Senior Environmental Health Officer

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries, the IRC aims to restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure.

In response to the influx of refugees in Greece, The IRC Hellas has been working in Lesvos since June 2015.

Job Summary:

The Senior Environmental Health (EH) Officer is responsible for supporting IRC’s Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) response for the refugee and migrant influx in Kara Tepe refugee camp, in Mytilene, Greece. The Senior EH Officer will have the responsibility for program implementation, quality assurance, monitoring, and staff supervision, adhere to health and safety regulations for technical issues, coordination with other partners, and reporting for WASH activities. The Senior EH Officer will ensure the consistency, quality, efficiency, and accountability of WASH activities implemented in the Lesvos area.

Overall the Senior EH Officer will be responsible for overseeing, supervising the technical WASH components of the program in close coordination and collaboration of the Technical/Engineer Team Leader and hygiene promotion activities as well. All WASH activities will be monitored in coordination with the Area Manager.

Keys tasks and responsibilities:

• The Senior EH Officer will be responsible for managing the community mobilization team, and the Maintenance team in collaboration with the Technical/Engineer Team Leader
• The Senior EH Officer will supervise and manage the day-to-day WASH activities in the Lesvos sites including sanitation (latrines, showers, and waste management) and hygiene promotion activities
• Contribute to Shelter/WASH planning and development, project proposals and provide input on needs and gaps that ensure beneficiaries are provided with adequate services
• Assist in the preparation of contracts and service agreements for WASH/Shelter activities
• Identify needs for non-food items relevant to hygiene, participate in the choice of items, targeting strategy, distribution, promotion of effective use, and post-distribution monitoring
• Ensure that all WASH facilities, offices, waiting areas, communal areas, and tents are cleaned appropriately and regularly by the cleaning contractor
• Design and ensure that appropriate hygiene promotion activities are implemented by the hygiene promotion team. This will including scheduling, planning, overseeing implementation, and monitoring all hygiene promotion activities
• Coordinate with the Area Manager and the WASH team to ensure the quality of all WASH facilities provided
• Ensure that the supply chain staff has the required documentation for all program activities
• The Senior EH Officer will be responsible for managing the stock in correlation of the budget at the Warehouse in coordination with the Area Manager and the Supply Chain team
• In collaboration with the program staff, provide guidance and technical oversight to implementing partners and other collaborating agencies to ensure that lessons of sound practice are documented and disseminated
• Mobilize communities and individuals of different age groups to identify priority public health issues, hygiene promotion activities and take the appropriate actions to address them using IRCs Standard Operating Procedures
• Enhance communication and contact with communities by engaging with community members to discuss action plans, mobilize community participation and, through this, to act as a mentor throughout the planning and implementation processes
• Work with non-WASH program to provide consistent community messaging and information about IRC services
• Work through the distribution kiosks and ensure that these areas are continually stocked and supported
• Collect, compile and submit all monitoring and evaluation data required to document project activities, and material and stock needs
• Preparedistribution plans, calculating quantitiesof NFI’s, making PRs, EMAPs, and making store releases for the Hygiene Kiosk
• Ensure the basic standards of sanitation and hygiene promotion are maintained or exceeded with all target beneficiaries including the appropriate use of SPHERE standards and other internationally recognized protocols
• Ensure the community mobilization team is collecting information, all data from distributions and collaborating with the M&E team. Beneficiaries should be given the opportunity to provide feedback on the WASH facilities and services provided by the IRC EH team
• Work closely with other IRC staff to ensure coordinated, efficient, and effective interventions for all beneficiaries
• Carry out orientations and regular performance coaching and evaluation as stipulated by IRC Performance Standards
• Monitor WASH facilities contractors in cooperation with partners
• Provide reports as required by the Area Manager and meet deadlines
• Provide technical support and training to the hygiene promotion, and potential other IRC staff members or partner organizations
• Attend the Basic Assistance WG at Lesvos level and report to the Area Manager.
• Attend the Basic Assistance Group Meeting and any meeting requested by the Line manager
• Daily collaboration and coordination with the Senior SMS officer in terms of weekly or daily IRC activities
• Weekly coordination meeting with the supervisors of other IRC programs
• Supportthe staff to complete their documentation (timesheets , leave requests, etc)
• Be the emergency focal point for WASH during weekends, immediate response in case of emergency

Program approach

• Carry out WASH activities in line with relevant standards, codes of conduct and humanitarian principles
• Encourage the participation of community members including refugees and migrants as appropriate throughout the program.
• Maintain confidentiality
• All IRC staff must wear appropriate IRC visibility.
• Act in a way that is sensitive to gender, protection, the environment and other important cross-cutting concerns
• Plan an agenda regarding all the WASH and Shelter activities