MANAGER, WASH EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM

Background

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a military operation in Ukraine, invading the neighboring nation in an attack that has been condemned by world leaders. Missile attacks and explosions have been reported throughout Ukraine, with military troops invading from three sides of the country. In less than one week, the invasion has affected millions of people.

Despite hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing, many civilians remain trapped. The situation throughout Ukraine is deteriorating rapidly as the conflict intensifies, prompting a sharp increase in humanitarian needs as access to essential services and supplies are disrupted and more and more people flee their homes. The number of civilian deaths and injuries is and will continue to rise as population centers become cut off and increasingly the target of shelling. Already, reports of civilians caught in cities and towns under shelling are increasing. Damage to electrical, sanitation, water, road and residential infrastructure throughout the country is hampering access to essential services and parts of the country are experiencing cash and food shortages as bank machines and grocery stores are empty. The UN estimates that 12 million people in Ukraine will soon be in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.

Outside of Ukraine, more than 670,000 Ukrainians have fled to Hungary, Moldova, Poland and Romania and that number will climb as fighting persists – placing increasing pressure on host governments as they work to shelter and provide essential services to the new arrivals. According to officials, the number of refugees from this crisis could result in anywhere from 1 to 5 million people. Within Ukraine, International Medical Corps is continuously working to help ensure the safety of our staff and to monitor the increasingly desperate situation. Our response activities are focused on the operation of mobile medical teams and the provision of emergency and primary health services, mental health and psychosocial support and gender-based violence services, which are so important to conflict-affected communities. We are also working closely with our network of partners to address the needs of impacted healthcare facilities to ensure that they can continue to provide essential health services. In Poland, Moldova and Romania, we are rapidly scaling up health and protection activities to support the needs of Ukrainian refugees, as well as our regional logistical capacity to support our expanded presence in Ukraine.

As a global humanitarian nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through healthcare training and relief and development programs, we are prepared to deploy our Emergency Medical Team and mobile health facility in cooperation with the World Health Organization upon request to provide emergency and primary health care wherever it is needed in Ukraine and/or neighboring countries.

This position will support International Medical Corps’ emergency response delivering outpatient clinical care to disaster-affected populations.

JOB SUMMARY:

The primary responsibility of the WASH Manager ERT includes supporting the team in the rapid assessment, planning, design, implementation, supervision, and administration of the WASH technical interventions consistent with ongoing or planned water and sanitation, and other International Medical Corps core sector programs. The WASH Manager will support the prioritization and coordination of the start-up and implementation of the interventions. S/he will participate as needed in the development of concept papers and proposals for emergency scale up interventions. In addition, the WASH Manager will support the training of local staff and stakeholders in WASH related topics.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function with or without reasonable accommodation:

MAIN TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Assessment
• Conduct the initial joint health and WASH rapid assessment for deployment and ensure the site selection is consistent with the international standards for WASH and infection prevention and control (IPC)
• Provide technical oversight ensuring provision of WASH adequate for the setting
• Implement water and sanitation, and relevant (IPC) expertise in rapid needs assessments and analysis at existing and new health care structures
• Translate the needs into program priorities and identify emergency interventions
• Provide capacity building support for conducting rapid needs assessments and its analysis that is to be linked to activity plan and budgets.
• Support the assessment of the in-country resources and capacities including staffing, material and financial for response with relevant staff and agencies

Program Design
• Select from appropriate technologies and design water systems including source selection (ground water, surface water), abstraction, storage, treatment and distribution for new systems and/or the rehabilitation of old water systems
• Select and design the most appropriate form of sanitation system including excreta disposal, vector control, solid waste disposal, drainage, taking full account of local conditions, resources, customs and cultural norms
• Select and design a hygiene promotion program that is suitable for the local context and would be widely accepted by beneficiaries, in collaboration with other actors
• Design appropriate, phased, technical interventions to ensure timely, safe and high-quality health care delivery at existing facilities and staff accommodation, including contingency preparation for potential infectious disease outbreaks as directed
• Ensure that issues of protection, gender, infection control, climatic conditions, environmental protection, security, access, safe operation and maintenance are factored into the response design
• Ensure minimum standards both qualitative and quantitative are considered and any departures documented
• Assist in the development of letters of intent, concept papers, budgets and proposals as directed

Response Management and Implementation
• Manage Emergency WASH interventions in a prioritized manner in co-ordination with International Medical Corps core sectors and other agencies, both governmental and non-governmental and the WASH Cluster
• Work closely with Human Resources team for hiring and building capacity of the WASH team
• Ensure gender and protection is considered throughout the project cycle with women being enabled to influence decision- making around WASH challenges
• Ensure Emergency WASH program implementation is linked to health, gender, child protection and nutrition
• Implement the appropriate supervisory, monitoring and evaluation systems for Emergency WASH interventions
• Work closely with program support functions (logistics and finance departments) for Emergency WASH program supplies and activities planning

