PHP Technical Team leader - Rapid Response Team at Oxfam

Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Starting date:  As soon as possible
Duration: Six (6) Months with possibility of extension.

Background

• Over the past year, insurgency has intensified attacks which have spread from North-East Nigeria to Cameroon, Chad and Niger, affecting some 20 million people. Suicide bombings and raids targeting civilians in villages and in cities around the Lake Chad basin have caused widespread trauma, prevented people from accessing essential services and destroyed infrastructure. Across the region, over 2.8 million people are displaced; most of who are sheltered by communities that count among the world’s most vulnerable.
• The combined effect of growing insecurity, fast population growth and severe vulnerability resulting from a changing climate, environmental degradation, poverty and under-investment in social services is translating into record numbers of people in need of emergency relief. There are 9.2 million in need of humanitarian assistance. Nigeria is hosting 7m, Cameroon 1.5m, Niger 460.000 and Chad 257.000.
• The increasing number of attacks and arrival of displaced children have placed an additional burden on already weak health and education systems. Insecurity, displacement, disrupted agricultural activities and cross-border trade continue to undermine communities’ livelihoods and have resulted in a sharp rise in food insecurity.
• Still 3.6 million people are in need in North East Nigeria of WASH assistance as 75% of the infrastructures have been destroyed during the crisis. Population are vulnerable to WASH related diseases outbreak due to the lack of access to improved WASH service. For example, approximately 30% of the IDP population do not have access to safe water as per Sphere standards and the prevalent malnutrition rate in the affected areas is making people more at risk for disease outbreak Finally the volatile situation with new arrivals being reported in existing IDPs camps and the potentiality for new areas to open, requires maintaining a rapid response capacity to ensure lifesaving WASH assistance is being delivered to those population.
  

Job Purpose

• To provide technical WASH capacity to Oxfam’s NE humanitarian response programme in Nigeria with special focus on public health and disease outbreak prevention in IDPs camp and host communities.
  

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

• In collaboration with RRT PHE TL, jointly assess WASH immediate needs in area where there is emerging need mostly in areas where Oxfam has no presence on the ground or areas where Oxfam is present but has no capacity to assess.
• Provide assessment reports with key recommendations and intervention design (workplan, requisitions, logistics and budget forecasting etc) in coordination with Programme Manager and WASH Coordinator.
• Adapt approaches for implementing community driven mechanism to enhance the targeted population’s capacity to prevent disease outbreak considering cultural context and community engagement, in line with Oxfam team and partners' capacities. This will take into consideration the humanitarian context and include from the beginning a planned exit strategy
• Representing Oxfam in Nigeria-Rapid Response Mechanism group led by UN-OCHA where Oxfam is the WASH focal point and actively contribute to the group’s decision-making process whether or not to activate the RRM scheme
• To liaise and coordinate with Oxfam security team to ensure security risks being considered and mitigation plan is clearly communicated with all the RRT members.
• Line manage the PHP RRT (PHP National TL, PHP Officers & PHP Assistants)
• Ensuring that RRT team have the necessary tools, equipment and skills to respond immediately in areas where support will be limited.
• Prepare BOQ/Budgets, activities planning and timeframe for quick interventions.
• Prepare contract/MoU following donor and Oxfam procurement and financial procedures.
• May be required to support all WASH programmes teams operating at established field bases in NE to strengthen and improve programmes in the field, to gap fill for important technical field based staff, join rapid response tasks and capacity build WASH staff in the field as delegated and/or requested by WASH Coordinator.
• To report regularly, verbally and in writing to the Programme Manager and WASH Coordinator on the progress of implementation and challenges encountered against targets set, highlighting constraints and proposed solutions to resolve the issues. Ensure key reporting formats and database are up to date and accurate at all times.
• Participate in PHP team briefing/debriefing, weekly PHE/PHP joint meeting and represent in monthly programme meetings. Ensures that all meetings and briefings are productive & action oriented.
• Represent Oxfam at the various coordination meetings at camp, LGA and state levels ensuring compatibility with overall commitments and policy/programme priorities in public health.

Skills, Experience and Knowledge
Essential:

• Graduate qualification or equivalent in one of the following, or a related discipline: social sciences, environmental or public health, anthropology or community development. Experience can substitute qualifications, but not vice versa
• Minimum of 5 years of practical experience in developing countries in Water, Hygiene and Sanitation Emergency programmes (at least 2 years of it in a humanitarian context).
• Experience on outbreak prevention (Cholera, Hepatitis E) at community level and knowledge on wash preventive measures.
• Experience of PHP/community engagement capacity building in different cultures and with people of varying educational background.
• Experience of remote support to PHP programmes.
• Ability to work effectively under stress in emergency situations, in a leadership role. Experience of having led or coordinated inter-agency initiatives would be an advantage.
• Ability to work in a participative way with communities; strong counterpart/ training skills
• Strong assessment, analytical and planning skills.
• Experience of task managing and performance management of small teams and of budget tracking
• Experience of varied approaches to capacity building.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills.  Sensitivity to cultural differences and the ability to work in a variety of cultural contexts and communicate with a diverse range of people.
• Sound understanding of the importance of gender and participation in programme implementation; sensitive to the needs of displaced and disadvantaged populations.
• Ability to present concise and clear reports within short notice addressing needs/problems and related solutions/recommendations and willingness to share information
• Commitment to Oxfam’s mandate and objectives and able to represent Oxfam

We Offer
A competitive, fair and comprehensive pay and benefits package that is justifiable to our donors. The salary range for this position is set in scale 9 with a salary range between €2672, - to €4110, - on the basis of a 40-hour working week.