Responsibilities:

Technical Advice and Strategy

• Provide technical advice to programme managers and staff on implementation of Shelter & Settlements activities in accordance with international standards and best practice;
• Work with Shelter Managers & Team Leaders to ensure programme methodology, beneficiary selection criteria, monitoring tools, BoQs and designs are in place.
• Ensure that selection of sites for displaced populations are based on approved technical guidelines, considering relevant factors like land availability, conflict sensitivity, accessibility, security, water resources, and absorption capacity.
• Conduct technical feasibility studies (site assessments) to identify adequate sites in close coordination with all relevant stakeholders

Staff capacity building

• Provide onsite mentoring and capacity building in each area office and with mobile response teams through regular and extended missions
• Identify needs and gaps in technical capacity of DRC staff and partners and prepare a training plan to address these;
• Ensure roll out of the agreed plan in all sites including preparation of materials and training reports and follow up to the trainings.
• Provide ad-hoc training to Shelter and Settlements staff based on requests and/or identified needs.
• Provide induction training for new staff on Shelter & Settlements portfolio in South Sudan.
• Support engagement of meaningful, long-term partnerships with national organisations on Shelter & NFI responses.

External Relations

• Represent DRC at the Shelter/NFI cluster in Juba on a regular basis and establish strong links with all S-NFI actors and stakeholders;
• Stay up to date with donor strategies and practices within South Sudan and provide technical advice to the HoP in donor relations;
• Maintain close collaboration and good relations as required with donors and partners.

Business Development

• Promotion of learning from relevant best practices internally and externally;
• Support review of donor reports for Shelter and Settlements components for submission.
• Ensure program standardization and sharing of experiences, lessons learned, and good practices across DRC-managed sites and with mobile response teams.
• Participate in gathering information and contribute to Shelter and Settlements proposal development, including working with teams to ensure accurate assessments, planning of suitable activities, and preparation of log frames.
• Put in place mechanisms to ensure and track quality of work for all construction and shelter activities.
• In close coordination with implementing partners and other concerned parties, create settlement plans and their implementation modalities, including planning for construction/rehabilitation of communal infrastructures (pathways, latrines, water points, etc.), considering the overall needs of target groups and their cultural preferences the concerns of the local communities.
• Support Shelter Managers & Team Leaders to strengthen communication with communities, identify beneficiary information needs and provide guidance in developing information and awareness-raising materials and activities with community participation
• Work closely with complaints and feedback mechanisms to ensure prompt follow-up of shelter and infrastructure related complaints
• Advise on matters related to the procurement of sector related materials or equipment, including the development of technical specifications for bid documents, technical evaluation of bids, review/inspection of the quality of products/works.
• Work with Camp Managers to ensure engagement with governance and leadership structures, and improve capacity and accountability of Camp Management Committees and other community groups on Shelter & Settlements interventions through trainings, workshops and regular coordination.
• Identify opportunities to increase scope and quality of DRC Shelter and Settlements programming in South Sudan

Coordination

• Responsible for ensuring quality of project activities related to Shelter & Settlements components across the portfolio in DRC South Sudan
• Coordinate information collection and collation across different camps and camp like settings.
• Ensure that minimum standards of quality programming, including humanitarian principles, protection mainstreaming, and conflict-sensitivity, are adhered to across all DRC Shelter & Settlements activities in all locations.
• Improve communication and coordination between Shelter & Settlements staff based in different locations.
• Ensure integration of Shelter and Settlements activities with other DRC core sectors including Economic Recovery, Protection/SGBV, CCCM and Humanitarian Disarmament & Peacebuilding
• Provide technical guidance and advice to Shelter and Settlements Managers, Team Leaders and Staff in all relevant programme locations
• Technically support Shelter and Settlements colleagues, by reviewing technical documents (including drawings and bill of quantities), proposals, and reports to ensure that DRC is providing high quality Shelter & Settlements activities in accordance with international standards and best practice.
• Ensure Housing, Land and Property issues are identified and considered in any Shelter & Settlements programming.

Experience and technical competencies: (include years of experience)

• 4 years’ experience working with an NGO in an emergency response setting is an advantage
• Excellent interpersonal skills, cross-cultural communication and ease working in multi-ethnic team, with a constructive and cooperative problem-solving approach
• Strong knowledge of site surveying and site identification (including topography, hydrology, land use, physical planning, environment impacts, engineering, etc.).
• Prior experience in settlement site planning including layout of shelter plots, roads, communal infrastructures and basic services.
• Prior experience in designing and implementing shelter strategies.
• Sound knowledge on use and application of design software including but not limited to ArcGIS, AutoCAD, Civil 3D
• Proven coordination skills and experience engaging with cluster system
• Previous shelter experience in South Sudan is a significant advantage

Education:

Bachelor or Master’s degree in Architecture, or Civil-Engineering

Languages:

Fluent in English