WASH Utility Engineer at Mercy Corps

Program / Department Summary 

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, and its influence spreads across the continent. Yet, inequality and insecurity have consistently undermined Nigeria's development. Mercy Corps Nigeria was established in 2012 to respond to these challenges. With the vision of a Nigeria in which all people are empowered, engaged, resilient and secure, Mercy Corps Nigeria focuses on the root causes of conflict, governance, humanitarian response, and market systems development.

In 2021, Mercy Corps intends to pursue water and sanitation programming with an anticipated USAID-funded project. The program involves designing, rehabilitating, extending, and constructing WASH infrastructure. This position is contingent on funding.

General Position Summary

The Water Engineer will organize activities related to the implementation of water infrastructure, from design to implementation, including logistics and monitoring. Responsible for the identification, design, implementation, monitoring and reporting of all WASH program activities and associated administrative tasks. Supervises all water and sanitation engineering contractors in order to effectively implement planned projects. Manages all administration and security of MC engineering activities in the assigned district. S/he will have to show full adherence to MC security protocols.

Essential Job Responsibilities

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

• Develop and maintain good relationships and lines of communication with relevant local authorities and communities, explaining MC’s role as an NGO and liaising with them during all phases of the project.
• Guarantee community involvement at all phases of the project (identification, design, implementation, and monitoring) to ensure the development of community ownership for the projects.
• Develop plans for the implementation of the water and sanitation engineering projects in the assigned district. This should include planned delegation of responsibility to appropriate staff, plans and rationale for projects (including technical designs), plans for material and cash needs over the course of the project, and work schedules (timelines) for the various phases of the project.
• Prior to the commencement of project implementation, complete a standard Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with community representatives and local authorities for each community identified for project activities. Ensure that all elements of MoU are adhered to. Report any problems relating to the MoUs.
• Implement projects as planned according to developed technical standards, schedules, and timelines. Ensure correct surface engineering around the well to allow for the correct drainage of excess water using soak-away pits and aprons.
• Keep detailed technical records for every site.
• Report any variations or problems with the implementation of projects (in regards to staffing, costs, schedules, and technical matters). Where necessary, regularly update project implementation plans with associated timelines.
• Ensure full adherence to the MC security plans and protocols conscientiously respecting the declared ‘go and no-go’ zones ensuring that staff respects them.
• Supervise the procurement of any materials needed through a competitive and transparent bidding process following the MC policies designed for this purpose.
• Organize competitive bidding processes to select the most qualified and cost-effective contractors and manage the contracts, certifying the quality of the works performed.
• Coordinate with local authorities to obtain all licenses needed.
• Provide feedback to the Monitoring and Evaluation system in order to assess the effectiveness of the projects and impact and propose recommendations for improvements.
• Provide regular written and verbal reports to the Chief of Party and Project Manager on infrastructure development activity.
• Organize site visits to the project sites and hostess missions/consultants.

SECURITY

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

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.
• 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.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Project Manager
Works Directly With: Small Town WASH COP, DCOP, Director of Finance and Administration, Country Director, Finance, and Operations teams, M&E Officer, and other Small Town WASH staff. Coordinates with HQ Program Performance team and the Technical Support

Knowledge and Experience

• A BSc or Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering, Water Resources Management, Water Treatment Technologies or related field.
• 5-10 years of management of development programs including infrastructure rehabilitation and supervision projects.
• Knowledge of the issues and challenges of the water and sanitation sector in Nigeria
• Experience in preparing and reviewing water utility infrastructure tender documents including design specifications, technical drawings, and Bill of Quantities (BOQs)
• Ability to conduct investigations of complex issues involving water utility systems and practices
• Good knowledge of water utility Asset Maintenance Management Systems
• Experience in preparing persuasive technical reports and making verbal presentations, explaining issues in a clear and concise manner
• Ability to innovate and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of a utility
• Experience working with computer software such as Microsoft Office, AutoCAD, design packages, and other applications relevant to the sector.

SUCCESS FACTORS

The successful WASH Utility Engineer will combine strong interpersonal, engineering and project management skills with a highly collaborative and program-focused approach and be experienced in maintaining stakeholder relationships. She/he will have an outstanding ability to recognize potential challenges and then develop, promote consensus and manage solutions within the implementation of the program. She/he will also have proven experience with cross-cultural teams and strong mentoring skills. Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem-solving, ability to seize opportunities, attention to detail whilst maintaining budget and schedule and a strategic vision are essential.