Information and Co-ordination
• Provide regular updates and technical guidance to team on progress, priorities and challenges – verbally and in writing
• Represent International Medical Corps to governmental, non-governmental groups and WASH Cluster as needed and assigned
• Support the program team in obtaining the required government permissions and positively engage with institutional and private donors and HQ

Compliance & Ethics
• Promote and encourage a culture of compliance and ethics throughout International Medical Corps. As applicable to the position, maintains a clear understanding of International Medical Corps’ and donor compliance and ethics standards and adheres to those standards. Conduct work with the highest level of integrity. Communicate these values to staff and to partners and require them to adhere to these values.

General
• Deployed personnel are expected to assist with the setup, maintenance and demobilization of the clinical spaces and base camp as required.

Policy Adherence
• Actively promote PSEA (prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse) standards within International Medical Corps and among beneficiaries served by International Medical Corps.
• Adhere to the Code of Conduct, maintain humanitarian principles and respect international humanitarian law at all times.

Perform other duties as assigned. The duties and responsibilities listed in this document are representative of the nature and level of work assigned and not necessarily all inclusive.

Code of Conduct
As applicable to this position, an individual must promote and encourage a culture of compliance and ethics throughout the organization and maintain a clear understanding of International Medical Corps’ and donor compliance and ethics standards and adheres to those standards. Staff are also responsible for preventing violations to our Code of Conduct and Ethics, which may involve Conflicts of Interest, Fraud, Corruption or Harassment. If you see, hear or are made aware of any violations to the Code of Conduct and Ethics or Safeguarding Policy, you have an obligation to report.

If this is a supervisory position, one must set an example of ethical behavior through one’s own conduct and oversight of the work of others; ensure that those who report to you have sufficient knowledge and resources to follow the standards outlined in the Code of Conduct & Ethics; monitor compliance of the people you supervise; enforce the Code of Conduct & Ethics and International Medical Corps’ policies, including the Safeguarding Policy and the Protection from Harassment, Bullying and Sexual Misconduct in the Workplace Policy, consistently and fairly; support employees who in good faith raise questions or concerns.

Safeguarding
It is all staff shared responsibility and obligation to safeguard and protect populations with whom we work, including adults who may be particularly vulnerable and children. This includes safeguarding from the following conduct by our staff or partners: sexual exploitation and abuse; exploitation, neglect, or abuse of children, adults at risk, or LGBTI individuals; and any form of trafficking in persons.

Equal Opportunities
International Medical Corps is proud to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, age, disability or status as a veteran.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Typically, a Bachelor’s degree in water and sanitation engineering, civil engineering, or relevant technical WASH specialization. Equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate

Experience
• Typically, 7+ years of relevant and progressive experience, with at least 3 years of work experience with designing and implementing emergency WASH (water and sanitation systems) in IDPs, refugee and migrant contexts, maintaining sanitation systems, and implementing hygiene promotion programs; or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Working knowledge and understanding of WASH sector and its hardware and software components specially in health facilities
• Demonstrated knowledge of linking WASH activities with other humanitarian sectors
• Experience overseeing emergency program implementation, tracking the progress, reporting against the agreed indicators and managing project budget.
• Experience in emergency and early recovery phases, including assessments and the design and delivery of effective water supply and hygiene promotion interventions in humanitarian and development contexts.
• Experience and understanding of key donors’ policies, guidelines and strategies e.g. WHO, USAID, OFDA, ECHO, DFID and UN.
• Demonstrated experience in WASH proposal development and preparation of internal and donor reports.
• Ability to effectively present information (both written and verbally) and respond appropriately to questions from senior managers in the field, counterparts, senior government in English
• Ability to understand gender related challenges within the beneficiary groups.
• Demonstrated analytical, motivational, communication, project conceptualization and planning skill. Demonstrated experience of working closely with support functions (finance and logistics) on activity and procurement planning
• Fluency in written and spoken English

Additional Technical or Language Requirements

Eligibility to work in the European Union or Ukraine desirable. Fluency in Russian, Ukrainian, Polish or other relevant language preferred.

MISCONDUCT DISCLOSURE SCHEME

All offers of employment at International Medical Corps are subject to satisfactory references and background checks. International Medical Corps participates in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme from the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR). In accordance with this, we will request information from an applicant’s previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.