WASH Officer - Hygiene Promotion at International Rescue Committee

Job Purpose/Objective

The role of WASH Officer - Hygiene Promotion is to ensure correct delivery and impact of hygiene and sanitation promotion activities, good participation of target communities and other local stakeholders in close collaboration with Project partners.  This position will oversee all aspects of hygiene and sanitation project baseline survey, analysis, design, implementation and monitoring to its full completion. Additionally, the Officer will be required to identify, recruit, train and capacity build SMCs, WMCs, CHWs and required training. This position will also be required to directly facilitate and oversee sustainability initiatives for all Water Supply Schemes implemented by IRC together with GoK as per the guidelines provided. This role needs someone with a capacity to develop methodologies and guidelines needed in carrying out hygiene and sanitation promotion in different rural/urban settings. During implementation of project’s activities, the Hygiene Promotion Officer will be required to provide feedback to project partners with an aim of improving overall WASH program quality.

Main Responsibilities

The WASH Officer – Promotion will identify and assess the key hygiene and sanitation practices to be addressed and whom to engage and develop an appropriate communications strategy to promote safe practices. She/he will ensure that an empowering approach to working with communities is employed and all activities are carried out in a way that is sensitive to community needs and promotes the full and equal participation of women, men, children and youth. Primary responsibilities include:

Program

• Design and manage assessments and studies in order to identify hygiene and sanitation practices and WASH-related health risks and priorities in target communities.
• In cooperation with other WASH staff, design and plan activities to reduce these risks, with reference to both physical and behavioral aspects
• Working with the WASH Officer – Water Supply/Sanitation design and manage assessments/evaluations in order to identify key strengths, limitations of community structures managing WASH facilities.
• Design and manage assessments and studies in order to identify hygiene and sanitation practices and WASH-related health risks and priorities in target communities
• Working with the WASH Officer – Water Supply/Sanitation, design and manage assessments/evaluations in order to identify key strengths, limitations of community structures managing WASH facilities
• In cooperation with other program staff, design and plan activities to reduce these risks, with reference to both physical and behavioral aspects
• Implement hygiene promotion activities appropriate to the context in close collaboration with the WASH Officer – Water Supply/Sanitation to ensure that technical and social aspects of water and sanitation programming are integrated
• Continuously mobilize communitymembers, gatekeepersand stakeholders in participating in project activities and ensure it conforms to work schedules
• Contribute towards WASH program developmentand proposal writing.

Capacity Strengthening

• Working with the WASH Officer – Water Supply/Sanitation facilitate training WMCs, other Community structures (SMCs, CHWs, CHEWs, Youth Groups) and local authorities on improved hygiene/sanitation practices, management and sustainability of WASH infrastructure.
• Together with GoK line departments continuously monitor functionality and performance of community structures managing WASH facilities, identify capacity gaps and develop capacity strengthening plans
• Together with GoK line departments continuously monitor functionality and performance of community structures managing WASH facilities.

Reporting

• Provide regularreports on hygiene issues and program progress against work plan and program activities includingdonor reports according to donor requirements
• Maintain an up to-date activity tracking tool (soft and hard copies) of all community structures including membership working closely with the IRC in all WASH related activities at all times.

Coordination and Collaboration

• Continuously mobilize communitymembers, gatekeepersand stakeholders in participating in project activities and ensure it conforms to work schedules
• Liaise directly with communities, local institutionsand local authorities on hygiene and sanitationissues as well as other agencies operational in Turkana(particularly those carrying out similar activities) regularly to ensure coordination and effective implementation of activities under the guide of the project manager.
• Under the guidance contributes towards strengthening of integration of WASH programming with the other key IRC program Sectors.

Other

• Support WASH department in other tasks, roles and, responsibilities as may be assigned to by the supervisor.
• Actively  participate in other inter-sectoral WASH activities (Water Supply and Sanitation Infrastructure Constructions)

Required Qualifications:

Degree in Public Health, Environmental Health, or related Social Sciences with a bias in hygiene and sanitation practices or equivalent combination of education and work experience. OR Individuals with training and experience in healthcare, health promotion, community development, social work.

Required Experience & Competencies:

• Minimum of 3 years relevant work experience in ASAL.
• Strong sanitation and hygiene promotion experience ess.ential
• Demonstrated skills in design and application of community engagement approach models/strategies for behavior change in WASH projects
• Experience in community engagement approaches, participatory approaches and community negotiation
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with a team
• Ability to conduct community WASH needs assessment, program planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of WASH activities
• Good understanding of SPHERE and other international and national standards
• Good computer application skills (MS-Office, any statistical analysis package).
• Knowledge of Turkana language an added advantage.