Job Title: WASH Project Engineer- Finn Church Aid (FCA)

Finn Church Aid – Action for Human Dignity Finn Church Aid (FCA) is the largest Finnish development cooperation organization and the second largest provider of humanitarian assistance. We operate in 15 countries, where the needs are most dire. We work with the poorest people, regardless of their religious beliefs, ethnic background or political convictions.

Finn Church Aid Kenya is looking for a

WASH Project Engineer – 1 Position

Duty Station: Garissa

Primary Purpose

To provide professional and technical quality control and supervision during implementation of emergency rehabilitation of water supply systems and other construction projects for FCA’s drought response in Garissa County. The officer will periodically assist in preparing tender documents for the water and construction works in close consultation with County Government technical teams including technical drawings, specifications of works, Bills of Quantities and conditions of contracts, and ensure timely completion of project activities. He / She will be responsible for planning, implementing, monitoring, accountability, evaluation and reporting on the Projects’ activities on weekly basis and also participate in all coordination meetings with partners and the County Government departments.

MAIN TASKS

• Planning, Implementation, supervision, monitoring and evaluation, compiling technical progress & situational reports; weekly, monthly, quarterly, and final.
• Ensuring adherence to the approved work, budget and procurement plans.
• Coordination and networking at county level with WASH emergency technical groups, Water, environment and sanitation coordination (WESCOORD), CSG, NDMA, and other forums.
• Work closely with relevant authorities to ensure all WASH interventions deployed in the communities, facilities and schools are in alignment with the WASH in emergency Standards.
• Support preparation and conducting of trainings for water Users Associations (WUAs) to empower them to run their own water supply systems in a sustainable way
• Support preparation and conducting of hygiene promotion training sessions.
• Ensure budgetary utilization is within acceptable limits/range.
• Support in the distribution of WASH NFIs and prepare reports and distribution lists for accountability.
• Assist in collection of data pertaining to rapid WASH needs assessments in the project countiesand determining most technically appropriate water supply options.
• Ensure that the contractor is available at site at all time and maintains the following documentation:
  • An updated timetable on a bar chart format
  • A site logbook for instruction to the contractor
  • Requests for work approval
  • Accident and incident reports
  • Test certificates as they are issued
  • A site diary
• Review the Contractors’ work plan and request for revision to ensure timely completion of the works.
• Propose to FCA/UNICEF measures to be taken if the work progress is behind schedule.
• Ensure testing and quality control of the works according to Kenya government regulations, WHO and the SPHERE standards.
• Check measurements and recommend payment with relevant documentary evidence within the time frame to be agreed.
• Organize monthly construction site management meetings, write the minutes of the meeting and send the minutes of the meeting to the contractor and to FCA on last day of the month.
• Write and submit to FCA Monthly Project Reports including narrative, financial and photographic reporting, which can be combined with site management meeting minutes.
• Attend project review meeting with FCA donors when required.
• Critically examine claims/request of contractor for time extensions, extra compensation for works or expenses and other matters.
• Analyze certify Variation Orders (VO) and submit them with estimate cost to FCA for approval no matter how small the value. Once approved ensure that VO’s are finalized within two weeks.
• Advise FCA on any potential risks to the respect of the project timeline, project budget and quality of the works.
• Ensure that appropriate safety measures are taken on site to minimize the risk of accident to the workers and the public.
• Advise the contractor on measures to be taken to ensure proper storage and security of its material and equipment.
• Inform FCA of the tentative date for Substantial Completion of the works at least 15 days in advance.
• Organize testing of all the systems installed and provide FCA with test certificates including: Electrical system certificate by a Chartered Electrical engineer, Plumbing system testing, Lightening Protection System and any other documents as needed.
• Assist FCA in issuing the practical completion certificates
• Provide, to the contractor a defect list upon substantial completion of the works.
• Ensure that all defects are fixed by the contractor within 30 days from the date of issue of the Substantial Completion Certificate.
• Facilitate the handover of the completed facilities to the authorities and beneficiary.
• Provide FCA with a final project narrative, financial and photographic report within 30 days of from the date of issue of the Substantial Completion Certificate
• Review guarantees and hand over all related documents to FCA within e.g.30 days of Substantial Completion of the works.
• Prepare a maintenance manual of services and plans and submit it to the local authorities and beneficiaries the day of the handover/inauguration Ceremony.
• During the Defect Liability period intervene as required and liaise with the contractor to fix in a timely manner any problem that arises and that are covered under the defect liability guarantee.
• Facilitate field visit for respective line ministries and partners/donors to inspect progress of works and validate all the inspection reports (this includes quantified work done)

Qualifications

• Degree/Higher National Diploma in Civil Engineering, Water Engineering or a related field from a recognized institution.
• Good understanding of SPHERE and other international WASH in emergency standards.
• Ability to conduct community WASH needs assessment, program planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of project activities
• WASH in schools background is highly desirable.
• Minimum of 3 years of relevant experience in WASH and construction, emergency response and related sectors, Project management, supervising construction sites and community work in rural areas.
• Experience with other computer programs such as Proficiency in MS Office software (especially Word and Excel) and AutoCAD is essential, SAP 2000 and Microsoft Project would be an advantage.
• Previous work experience in field operations and implementing donor funded projects is an added advantage.
• Ability to work independently in a result oriented multi-tasking and multi-cultural environment
• Ability to develop good working relationships/partnership with all stakeholders (GoK, INGOs)
• Excellent communication (spoken and written) skill.