Emergency Wash Technical Advisor At Mercy Corps

Location: Goma, DRC

Position Status: Regular, full time, 12 months

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

The Program / Department / Team

Mercy Corps has been operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since 2007, with a staff of approximately 400 people. Mercy Corps’ national office is in Goma with sub-field offices in North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, and Kasai provinces. Mercy Corps’ key programming areas include a combination of longer-term development and immediate humanitarian response programs in order to: 1) Improve water service delivery and ensuring equitable access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene services, in urban and rural areas; 2) Improve food security and nutrition; 3) Promote diversified livelihoods, economic recovery and development.

Mercy Corps DRC’s humanitarian programs aim specifically to assist populations affected by the conflict and crisis in Eastern Congo. With funding from humanitarian donors including FCDO, BHA, and ECHO, the humanitarian portfolio continues to expand in order to provide multi-purpose cash assistance and emergency WASH services to displaced and host populations. All Mercy Corps interventions in DRC are implemented in a conflict- and gender-sensitive manner.

The Position

The WASH Technical Advisor (WASH TA) is a key position that will have responsibility for providing technical support, and strategic vision to WASH implementation activities and program development across Mercy Corps’ emergency WaSH portfolio in DRC.

The WASH TA is in charge of supporting the team on water and sanitation activities, infrastructures’ design, construction and quality control as well as all aspects of program development incl. quality contributions to proposals, technical analysis and annexes, etc. Under the direct supervision of the Emergency WaSH Programs Manager, he works closely with the Emergency WASH response Team in Eastern DRC and provide advice and technical support in WaSH response designs and implementation.

The WASH TA takes part in all WaSH activities designs, process of capitalization as well as technical capacity building of the team and field supervision.

Essential Responsibilities

STRATEGY & VISION

• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed
• In coordination with management, set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions & resources to achieve objectives and contribute to country-wide strategy development
• Maintain strategic vision and provide the required leadership to the emergency WASH programs and program development

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

• Work with WASH PM and program staff to design, implement and evaluate WASH activities
• Provide technical advice and quality control of Emergency WASH interventions and advise WaSH Team regarding technical aspect, activity progress and make recommendations for course corrections as necessary
• Build the capacity of Mercy Corps’ staff and partners in WASH program implementation and design
• Assist with assessment of local conditions resulting from emergency situations affecting communities and vulnerable groups, including determination of priorities for interventions, preparation of project proposals for emergency assistance, and other related documentation as necessary

FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT

• Contribute to setting up WaSH procurement and logistic planning
• Ensuring WASH goods/services meet specifications and are procured/delivered to field sites in a timely way

COORDINATION AND REPRESENTATION

• Participate in NGO sector coordination groups and identify areas for coordination and collaboration

Supervisory Responsibility

None

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Emergency WaSH Programs Manager

Works Directly With: WASH teams, Protection & Gender and Cash technical staff, Emergency MEL team, Grants teams, Emergency Finance Manager, Operational and Procurement teams.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• BA/S or engineering, international development or other relevant field
• 5+ years of implementing WASH programs in Africa or rural/peri-urban settings
• Experience in emergency WaSH infrastructures design and construction
• Knowledge of Sphere standards and other training in humanitarian response required
• Demonstrated experience in building staff capacity required
• Demonstrated flexibility, excellent communication, planning and problem-solving skills required
• Ability to work effectively with an ethnically diverse team in a sensitive environment
• Fluent French and professional English (spoken and written) preferred
• Prior work experience in DRC and demonstrable understanding of the context a significant plus

Success Factors

The successful WASH TA will have the ability to combine exceptional management skills and strong technical skills. S/he will demonstrate strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills and be committed to the values and mission of Mercy Corps. S/he will take initiative and contribute to team efforts. S/he will be able to creatively problem-solve, juggle multiple priorities under tight deadlines, and to calmly and diplomatically deal with unexpected and sudden events impacting program operations.

Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines, and work independently and cooperatively with team members is required. The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

This position is an unaccompanied position. Shared housing will be provided in Goma according to Mercy Corps DRC housing policy. Goma is a provincial capital of over 800,000 inhabitants. Travel may be required up to 40% of the time to program areas within North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri. Living in Goma is comfortable, although water and electricity can be unstable. Outside Goma, travel can be dangerous and unpredictable due to armed forces and rebel activity.

While security is quite stable in Goma, North and South Kivu continue to be an arena of violence and insecurity. Mercy Corps’ sub-offices experience variable levels of insecurity, with the situation closely monitored by UN peacekeepers. Air travel is necessary to get from one end of the country to the other. Mobile phones and cellular service are widely available. Internet is available in all Mercy Corps offices. Travel to field sites will be required where living conditions are clean and secure, but basic. There are a number of health services available with evacuation options for serious illnesses. There is reasonable access to most consumer goods, although they can be expensive.

Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. 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. Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. 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.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.