Position Purpose
The Technical WASH Officer will provide technical support and oversight for the implementation of WASH interventions, including water supply systems, sanitation facilities, hygiene infrastructure, water quality activities, and related community infrastructure.
The position holder will support technical assessments, site selection, surveys, design, BoQs, drawings, cost estimates, construction supervision, quality control, contractor/vendor coordination, monitoring, verification, and technical documentation.
The Technical WASH Officer will work closely with the Project Manager, WASH Coordinator/Manager, MEAL team, field teams, community representatives, WASH committees, contractors, suppliers, local authorities, and relevant cluster/technical counterparts to ensure that all WASH interventions meet required technical, quality, environmental, safety, inclusion, and accountability standards.
The position will also ensure that WASH facilities are designed and implemented in a manner that is safe, accessible, gender-sensitive, disability-inclusive, environmentally appropriate, sustainable, and responsive to community needs.
3. Key Responsibilities and Duties
A. Technical Assessment and Site Selection
- Conduct technical assessments of proposed WASH intervention sites.
- Conduct or supervise site surveys, measurements, GPS/data collection, and technical investigations.
- Assess existing water sources, water supply systems, sanitation facilities, and related infrastructure.
- Assess the feasibility, sustainability, accessibility, and safety of proposed water sources and WASH facilities.
- Support the identification and selection of appropriate sites in coordination with communities, authorities, and project teams.
- Identify technical risks, constraints, and potential environmental or operational challenges.
- Ensure that technical assessments consider the needs of women, girls, children, older persons, and persons with disabilities.
- Prepare technical assessment reports and recommendations.
B. WASH Design, Engineering and BoQ Preparation
- Prepare and/or review technical designs, drawings, specifications, BoQs, and cost estimates for WASH infrastructure.
- Support the design of water supply systems, including water points, pipelines, storage tanks, solar pumping systems, distribution networks, and related infrastructure.
- Support the design and construction of sanitation facilities, including household, institutional, and community-level facilities as applicable.
- Prepare technical specifications for WASH construction materials, equipment, and works.
- Ensure designs comply with applicable technical standards and project requirements.
- Review quantities, measurements, technical specifications, and cost estimates before procurement and construction.
- Ensure WASH facilities incorporate gender-sensitive and disability-inclusive design features.
- Identify opportunities for environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient WASH solutions.
C. Construction Supervision and Quality Control
- Provide day-to-day technical supervision of WASH construction and rehabilitation activities.
- Monitor contractors, suppliers, skilled workers, and construction teams to ensure compliance with approved designs and specifications.
- Conduct regular site visits and document construction progress.
- Verify measurements, quantities, materials, workmanship, and completed works.
- Ensure construction activities comply with approved drawings, BoQs, technical specifications, and quality standards.
- Identify construction defects, deviations, delays, or technical problems and recommend corrective measures.
- Verify the quality and suitability of construction materials before use.
- Ensure proper installation, testing, commissioning, and completion of WASH facilities.
- Maintain construction monitoring checklists and site inspection records.
- Support final technical inspection and handover of completed facilities.
D. Water Supply and Water Resources
- Conduct technical assessment of potential water sources and water supply systems.
- Support assessment of groundwater and surface-water sources where relevant and feasible.
- Support water source development, rehabilitation, and protection activities.
- Provide technical oversight for boreholes, wells, springs, water networks, reservoirs, water tanks, and water points.
- Support the technical assessment and installation of solar-powered water supply systems where applicable.
- Monitor water quantity, accessibility, functionality, and sustainability.
- Support water-source protection and appropriate environmental safeguards.
- Coordinate water quality testing and follow up on results requiring corrective action.
- Ensure water supply systems are technically appropriate and accessible to intended communities.
E. Sanitation and Hygiene Infrastructure
- Provide technical support for construction and rehabilitation of sanitation facilities.
- Ensure sanitation facilities are appropriately located, safely constructed, and accessible.
- Promote gender-sensitive sanitation facilities with appropriate privacy and safety considerations.
- Ensure facilities are accessible to persons with disabilities where applicable.
- Monitor construction quality of latrines, handwashing facilities, drainage systems, and related infrastructure.
- Provide technical guidance on appropriate sanitation technologies based on local conditions.
