The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.
ORGANIZATIONAL DESCRIPTION:
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) began work in Ethiopia in 2000 in response to severe drought in Ethiopia’s Somali Region. IRC now runs programs in five regions across Ethiopia, targeting refugees, host communities and disaster affected communities. IRC implements emergency water and sanitation activities, works to reduce the number of children involved in the worst forms of child labor, conducts agricultural activities, works with pastoralists on improving animal health, raises awareness on HIV/AIDS, family planning, and polio, and conducts community-based activities to reduce morbidity and mortality among children under five.
PROGRAM BACKGROUND:
Drought and instability in Somalia has driven tens of thousands of refugees into southern Ethiopia. There are currently five refugee camps in Dolo Ado Woreda, in the south of Ethiopia, with a sixth camp potentially opening soon, and a total refugee population of 153,200. The IRC is mandated with providing safe water to three of the refugee camps, housing 107,000 refugees, as well as host communities, institutions and implementing partners (NGOs, IOs, government offices) in and around the camps. Over the past year, the IRC has been able to complete water supply pipelines to each of the three camps, and distribution networks within the camps. The source water is highly turbid river water from a perennial river, and so the IRC has also constructed water treatment plants for each of the camps, with flocculation, sedimentation and rapid sand filtration units.
Over the emergency period, the IRC has faced an extremely high workload in completing construction in a remote and often challenging environment. With water now on tap in all three camps, the IRC is now turning attention to improving and operationalizing the water supply in each camp, to ensure consistent, reliable and high quality service to the refugees. The number of people and institutions is now well above the planning figures in all three camps, and the numbers requiring clean water continues to grow. In particular, UNHCR plans to move their sub-office to Melkadida, and other IPs are also relocating their offices and guesthouses to the camps from Dolo Ado Town. Thus the IRC faces continuing need to expand and improve water treatment capacity.
The IRC seeks a Water Quality Specialist to work with the two program managers and with the project teams at the three camps. This is a short term position, and the Specialist will be based in Dolo Ado, at the IRC guesthouses in Melkadida and/or Bokolmayo Camps.
Scope
The Water Quality Specialist will supervise a small team consisting of a water quality officer and three water quality assistants. The Specialist will ensure that water supplied on the daily base is in compliance with acceptable standard and norms. The specialist will assess the adequacy (quantity and quality) of the current water supply, whether certain groups are particularly disadvantaged from inadequacy of the supply and identify what actions would lead to improvement in the water supply. Training of the operational team is crucial to ensure that they have the skills to continue to operate the plant. Working with the two EH Managers to ensure sufficient water is available in the camps in accordance with the demand cycle of the camp is also a core responsibility.
Key responsibilities include:
• Define what data need to be collected and how. Monitoring the quality of treated water, and establishing monitoring systems to track quality and quantity of water produced, and establish corrective actions where water quality lies outside established standards. • Evaluation of the current water treatment infrastructure and treatment regime, and identifying needed improvements. • Together with the operating team, instituting change and establishing effective site-specific routines and procedures for managing the treatment plants. • Establishing and improving water quality laboratories at each site, identifying and ordering needed equipment. • Developing site-specific manuals and SOPs covering all aspects of operation of the water treatment plants. • Training and mentoring site staff in the use of these manuals and in all aspects of facility operation, maintenance, monitoring and management. • Identifying needed physical improvements and expansions of the water treatment plants, and designing and overseeing the construction and commissioning of these improvements.
This Specialist reports to IRC Ethiopia’s Environmental Health (EH)/WASH Coordinator for technical issues and the Camp Manager for day-to-day operational issues. The Specialist works alongside the EH Managers in ensuring effective water supply to beneficiaries in the three camps. The Specialist manages the Water Quality Officer and Assistants. The position is expected to be based at the guest houses at Bokolmayo and Melkadida Refugee Camps, possibly transferring between the two periodically depending on activity focus, and with frequent travel between the water treatment facilities at all three of the camps.
Requirements • BSc in Civil/Environmental Engineering or similar field. • Minimum 4 years of relevant experience. • Demonstrated specialization in water treatment, with experience in the design and operation of water treatment facilities. • Demonstrated experience and ability in working alongside staff and training and mentoring them in technical skill acquisition. • Previous experience supervising and managing a multi-disciplinary team in a cross-cultural setting. • Ability to work and live in a remote environment. • Ability to work and adapt under pressure. • Computer literate (word processors, spreadsheet, CAD an advantage). • Previous practical emergency response experience an advantage.
Please apply online: www.ircjobs.org or http://tbe.taleo.net/NA2/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=IRC&cws=1&rid=8283 .
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