Economic Recovery Officer – Engineer at Danish Refugee Council (DRC) | April 2024

Founded in 1956, The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a humanitarian, non-governmental, non-profit organization providing direct assistance to conflict-affected populations – refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs) and host communities – in more than 40 countries around the world. DRC has been implementing emergency response projects in Tanzania since the onset of the Burundi refugee crisis in 2015 in three refugee camps in the Kigoma Region at the border with Burundi. DRC’s integrated projects for refugees, asylum seekers and host communities comprise sectors such as Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM), Protection (CBP, PSN, GBV, CP and Legal), Shelter and infrastructure, and Economic Recovery.        

Overall purpose of the role:

The  Economic Recovery Officer – Engineer under the management and supervision of the Economic Recovery Team Leader  and in close collaboration with WFP, UNHCR, Local Government Authorities, and other partners will be responsible for ensuring the smooth design and implementation of activities on asset creation and/or land restoration for increased community resilience towards climate change, food security, shocks and stresses, land degradation, livelihoods, among others. The project approach will involve assessments, designing and implementation of various assets that will involve earthworks and stonework’s and industrial materials for ‘asset creation’ with community members in targeted locations in Kigoma region. The Engineer is therefore expected to be flexible to work in different locations throughout the programme.

Tasks and responsibilities of the position

• Ensure targets are met under DRC’s agreement with donors, to be accountable to the stated goals of the programme.
• Identification, assessment, design and implementation of livelihoods and environment programmes with specific focus on conservation and management of water harvesting and storage structures, soil erosion control through resilient farming practices and restoration of degraded areas including gully treatment through gabions and checkdams.
• Provide inputs to develop, coordinate, plan, implement, monitor and report on DRC´s economic recovery programme.
• Oversee proper documentation of activities implemented and actors/beneficiaries involved.
• Undertake regular field/onsite visits to ensure technical support to on asset creation and proper monitoring of the activities implementation in the area of operation.
• Produce daily, weekly, and monthly progress reports as directed by respective Team Leaders and Manager.
• Foster and ensure Economic Recovery Assistants-Livelihoods/Environment/Food security maintain productive, supportive and respectful relations with Incentive Workers and/or Village Agents employed in the programme.
• Provide support, daily management, direction and on-job coaching to Economic Recovery– Livelihoods/Environment/Food security Assistants and Incentive Workers and/or Village Agents to ensure timely implementation of project activities.
• Work with established community-based structures and be solution-oriented in terms of challenges arising from individual activities and the programme as a whole.
• Support efforts from different actors to ensure that natural resources and shared environment are better conserved and protected.
• Contribute to developing new sustainable Livelihoods/Food security/Environment initiatives or proposals and fundraising relating to refugees host communities, emergency, protracted displacement and longer-term response.
• Ensure lessons learned are documented, shared and reflected in program planning and decision making.
• Ensure continuous capacity building among beneficiaries and staff involved under supervision.
• Ensure implementation of Livelihoods/Food Security/Environment activities are compliant with the National policies, guidelines and strategies,  Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS) and the DRC Code of Conduct (CoC).
• Work with respective Team leader(s) and MEAL team to ensure the M&E plan is being implemented, data is being collected from the field and regular reports are produced.
• Provide inputs for narrative reports according to donors’ requirements.
• Support budget monitoring and expenses control including compliance with minimum DRC and donor requirements.
• Liaising with institutions, village agents, voluntary/community groups, and other local organizations/groups to promote various Livelihoods/Food security/Environment in the host communities and refugee camps.
• Ensuring all engagement messaging/data is consistent among all stakeholders during project implementation.
• Ensuring that best practices on environmental/food security/livelihood approaches are identified, surveyed, valued, and proposed for intervention in the refugees as well as in the host community.
• Document best practices and success stories for sharing with relevant parties involved in the project.
• Participate in different training, workshops, talks, and conferences for project activities/plans.
• Foster and maintain excellent working relationships with key humanitarian and development actors – local and international, including government authorities and non-state actors, and private sectors through regular attendance at technical meetings and bilateral meetings.
• Liaise closely with other DRC sectors such as; Protection, Camp Coordination and Camp Management, to ensure productive coordination and smooth implementation of the programme activities.
• Work in the multi-functional team approach in close collaboration with Programme and other technical experts, to ensure that economic recovery-Livelihoods/Food security and Environment interventions are approached from a cross-sectoral and integrated programming perspective.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Requirements

• University Degree/Advanced diploma/Post graduate studies in Irrigation and Water Resource Engineering, Agricultural Engineering and other related fields.
• At least 2 years relevant work experience in engineering assessments, design and implementation of activities in creation of assets on climate resilience such as; establishment of dams for  livestock and irrigation through rain water harvesting techniques, application of methods for increased agriculture productivity through climate resilient farming practices, such as terracing, excavation of trenches and ridges, irrigation canals and related farming practices, landscape restoration through gully treatment, soil erosion control, irrigation, and integrated watershed management and similar areas.
• Good understanding on the impact of climate change on food security and livelihoods, farming sytems, land degradation and natural resources.
• Understanding of different environmental challenges, trends, on-going global/national efforts for environment and natural resources  conservation.
• Previous experience in food security, nutrition and gender-sensitive interventions an added advantage.
• Previous experience in community empowerment through working with beneficiaries with different socio-economic status including the vulnerable individuals/households within rural communities.
• Previous experience in using Geographic Information System (GIS) software,  QGIS, Auto/Arch Computer Aided Design for land restoration or for creation of similar assets a plus.
• High level of computer literacy in using softwares Microsoft office, internet and e-mails.
• Previous experience working with host community members, refugees or IDPs in similar projects.
• Previous working experience with International organizations in the development and humanitarian settings in implementing similar projects and programmes.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Swahili.
• Excellent interpersonal and problem-solving skills, creativity, innovation and flexibility.
• Comfortable in a multi-cultural environment, flexible and able to handle pressure well ability to engage with community members, and maintain confidentiality and respect.

 Languages:

• Excellent proficiency in written and spoken English and Swahili

Key stakeholders: (internal and external)

• DRC  staff, refugees and donors
• Local Government (refugee camp) and host Community representatives.
• Community groups.
• Other NGOs and relief actors.
• MoHA, police, immigration

All DRC roles require the post-holder to master DRC’s core competencies:  

• Striving for excellence: You focus on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process.
• Collaborating: You involve relevant parties and encourage feedback.
• Taking the lead: You take ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.
• Communicating: You listen and speak effectively and honestly.
• Demonstrating integrity: You act in line with our vision and values.

Providing equal opportunities  We are committed to creating an inclusive and positive work environment based on mutual respect for all employees. All applicants are considered for employment without attention to race, age, ability, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, or any other factor. At DRC we celebrate diversity and appreciate our employees for the people they are and their unique skills, backgrounds, and perspectives. We encourage all interested candidates to apply.

DRC strives to attract, motivate and retain qualified national staff within its programs. As such, we strongly encourage national and diaspora candidates to apply for this position. However, candidates should take into consideration that DRC cannot employ, under an international contract, a national of the country in which he or she will be working (in this case, the  United Republic of Tanzania)

Promoting high standards : DRC’s capacity to ensure the protection of and assistance to refugees, IDP’s and other persons of concern depends on the ability of our staff to uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation DRC’s values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. DRC conducts thorough and comprehensive background checks as part of the recruitment process.

Application and CV

Only motivated applications that address the stipulated duties and meet the required qualifications, sent together with a CV, will be considered.

DRC only accepts applications sent via our online-application form on www.drc.ngo under JOB.