Public Health Engineer - Horn of Africa (Oxfam)

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Public Health Engineer – Horn, East & Central Africa Deployments for 3 months £20,018 – £26,837 or £23,090 - £29,954 Net depending on the role. Net = take home pay. Oxfam will meet the tax and social security liabilities of post-holder in addition to net salary. Hard to Work Allowance (depending on location): £3,000 net p.a. pro rata to the contract length

Millions of people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are suffering from severe food shortages. This is the worst food crisis of the 21st Century so far - over 11million people are now affected.

Oxfam have been working in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya for many years now, and given the current humanitarian crisis being faced by the local community, Oxfam staff and their local partners are scaling up their emergency response.

Oxfam GB is currently recruiting for skilled and experienced Public Health Engineers to enable Oxfam to respond quickly to the public health requirements in Horn, East & Central Africa and provide technical support and quality control in management, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Oxfam drought response project. As well as maintain and improve established systems & structures required for the effective timely implementation of quality water, sanitation and hygiene promotion component of the project

The role As one of the first on the ground in a humanitarian response, you’ll assess the need for emergency water supplies, sanitation and shelter, and plan a way to restore these services as quickly as possible. Working closely with other Oxfam Humanitarian Support Personnel (HSPs) and country staff, other emergency organisations and the communities involved, you’ll need to identify and design the best systems for each specific scenario, then get them up and running with the help of your colleagues.

And the challenge doesn’t end there. You’ll also have an important part to play in capacity building other Oxfam staff, writing proposals and contributing to budget developments. And at every stage, whether you’re leading our aid efforts, or working as part of a team, you’ll find yourself making life-changing decisions in what can often be very difficult circumstances.

What we’re looking for Qualified in any Public Health Engineering related discipline, you should also have worked with water and sanitation systems in the developing world. Additional experience in emergency relief would obviously be an advantage. But most important will be your practical understanding of the public health needs of poor rural and urban communities and the best ways to tackle them. As well as your ability to work effectively in fast moving emergency situations, and/or complex and difficult operating environments.

From a practical standpoint, you must be ready to travel at short notice and often in difficult circumstances. Flexibility, resilience and a strong team ethos are clearly essential. While a decent grasp of our key languages – English and French – would clearly be a plus. In the interests of encouraging diversity among our Humanitarian Support Personnel, we’re particularly keen to hear from female applicants.

About Oxfam Thousands of people already commit their time and talents to our humanitarian and long-term development projects. Now we’re looking for yours.

How to apply This is a preparedness measure for emergency response. Due to the rapid scale up Oxfam encourages you to apply as soon as possible. Please indicate in your covering letter How soon you are available i.e. the earliest date you would be able to accept a deployment with Oxfam; and For how long would you be willing to be deployed as part of the team responding to the drought in HECA.

To find out more about this role and apply, visit www.oxfam.org.uk/jobs quoting ref: INT 4697

Closing date: 18th July 2011

All CV’s and applications must be submitted in English.