Shelter Specialist

Key Responsibilities
  1. Technical Leadership & Team Management
  • Lead and manage the shelter team across all shelter activities, including:
    • Shelter rehabilitation and minor repairs
    • Collective site upgrades
    • ITS weatherproofing and site improvements
    • Fire risk mitigation measures
  • Assign tasks, supervise field teams, and ensure consistent application of technical standards.
  • Provide hands-on technical guidance, mentoring, and on-the-job capacity building.
  • Perform any other technical or coordination tasks or activities as may be requested, in line with project needs and organizational priorities.
  1. Shelter Planning, Assessments & Targeting
  • Lead unified shelter assessments for:
    • Individual residential units
    • Collective sites
    • Informal Tented Settlements (ITS)
  • Ensure assessments are aligned with UNHCR SOPs, vulnerability criteria, and protection priorities.
  • Coordinate closely with mapping and IM teams to align assessment data, mapping sweeps, and shelter planning.
  1. Design, Specifications & Quality Control
  • Prepare, review, and validate technical designs, BOQs, and specifications.
  • Oversee contractor-led and tenant-led modalities, ensuring quality, safety, and compliance.
  • Conduct regular site visits and quality-control checks, identifying risks and corrective actions.
  • Prepare and review technical drawings and layouts using AutoCAD to support shelter rehabilitation works, site improvements, and contractor-led interventions.
  1. Technical Coordination (Internal & External)
  • Serve as HAND’s technical focal point for shelter with:
    • UNHCR Shelter Unit
    • Mapping / IM teams
    • Protection, AAP, and WASH teams
    • Contractors, municipalities, and relevant technical partners
  • Coordinate technical interfaces between shelter activities and other sectors to ensure coherence and avoid overlap.
  1. Fire Safety, Weatherproofing & Site-Level Works
  • Lead technical aspects of fire risk mitigation, including fire extinguishers and fire barrier installations.
  • Oversee weatherproofing works, site drainage, access improvements, and PWD adaptations.
  • Ensure all site-level interventions align with UNHCR fire safety and ITS standards.
  1. HLP & Protection Integration
  • Support HLP tenure arrangements (FOC agreements, rent-freeze mechanisms) from a technical shelter perspective.
  • Coordinate with protection teams to mitigate shelter-related protection risks.
  1. Technical Reporting & Documentation
  • Provide technical inputs to narrative reports and indicator tracking.
  • Document lessons learned, technical challenges, and best practices.
  • Support production of shelter-related information products and mapping outputs.
  1. Emergency Shelter & Rapid Response
  • Lead the technical planning and implementation of emergency shelter responses following sudden shocks (storms, fires, floods, structural collapses).
  • Support Rapid Needs Assessments (RNA) and technical verification of emergency shelter needs.
  • Provide technical guidance for emergency shelter kits, temporary repairs, and immediate safety measures.
  • Coordinate closely with UNHCR Shelter Unit and internal teams to ensure technical appropriateness and compliance during emergency operations.
Required Qualifications & Experience
  • University degree in Architecture or Civil Engineering.
  • Minimum 4–6 years of experience in shelter or construction, preferably in humanitarian settings.
  • Proven experience leading shelter teams and supervising contractors.
  • Strong understanding of UNHCR shelter standards and ITS modalities.
  • Proven proficiency in AutoCAD, including the ability to prepare, review, and adjust technical drawings, layouts, and basic construction details for shelter rehabilitation, site improvements, and fire-risk mitigation works.
  • Fluency in Arabic and English.
Core Competencies
  • Technical leadership and decision-making
  • Team supervision and coordination
  • Strong field-based problem solving
  • Cross-sector technical collaboration
  • Commitment to protection, safety, and quality

 

Intervention Sectors
Shelter and Non-Food Items
Location
  • Lebanon
  • Beqaa
  • Zahleh
  • Marj (Beqaa Ouest)
Application Deadline
Organisation
HAND Organization
Salary Range
1500 to 2000 (USD)
Contract Type
Full Time
Application Submission Guidelines


You are kindly requested to submit your resume with the title in the subject line "Shelter Specialist". Applications without the subject name will not be considered. 

Requires a Cover Letter?
No
Experience Requirements
3 to 5 years
Education Degree
Bachelor Degree
Education Degree Details
University degree in Architecture or Civil Engineering.
Arabic
Fluent
English
Excellent
French
None
Hide guidelines for wrong answers
No