factors

• The successful candidate will combine curiosity and strong technical skills, experience in Shelter programs, and a want-to-do attitude.
• S/he will be an effective communicator, with dedication towards community work, commitment to work long hours in the field conditions with limited access to resources.
• S/He will be highly motivated, with initiative and capable to work with limited direct supervision.
• Ideally s/he will have previous experience in working in large-scale emergency programs in insecure and conflict-affected contexts, including remote management and capacity development.
• S/he will be willing to conduct several days-long field travels and work in ethnically and culturally diversified and fast growing team.