Environmental Health Manager at International Rescue Committee

International Rescue Committee

Position: Environmental Health Manager

Job Time: Full-Time

Job Type: Contract

Place of Work: Adama, Oromia - Ethiopia

Posted date: 1 month ago

Deadline: Submition date is over

Job Description

The IRC has a focus on narrowing the gender gap in humanitarian aid and ensuring that we contribute to gender equality, diversity, and inclusion in both our programs and operations by working to establish a context where our clients (including those from minority groups) enjoy the same rights and opportunities as well as equal access to services. The IRC also has a strong commitment to creating an equitable and inclusive culture, where safeguarding is upheld in our workplace and programs. We are determined to protect our clients and staff from safeguarding violations through prevention and, where misconduct is alleged, to address it without fear or favor.

Job Overview:

The Environmental Health Manager (EHM) reports to the EH coordinator based at Addis Ababa Technical Unit and Field Coordinator/Senior Program Manager at the Adama Field Office responsible for the overall strategic and technical lead the EH teams in the Oromia region, Ethiopia including sector strategy development, proposal development, conduct need assessment, project design, implementation, report writing, technical oversight, staff management and development, administrative supervision, budget management, grants compliance and local partner relations/support.

The position holder will also support the operational implementation of the country's WASH strategy that will steer the WASH sector towards overall efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of WASH services including awareness-raising coordination work of safe sanitation and safe hygiene promotion works, and establishment of water scheme management system. The position holder will coordinate with local partners, and the field team and participate in coordination platforms (WASH, KPC surveys, and assessments) representing the IRC. The EH manager will be based in Harer and is expected to travel a minimum of 60% of the time to project locations to support staff and monitor field activities.

Major responsibilities include:

Project Development and Implementation

• Ensure all WASH sector activities are performed and implemented with consistent approaches and quality, quantity, and on time.
• Ensure proper and timely utilization of funds in WASH sector activities and budgets.
• Ensure that all interventions follow the IRC’s strategy action plan, national policies, and international WASH standards including WHO Minimum Standards, National Minimum Standards, and SPHERE in consideration of Protection Standards.
• Ensure that all WASH projects comply with the humanitarian principles, design, and guidance.
• Ensure that EH projects are implemented in a timely and professional manner, according to goals, objectives, and indicators, and in line with donor requirements and beneficiary needs.
• Maintain close contact with the EH field team to ensure effective technical, logistical, and management support for all aspects of project implementation
• Guide EH filed team and review assessment and technical designs of water systems, ensure the quality of designs reports meet donor requirements.
• Ensure quality of construction and project delivery meet donor requirements
• Conduct needs assessments, project review assessments, and post-project impact assessments as needed.
• Coordinate and lead level Hygiene Promotion team and other technical unit members to ensure targeted support and effective, quality programming
• Advise partners and field staff on all technical aspects of WASH sector activities implementation, ensuring a unified and effective approach to achieving project milestones.
• Organize technical training for project staff as required to enable them to implement the project strategy and activities effectively.
• Identify and collate evidence base of context-specific promising practices and support dissemination workshops to improve existing practices and introduce new practices and/or ideas among project partners.
• Prepare or review all technical designs & BoQs, drawings, specifications, and tenders for a variety of water and sanitation interventions.
• Ensure that effective engagement is maintained with communities and with local government partners, to ensure responsive and sustainable programming.

Project monitoring and Evaluation

• Oversee the WASH components of the project in Oromiya, Ethiopia, with a focus on keeping activities on track for completion. Develop detailed physical activity about budget plans and monitoring tools for the project, and monitor progress against plans ensuring that objectives and indicators are achieved.
• Maintain regular contact with the field WASH staff through regular field visits to ensure that the WASH component of the project is carried out promptly, to a high quality, and according to the project strategy.
• Compile and submit WASH monthly and technical reports; verify and validate WASH project implementation reports received from partners (Output tracker, WASH Matrix Activity, Monthly/quarter Reports, ad hoc reports, donors report, etc).
• Prepare monthly field reports incorporating activity and financial progress for project work across the country.
• Monitor and ensure EH field staff have the capacity and understanding tools and timelines to monitor – spending and implementation against work, procurement, and spending plans, including monthly analysis of financial reports; identify and flag issues in a timely fashion, working in collaboration with Grants, Finance, and Supply Chain teams as needed to jointly address them under donors’ rules and regulations.
• Conduct regular monitoring and technical support visits to project sites

Coordination & Representation

• Represent IRC in WASH cluster coordination meetings at all levels and collect and share monthly updates including 4W’s matrixes with clusters on time.
• Build links with WASH stakeholders to share knowledge, experience, and ideas.
• Represent the IRC with local communities, government departments, international agencies, local partners, donors, and cluster coordination as required.
• Attend relevant meetings as required.
• Ensure regular communication with Field-based WASH Unit technical staff for feedback, updates, and guidance as required.
• Ensure that effective engagement and coordination are maintained across IRC technical teams; between EH and operational departments (e.g. HR, Supply Chain, and Finance).
• Ensure provision of timely inputs of high quality to the Grants Unit in the preparation of donor and any internal reports, as well as project proposals and concept notes.
• Closely working in coordination with filed and Addis MEAL team on project follow-up, data capturing, data feeding in the system, and analysis. etc.

