Wash Project Officer

PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY: Mercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering, poverty, and oppression by helping people build secure, productive, and just communities. Mercy Corps has been present in the Middle East since the 1980s and currently has offices in Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Libya. Working in Lebanon since 1993, Mercy Corps has been running community development programs focused on promoting economic development and increased opportunity for disadvantaged communities, while responding to emergencies as they have emerged. Recently, the program portfolio has expanded in response to the massive refugee influx from Syria, including grants from UNICEF, the European Commission, Canadian and American governments, and private foundations.    The conflict that began more than four years ago in Syria has resulted in a steady increase of Syrian refugees to Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey.  To date, more than one million refugees have fled to Lebanon. As numbers have continued to increase, humanitarian conditions are deteriorating.  The burden on host communities and the financial and emotional stress on refugees and their hosts is tremendous. Mercy Corps is responding to these needs by addressing urgent basic needs, child protection as well as the psychosocial impact of the conflict and displacement.  At the same time, Mercy Corps’ programmatic focus is on mitigating social tensions between hosts and refugees, particularly over economic resources, by addressing both livelihood opportunities, conflict mitigation capacity and local government capacity.   GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY: The WASH Project Officer will advance Mercy Corps’ ongoing programming in Beqaa Region, Lebanon by being responsible for the day to day project implementation that focuses on increasing access to safe water, sanitation services/facilities, and proper Hygiene conditions and practices to Syrian refugees and host communities, including local government engagement, scale up & sustainability,  promotion of Syrian and Lebanese participation in project activities, strengthening the role of women in decision making, participation in coordination activities meetings and liaising with relevant government departments in the field. In addition, the project officer will be greatly involved in and responsible for producing key documents and materials, providing support to plan and implement key communications components of ongoing programming focused on WASH. The project officer will be the focal point for liaison with, and follow up and capacity building of local partners.     ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS: Oversee day to day project implementation and ensure effective and timely completion of WASH interventions; Support in carrying out community mobilization and hygiene promotion sessions among the refugees and host communities; Conduct WASH assessments to determine scope of work, resource requirement and estimated cost; Provide support including on-the-job training, supervision and monitoring of volunteers and local partner staff; Monitor the WASH project process as per Mercy Corps regulations and standards; Prepare weekly field reports to be submitted to WASH Project Manager; Support and coordinate agency and donor monitoring visits; Jointly with WASH team, conduct emergency assessments and, in coordination with others, design and organize the implementation of appropriate responses; Support in establishing and maintaining proper project documentation and records, including but not limited to: needs assessments questionnaires, monitoring questionnaires, certificates of vouchers receipts, consolidated list of beneficiaries, photos etc.; Prepare and follow up in support the Project Manager in conducting monthly house-to-house visits to carry out profiling of targeted households, verify the eligibility of households selected for minor repair purposes, identify non-food item needs, and execute needs assessments and monitoring questionnaires as needed; Maintain and update village level database of refugee profiles and sector-based needs; Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission; Develop key productions to increase Mercy Corps’ communication within local communities in Lebanon to promote program activities and increase awareness and acceptance; Assist the Media & Communications Coordinator in producing communication material and publications that market Mercy Corps' work (online, offline and audiovisual) in coordination with the Program Teams for key donors, peer agencies, and other key stakeholders; Assist the Media & Communications Coordinator in organizing events such as receptions, conferences, TV and radio talk shows and press releases; Review and apply existing water quality testing, water trucking and de-sludging services and advise on how to improve further, including development of new materials to increase community awareness as well as visibility; Coordinate with M&E team to gather and use existing success stories that highlight Mercy Corps’ interventions for donors; Other duties as assigned by the supervisor.   Other Ensure all activities are gender sensitive and follow Mercy Corps’ Gender Equity Policy; Apply Do No Harm standards to ensure activities do not have detrimental affects on vulnerable communities; Contribute to monthly reports and other ad hoc reports to meet donor and internal requirements; Participate in internal office coordination and planning meetings and workshops; Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission; Other assigned tasks, as necessary.   SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: None REPORTS DIRECTLY TO:  WASH Project Manager WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: WASH Sector Team, M&E Team, and Operations Team and Local partners   KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE: Minimum of 4 years’ work experience working directly for an NGO or relevant organization in Bekaa region Familiarity with the issues of urban and village water systems water quality, sanitation and solid waste management. Demonstrate good expertise in emergency response implementation especially in the refugee (ISs) context in Bekaa. Commitment to local capacity building and the ability to engage local stakeholders in project design and implementation Demonstrated capacity to collaborate closely with INGOs and national NGOs and CBOs Good organizational and basic project management skills Experience working with refugees or other vulnerable population required, implementing a WASH project and conducting training is preferred Proven understanding of Do No Harm principles and methodology with applied experience implementing projects with/for women and girls The applicants should have good written and verbal English and Arabic skills Must be computer-literate, particularly in programs such as MS Word and MS Excel.  Strong organizational and collaboration skills required, with the ability to work independently and be self-directed, as necessary Must work well as a member of a team, with willingness to travel throughout Lebanon, sometimes staying overnight, as the job requires   SUCCESS FACTORS: The successful project officer will be bright, energetic, hard-working and eager to learn.  S/he will take a deep personal interest in humanitarian and development assistance.  S/he will be attentive to detail and able to carry out assigned tasks in a timely manner and according to a very high standard of quality.  S/he will be creative and flexible, but at the same time will not have any difficulty in adhering to systems and procedures.  S/he will strictly follow all protocols related to safety and security.