Country: Myanmar
Closing date: 04 Jun 2018
Desired start date: 16/06/18
Duration of the mission: 6 months, according the fund
Location: Based in Sittwe, Rakhine State, Myanmar, with some travel in townships
ABOUT THE MISSION ...
SI has been in Myanmar since 2008, first in the Delta in response to the Cyclone Nargis. In 2011, SI expanded to three new regions (Dry Zone, Rakhine, and Chin State) focusing on Livelihoods, Food Security, Shelter, and WASH. In 2012, SI started emergency response to people displacements due to violence in Kachin and later in Rakhine (between armed forces in Kachin State and between communities in Rakhine). SI has a base in Sittwe which is responsible for managing programs in Sittwe and Pauktaw T/S (emergency programs for IDPs), and in Rathedaung T/S since October 2013.
SI currently has a coordination base in Yangon, with field bases in the Rakhine and Kachin States. Each office is operational with a Field Coordinator and between 35-200 colleagues
In Rakhine/Sittwe, there are 8 international staff
ABOUT THE JOB...
The Sanitation Activity Manager (SAM) will work in direct support to and under the direct supervision of the Wash Programme Manager (WASH PM) Sittwe to supervise timely and quality implementation of a major sanitation chain operation at Sittwe level. The SAM will be in charge of managing the sanitation activities (desludging, transportation and treatment), as well as coordinating with other stakeholders regarding sanitation activities. She/he will ensure improvement of the whole sanitation chain and especially of SI’s Sludge Treatment System (STS), to ensure the quality of all connected Fecal Sludge Management (FSM) activities in camps and villages in Sittwe Township. She/he might be required to support for emergency interventions in any other township.
THE MAINLY CHALLENGES OF THE POSITION ARE:
Ensure the optimal running of Solidarites International (SI)’s Sludge Treatment System (STS)
- Plan and undertake technical improvements for the STS from all the 16 camps in the rural Sittwe area.
- Ensure proper STS operation and monitoring
- Management Training & Capacity Building
Manage desludging operations of SI and coordinate those of partners
- Continue development of SI’s desludging activities with an emphasis on technical and safety practices
- By delegation of the PM, coordinate with other INGOs involved in sludge delivery to SI’s STS to harmonize practices and improve planning, as well as to ensure proper technical and safety practices
- By delegation of the PM, coordinate and lead the Technical Working Group on Sanitation with other INGOs and WaSH partners involved in sanitation
- Provide support to WaSH PM and FCO for any coordination meeting or represent SI during coordination meetings and meeting with communities or representatives if necessary (absence of WaSH PM, FCO…).
Perform significant capitalization for the STS as well as for the broader FSM operation
- Review and organize all current FSM documents relevant to the running of the STS and desludging operations
- Define with PM a strategy to produce significant documentation of the STS and of FSM in Sittwe for external distribution and produce any agreed documents
Support the WaSH PM for on-going project support
- Provide WaSH PM with a weekly activities report
- Provide WaSH PM with information and support for proposal making, amendment processes and all reporting related to the project supervised, according to reporting deadlines
- Propose necessary changes in structure and dimensioning of the project team supervised
- Prepare related needed recruitment documents
- Assist in recruitment of national staff for the STS projects team as needed in coordination with WASH PM and Admin
Intervention Strategy Design
Development and implementation of the WASH Strategy in Rakhine State
RESPONSIBILITIES
Line manager: WaSH PM Sittwe
Functional manager: WaSH PM Sittwe
Supervises: Sittwe STS program team (national staff)
Functional link with Construction Officers for activities related to desludging
YOUR PROFILE
Education: Academic and practical knowledge of water, sanitation and hygiene is essential (included construction, HP promotion, innovative sanitation). Master’s degree is a minimum.
Experience: Minimum of 2 years of relevant international WASH experience, preferably in emergency or humanitarian contexts; experience in sanitation, and management of sludge treatment system (STS); experience in complex ethnic and/or religious contexts or sensitive environments preferred (conflict, post-conflict); IDP/refugee camp experience desirable. Experienced in managing significant team.
Technical skills and knowledge: Good technical knowledge about WASH problematic on both technical and hygiene promotion part. Knowledge of the overall sanitation chain (desludging / wastewater treatment / latrine innovation like biodigester) is strongly needed for the SAM position in Sittwe. Capacity building skills are required to improve the technical skills of the STS Officer and agent. Good experience in Operation and Maintenance of treatment system (water or sludge) as well as latrines, and desludging operation.
Transferable skills: Patience, diplomacy, tact and sensitivity in dealing with ethnic division in tense environments, and capacity to analyze and report on security situation; good social skills to work as part of a large team and live in shared accommodation.
Languages: Good level of English is compulsory, Rakhine/Burmese a plus.
LIVING CONDITIONS
Sittwe is the capital of the Rakhine State. The inter-communal violence that broke out in Rakhine State in 2012, pits two ethnic minorities: the Rohingyas Muslim people and some extremist Buddhist of the Rakhine population. Today, the inter-communal tensions are high between both. It is a kind of religious nationalism according to which Muslims cannot be considered to be Burmese citizens, and their presence can’t be tolerated on Burmese soil. The situation has been ongoing for several decades, but it’s also a result of the dissolution of the Junta in 2011, which led to the resurgence of religious tensions that had been suppressed for decades, revealing a latent Islamophobia.
From Yangon, it takes 1 hour by flight to get to Sittwe. There is constant flight all the week between Sittwe and Yangon.
The office and expat guesthouses are situated in Sittwe town.
The guesthouses are equipped with basic furniture (beds, tables, cupboards…) and mosquito nets, bed linen, towels and fans. A cook can prepare dinner upon request.
The guesthouses are very comfortable (hot water in the common bathroom, private bathroom in almost all the rooms, AC in rooms, etc…). There is a big kitchen for each Guesthouse and common area inside and outside with all basic material to cook.
The office is situated 10 minutes from the guesthouse by car. Expatriates can also move independently in bicycles or by foot.
The security situation in Sittwe is safe though still fragile, and no major issue with the communities has arisen since over 12 months.
SI WILL OFFER YOU ...
A salaried post: according to experience from 1800 euros gross per month, plus 10% annual leave allowance paid monthly and a monthly Per Diem of 500 USD.
Social and medical cover: Expatriates benefit from an insurance package which reimburses all healthcare expenses (including medical and surgical expenses, dental care and ophthalmological expenses, repatriation) and a welfare system including war risks. Essential vaccination and antimalarial treatment costs are refunded.
Vacation: During the assignment, a system of alternation between work and time off is implemented at the rate of one break every three months. For a one-year assignment, the expatriate will have a 7-day break during the 3rd and the 9th month (with 500 euros allocated by Solidarités). He or she will also be entitled to go back to his or her home country for a 14-day period after six months spent on the mission (Solidarités will cover travel costs)
For further information about Solidarités International, please consult our website: http://www.solidarites.org/en/
How to apply:
Does this description fit you? Please send us your CV and Cover letter in English. CV only applications will not be considered.
NB: The vacancy may close before the deadline. Thank you for your comprehension
Contact : Sebastiano SIRINGO, Recruitment & Follow Up Officer