Desired start date: July 1st, 2024
Duration of the mission: 9 months
Location: RENK, SOUTH SUDAN

ABOUT US

SOLIDARITES INTERNATIONAL (SI) is an international humanitarian aid association which, since more than 40 years, has been providing assistance to populations affected by armed conflicts and natural disasters by meeting their basic needs for food, water and shelter. Particularly committed to the fight against diseases linked to unsafe water, the leading cause of death in the world, SI’s interventions provide expertise in the field of access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene promotion, but also in the essential area of food security and livelihoods. Present in some twenty countries, the SI teams – 2500 people in total, made up of expatriates, national staff, permanent staff at HQ, and a few volunteers – intervene with professionalism and commitment while respecting cultural norms.

ABOUT THE MISSION

SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL (SI) has been operating in South Sudan since 2006, conducting activities in emergency and post emergency context, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas, including IDP camp settings. Its expertise in running emergency WaSH intervention is highly acknowledged by all WaSH actors and donors. Furthermore, SI is implementing longer term WASH and FSL activities in multiple locations.

Since the onset of the crisis in 2013, hundreds of thousands of people have been fleeing the conflict in South Sudan and an estimated 8.4 million are in need of humanitarian assistance as of 2023. Severity of food insecurity continues to grow due to compounding shocks amplified by intensified sub-national violence, three consecutive years of widespread flooding, localized dry spells, and an ongoing protracted macro-economic crisis with heightened poverty and vulnerability (more than 80% of the population is reportedly below the poverty line).

In April 2023, fighting broke out in Khartoum, Sudan, spreading to other parts of the country in the following days and weeks, and resulting in mass displacement from Sudan to Egypt, Chad, Ethiopia, Libya, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan. By end of 2023, more than 480 000 people had reportedly displaced to South Sudan, the vast majority of entering through the Joda/ Wunthow border point in Renk County, Upper Nile State, the northernmost border crossing in South Sudan. Of those crossing, 82% were South Sudanese returnees, many of whom fled war in then-southern Sudan prior the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, or war in South Sudan between 2013 and 2018.

Following the influx of displaced people to Upper Nile and Unity States, Solidarités International mobilized an emergency response. The two SI emergency teams – responding to natural disasters, epidemics, and population displacement – were deployed early on to participate in the coordination and organization of the response. In Upper Nile, SI already had an office in Malakal (where one of the deployable team is based) and a field-office in Kodok. Two additional field offices in Renk and Melut have been set-up to support the ongoing response to the Sudan Crisis and to ensure constant monitoring and rapid access to affected communities. SI’s long term presence in Upper Nile enables the organization to ensure proper coordination with other key players on the ground in order to provide a high-quality response and avoid duplication of efforts.
The second national emergency team usually based in Juba, has been deployed to Unity State since May 4th to conduct Rapid Needs Assessmen t and to lead the emergency response in Rotriak and Pariang displacement sites.

SI is currently working to scale-up its response in both Upper Nile and Unity by recruiting additional team members to reinforce its capacities over the coming months.

The activities implemented are in the sectors of WASH, FSL, Shelter, RRM and Emergency Preparedness Response.

In 2023, the mission’s estimated budget is around USD 5+ million, and there are 100+ employees.

ABOUT THE JOB

General objective:

Role:

The Renk WASH cluster Lead will be responsible for supporting the coordination of WASH actors in Renk, in collaboration with the Upper Nile WASH Cluster and the national WASH Cluster. The purpose of this position is to provide leadership and facilitate the processes that will ensure a well-coordinated, strategic, adequate, coherent, and effective response by WASH actors in Renk.

Main Responsibilities:

• Lead WASH Sector coordination within Renk in order to respond to emergency situations effectively and improve the delivery of WASH services in affected areas;
• Develop and support implementation of a service continuity planning strategy;
• Inclusion of key humanitarian partners with specific attention to local actors, NGOs, UN agencies based in Renk;
• Establishment and maintenance of appropriate humanitarian coordination mechanisms. This includes organizing regular multi-lateral and bilateral meetings, developing meeting agendas, sending minutes and following up/supporting the progress on action points;
• Actively coordinate with national/local authorities, state institutions, local civil society, and stabilization actors;
• Ensuring adapted information management monitoring functions to maintain 4Ws planning, reporting and information sharing as required, in collaboration with the Upper Nile WASH Cluster and the national WASH Cluster;
• Contributing to advocacy and resource mobilization which includes draft reports and briefing notes on the situation and developments in the context and needs, in collaboration with the Upper Nile WASH Cluster and the national WASH Cluster;
• Ensuring needs assessment and analysis which includes relevant contributions to multi-sector assessments, in collaboration with the Upper Nile WASH Cluster and the national WASH Cluster;
• Ensuring the application of appropriate standards. In collaboration with relevant technical leads in the sector to discuss, share relevant technical standards and guidelines for best practice. This includes working with the national and regional WASH cluster Lead to develop and promote common or rationalised approaches between coordination hubs;
• Undertaking the planning and strategy development including an active leadership on the continuity of services planning for Renk
• With support of the national cluster, updating service mapping of activities with Renk based partners as appropriate, develop and agree with Renk based partners on critical activities);
• Ensuring participatory and community-based approaches, in order to ensure relevance and appropriateness of WASH response in Renk;
• Undertaking training and capacity building in collaboration with the national and regional WASH Cluster and relevant technical leads in the sector to facilitate technical training and capacity building