Operations (HR, Logistics and Finance)

• Identify training needs and ensure that members of the WASH sector team receive appropriate training (including mentoring, on-the-job sessions as well as formal training).
• Identify staffing needs and assist with recruitment when necessary and orientation of staff
• Conduct EH-filed team performance reviews.
• Strive to improve and maintain the overall team atmosphere and foster team-building relationships
• Monitor ongoing capacity-building activities in the EH team, identify gaps and capacity-building needs, and propose and undertake targeted training to improve overall team capacity.
• Mentor and support the EH team to increase their ability to perform effectively.
• Support the EH field staff in designing & organizing training/workshops for members of host communities.
• Ensure that high-priority purchases are monitored and prioritized by the logistics team.
• Ensure that tenders are prepared per the project's logistics requirements and the WASH sector standards.
• Monitor and ensure spending against plan and analyze monthly financial reports. Alert the concerned management team of any anomalies and propose corrective actions.
• Subsequently, follow up with the implementation of the agreed corrective actions.
• Regularly follow up and monitor the WSAH project's financial Powe BI and ensure timely utilization of budget in consultation with finance and supervisor.
• Monitor, and facilitate regular financial Power BI monitoring with the field team (finance, SC, HR, and Technical units
• Develop and maintain tools to monitor project progress, financial commitments, and expenditures against budgets as necessary.
• Maintain budget plans & monitor spending for allocated EH budgets
• Ensuring the preparation of item forecast, and reviewing it facilitates SC to upload on the system, and follow the approval process and procurement of the required items promptly.
• Ensure development of dimensional codes in coordination with filed team, finance, and sc.

Reporting, proposal, and grant unit.

• Mainly participate in project development proposals in collaboration with the Hygiene promotion team, and Technical Coordinators at Addis based on the donor templates and formats and share the proposal timely.
• Follow the smooth implementation of the project activities at the project site level and share implementation reports with the Field Coordinator and Technical Coordinator.
• Reporting any change in the context of the project timely to the Field Coordinator, Addis technical coordinator, and gran unit for acting timely.
• Work and share donor reports and government reports regarding the active grants to the Addis technical Coordinator, Field Coordinator, and grant unit.
• Participate and give inputs on project cycle meetings arranged with the grant unit, work on the action areas proposed in the meetings, and update on the next action in collaboration with the grant unit.
• Work in collaboration with the field team and Addis technical team on RFPs for the project proposal development and share with the grand unit.
• Address any feedback and comments on the donor reports and technical documents requested by the donor.
• Timely share any changes, realignment, and new plans of project indicators during project implementation based on the budget and context on the ground.
• Conduct regular project review meetings with staff to assess the level of achievement of project targets for the various EH grants.

Safeguarding Responsibilities: -

• Promote and actively participate in initiatives and efforts to build team engagement, inclusion, and cohesion in IRC [team/office]
• Foster ongoing learning, honest dialogue, and reflection to strengthen safeguarding and promote IRC values and adherence to IRC policies

Qualifications

Job Requirements

Education Requirements:

• BSc or MSc in Hydraulic engineering, Water resource engineering, and Civil engineering field from a recognized University.
• At least an MSC degree and 3 years experience or BSC degree and 4 years experience in related sectors including experience in WASH sector development and emergency or post-conflict project management.

Preferred Experience and Skills

• Strong technical experience in areas of WASH program design, and implementation, proposal development, project management, emergency Responses, professional capacity development, staff management, and coordination and working with others.
• NGO experience is desired.
• Have excellent skills in Epanet, AutoCAD, and other engineering software.
• Very good at computer skills- Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and e-mail) and use of SPSS and related software
• Strong critical thinking and proposal writing skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, cultural sensitivity, flexibility, and ability to learn in a new environment.
• Ability to work productively under stress while maintaining a sense of humor.

Language Skills

• Strong written and verbal language skills in English.
• Local language knowledge is advantageous.

IRC is an equal employment opportunity employer. IRC considers all applicants based on merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability.

IRC strives to build a diverse and inclusive team at all levels who as individuals, and as a group, embody our culture statement creating a working environment characterized by critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity for us to achieve our aspirations as a team and deliver the best possible services to our clients.