WASH Officer | East Wollega Zone

Level 3: the post holder will have contact with children and/or young people  either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) orintensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.

Save the Children is the world’s leading independent organization for children. Our vision is a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation. Our mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives.

Save the Children’s WASH strategy specifically acknowledges the need for strengthening the areas of a) integrated approaches, b) supply clean water, sanitation and hygiene promotion and c) WASH in Schools and health facilities. The WASH team is currently expanding to address these issues systematically and proactively, working with other teams within Save the Children.

This position is thereby focused on WASH roles in Sasiga and Guto Gida woredas of east Wollega Zone, Oromia Region to achieve consistent delivery of integrated, evidence-based interventions in development settings. This role is an opportunity to further develop a career in WASH in humanitarian and development contexts.

The WASH officer will assist with the design, development and implementation of the WASH activities. The position holder will be specifically focused on addressing water and sanitation needs in the SCI-targeted Woreda community to assist in WASH program development, design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the WASH activities. The positions involve training and monitoring school health clubs, community/sanitation agents, Health Extension Workers (HEWs), HDAs and WASH committee members with frequent trips to the project sites and organizing hygiene promotion campaigns to the communities on key hygiene messages.

As part of the assignment the position holder is expected to identify, design and develop materials/manuals on appropriate hygiene promotion and community sanitation; conduct baseline survey and need assessment concerning sanitation and hygiene practice and outbreaks. S/he is expected to liaise with communities, local authorities and other agencies regularly to ensure coordination and effective implementation activities and participate in a meeting regarding hygiene promotion/ sanitation; collect data and statistics concerning issues that relate to water & sanitation and prepare and submit on a weekly/monthly basis.

Reports to: Nekemte -Based WASH Coordinator 

Direct: None

Indirect: None

1. Oversee and manage the Water Sanitation and Hygiene Project in Sasiga and Guto Gida IDP Woredas of East Wollega Zone
2. Implement WASH activities in Sasiga and Guto Gida IDP Woredas of East Wollega Zone
3. Coordinate and mobilize community user groups, including the formation of effective household-based sanitation committees and water user management committees.
4. Establish or revitalize Woreda WASH coordinating Committees and community WASH Committee members for each of the WATSAN schemes management and sustainability
5. Using the behavior change strategy in WASH, mobilize the community around the promotion of key WASH messages;
6. Mobilize schools, different art clubs, key stakeholders and community leaders on WASH promotion and for better implementation;
7. Educate community groups to promote and implement household latrines to address 100% coverage in the target community.
8. Organize meetings & communication activities such as workshops, focus groups seminars, and review meetings with HDAs, HEWs, volunteers, mothers and local community groups;
9. Support ongoing monitoring of capacity building and effectiveness of mobilized community interventions; ensure the functionality of constructed WASH facilities are in use by communities
10. Adapting and developing appropriate training manuals for community volunteers, and conducting orientation training for HEWs and HDAs.
11. Develop and disseminate experience-based learning on community mobilization specific to the WASH program in his/her respective regions
12. Together with the WASH team members and District Health Officers conduct an assessment of community structures, local service providers, peer educators and social mobilizers who can assist the incumbent to implement wide-ranging community mobilization activities in software components of the WASH program
13. Develop and disseminate experience-based learning on community mobilization specific to WASH programs to existing partners;
14. Conduct an assessment of community structures, local service providers, peer educators and social mobilizes who can assist the incumbent to implement wide-ranging community mobilization activities in WASH interventions;
15. Coordinate with the field office manager and health and nutrition coordinator to ensure consistent community mobilization in the target districts;
16. Organize community groups, generate community resources and educate them on sustainable community involvement in sanitation promotion interventions, particularly, household latrines construction.
17. Develop activity plan for the WASH committee and HDAs regarding sanitation and hygiene
18. Prepare and submit routine project activity reports, and document lessons learned and success stories.
19. Demonstrate effective team building and communication skills to maintain harmony and work efficiency in the unit;
20. Work closely with team members, HEWs and HDAs to deliver the key sanitation and hygiene messages and monitor the results
21. Work on feasible strategies to effectively reach households, plan and ensure implementation of household latrines construction with HEWs and HDAs
22. Work closely with the MEAL coordinator for close monitoring of WASH implementation
23. Liaise with communities, local authorities and other agencies regularly to ensure coordination and effective implementation of activities.
24. Monitoring and evaluation of the overall sanitation and hygiene activities in his/her respective regions