Background
The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has been providing relief and development services in the Horn of Africa since 1997. Using a protection of human rights framework, DRC has mainly focused on Somalis who are displaced by conflict. Program includes protection, livelihoods, food and NFI distribution, water and sanitation, and advocacy amongst others. In the last two years, there has been significant growth in the size of the CDRD programme that requires support to maintain quality and accountability.
The Community-Driven Recovery and Development (CDRD) project is a collaborative effort between various partners that include, DRC, UNICEF, DANIDA, DFID, EC, SIDA and local Authorities/governments. The objective of CDRD project is to provide services to communities, to empower communities and provide capacity development to local councils. Through the CDRD, communities receive grants to support the implementation of their projects (here referred to as sub-projects). A complementary project to CDRD is The Develop Informed and Accountable Local Governance through User Empowerment (DIALOGUE) project, which addresses the inability of civil society to translate peacebuilding initiatives into state-building interventions and the lack of strong public participation in local governance. The DIALOGUE project complements CDRD interventions through inter-community projects that address the causes of localized conflicts and district-wide projects implemented jointly by communities and local authorities.
Objective
The WASH & Infrastructure Manager is responsible for overseeing the technical engineering direction of DRC construction projects in Somalia. This will include providing the requisite support to program activities that require engineering support including livelihoods, WASH, Shelter and CDRD projects. The core responsibilities will include project implementation, networking and liaison, communication, capacity building and field staff mentorship, monitoring, reporting & evaluation. S/he will provide capacity building for DRC local engineers, community facilitators and local authorities/district engineers, in the use of the various technical templates used in the design and in progress reporting of the community sub projects.
The core responsibilities of the WASH & Infrastructure Manager will be assisting the teams (WASH & Shelter/Infrastructure in Somalia) in supervising the project implementation, networking and liaison, communication, capacity building and field staff mentorship, monitoring, reporting & evaluation. The Manager will be also assisted by the WASH Coordinator and the Infrastructure Coordinator in Somalia to oversee the work of the Field Engineers (in Somalia).
He/she will provide engineering technical inputs in support of the CDRD Management Information System (MIS) as well as for transitional shelters.
Key Responsibilities:
Provide technical engineering support to Somalia program activities.
• Maintain accepted Infrastructural standards for the sector and ensure that project staff, partner agencies and recipient communities understand, accept and adhere to these standards.
• Ensure that various technical Templates (including bill of quantities, bill of materials and reporting formats) are in place and well used.
• Review of the technical specifications, engineering designs and work schedules to ensure consistency with the most appropriate technology and existing ministry /sector standards.
• Review of the bill of quantities and bill of materials of the proposals to ensure the estimated costs are reasonable and comparable to the market rates.
• Review projects both at proposal and implementation stages to ensure engineering quality and control including adequate safe guards against environmental impact.
• Review and advice on the bidding and tender documents and processes to ensure competitive bidding and conformity with the procurement procedures.
• Ensure the projects are implemented with the set designs, BOQs and BOMs, and project budget lines are expended within approved limit as stipulated by individual donors’ guideline as far as construction work is concern.
• Ensure the construction project activities are well coordinated and implemented in an integral manner so as to ensure effective and efficient utilization of physical and human resource during implementation.
• Regularly review the physical progress reports to ensure accuracy and consistency in reporting.
• Undertake regular field visits to carry –out technical audits during the implementation of the projects
• Representing DRC in Shelter Cluster technical issues related to infrastructure with close consultation with the CD/DCD, RIC and relevant Area Managers.
• Coordinate with Area Managers in requisition, procurement and delivery of project input materials, supplies and labour as far as construction work is concerned.
• Contribute to the creation and compilation of the annual operation plans and project proposals whenever required.
• Document, share and strive to solve difficulties that may be encountered in implementation of the construction projects
• Regularly conduct training sessions for field engineers and community facilitators (who will in turn train communities and local authorities) in the use of the various technical templates including bill of quantities, bill of materials, and technical reporting templates etc.
• Train field engineer on collecting materials prices and construction unit prices, including data entry and analysis
• Share regular Report upon completion of every mission with the CD/DCD, RIC and relevant Area Managers.
• Share “Success Stories” in a regular manner.
• Any other reasonable task as may be assigned by his/her direct Supervisor/Senior Management/RIC.
Reporting
The post holder reports to the Deputy Country Director of Somalia and will work in collaboration with Area Managers and the Regional Shelter Infrastructure Coordinator (RIC). For program Development issues, the Manager will assist the CD and the RIC while working with the Program development and Quality Manager and other Technical Coordinators to enhance program synergies.
Conditions:
Contract: 6 months’ contract, with possibility of extension.
Other employment conditions in accordance with the Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for Global Expatriates recruited by the Horn of Africa and Yemen Regional Office. This position is rated as A12 on the DRC salary scale available at www.drc.dk
Availability: July 2015
Duty Station: Garowe, with frequent visits to DRC Field offices in Somalia
General
Commitments: DRC has a Humanitarian Accountability Framework, outlining its global accountability committments. All staff are required to contribute to the achievement of this framework.
For general information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult www.drc.dk.
Personal Specifications
Essential:
• Post-graduate degree in Civil/Architectural Engineering or other relevant post-graduate degree.
• A minimum of 4 years of field experience in emergency and displacement situations.
• Knowledge of participatory approaches and tools to community planning, monitoring and evaluation
• Proficiency in written and spoken English is required. Extensive experience in report writing and editing is required.
• Good command of computer programs and applications with significant capabilities in computerized database and spreadsheet construction, and their practical application. Practical knowledge of AutoCAD, Archicad, ArcGIS or other GIS programmes is required.
Preferable:
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Self-motivated and able to work with a minimum of guidance
• Willingness and physical ability to perform field missions in rural areas under restricted security conditions
HOW TO APPLY:
Interested candidates who meet the required qualifications and experience are invited to submit updated CV and cover letter explaining their motivation and why they are suited for the post.
We only accept applications sent via our online-application form on www.drc.dk
Please forward the application and CV, in English through the online application on www.drc.dk under vacancies no later than 26 June, 2015.
Apply here
If you have questions or are facing problems with the online application process, please contactjob@drc.dk
For general information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult www.drc.dk.
