Shelter Officer

Shelter Officer

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
The incumbent of the position will be in daily contact with the staff of different Units within the Country Office, the Sub Office in Maiduguri, as well as Field Units; in particular incumbent will closely coordinate with the Programme and Supply teams. Incumbent will provide overall supervision and day-to-day guidance to the locally recruited shelter staff at various levels, i.e. Assistant Shelter Officer and Senior Shelter Assistant. Incumbent will have to interact with the external parties, such as Implementing Partners, other NGOs operating country-wide in the shelter sector as well as might have to coordinate with the relevant government authorities on the issues related to various interventions required to implement UNHCR shelter programmes. The Shelter Officer supports UNHCR efforts during an emergency in support to transition to durable solutions and ensures that international Shelter standards are met.

The Shelter Officer will work in close collaboration with the Snr Shelter / NFI /CCCM Coordinator and with the Programme Unit. The Shelter Officer will report to the Head of Sub Office, Maiduguri.

FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT
Accountability
- UNHCR Shelter programme is implemented based on updated needs assessments and through implementing partners adequately trained and having received proper guidance. The implementation strategy is developed in line with the overall coordination
- Gaps and overlaps in UNHCR funded Shelter programme and unmet needs are addressed, and the activities are oriented to address priority Shelter issues.

Responsibility
- Ensure the operation is supported in carrying out shelter needs assessments taking into account the current situation, projected population planning figures and the expected scale of returns.
- Develop of country level shelter strategy which framed by UNHCR's Global Strategy for Settlement and Shelter (2014-2018) and take into consideration the local context, age and gender, culture, climate, environmental protection and the availability of local resources, including materials, capacities and existing infrastructure.
- Provide clear guidance on standards for shelter, including minimum emergency standards to meet basic and essential needs as well as guidance for phased improvement of shelter conditions that will be necessary as the duration of the displacement prolongs.
- Ensure that the shelter strategy is periodically reviewed to reflect the evolving situation in country and progressively transitioning to more sustainable shelter solutions working in close collaboration with the beneficiaries and the Government.
- -Ensure that specifications, bills of quantities and drawings are produced in a technically sound and standardised manner.
- Establish monitoring and evaluation tools to ensure that works are implemented according to plans and completed within the designated timeframe.
- Promote the sustainability of technical interventions through local capacity building and self-help in collaboration with local partners in the field. Ensure that local communities have been consulted on all activities so as not to create unnecessary tension between the IDP's and hosting populations.
- Monitor all shelter and infrastructure activities through Implementing Partners and ensure compliance with strategies and guidance provided and agreed.
- Ensure that selection of sites for IDP's and other persons of concern (POC) are based on approved technical guidelines, giving full consideration to relevant factors like land availability, accessibility, security, water resources and absorption capacity and that settlement designs take into consideration protection oriented issues such as sexual and gender based violence and the specific needs of women, men, girls and boys.
- Maintain regular contact with programme, protection and field staff in country in order to ensure technical support related to shelter and construction activities.
- Maintain regular contact with the Shelter and Settlement Section in Geneva regarding all technical matters.
- Assist in carrying out a joint assessment of the unused schools and other facilities in priority locations that have been identified by the government as possible collective centers. Provide an assessment of the suitability of the site location, the capacity of the building, the physical condition of the building and an estimated scope of renovation works required to make the building inhabitable.
- Conduct technical feasibility studies (site assessments) for identification of adequate sites in close coordination with local authorities at state and local government levels, as well as with the concerned line Ministries, SEMA, NEMA and implementing partners. Provide an assessment of the suitability of the sites taking into consideration location, access, security, size, topography, ground conditions and proximity to services.
- In consultation with UNHCR¿s implementing partner and local communities, identify and monitor the implementation of Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) that can benefit the local and displaced communities and generally help to reduce the burden on the host communities.
- Assist in the development of the UNHCR shelter strategy for various scenarios in the contingency plan (up to 50,000 persons of concern). Develop shelter assistance methods to support IDPs and returnees in different settings (including host families, collective centers, and camps), also taking into account support that should be provided to the local communities.
- Develop a shelter assistance package that will support those in host families, both in terms of emergency assistance and longer term needs.  Assistance should target both the displaced (to reduce dissatisfaction and the probability that they will move on in search of better accommodation) and host populations (to increase their capacity for hosting IDPs or returnees over longer durations).
- Provide recommendation on the necessary renovation works for collective shelters to be executed by UNHCR¿s implementing partner and monitor the implementation of UNHCR shelter projects in the country.  Proposed works should take into consideration the local context, long-term implications, best practices in shelter and specific accessibility needs for the most vulnerable groups.
- Ensure that basic technical criteria of land availability/property, accessibility, security, topography, water resources, absorption capacity, and adequate terrain for proper sanitation facilities are taken into consideration while selecting potential settlement.
- Ensure that selection of sites for IDP's and other persons of concern (POC) are based on approved technical guidelines, giving full consideration to relevant factors like land availability, accessibility, security, water resources and absorption capacity.
- Liaise with and support the government in understanding and addressing emergency shelter needs including contingency planning.
- Coordinate inter-agency collaboration and operational partnership in the shelter programme. Lead the weekly or bi-weekly Shelter Working Group meetings.
- Promote the sustainability of the technical interventions through local capacity building and self-help in collaboration with local partners in the field. Ensure that local communities have been consulted over all activities so as not to create unnecessary tension between the displaced and host populations.

Authority
- Intervene with implementing partners on shelter issues.
- Negotiate locally on behalf of UNHCR.
- Decide priorities in the designing of implementation plan.
- Advise on implementing partners' selection.
- Enforce compliance with, and integrity of, all shelter standard operating procedures.

ESSENTIAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
- University degree in shelter-related sciences (e.g. Civil Engineering or Architecture).
- Minimum 8 years (6 years with advanced university degree) of relevant experience in the technical/ engineering field. At least 2 years in an international environment.
- Prior experience of implementing shelter and settlement projects in humanitarian context and large scale emergencies coordinating with operational partners governmental technical departments.
- Prior experience in designing and implementing a shelter strategy, including host family situations, collective shelter and camp settings, in emergency while considering the transition to more sustainable solutions.
- Previous involvement in implementation processes (including development of bill of quantities, analysis of local capacity and local markets, cost estimations etc.).
- Experience of construction management (including site supervision, monitoring, quality control, evaluation etc.) including application of participatory approaches to facilitate active participation of communities into the project cycle and into the construction process.
- Experience in developing shelter and settlement need assessments and undertaking gap analysis for development of shelter programmes.
- Knowledge of UNHCR shelter standards, as well as standards related to protection, WASH, environment and land use.
- Knowledge of a range of shelter assistance options, including sensitivity to cultural and gender specific needs to ensure that the social and cultural background of the refugees is taken into account while designing and developing shelter options.
- Computer literacy in MS Office and other relevant software.
- Excellent knowledge of English.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES
- Prior work experience in the region.
- Expertise in surveying tools (including GPS equipment, GIS software) including the capacity to produce digital maps.
- Knowledge of French.