WASH Specialist

All NRC employees are expected to work in accordance with the organisation’s core values:

dedication, innovation, inclusivity and accountability. These attitudes and beliefs shall guide our actions and relationships.

The purpose of the WASH Specialist position is to carry out the technical development of the WASH strategic direction and quality assurance. The WASH Specialist is also responsible for mentoring, training, and capacity building of staff on WASH technical issues.

Generic responsibilities

1. Develop WASH strategy, theories of change and Macro LFAs providing technical guidance for all WASH interventions in Lebanon
2. Ensure compliance with and adherence to NRC policies, guidance and procedures
3. Contribute to fundraising, develop and revise funding proposal, budgets and donor reports 
4. Identify trends technical standards and donor priorities, liaise with donors 
5. Follow up on compliance with contractual commitments within CC, ensure high technical quality and synergies in project implementation
6. Provide technical direction and project implementation support and evidence-based advocacy for WASH.
7. Ensure that key learnings are extracted from WASH implementation, and incorporate them in WASH and staff development processes
8. Provide systematic training and build capacity of technical staff
9. Represent NRC in relevant forums/clusters, including with national authorities and donors
10. Promote the rights of IDPs/returnees in line with the advocacy strategy
11. Oversee and be responsible of mainstreaming protection guidelines in the NRC WASH activities as per NRC’s Protection mainstreaming guidelines and ensure that all breaches/concerns reported are properly resolved.

Specific responsibilities 

• Provide technical direction and project implementation support in the following programmatic areas:

1. The provision of secure and equitable access to a sufficient quantity of safe water, for drinking, cooking and personal and domestic hygiene for refugees in buildings and informal settlements. 
2. Provision of culturally accepted sanitation services in buildings and informal settlements. 
3. Use and maintenance of WASH facilities by beneficiaries and awareness raising of key public health risks to prevent the deterioration of hygienic conditions of targeted population. 
4. WASH activities (physical upgrades, maintenance of facilities, water provision, hygiene promotion) in schools
5. Rehabilitation/improvement of water and/or sanitation public infrastructures/services provided by Municipalities.
6. Hygiene behavioral change

• Contribute to the development and implementation NRC Lebanon COVID-19 response strategy including activities targeting NRC Staff.

Critical interfaces

Relevant interfaces for this position are:

• Program development: Head of Programs, Country Management Group, Core Competencies section (HQ Oslo), Regional technical adviser
• Proposal development: Area Managers, Project Managers, Core Competence Specialists, Head of Programme and Programmes Support Unit (Protection adviser, M&E, Grants team, accountability)
• Quality control/ support: Head of Programme, Area Managers, Project Managers, Coordinators
• Capacity development: Project staff, Area Managers, general NRC staff for COVID-19 activities.

1. Professional competencies 

These are skills, knowledge and experience that are important for effective performance.

• Minimum 5 years experience in working as a senior Project/Program Manager and/or Adviser in a humanitarian/ recovery context
• Proven expertise in WASH related issues in temporary settings and urban areas. 
• Previous experience in developing and following up WASH program strategies in response to the Syria Crisis is an asset. 
• University degree or higher education relevant to the assignment. 
• Proven skills and experience in report and proposal writing
• Ability to prioritize needs and carry out multiple tasks simultaneously
• Experience from working in complex and volatile contexts
• Prior experience and proven capability in training and capacity development 
• Fluency in English, both written and verbal.
• Knowledge or Arabic language is an asset. 
• Knowledge of Lebanon context and response is an asset  

2. Behavioral competencies

• Handling insecure environments
• Strategic thinking
• Empowering and building trust
• Influencing
• Initiating action and change
• Analysing