WASH Officer

Youth Impact Labs East Africa; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent international organization is seeking a qualified WASH Officer for their Aba’ala office in the Afar Region. The role involves the planning and implementation of water, sanitation, and hygiene projects to support conflict-affected populations. The ideal candidate will have at least a BSc in a relevant field and strong interpersonal skills. This position requires a willingness to travel to remote areas and a commitment to effective community engagement. Join us in making a tangible impact on the health and well-being of vulnerable communities.

Benefits

Training and development opportunities

Supportive work environment

Exposure to diverse cultures

Qualifications

• Minimum of 3 years experience in WASH programs.
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills required.
• Ability to work independently and manage time effectively.

Responsibilities

• Plan and implement WASH activities in accordance with guidelines.
• Supervise and monitor WASH works to ensure quality.
• Conduct assessments and training for hygiene promotion.

Skills

Project formulation and design

Strong interpersonal skills

Hygiene promotion knowledge

Data collection and analysis

Proficiency in Afarigna language

Education

BSc degree in Water Resources, Environmental Health, or Public Health

Job description

Position Title: WASH Officer

Duty Station: Aba’ala (Afar Region)

One Position: 1

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.

Mercy Corps has been present in Ethiopia since 2004, working to drive bold and transformative ideas, working closely with government, the private sector and civil society actors to build a more resilient country, ensuring that programs are responsive to and influenced by participants and stakeholders. With the launch of Mercy Corps Global Strategy, Pathway to Possibility, the country office is poised to operationalize its three‑year strategy with a vision to enhance the resilience of climate‑ and conflict‑affected communities through market systems development for improved livelihoods, access to food, and safe and clean water to thrive in the face of crises. In Ethiopia, our strategy focuses in the four outcome areas: 1) Economically marginalized populations have improved and diversified livelihoods, income, and assets; 2) Pastoralists, farmers, and households have access to sustainably produced, safe, nutritious food; 3) Social cohesion and inclusive governance processes are built in crisis‑affected communities; and 4) People have equitable, sustained access to clean water and sanitation for domestic and productive use. Currently, we operate in six regional states – Afar, Gambella, Oromia, Somali, Amhara and South Ethiopia. Working with a diverse base of donors that includes United States Agency for International Development (USAID), European Union, GAC, Hilton Foundation, United Nations (UN), JOA, Sweden, EKN, and other foundations, Mercy Corps Ethiopia empowers people to recover from crisis, build better lives and transform their communities for good.

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps Ethiopia currently secured a USDOS (United States Department of State) funded multisectoral response program entitled ‘Humanitarian Assistance for Conflict‑Affected Populations (HACAP)’ in Afar region. The goal of the proposed program is to increase access to life‑saving services for conflict‑affected IDPs, returnees, and vulnerable populations through provision of integrated multi‑sectoral WASH, nutrition and protection support and, multipurpose cash assistance (MPCA) in two woredas (Megale and Erebti) of Afar region.

General Position Summary

Under the direct supervision of the WASH Coordinator, the WASH officer will be responsible for planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the WASH (including hygiene promotion) activities in MC Aba’ala Office. She/he will oversee WASH assessments and management of activities (including preparation of BOQ, and specifications); supporting and working in coordination with the WASH Coordinator and other team members; and participating in new proposal development and program expansion efforts.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Strategy & Vision

• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
• Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions & resources to achieve objectives and contribute to countrywide strategy development.
• Develop and organize activities to secure resources for programs and convince stakeholders to provide support.

Program Management

Water supply activities

• Ensures all emergency WASH activities are implemented in accordance with the Mercy Corps, donor and government guidelines and policies.
• Supervise and monitor the execution of the WASH works directly and provide technical guidance and expertise to the Hygiene Promotion team.
• Ensure appropriate implementation of WASH facilities according to technical standards.
• Conduct data collection, accurate record keeping and management of information to measure progress and impact of project in line with the guiding humanitarian standards and as required by WASH Cluster.
• Maintain oversight of WASH NFI supplies, and water quality standards ordered for the emergency WASH project, supporting the WASH and logistics staff in the coordination and quality control of WASH supplies.
• Ensures application of best practices in the WASH interventions. Ensures a coherent, community‑based and market approach to emergency WASH services.
• Define appropriate policies, guidelines and protocols for the WASH activities of Mercy Corps in consultation with other field managers and in line with relevant government, Sphere and WHO guidelines.

Hygiene and Sanitation activities

• Work with health extension workers and target beneficiaries to identify volunteers for hygiene promotion/education.
• Undertake assessments to identify appropriate hygiene NFI needs and ensure their distribution.
• Train volunteers on basics of hygiene promotion/education, hygiene promotion/education methods/approaches, communication and facilitation skills.
• Prepare detailed implementation plan for hygiene promotion/education activities.
• Ensure implementation of hygiene promotion activities as per planned approaches/methods.
• Work with WASH officer, and project Coordinator on development, testing, printing and positioning of culturally appropriate IEC materials, and monitoring tools and ensure proper use of the same.
• Prepare weekly and monthly progress reports/updates.
• Ensure the needs of most vulnerable are considered at all stages of hygiene promotion intervention/s.
• Coordinate and integrate with other implementing partners in harmonizing hygiene promotion/education interventions.
• Document and share lessons learned and success stories in relation to hygiene to inform future programming.
• Ensure proper implementation of hygiene and sanitation component of WASH projects within allocated budget and timeline meeting international standards.
• Ensure integration of Water, sanitation and hygiene promotion components of the project with other sectors.
• Prepare monthly field reports covering all hygiene and sanitation components and submit to Field WASH Coordinator.

Team Management

• Assist team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance & reach objectives.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on one and performance reviews.
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.

Security

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

None

REPORTS DIRECTLY TO

WASH Coordinator

WORKS DIRECTLY WITH

Mainly with WASH, Health, and another Humanitarian team in Aba’ala MC Office.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Knowledge And Experience

• BSc degree in Water Resources, Environmental Health, Public Health, or related field with a minimum of 3 years experience.
• Key programmatic knowledge includes project formulation and design, SBCC, and project management.
• NGO/Private sector experience has a significant advantage.
• Excellent team and interpersonal relationship skills, especially in a cross‑cultural setting, required.
• Ability to take direction, follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members is required.
• Organized, reliable, and good communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills and teamwork capability.
• Proficiency in Afarigna language.

Success Factors

• Willingness and ability to perform fieldwork and travel to the remote areas.
• Willingness to travel frequently to villages and reside in rural areas.
• Flexibility and accommodation in challenging conditions.
• Hard‑working, honest, dedicated, ability to communicate clearly and effectively at all levels – with colleagues, government and military officials, community leaders and community members.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills.
• Experience of working closely with community volunteers and local authorities.
• Commitment to teamwork and gender equality.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.

We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e‑learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

Application Instructions

All qualified individuals are invited to apply for the advertised position. All applications, including a CV, three references, and all applicable official papers, must be sent electronically.

Only candidates that are short‑listed will be acknowledged and called for interviews.

"Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer promoting gender, equity and diversity. Qualified female and young candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. We are committed to empower women and youth."

Deadline for All Applications

09 November 2025 / 4:00 PM