- Support appropriate management of wastewater, drainage, and sanitation-related environmental risks.
F. Water Quality and Public Health Considerations
- Support implementation of water quality monitoring and testing activities.
- Coordinate with relevant teams on water sampling and laboratory testing where required.
- Ensure water sources and systems are protected from contamination.
- Support appropriate corrective actions when water quality concerns are identified.
- Provide technical inputs to hygiene promotion and water safety activities.
- Ensure WASH infrastructure contributes to reducing public health risks.
G. Procurement and Technical Support
- Provide technical specifications and descriptions for WASH materials, equipment, and services.
- Support procurement processes by reviewing technical specifications and submitted materials.
- Participate in technical evaluation of bids, quotations, materials, and contractor proposals when requested.
- Verify delivered materials against approved specifications and quantities.
- Support the Project Manager and Procurement/Logistics team in resolving technical issues.
- Ensure technical procurement documentation is complete and properly maintained.
- Support the development and review of contracts, work orders, and technical agreements related to WASH activities.
H. Monitoring, Documentation and Reporting
- Conduct regular monitoring of WASH activities and infrastructure.
- Maintain accurate technical records for all assigned WASH interventions.
- Prepare site visit reports, technical assessment reports, progress reports, and completion reports.
- Maintain updated records of measurements, BoQs, drawings, photographs, GPS coordinates, and other technical documentation.
- Provide timely technical inputs to project reports.
- Support the MEAL team in verification of WASH outputs and indicators.
- Document construction progress through appropriate photographic and written records.
- Ensure all technical documentation is properly organized and securely maintained.
- Report technical challenges, delays, risks, and deviations to the supervisor in a timely manner.
I. Community Engagement and Coordination
- Coordinate with communities, WASH committees, community representatives, and local authorities during WASH implementation.
- Support community consultation and participation in technical decision-making.
- Ensure community concerns related to WASH infrastructure are properly considered.
- Promote community ownership and sustainability of WASH facilities.
- Provide technical orientation to WASH committees and relevant community structures.
- Ensure women and other vulnerable groups are appropriately considered in WASH planning and decision-making.
- Coordinate with relevant government departments, WASH Cluster/technical partners, and other stakeholders as required.
J. Environmental, Social, Gender and Disability Inclusion
- Ensure WASH interventions minimize negative environmental impacts.
- Consider environmental risks related to water abstraction, wastewater, drainage, construction waste, and sanitation.
- Promote sustainable and climate-resilient WASH infrastructure.
- Ensure WASH facilities are designed and implemented with appropriate gender, protection, safety, and accessibility considerations.
- Ensure persons with disabilities can safely access and use WASH facilities where applicable.
- Identify and communicate potential protection risks associated with WASH infrastructure.
- Ensure construction activities do not create unnecessary risks for communities.
- Promote safe access to water and sanitation for women, girls, children, and other vulnerable groups.
K. Coordination, Supervision and Capacity Building
- Work closely with the Project Manager, WASH Manager/Coordinator, MEAL team, Procurement, Finance, Logistics, and field teams.
- Provide technical guidance to WASH Assistants, Engineers, Field Officers, and other relevant project staff.
- Support technical training and coaching of field staff and community structures.
- Participate in technical meetings, project review meetings, coordination meetings, and relevant WASH Cluster meetings as required.
- Maintain professional working relationships with contractors, suppliers, authorities, technical partners, and communities.
- Communicate technical challenges and proposed solutions to the supervisor.
- Contribute to lessons learned and technical improvement of WASH programming.
L. Accountability, Safeguarding and PSEA
- Fully comply with OAWCK's Code of Conduct, PSEA policy, safeguarding procedures, confidentiality requirements, and other relevant organizational policies.
- Ensure all interactions with communities and beneficiaries are professional, respectful, non-discriminatory, and free from exploitation and abuse.
- Promote Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) throughout WASH implementation.
- Ensure communities have appropriate opportunities to provide feedback and raise complaints.
- Immediately report safeguarding, PSEA, abuse, exploitation, or serious protection concerns through established mechanisms.
- Maintain professional boundaries with beneficiaries, contractors, suppliers, community representatives, and other stakeholders.
- Ensure that technical activities do not expose communities to unnecessary risks.
