Shelter & WASH Specialist Burkina Faso Full Time

Context

Burkina Faso continues to face a complex humanitarian situation, with widespread displacement and significant constraints on civilian movement and access to basic services. According to the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, approximately 5.9 million people are estimated to need assistance, including internally displaced people and vulnerable host communities.

Humanitarian access remains limited in several areas due to insecurity and logistical constraints, affecting the delivery of assistance across multiple regions. Needs have steadily increased over recent years, particularly among women, children, older persons, and people with disabilities.

Operational challenges also include incidents affecting humanitarian workers, restrictions on movement, and limited resources to meet growing needs. Coordination efforts and adapted access strategies continue to support the delivery of assistance despite these constraints.

NRC works in Burkina Faso to assist people affected by the crisis, with programmes in Shelter, Site Management, Education, WASH, Protection from Violence and ICLA

Looking ahead, NRC anticipates a sustained high level of humanitarian needs and a demanding operational environment, combined with increased requirements for compliance and evolving global funding trends that influence the scale and scope of the response.

Find out more about NRC https://www.nrc.no/ and Watch this short video to see NRC in action https://vimeo.com/736782633

What we are looking for

Shelter (including site management) and Settlements: NRC is currently focused on expanding its Shelter portfolio in Burkina Faso. Its humanitarian interventions are based on its programming expertise in the Core Competencies of Shelter including Site Management, Education, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Protection from Violence, along with Information Counselling and legal Assistance (ICLA) to vulnerable displaced people.

In addition to offering temporary shelters equipped with emergency Non-Food Item (NFI) kits, lighting and alternative cooking solutions, for newly displaced families; NRC is expanding its transitional shelter response and revising the program to , be more flexible to respond in hard to reach areas, increase the community engagement in the shelter construction using local techniques, foster a localized approach and market based solutions. Additionally, NRC shelter team builds temporary, transitional, and permanent classrooms in close coordination with the NRC education team, looking for piloting a new greening approach to make schools more climate resilient.

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene: WASH interventions are seamlessly integrated with other Core Competencies to maximize impact and efficiency. NRC provides comprehensive WASH assistance, addressing access to water, sanitation, and hygiene promotion. Water access is facilitated through the construction of boreholes with human-powered pumps, small drinking water supply systems (PEA or AEPS), conversion of hand pump-equipped boreholes into small drinking water supply NRC is also working to strengthen direct solar pumping system as an alternative to prolonged water trucking if needed to besieged areas.

To achieve its country objectives, NRC is seeking for an experienced and dedicated Shelter & Wash Specialist.

The WASH & Shelter Specialist will provide technical oversight and strategic direction to Country and Area offices to further the development of the WASH – Shelter Core Competency (CC). The Specialist will provide quality assurance for all projects, develop a collaborative country strategy, capacity build staff through mentoring and training to increase the technical capacity of the staff, and develop a donor strategy to further grow the program.

What you will do

• Responsible for technical innovative development and quality of WASH-Shelter CC in country, holistic programming (with other CCs) and to ensure harmonisation and consistency across CC projects in line with NRC Programme Policy
• Develop Shelter and WASH strategies, technical guidance and Macro LFAs that are aligned with regional and global strategies and priorities and promoting and operationalizing integrated programming (focus on Education, LFS, Protection from Violence and ICLA)
• Take the lead on quality project deliverables to ensure high technical outputs strengthening the organisational learning from programme implementation, sharing of best practice and capacity building.
• Promote localization into shelter/WASH responses and efficient program design for hard to reach areas.
• Promote efficient shelter solutions considering environment and climate minimum standards and assessments (ej NEAT +).
• Ensure Housing, Land and Property (HLP) due diligence processes are well integrated and referred between Shelter/WASH and ICLA teams.
• Provide strategic leadership on the development of programming that recognizes the WASH and Shelter challenges faced by displacement affected population and leading implementation of Safe and Inclusive Programming Minimum Standards throughout programmes, with capacity building, guidance and interdepartmental engagement.
• Support the consideration and inclusion of cash-based interventions (if possible) and market-based approaches within (and across) the Shelter and WASH core competencies and contribute to the institutionalization of cash and market-based interventions through capacity building, guidance and SOP development and inter-departmental engagement.
• Lead the process on proposals, budgets, modifications, project reviews and reporting and ensure high technical quality ensuring that SIP elements are introduced into technical documents (e.g assessments, guidance notes, tools etc)
• Support programmatic M&E and indicator tracking in conjunction with project teams and M&E department.
• Develop and lead on conducting needs assessments (in collaboration with Area Program teams, Protection team and M&E team), baseline, mid-and end-evaluations.
• Represent NRC with relevant donors, government ministries, and in relevant humanitarian coordination meetings in country.
• Provide support and input to the recruitment processes for all WASH and Shelter staff

Please download the detailed job description to learn more about the position JD_Shelter and WASH Specialist Burkina Faso.

What you will bring

1. Professional competencies

• Minimum 5 years of experience within technical expertise area in a humanitarian/recovery context
• Minimum 2 years of WASH and/or Shelter expertise (as Specialist or Project Manager)
• Experience from working in complex and volatile contexts.
• Expertise in Shelter programming.
• Expertise in WASH programming.
• Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities.
• Knowledge about own leadership skills/profile.
• Humanitarian coordination experience
• Fluency in English and French, both written and verbal
• This position requires 50% travel in field offices, where security condition is volatile (Central North, Sahel, East and Boucle de Mouhoun region in Burkina), our ideal candidate should be able to travel in those areas

Context/specific skills, knowledge and experience:

• Knowledge of Burkina Faso and the regional Sahel conflict dynamic
• Experience of programming in the region.
• Experience of programme scale-up and scale-down.
• Preferred experience of working in matrix management structure.
• Experience of collaborative working with remotely based colleagues.
• Experience in team capacity building
• Technical knowledge and experience of behaviour change process in a humanitarian context
• Technical knowledge and experience of the community engagement process and integration of gender and diversity in program design.
• Experience implanting cash and market project approaches
• Knowledge of house, land and property rights applied to shelter and WASH responses
• Experience with management of technical design and implementation of programs is desired
• Experience with innovative WASH solution in a humanitarian context an asset
• Understanding of SPHERE and INEE Minimum Standards is required
• Understanding of environmental and climate tools like NEAT+ is an asset

2.Behavioural competencies

• Working with people
• Handling insecure environments
• Strategic thinking
• Empowering and building trust
• Initiate action and change
• Analyzing

What we offer

• Duty station:Ouagadougou BurkinaFaso
• Contract: 12 months renewable on funding availability
• Salary&benefits: grade 9 on NRC’s salary scale
• NRC is an equal opportunity employer—female applicants highly encouraged, with diversity embraced across age, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, and physical ability.
• We think outside the box, encourage ideas, and give responsibility to all employees at all levels. You will have many opportunities to be heard and take the initiative.
• Find out more about the benefits of working for NRC https://www.nrc.no/career/what-we-offer/
• Kindly send any questions about the application process to: [email protected]. Applications sent via email will not be accepted. Please check your application status on your NRC application profile.

Tagged as: Burkina Faso, Norwegian Refugee Council