Shelter Manager

The African Initiatives for Relief and Development (AIRD) works with several donors and partners to provide some of these much needed humanitarian services. The services AIRD provides include; Refugee and Non Food Items (NFIs) transportation, Construction, Infrastructure & Rehabilitation, Fleet Management, Workshop Management, Warehouse Management, Fuel Management, Water Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH). Our desire is to do even more for Persons of Concern (PoCs) by growing our activities and capacity in the areas of livelihoods, WASH and environmental interventions.  More information: www.airdinternational.org

AIRD seeks to recruit candidates for position of Shelter Manager/Civil Engineer for its Emergency Roster.

Being a fast paced and growing organization, AIRD will in situations including but not limited to supporting either existing country programs in both routine and emergency response, or to initiate a new program in a new location, require additional capacity in short notice. In such situations the Roster helps our country offices get critical support without delay.

The Roster facilitates emergency recruitment for both External and Internal candidates.  Candidates selected for the Roster will be ready for deployment on short notice. 

The Shelter Manager/Civil Engineer is responsible to: plan, design, and manage work for projects in new construction, renovations, and improvements under the country program office.

General Duties

ü  Ensure that all staff understand the Procurement and Logistics SOPs and ensure that both are fully implemented within the operations

ü  Participation in the preparation of the budget for construction

ü  Develop and maintain good relationships with all partners and potential donors in the area of operation

ü  Take all necessary measures to motivate staff and build strong team spirit at all levels

ü  Supervise support staff to improve quality and efficiency of administrative matters

ü  Participate in meetings, networks, seminars, and conferences which relevant and beneficial to AIRD in its mission and mandate

ü  Contribute to fundraising initiatives where appropriate

ü  Keep informed of AIRD activities.

With regard to project delivery, the Shelter manager/Civil Engineer will be responsible for:

·         Day to day project manager for construction
·         Oversee as well as coordinates assigned engineering, planning, design, and also construction works
·         Ensure adherence to quality, budget and schedule
·         Coordinate the administration and approval process; provide updates schedule information as necessary
·         Coordinate the development and preparation of contracts for a variety of constructions projects
·         Planning, developing, negotiating, and administrate formal agreements as well as permits with third parties, including local agencies and UN agencies.
·         Work with partners to ensure proper and comprehensive project implementation
·         Negotiating service agreements and managing associated costs and revenues
·         Preparing detailed schedules of work, feasibility studies and cost estimates of engineering solutions
·         Preparing of Bills of Quantity along with drawings
·         Undertaking technical and feasibility studies including site investigations
·         Undertaking complex and repetitive calculations
·         Manage the technical and engineering components related to the construction of infrastructures including the management of contractors, if any
·         Conduct regular monitoring visits to project sites and write up site visit notes for each visit
·         Guarantee the respect of construction standards as well as the security practices at the project site
·         Produce and submit to the management monthly report including project progress in percentages
·         Ensure a transparent cost utilization and budget management for funds allocated to the construction.
·         Compiling job specifications and supervising tendering procedures
·         Resolving design and development problems
·         Managing budgets and project resources
·         Scheduling material and equipment purchases and deliveries
·         Making sure the project complies with legal requirements
·         Assessing the sustainability and environmental impact of projects
·         Ensuring projects run smoothly and structures are completed within budget and on time
·         Operational analysis
·         Strong technical aptitude

Required Languages

• Must be conversant in English and French (written and spoken)

Minimum Qualifications

• Degree in Civil Engineering
• A minimum of 5-7 years of field experience in building and road works
• Procurement experience
• Proficiency in site layout, grading, utility design, erosion control, regulatory approvals etc.
• License of professional engineer
• Proficiency to use MS Office suite of applications and other IT systems
• Ability to write clearly articulate proposals, reports, and correspondence
• Strong analytical, communication and problem solving skills is necessary along with capacity to identify and articulate potential problems and provide possible solutions in concise and clear manner.
• Experience working with international development partners, international nongovernmental organization (INGOs) and donors (in particular UNHCR experience) is an asset

Knowledge, skills and abilities

•  Knowledge of program management
• Knowledge of donor groups and/or issues related to the program area

Personal characteristics

The Shelter Manager/Civil Engineer should demonstrate competence in some or all of the following:

• Analytical Aptitude: Possess excellent analytical skills and continually examine things and think of ways to help things work better. Should be naturally inquisitive.
• Attention to Detail: A great engineer pays meticulous attention to detail. The slightest error can cause an entire structure to fail, so every detail must be reviewed thoroughly during the course of completing a project.
• Creative: Should be creative and can think of new and innovative ways to develop new systems and make existing things work more efficiently.
• Think Logically: A great engineer has top-notch logical skills. Should be able to make sense of complex systems and understand how things work and how problems arise.
• Mathematically Inclined: Possess excellent math skills. Engineering is an intricate science that involves complex calculations of varying difficulty.
• Technical Knowledge: Possess a vast amount of technical knowledge; understand a variety of computer programs and other systems that are commonly used during an engineering project.
• Behave Ethically: Understand ethical behavior and practices, and ensure that own behavior and the behavior of others is consistent with these standards and aligns with the values of the organization
• Build Relationships: Establish and maintain positive working relationships with others, both internally and externally, to achieve the goals of the organization
• Communicate Effectively: Speak, listen and write in a clear, thorough and timely manner using appropriate and effective communication tools and techniques
• Focus on Donor Needs: Anticipate, understand, and respond to the needs of internal and external donors to meet or exceed their expectations within the organizational parameters
• Foster Teamwork: Work cooperatively and effectively with others to set goals, resolve problems, and make decisions that enhance organizational effectiveness
• Lead: Positively influence others to achieve results that are in the best interest of the organization
• Make Decisions: Assess situations to determine the importance, urgency and risks, and make clear decisions, in conjunction with the C.P.D., which are timely and in the best interests of the organization as authorized
• Organize: Set priorities, develop a work schedule, monitor progress towards goals, and track details, data, information and activities
• Solve Problems: Assess problem situations to identify causes, gather and process relevant information, generate possible solutions, and make recommendations and/or resolve the problem
• Ensuring value for money i.e. program/project monitoring
• Ability to work under hardship environment and with minimum supervision
• Willingness to travel as necessary, work the required schedule, work at different locations as required.