Shelter and Wash Specialist

Danish Refugee Council, one of the world’s leading humanitarian NGOs, we are excited to invite you to join our team as a Shelter and Wash Specialist If you are a skilled and motivated professional ready to make a difference, we want you on board! Together, we’ll work to deliver impactful humanitarian solutions in challenging environments.

About the job

The Shelter & WASH Specialist will be responsible for the quality and successful delivery of Shelter, WASH, Non-Food Item (NFI), and other infrastructure activities for DRC in Unity State. These include overseeing shelter, WASH, and other construction activities related to IDP site infrastructure in the state, such as settlement infrastructure (access roads, dykes, drainage systems, etc.); community centers; DRC offices; and any other construction projects requiring technical expertise. The Specialist will undertake needs assessments, monitor progress and evaluations, adapt existing Shelter/WASH/NFI or other infrastructure programming to changing needs, and engage in program development (including design and proposal writing). They will coordinate with other DRC departments in the development and implementation of Shelter, WASH, and other infrastructure delivery to the most vulnerable populations.

Responsibilities:

Program Design/Development

• Develop designs for Shelter, WASH, NFI, or other infrastructure activities, informed by lessons learned and community feedback.
• Identify gaps in Shelter, WASH, NFI, and other infrastructure services provided to IDPs and host communities, proactively referring those gaps to relevant forums or advocating with government authorities or humanitarian partners for additional support.
• Provide concept ideas for the integration of Shelter, WASH, NFI, and other infrastructure programs with other sectors in Unity State.
• In close coordination with the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) team, analyze information to select intervention sites and evaluate monitoring data to assess the impact of projects and identify lessons learned for future programming.
• Ensure that DRC’s Code of Conduct is respected and implemented by all stakeholders, including national staff, casual laborers, and suppliers.
• Contribute to the strategic direction of area operations through participation in strategy planning meetings and related documentation.

Program Management

• Lead the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation processes of shelter, WASH and other infrastructure activities in Unity State.
• Provide technical leadership, strategic direction, and management oversight for the Shelter, WASH, and NFI programs, ensuring alignment with organizational goals, donor requirements, and humanitarian standards. 
• Develop and/or adapt a work plan for construction activities and ensure progress and quality in line with applicable international standards and agreements.
• Conduct regular field visits and technical assessments to monitor program implementation, identify challenges, and provide hands-on support to field teams in resolving technical issues and ensuring program quality.
• Support/Lead the recruitment of all field Shelter and WASH staff.
• Conduct regular capacity building to Shelter/WASH staff in Unity state to ensure quality and integrated program implementation.
• Make sure the project activities and procedures respect and comply with the internal policies & procedures, donor contractual agreements, grant documents and implementation plans.

Monitoring and Reporting 

• Set up proper monitoring of the quality of implementation through regular field visits and quality benchmark assessment.
• Ensure that all data collection and progress monitoring tools are updated and verify data before reporting.
• Report periodically on Shelter/WASH/NFI and other construction activities to the Area Manager and participate in the donor reporting on monthly, interim and final reporting stages, as well as bi-weekly activity updates.
• Review partner reports and follow up with MEAL team if there are discrepancies in the indicator tracking data set.
• Support the MEAL Officer in the development and monitoring of the MEAL plan and implementation of the relevant quality standard checklists and tools.
• Report issues to the line manager based on a continuous monitoring of program’s indicators, with the participation of other relevant internal and external stakeholders
• Contribute to the internal and external accountability mechanisms by elaborating quality donor reports.
• Contribute to continuous learning by organizing project reviews, and by consolidating success stories and lessons learnt from the field

Representation 

• Participate in coordination meetings, ensuring that IDP’s and host community are regularly updated on construction progress and constraints.

Represent the shelter and WASH sector in technical meetings and for and ensure the sector plays an active role in the SNFI and WASH state level clusters.

About you

To be successful in this role we expect you to Proven ability to prioritize tasks, meet deadlines, and work with limited supervision., excellent computer skills in MS Word & and Excel.

 Moreover, we also expect the following:

Required

• Minimum 4 years of professional work experience in managing shelter, WASH programs, including at least 2 years with an international organization; 
• Minimum 2 years of humanitarian work in challenging field locations; 
• Ability to Prepare, interpret and implement engineering technical designs with demonstrated focus on Shelter, WASH and NFI interventions.
• Awareness of public health and protection issues as applied to emergency settings, with special attention to the needs of children and women - Knowledge of transitional shelter and settlements options including host family support, collective centers and camps.
• Excellent project management skills including the design of project management tools; 
• Excellent analytical and communication skills; 
• Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to establish effective working relations with local staff and other stakeholders; 
• Proven ability to work and live in basic living conditions in field locations; 
• Ability to work under pressure, with minimal supervision, and in a culturally diverse team; 
• Experience with preparing BoQs and technical design drawings for new construction. 
• Proficiency in the use of IT Office Tools and AutoCAD drawing software.  
• Experience overseeing implementation of construction projects by external contractors, including quality checking