Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Delegate for Emergency Response Operations

Please note that this advertisement concerns application for training with subsequent admission to our Emergency Roster as a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Delegate. It does not concern a specific, nor permanent, position within the Norwegian Red Cross.

An Emergency Response Unit (ERU) is designed to offer immediate assistance and is normally operational for up to four months. An ERU is composed of trained delegates who deploy with standardized equipment.

The Norwegian Red Cross (NorCross) maintains a roster of trained specialists (delegates) ready to be deployed anywhere on short notice in response to international emergencies (natural disasters, conflicts, war zones or health emergencies). Delegates work closely with the local Red Cross/Red Crescent National Society to provide specific services where local infrastructure is damaged, temporarily out of service, out of reach or insufficient to cope with the needs. Most of the delegates have a full-time job in EU/EEA and Switzerland with permission from their employer to take leave of absence if asked by NorCross to go on mission. The length of a mission is usually minimum 4-6 weeks and the delegate receives salary from the Red Cross while on mission.

The Norwegian Red Cross is seeking delegates to for its WASH roster available to be deployed as part of a new ERU configuration. This new configuration, the Water Supply Rehabilitation ERU Module (WSR) consists of a team of specialised WASH experts that can restore or rehabilitate the existing water supply infrastructure including hygiene promotion to a vulnerable population after an emergency. With a focus on increasing the capacity of the host National Society, the WSR ERU team’s tasks will include providing sufficient water of acceptable quality to a vulnerable population through restoring and improving of water abstraction (such as pumping), treatment or protection of water sources as well as improving water storage and distribution. Working through the host National Society with communities and/or local water authorities, the WSR ERU team will work to improve the sustainability of that infrastructure and were possible using greener sustainable technologies (e.g. solar instead of generators).   

The principal tasks of the Water Supply Rehabilitation (WSR) module are:

• Assessment of needs and resources; planning for water treatment and supply.; monitoring of activities and public-health conditions; preparing and managing the end of the deployment.  
• To establish access to safe water for a population of 15 to 50’000 people by engagement of local contractors and initiating procurement to bring water supply infrastructure online.
• Planning, design, implementation and monitoring of hygiene promotion activities with a focus on establishing or supporting community water committees to ensure sustainability of water supply systems, including assessment, community mobilisation and hygiene information, education and communication targeted at promoting protective hygiene practices and community management of water supply infrastructure.
  
  For the NorCross ERU WASH roster we are looking for people with experience in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and we will be prioritizing to recruit people with an availability of up to 3 months, but those with shorter availability (5 weeks) are also encouraged to apply.
   Depending on the context we are looking for people with experience in WASH to fill the following roles:

• team leader (manager with experience of emergency WASH and extensive knowledge of Red Cross and ERU systems)
• water quality specialist (capable of set up and operation of water quality lab)
•  hygiene promoter/community mobiliser (with public health training and skills)
• water supply specialist (civil or environmental engineer or water infrastructure technician.  Required competency to be based on context)
• hydrogeologist (depending on context)
• WASH/Logistics specialist (with experience of programme administration and field logistics)
  

In order to be eligible for the roster you will need to be based within EU/ EEA/Switzerland. You have the willingness to be deployed to a physically demanding working environment in different contexts and work with various stakeholders. An initial training will take place in Norway between 23 March and April 02 in 2020 and availability to this training is required. 

Candidates who do not meet the requirements of EU/EEA/Swiss citizenship and 12 hours proximity to Oslo, Norway will not be considered for this position.

Essential skills and experience

• Minimum of bachelor’s degree in water and sanitation engineering, civil engineering, Public Health or relevant technical WASH specialization including logistics 
• At least 3 years professional experience in design and implementation of water, sanitation and hygiene projects in development and /or emergency contexts.  

• Working Conditions  
  Difficult and demanding working conditions, due to the nature of emergency operations and proximity to disaster-affected areas or war zones. The following conditions are to be expected in the field: 

• Very basic living standards, likely in tents during the entire mission    
• Long hours of work in a demanding context with limited resources 
• Movement restriction   
• Stressful rapidly changing environment with limited information to make decisions  

• Prerequisites for all applicants

• Norwegians, EU/EEA and Swiss citizenship or valid work permit in EU/EEA/Switzerland
• Minimum three years of work experience relevant to your profession  
• Fluency in English (written and spoken). French, Spanish and/or Arabic are an asset   
• Driving license (class B – manual gearbox)   

• To be accepted onto NorCross’ ERU roster, you must complete our recruitment process (application, interview, reference checks), complete appr. 24 hours of online training and attend the following trainings: 

• IMPACT (International Mobilization and Preparation for ACTion). The course lasts one week and aims to prepare delegates for international field work with the Red Cross through theory and practical activities. Dates: tbd 
• Integrated ERU Health/Public Health and WASH Training. The training includes the deployment of an Emergency Hospital and of the different Public Health ERUs and the WSR ERU within an emergency scenario-based situation. This is a pass/non-pass training, and delegates will be evaluated by experienced delegates. aid workers. Dates: 23 March -02 April 2020 (Norway)
• Role specific trainings. There may be additional role specific trainings.

Once you have completed the necessary training and courses, you will be included in the ERU roster and may be contacted by NorCross when there is an ERU deployment.   

• Please specify your motivation, availability, relevant professional experience and experience with cross cultural cooperation and communication in your application (max 700 words). Only applications and CVs in English will be considered

• Relevant candidates will be invited for interviews.