The main challenges:

• Complex multi-sectorial context a with huge volume of activity.
• Dense humanitarian coordination.
• Difficult WASH context with a humanitarian situation under the standards.
• A lot of WASH partners working in a vast area.

Priorities for the 2/3 first months:

• Being familiar with the specific context of the Sudan crisis and the sectorial context in Renk and South Sudan sectorial strategy.
• Being familiar with the local humanitarian coordination and local authority system to be able to collect properly information.
• Partner mapping in Renk.

YOUR PROFILE

Education / academic background:

High degree diploma is recommended (Generalist, Bioforce, tehnical related to WASH).

Specific skills and experience:

• A first experience on a similar position
• 5 years or more in the humanitarian sector
• Substantial experience in Cluster
• Substantial experience in managing and organize meetings
• Good organizational and coordination skills.
• Master of the MS office pack, including Excel.
• Ability to multitask and deal with stressful situations.
• Capacity of negotiations with suppliers and authorities.
• Good experience in WASH in mergency and in communities
• Previous experiences with Solidarités International on support positions are strongly appreciated.
• Previous experience in South Sudan or in a complex emergency is an asset.
• A flexible approach to managing and prioritizing a high workload and multiple tasks with tight deadlines.
• Good stress management.
• Ability to take decisions and work in autonomy.
• Strong capacity to ensure external coordination with mutliple stakeholders in the humanitarian community

Language:

Fluent in English, written and spoken. Arabic is an asset.

SI WILL OFFER YOU

A salaried position:

According to experience, starting from EUR 2860 gross per month (2600 base salary + 10% annual leave allowance paid monthly) and a monthly Per Diem of USD 700.

SI also covers accommodation costs and travel expenses between the expatriate’s country of origin and the place of assignment.

Breaks: During the assignment, a system of alternation between work and time off is implemented at the rate of 7 working days every three months (with a USD 850 break allowance, allocated by Sl). To these breaks periods, SI grants one (1) additional rest day per month worked.

Insurance package: Expatriates benefit from an insurance package which refunds all healthcare expenses (including medical and surgical expenses, dental care and ophthalmological expenses, repatriation) and a welfare system including war risks. Essential vaccination and antimalarial treatment costs are refunded.

LIVING CONDITIONS:

The WASH Cluster Lead lives in guesthouse with the some national colleagues delocalized. Accommodation rooms and bathing facilities are shared. Electricity is quite stable and there is a generator as backup. There is a kitchen with basic cooking facilities, and a cleaner/cook. Satelite internet is available.

SECURITY:

There is an internal curfew at night for international staffs. It is possible to walk in the streets during the day in the permitted zone. There’s a driver available on evenings and weekends for movements out of office hours.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Do you recognize yourself in this description? If yes, please send us your CV and cover letter!

Please note that CV-only applications will not be considered, and that the vacancy may close before the deadline.

Thank you for your understanding.

To learn more about Sl: www.solidarites.org

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Solidarités International (SI) est déterminé à prévenir et à combattre tout type d’abus – tout acte d’exploitation, d’abus et/ou de harcèlement sexuels (SEAH) à l’encontre des membres des communautés bénéficiaires ou de ses collaborateurs et collaboratrices, atteinte aux personnes et/ou aux biens, fraude, corruption, conflit d’intérêt non déclaré, financement d’activités portant atteinte aux droits de l’homme – qui pourrait être perpétré dans le cadre de ses interventions. SI applique une tolérance zéro à l’égard de tout type d’abus, particulièrement des actes de SEAH.

Solidarités International est un employeur équitable qui combat toute forme de discrimination. SI ne demandera jamais une rétribution quelconque en vue de participer à un processus de recrutement.

Solidarités International (SI) is determined to prevent and fight all type of abuse – all act of exploitation, abuse and/or sexual harassment (SEAH) against members of beneficiary communities or collaborators, fraud, corruption, violation of persons and/or property, funding of activities harmful to human rights – that could be perpetrated in the frame of its interventions. SI implements a zero-tolerance policy regarding acts of abuse, notably acts of SEAH.

Solidarités International is an equitable employer committed to find all forms of discrimination. SI will ever ask for any remuneration to take part in a recruitment process.