Water and Sanitation Advisor (WASH), Northeast Syria Consortium for Humanitarian Assistance (NESCHA), Syria

Please note that this position is pending funding

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.
Now, and for the future.

Program / Department Summary

In Northeast Syria, Mercy Crops anticipates a 24 month, multi-million dollar grant to implement a multi-sectoral program through a consortium approach. The Northeast Syria Consortium for Humanitarian Assistance (NESCHA) will be led by Mercy Corps and is a collaboration between five leading humanitarian agencies working in Syria.

As Mercy Corps seeks to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression around the world we recognize that instances of sudden change within a country or region are rare moments to enact significant, lasting change. In order to strengthen our presence for both early, immediate humanitarian response and longer-term programming throughout Syria, it is imperative that Mercy Corps present itself as a key and reliable partner with various donors, INGOs, government authorities and civil society actors. Mercy Corps, with its global experience in working in countries undergoing major transitions, will be a key contributor in the process, bringing knowledge, expertise and strong management skills to position the agency as a partner of choice for progressive change in Syria where Mercy Corps has been operational with emergency and life-sustaining activities since 2012.

General Position Summary

Based in the Syria country office in Amman, Jordan, and reporting to the Program Quality Director, the WASH Advisor is expected to contribute to the quality assurance of programs inside Syria. S/he will oversee and develop humanitarian WASH programs, ensuring the technical quality of implementation. S/he must also advise on the systems and people that should be in place to ensure proper management of the WASH components of projects and programs. S/he will work closely Mercy Corps staff and partner agencies to ensure standard WASH practices are applied throughout the program area. S/he will design and conduct appropriate training modules and mentor staff, colleagues and partners in order to build their capacity in the field of WASH.

Essential Job Responsibilities

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

• Develop a WASH strategy to contribute to Mercy Corps Syria country strategy
• Provide technical advice to program managers to ensure that WASH strategies in different hubs are aligned with the country strategy, and to help provide quality control.
• Conduct monitoring visits to field sites, where security permits
• Identify priorities in term of assessments, designing and overseeing KAP and other

COORDINATION

• Act as WASH technical lead for consortia programs in which Mercy Corps is the WASH technical lead agency, including leading working groups, providing technical advice and quality assurance
• Share relevant project information with other stakeholders
• Participate in WASH coordination meetings

PROGRAM QUALITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

• Coordinate with the Country Office and HQ to build systems that promote beneficiary accountability by ensuring that communities participate in initial assessments and program design;
• Support Program Managers to ensure that communities are informed about our programs and what we do, are aware of their entitlements, are comfortable to give feedback and that feedback is used to improve the quality of our programs;
• Ensure integration of M&E and accountability systems that are compliant with HAP international benchmarks, SPHERE and other relevant standards;
• Support and inculcate a culture of learning between programs through consistent sharing of M&E processes and systems;
• 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;

PROGRAM DESIGN AND REPORTING

• Coordinate with field program staff and other relevant stakeholders on proposal development, project design in pursuit of high impact and cost-effective program strategies and activities;
• Maintain a comprehensive list and schedule of private and institutional funding reports, including the detailed requirements necessary for each donor/grant and/or project;
• Develop a program reporting schedule and share among all WASH PMs;
• Develop program operational reporting templates that facilitate the acquisition and aggregation of information in programs;

Organizational Learning

• As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability to Beneficiaries

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically
  to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Supervisory Responsibility

Team of national WASH as well as oversight of partner agencies WASH

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Program Quality Director

Works Directly With: Mercy Corps WASH PMs, partner agencies WASH PMs and advisors

Knowledge and Experience

• Degree in water resources management, civil/environmental engineering, or equivalent
• Experience in donor relations in a humanitarian/developmental context
• A min of 5 years' experience in water/sanitation projects
• Significant experience in developing NGO country WASH strategies
• Good understanding of UN Cluster System
• Must have extensive training skills and experience working with a variety of donors;
• Ability to manage priorities autonomously
• Willingness to travel to field frequently (security permitting)

• Professional language skills in English (required), and Arabic (strongly preferred)

• Effective verbal and written communication, multi-tasking and organizational skill;

• Prior experience living overseas and ability to work in a fluid security environment;

Success Factors

The ability to interact effectively with international and national personnel both in a managerial as well as training capacity. An ability to support programmatic objectives with timely and meaningful financial information. A demonstrated ability to multi-task, meet deadlines and process information in support of changing program activities. An impeccable professional standard of WASH and reporting as well as the willingness and ability to enforce compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures. The WASH Advisor must be willing to travel regularly to Mercy Corps and partner agency field offices and project sites. The WASH Advisor must demonstrate a high degree of flexibility and a willingness to perform a wide range of tasks.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The CoP will be based in Amuda, Northeast Syria. The location is a hardship post eligible for rest and recuperation leave. The location is unaccompanied.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

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