Mercy Corps Vacancy for a WASH Program Manager- NE Nigeria
Mercy Corps has been present in Nigeria since December 2012, focusing
its interventions on adolescent girls’ empowerment, economic development
and conflict mitigation. With the insurgency spilling over from the
north-east of Nigeria and causing displacement of millions of
individuals,
Mercy Corps has decided to address the rising humanitarian
needs among displaced households and vulnerable host communities by
starting its humanitarian programs in July 2014.
With funding
from humanitarian donors including OFDA, FFP, and ECHO the humanitarian
program has been focusing on food assistance, non-food items
distribution, protection, livelihoods support, WASH and capacity
building of humanitarian response actors.
Mercy Corps plans to
scale up and expand its humanitarian response in north-east Nigeria to
reach more beneficiaries with additional and varied assistance in a
wider geographic area.
Job Position: WASH Program Manager- NE Nigeria
General Position Summary
The
WASH Program Manager is a key management position for Mercy Corps
Nigeria’s emergency response to the humanitarian crisis in North East
Nigeria. The positions has supervisory and managerial responsibilities,
including directly managing all emergency WASH programs and activities
implemented by Mercy Corps and funded by multiple donors. The WASH
Program Manager provides technical leadership and supervision to WASH
program staff. S/he is responsible for overseeing program implementation
and ensuring achievement of program objectives in compliance with Mercy
Corps, donor requirements and international standards.
S/he
actively participates in relevant humanitarian coordination in Biu and
ensures field staff participates in coordination meetings at sub-office
level. S/he plays a key role in program development, proposal writing,
and shaping Mercy Corps’ overall program strategy for emergency and
transitional programming in WASH as well as other sectors.
Essential Job Functions
Operations
In
Close Collaboration With Deputy Team Leader And Head Of Office In Biu,
(and Potentially Other Sub-offices In Case Of Extension)
- Oversee
and ensure that procurement is completed, documented and delivered to
end-user in a timely manner, ensuring that items procured meet
specifications of the end-user while adhering to donor and Mercy Corps
procurement guidelines.
- Oversee all aspects of asset as well as
stock management for the WASH items, including ensuring sound transfers
between sub-offices or to the program implementation sites
- Ensure
quality and accuracy of the BoQs and Contracts, Cost estimates and any
other project-related documentation needed for procurement.
Program Management and Implementation
- Provide leadership and management of all aspects of WASH program design, planning, implementation, quality and accountability.
- Participate to the elaboration of technical design on WASH interventions for program proposals and budgets as requested.
- Build the capacity of all national WASH team members with special focus to more senior positions, in program management,
- Ensure
that program implementation is responsive to communities needs for WASH
and Nutrition and consistent with Mercy Corps’ relevant program
guidelines.
- Integrate community approaches, gender and
disablement sensitivity, Do No Harm/protection mainstreaming,
environmental sensitivity and capacity building into all activities as
appropriate.
- Establish, manage and coordinate work plans for all
program activities, including making adjustments in response to any
changes in the security situation in close coordination with the Head of
Office Biu, Deputy Team Leader, and the Director Humanitarian Programs -
Programs.
- Manage the WASH program budget, including: approval
of appropriate program expenses (within approval limit), tracking of
program spending and financial obligations, verification of monthly
budget-vs-actual reports, estimation of projected spending and
submission of monthly cash forecasts, etc.
- Manage the monitoring
and evaluation system for all WASH program activities, including the
planning and execution of any required evaluations, to ensure that
accurate and timely information is available. Document lessons learned
and best practices and integrate into program activities as appropriate.
- Conduct
regular field visits to all program sites in order to ensure that WASH
programs are adapted to local needs, provide quality control assurance,
and to conduct regular audits of program activities.
- Provide regular internal and external reports on program status, as required.
Coordination And Representation
- Develop
and maintain working relationships and coordinate with relevant
international and local agencies active in the WASH working group and
related coordination platforms.
- Document and communicate program implementation experience and lessons learned to support coordination and learning efforts.
Other
- Other duties as assigned.
Organizational Learning: As
part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our
understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient
and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members
to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy
Corps as well as themselves.
Accountability
Mercy
Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards
accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international
standards guiding international relief and development work while
actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the
design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
Supervisory Responsibility
This
position requires supervision of a team of approximately 5 national
staff. The WASH Program Manager is responsible for the direct
supervision of emergency WASH program staff in field locations in North
East Nigeria.
REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Deputy Team Leader
DIRECTLY SUPERVISES: WASH Program Staff.
WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: The WASH Program Manager works directly with the humanitarian program and operations staff in the field.
Knowledge And Experience
- BA/S in engineering, management, international development or other relevant field. Related MSc or MAs is a key asset.
- Significant
experience successfully managing programs and teams in the field,
preferably in Africa. Program experience should include program
implementation, M&E, needs assessments, reporting and proposal
development and budget monitoring required
- Experience with
emergency WASH programs with a view on sustainable infrastructure,
Cash-for-Work and hygiene education programming required
- Experience working with local stakeholders required
- Good organizational and program management skills and the ability to anticipate program needs.
- Ability
to effectively represent the organization and its interests to a
diverse range of stakeholders, including local and international
government officials, local civil society organizations, donors, other
international organizations, the media and the community.
- Demonstrated proficiency with the MS Office software (i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint) is required, with strong focus on Excel.
- Ability to analyze databases resulting from surveys
- Excellent oral and written English skills are an advantage, with local languages skills a bonus.
- Proven experience in working in insecure environment and through remote management.
Success Factors
The
successful WASH Program Manager will be conscientious, with an
excellent sense of judgment and commitment to integrity. S/he will have
strong understanding of the long-term implications of humanitarian work
and the importance of incorporating the development of civil society and
local partners into activities.
S/he will be able to interact
productively with partner and peer agencies, and demonstrate effective
verbal and written communication, multi-tasking, organizational, and
prioritization skills.
Demonstrated attention to detail, ability
to follow procedures, meet deadlines, and work independently and
cooperatively with team members is required. S/he will have interest and
ability to travel and work in remote environments and awareness of and
sensitivity to multi-cultural international development work and ability
to train and facilitate dialogue among a diverse group of individuals
with various skill sets and working styles.
Finally, 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. Patience, tenacity,
dedication to improving aid delivery and a good sense of humor are key
for this role.
Living Conditions/Environmental Conditions
The
position will be based in Biu town ( Biu LGA south of Borno state) and
requires substantial amount of travel between field locations in Gombe,
Adamawa and Borno states. Considering the frequent travel from/to
different field locations, this position will require flexibility in
terms of accommodation and logistics. Housing will be in hotels or
guesthouse where available. Security in the field locations require
additional vigilance and accessibility will be reassessed continuously.
Access
to good medical services in North East Nigeria is limited. Phone
communication, internet, electricity and water in main urban centers are
available but might be erratic.
The location is eligible for
hardship and R&R (every 10 weeks) benefits. Working hours require
flexibility and working through weekends/evenings might be necessary.
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.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should
Click Here to Apply