The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is present in five regions in Ethiopia, providing refugees and internally displaced people with emergency relief and help them to rebuild their lives. NRC works within the sectors of Education, Shelter, WaSH, Livelihood and Food Security, ICLA (Information, Counselling and Legal Assistance), and Child Protection.  

Being an employee of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in Ethiopia the WASH Officer–Public Health Promotion is expected to represent NRC in a responsible manner and always act in accordance with NRC’s Code of Conduct and the four organizational values: Dedicated, innovative, inclusive and accountable. 

Roles & Responsibilities:

Main purpose of the position is to ensure effective planning and quality implementation of the WASH-Hygiene promotion activities in IDPs and Host community in Benishangul Gumuz and neighbouring regions of Amhara and Oromia regions, Ethiopia. The WASH Officer-PHP will assist the WASH/Shelter Coordinator in providing technical support in the development of NRC’s WASH programming for water infrastructures, construction and hygiene promotion activities. He/she will also work closely with the other Project Officers and assistants in the field to ensure timely delivery of quality WASH programme, and will assist the WASH Coordinator in overall planning and design of (future) projects.

General responsibilities:

• Ensure adherence with NRC policies, tools, handbooks and guidelines
• Implement delegated support function portfolio according to plan of action
• Prepare and develop status reports as required by management
• Ensure proper filing of documents
• Promote and share ideas for improvement of the support function
• Plan and carry out needs assessments, baseline studies and periodic studies, and feedback findings to the stakeholders.

Specific responsibilities:

• Supervise Hygiene Promotion activities in line with relevant standards, codes of conduct, and humanitarian principles.
• Use participatory approaches as a far as possible throughout the programme cycle, in training, and in the use of tool kits and other materials.
• Supervise WASH activities and resources so that they are implemented and handed over or ended in a way that promotes local capacities and sustainable operations.
• Recruit, train, and manage subordinate/Public Health Promotion agents staff including performance appraisal.
• Organize day-to-day logistics, administration, and personnel activities together with the other sectors.
• Carry out informal and formal training sessions (according to identified needs) and evaluate the impacts of these trainings.
• Enable effective dialogue with the affected community to allow the agency to be held to account for the quality of the WASH program.
• Responsible for overall school WASH activities including training and follow ups.
• Identification and provision of water treatment chemicals and give them orientation on how to use it.
• Travel regularly to all the NRC implementation sites assessing adherence to set hygiene standards and M&E procedures.
• Support the WASH/Shelter PC in ensuring implementation of the complaints mechanism and ensure feedback is timely to the beneficiaries.
• Assist in ensuring cross-cutting issues are incorporated into the WASH-Hygiene Promotion programming.
• Promote safe WASH practices, including appropriate use and maintenance of WASH facilities and services.
• Collect data from the WASH assistants and prepare regular reports on activities and WASH conditions for monitoring.
• Assess and advise on capacity building needs within the team to ensure effective developments of the quality standards for the hygiene and sanitation activities.
• Promote safe WASH practices, including appropriate use and maintenance of WASH facilities and services
• Facilitate appropriate community involvement in the design and delivery of essential WASH services and facilities.
•  Liaise with community leaders and other sectors and agencies working locally in order to coordinate within the WASH sector and between sectors such as Health and Shelter.
• Preparation of reports, guidelines and other strategic documentation.
• Identify needs for non-food items relevant to hygiene, participate in the choice of items, targeting strategy, promotion of effective use, and post-distribution monitoring.

Qualifications and Competences:

Generic professional competencies:

• First degree or postgraduate in Environmental Health/ Public health nursing or similar relevant discipline.
• Minimum four years’ experience of working as a WaSH-PHP Project Officer in a humanitarian/recovery context.
• Experience in implementation of software components of WaSH activities
• Previous experience from working in complex and volatile contexts
• Expertise in WaSH programming and integration with nutrition and health sectors
• Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities
• Fluency in English and Amharic, both written and verbal. Knowledge of local language is advantageous.
• Ability to work independently in a result oriented multi-tasking and multi-cultural environment and manage conflicting priorities.
• Proven ability to use MS Office software (especially Word and Excel) is essential. Experience with other computer programs such as SPSS, SAP 2000 and Microsoft Project would be an advantage.

Context/ Specific skills, knowledge and experience:

• Experience of working with INGO in a similar capacity will be an added advantage
• Excellent communication (spoken and written) skills, including the ability to explain and present complex technical information
• Cultural awareness and experience of working of different stakeholders
• Community mobilization skills
• Language: Fluency in written and spoken English is essential.

Behavioral competencies:

• Handling insecure environment
• Planning and delivering results
• Empowering and building trust
• Communicating with impact and respect