Engineering Adviser (WASH)

Concern Worldwide is an Irish-based non-governmental, international, humanitarian organisation dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.

Job Title:Engineering Adviser (WASH) Reports to: Head of the Health Support Unit Job Location: Dublin (preferred) or London with up to 40% travel Contract Details: Permanent Contract Pay band: Dublin (€40,928 - €48,151)

London (£37,053 - £40,953) Job Purpose: To provide technical advice and support to Concern’s water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure projects, in order to improve the quality and sustainability of these projects.Description of role Concern Worldwide, as part of its emergency and development activities,

engages in various WASH infrastructure projects. This role focuses mainly

on supporting WASH infrastructure but may be required to support other types

of infrastructure projects, depending on the skills of the selected candidate, such

as road, school or clinic construction. The position is based in the Health

Support Unit in the Strategy, Advocacy and Learning Directorate. The adviser

would be expected to liaise closely with the International Programmes

Directorate, the Emergencies Unit, and the Logistics Unit. Within the Health

Support Unit there are a number of nutrition and health advisers and one

environmental health adviser who mainly focuses on promotion of the hygiene

components of WASH. Main duties &

Responsibilities: Technical Support and quality assurance

· Ensure that standards of technical quality are in line with best international practice and are technically appropriate to the operating context

· Manage the development and roll out of standard operating procedures for engineering works in Concern.

· Provide technical support to field staff for their community mobilisation work related to construction, the management of infrastructure and the promotion of hygiene and sanitation.

· Provide technical advice and support to all programme teams in planning and budgeting of construction activities, including supporting the development or assessment of engineering designs and approving these where appropriate

· Support staff or partners with contract tendering and contractor selection and other aspects of contract management as requested.

· Explore and promote innovative approaches to help ensure the provision of sustainable WASH services, to include at a minimum supply chain issues for spare parts, the funding of life cycle costs as well as operational management models.

· Provide effective and timely technical assistance to field staff on any engineering/WASH issues as and when they emerge

Monitoring

· Conduct reviews at field level of engineering work when requested

· Provide support to field teams to develop systems for monitoring the operation, maintenance and management of infrastructure

Ensure consistency with Concern’s policies, strategies etc.

· Contribute to the development of WASH programmes so that they are in line with Concern’s health strategy that puts emphasis on hygiene promotion.

· Ensure that construction projects are designed in such a way as to reduce risk and vulnerability and inequalities among the beneficiary population and that disaster risk reduction issues are considered.

· Provide support to field teams writing funding proposals and reports

Networking role

· Develop and manage relationships with engineering groups or other networks globally that can provide technical support to Concern programmes.

· Represent Concern in various WASH consortia, working groups and conferences where appropriate.

Training and capacity development

· Conduct site visits as requested to build the performance capacity of Concern’s engineering and WASH staff

· Organize and conduct technical workshops as required

· Manage and support WASH interns and or trainees

· Develop and or provide input to guidance manuals or technical documents as needed

Support Functions

· Assist in the recruitment and training of WASH and other engineering field staff, as requested.

· Participate in Rapid Emergency Response as necessary Person specification: Essential

· Chartered Civil Engineering (preferred) or other relevant engineering qualification

· At least 5 yrs of professional experience in the field of civil engineering (or similar) including WASH, logistics and supply work.

· At least three years of experience with NGOs or other agencies in low income countries on hardware components associated with WASH (water pumps, latrines, water treatment, water storage etc.)

· Experience in training and capacity building of local contractors, technicians, government technical staff and working with community groups

· Understanding of the role of quality assurance and advisory functions and how they link and contribute to overall programme quality.

· Good collaboration and interpersonal skills with local, national and civil society stakeholders

· Knowledge of programme monitoring and evaluation

· Good understanding of development issues with emphasis on participation and sustainability

· Excellent report writing skills

· Word processing & excel skills, AutoCAD proficiency

· Common sense and team approach

Desirable

· Training/post graduate qualification in contract management and use of participatory methods – assessment/ management & monitoring etc

· Contract management experience with managing large scale infrastructure projects.

· Experience in construction of non-WASH infrastructure in developing country settings such as schools, health clinics and roads.

· Fluency in spoken and written French