The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today work in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

Main Purpose of Job:

The EH Assistant will report to the EH Officer (Hygiene Promotion) and will be primarily responsible for supervising hygiene promotion activities at the community level working closely with community volunteers, community leaders, various community groups (youth, women, girls etc.) and at Health facilities as directed by the EH Officer on day-to-day basis. The main objective of this position is to support the EH Officer in implementing hygiene promotion activities while also giving feedback to the WASH construction teams on team acceptability, and functionality of the WASH facilities constructed. This includes conducting assessments, monitoring surveys, day-to-day engagement with CHVs and follow-up of hygiene promotion activities that will cover awareness raising to communities on public health risks in the targeted locations.

Staff Managed: None

Other Relationships: Community Hygiene Volunteers, Community Leaders

Program

• With the support of the EH Officer, conduct assessments and technical surveys at the communities covering aspects of new and/existing water, and sanitation facilities and hygiene practices.
• Collect all data related to KAP or KPC surveys conducted at the health facilities that would inform on safe hygiene promotion and practice improvement initiatives.
• Collect all data related to FGD and KIIs conducted with various community entities that would inform on safe hygiene promotion, access to WASH infrastructure and other needs for hygiene items.
• Support in the design appropriate and cost-effective hygiene promotion and community engagement approaches to be applied in the delivery of hygiene/public health activities.
• If required, support in the supervision of contractors ensuring standard and acceptable engineering contract management practices is always adhered to from project inception to final contract discharge and hand over to IRC.
• Support implementation of IRC’s activities on NFI kit distributions i.e., hygiene kits and MHM kits, participating in beneficiary identifications, verification, registration, and the distribution processes.
• Collect all data related to all post distribution monitoring assessments conducted after distribution of WASH/EH related NFI items would inform on lessons learnt.
• Conduct daily supervision and mentoring visits to communities and households, working with Community hygiene volunteers on all aspects related safe hygiene promotion and practices, COVID risk prevention at the community level.
• Support identification, training, and day-to-day mentoring of community hygiene volunteers
• Coordinate closely with the community hygiene volunteers and the target communities over WASH and hygiene needs and preferences regarding water collection points, location and type/design of sanitation facilities, and hygiene promotion messaging.
• Seek guidance and approval from EH Officer on any changes to approved implementation approaches to hygiene promotion and risk communication and community engagement.
• Maintain comprehensive control systems of materials and tools for hygiene promotion activities.

Staff Supervision & Development

• Assist the EH Officer, train, and support Community hygiene volunteers
• Supervise community hygiene volunteers in their daily activities
• Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable work teams to successfully complete their tasks on time and within budget
• Responsible for daily community volunteers’ timesheets and work plans,

Grant Monitoring & Reporting

• With the EH Officer plan on a daily or weekly basis CHV activities to be carried in the targeted locations and conduct daily meetings to review activity progress.
• Provide weekly reports of progress on all hygiene promotion activities, construction activities related sanitation and water supply facilities.
• Provide weekly reports of progress on all WASH/EH related distribution activities while maintaining update records of beneficiaries and items received.
• Provide reports as will be required relating to monitoring hygiene practices at the community level, that would inform reviewing implementation approach.
• Keep update records of trained CHVs, training reports, and day-to-day work schedules and mapping of target locations covered by the CHVs

Other

• Consistently and proactively monitor/assess the safety and security of the team; promptly reporting concerns or incidents to the EH Officer, EH Manager and other external parties as required to maintain/enhance the security environment for IRC programs
• Any other duties as assigned by the supervisor to enable and develop IRC programs

The ideal candidate will have Environmental health, public health, or Community health background/training and experience in implementing Water, Sanitation, and sanitation with a strong focus on public health promotion.

• Minimum of Diploma or Advanced Certificate in Public Health or related field.
• Experience in implementation of WASH or public health promotion in community settings.
• Competent communication skills, effective in representation and liaison
• Community engagement and negotiation skills
• Knowledge and application of participatory approaches to community engagement that include CLTS, PHAST, and CHAST etc.
• Works well in and promotes teamwork, comfortable in a multi-cultural environment, flexible and able to handle pressure well.
• Competent user of MS Office applications
• Able to fluently communicate and write in English

Standard of Professional Conduct

IRC and IRC employees are required to abide by the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – Code of Conduct which are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Harassment-Free Workplace, Fiscal Integrity, Anti-Retaliation, Combating Trafficking in Persons, and several others.

Gender Equality & Equal Opportunity

We are committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer generous benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances. We welcome and strongly encourage qualified female professionals to apply.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our organization. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Ensuring the non-disclosure of any information whatsoever relating to the practices and business of IRC acquired in the course of duty, to any other person or organization without authority, except in the normal execution of duty.