Regional Emergency Wash Cluster Senior Officer

Organizational context (where the job is located in the Organization) The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian organisation with 187member National Societies.  Present all over the world – not just physically in towns, villages and neighbourhoods, but also in the minds and hearts of people – we represent an important “public good”. The Global WASH Cluster (GWC) has made strengthening WASH coordination mechanisms at country level to respond effectively to humanitarian crises with predictable leadership, accountability, and collaborative partnership a key objective of the GWC Strategic Plan 2011 – 2013. With funding support from DG ECHO a consortium of CARE, NCA, ACF, Tear fund and the IFRC has been formed to deliver emergency capacity building and preparedness support to national WASH clusters and national coordination platforms.  This consortium will place a Regional Emergency Cluster Senior Officer in each of six locations globally to support national emergency WASH Coordination platforms and implement specific emergency preparedness and capacity building initiatives in close collaboration with UNICEF.   Job Pupose The Regional Wash Cluster Senior Officer is responsible for working to support National and sub national level WASH Clusters in the Zone/Region to build their capacity to respond to water and sanitation emergencies. The Senior Officer must ensure safe water, sanitation, health education and community participation is applied  and delivered through improved capacity of national and sub-national emergency WASH coordination mechanisms and all agencies active in the WASH sector including both ‘host’ and participating RC/RC National Societies where they are active. Provide regular technical guidance, coordination, supervision, support and advice to country based WASH actors including Federation WatSan and Health Delegates and/or NS counterparts as appropriate. The Senior Officer will pay particular attention to the needs of local offices of INGOs and to those of local partners and strive to ensure the fullest participation possible by all relevant actors.  Country based WASH cluster coordinators are technically accountable to the RECA who should ensure that WASH Cluster standards and international standards are maintained.   Job duties and responsibilities  1. Work towards the achievement of WASH Cluster goals in the region of operation through effective managerial and lateral relations and teamwork. 2. Map existing regional and national WASH sector capacity (resources, response and coordination mechanisms and expertise) in the area of operation. 3. Assess levels of cluster awareness and participation, and identify barriers to participation and major impediments to effective coordination with particular emphasis on countries where national clusters are inactive, underperforming or non-existent. 4. In collaboration with the UNICEF Regional WASH Specialist, and other UNICEF staff as appropriate, develop a regional work plan and support the RECA Coordinator in drafting the RECA consolidated work plan. 5. Complete the identification and prioritisation of high-risk countries in the region (emergency risk ranking). 6. On the basis of the mapping exercise and risk ranking, support the development and annual updating of regional WASH Cluster Contingency Plans and, in countries at high risk of disaster, instigate a contingency planning process in national clusters. 7. Support and monitor country adaptation and roll-out of Global WASH Cluster concept and tools tailored to specific country-level needs 8. Attend the locations of significant emergencies, support, and mentor and advise management and staff of responding agencies. 9. Address the identified barriers to participation and engage and facilitate the participation of local NGOs, INGOs and local authorities at national coordination levels. 10. Identify capacity building priorities and appropriate approaches to develop capacity, co-ordinate and support training and provide ongoing technical support to partner NGOs and governmental institutions. 11. Work in close collaboration/ liaison with the other RECAs and the RWSs to ensure a consistent approach across regions while maintaining relevance to national contexts 12. Collaborating closely with UNICEF regional and national WASH staff, support the creation and development of national WASH coordination platforms (clusters). 13. Capture lessons from emergency response and incorporate them into future plans and activities. 14. Create strategic links between the regional and national clusters and bilateral donors. 15. Advocate for the promotion or re-invigorate national coordination mechanisms in countries where they are absent or ineffective. 16. Promote best practices and lessons learnt within the clusters and ensure establishment of appropriate technical standards for the humanitarian response. This includes promoting and guiding national clusters in their adherence to minimum standards, including SPHERE and other recognised sectoral humanitarian standards, the Red Cross and NGO Code of Conduct. 17. Ensure integration of cross-cutting issues (gender, protection and HIV mainstreaming, disaster risk reduction and accountability to beneficiaries) in policies, tools, training, and strategic planning. 18. Maintain records and information and provide timely reporting. 19. Respect and follow the key Federation technical documents (WatSan policy, Strategy 2020, Health & Care policies, GWSI, MDGs, SPHERE, PHAST etc.,) Contribute actively to the Federations Global WatSan/Health agenda. 20. As budget holder, plan, manage and monitor expenditure and provide timely and accurate expenditure records and meet financial reporting requirements as need be.   Duties applicable to all staff 1-       Actively work towards the achievement of the Federation Secretariat’s goals 2-       Abide by and work in accordance with the Red Cross and Red Crescent principles 3-       Perform any other work related duties and responsibilities that may be assigned by the line manager   Position Requirements     Education   Required Preferred University degree or Diploma in Water/Sanitation, Civil engineering X   Postgraduate education in public health   X       Experience   Required  Preferred At least 5 years experience working with disaster-related Water/Sanitation interventions X   At least 3 years of experience in field programs X   Previous experience with Red Cross/ Red Crescent emergency response and knowledge of Disaster Management tools (ERU, TL or FACT)   X Experience with a National Society   X       Knowledge and Skills Required  Preferred Leadership and coordination skills X   Analytical thinking X   Good communication and presentation skills X   Ability to work under stressful conditions, meet deadlines and travel extensively to support field operations or training X   Computer literacy: self-sustainable (Windows 2007 environment) X   Adult training skills   X       Languages Required  Preferred Fluently spoken and written Arabic and English X         Other languages:     Competencies (to be filled in by HR)     Professionalism Result  focus and Accountability Teamwork Communications Strategic Orientation