Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is an international non-governmental organization supporting relief and development work in over 99 countries around the world. CRS programs assist persons on the basis of need, regardless of creed, ethnicity or nationality.

The Agency’s three Signature Programming Areas include Emergency Response/Recovery, Agriculture Livelihoods and Health.  CRS works through local church and non-church partners to implement its programs where possible, therefore, strengthening and building the capacity of these partner organizations is fundamental to programs in every country in which CRS operates. CRS has been working in Ghana since 1958 and currently focuses on health, and food security/livelihoods.

Job Description

Catholic Relief Services – USCCB
Ghana Program

Catholic Relief Services is an American Relief and Development organization established by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops founded Catholic Relief Services in 1943 to express the Gospel call to love and serve the poor and vulnerable people. CRS has operated in all corners of Ghana over the years.  However, current operations are more focused on the Northern part of the country.

CRS Ghana has a main office in Accra and sub-office in Tamale. Additionally, the Ghana program oversees Cote D’Ivoire as an outreach country.

•   Department: Programming
•   Unit: Integrated Sanitation, Hygiene and Nutrition for Education (I-SHINE) Project
•   Title:  Construction Quality Officers (2)
•   Location:  1 based in Wale-Wale / 1 based in Bolgatanga
•   Supervisor:   I-SHINE Coordinator

Background

Catholic Relief Services prides itself with over 50 years of dedicated service to the Ghanaian people. Since 1958, CRS has been working with the support of the Government and in partnership with the local Catholic Church to improve the quality of life among the poorest and most vulnerable populations.

The scope of CRS Ghana’s development assistance has varied over time with program activities in Education, Health, Agriculture, HIV and AIDS, Conflict Resolution, Microfinance and Water and Sanitation. CRS has reached millions of Ghanaians, particularly women and children with development assistance over the agency’s history in Ghana.

As part of its health and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programming portfolio, CRS Ghana has just started the second year of implementation of a three year project called the Integrated Sanitation, Hygiene and Nutrition for Education (I-SHINE) Project. I-SHINE seeks to improve the health and wellbeing of over 104,119 vulnerable children and adults across six rural districts in Northern and Upper East Regions through a targeted set of integrated activities at the school and community levels. The project has two strategic objectives: 1) Children regularly attend water, sanitation, and hygiene-friendly schools and 2) Individuals live in communities free of open defecation.  Ghana Education Service, Ghana Heath Service and District Assemblies are key partners for implementation of I-SHINE.

CRS is seeking to hire two Construction Quality Field Officers to monitor the progress and quality of construction of 138 new and renovated KVIP latrines being established in target schools and communities. The Field Officers will also assist with coordination of the establishment of boreholes in these same target areas.

Specific Objectives:

Site Assessments

•   Visit sites of ongoing work on YR1 latrines (scheduled for completion in mid-June 2015) and assess status of construction using standardized tools
•   Visit projected targeted communities/schools for YR2 latrines, focusing on schools that clearly require new latrines (current latrine infrastructure cannot be renovated), finalize list of 60 communities/schools
•   Visit projected targeted communities/schools for YR3 latrines, focusing on schools with current latrine infrastructure that can be renovated.  Estimate extent of necessary renovation to develop terms of reference for YR3 contractor
•   Coordinate siting for 2015 and 2016 boreholes and facilitate monitoring of the construction processes

Regular Monitoring and Quality Assurance

•   Use standardized electronic forms and photographs to monitor the progress and quality of construction of all latrine and borehole sites, with a minimum of one monitoring visit to each site each week
•   Report progress using a central construction monitoring matrix
•   Spot verification of human resources, equipment and materials as compared with what’s stipulated in contract
•   Spot verification of building material quality: rocks for foundation, sand, gravel, concrete blocks , wood frames, etc.
•   Spot verification of construction quality: respect of sizes, layout of foundations, pit construction, reinforcement, verticality of walls, superstructure, roofing, etc
•   Monitoring of appropriateness for users: access, ergonomics, privacy, etc
•   Spot verification of safety measures
•   Spot verification of drainage
•   Map all infrastructure using  Geographic Information Technology ( GIS) technology

Coordination with School-level Representatives

•   Liaise with I-SHINE field agents and school/community level representatives to nominate a community level contact qualified and available to complete a daily quality assurance check. Weekly field visits to construction sites would include an update from this point person to identify any issues to be addressed
•   Work with beneficiary communities and schools to identify sites that are free of litigations
•   Establish and coordinate the activities of the Community Oversight Committees on latrine infrastructures

Coordination with Contractors

•   Establish working relationship and clear expectations with contractor and or foremen at each site
•   Work with contractors to approve all new sites where latrines will be built (paying attention to flood plain, safety, ease of access, etc.) for final approval of the I-SHINE project coordinator
•   Engage contractors or designates in site visits and compile issues discussed, recommendations and action points to management through the Project Coordinator

Coordination with Government Agencies

•   Build relationships and coordinate with District Ghana Education Service Planning Officers to perform joint site visits, and formally approve final construction for hand over to schools
•   Build relationships with and coordinate with other decentralized government agencies including DWST, CWSA, EHU

Technical Review and related Support

•   Support CRS to maintain accepted WASH & Infrastructural standards for the sector and ensure that project staff, partner agencies and recipient communities understand and adhere to these standards.
•   Support in the technical review of bidding and tender documents to ensure that they meet the requirements.
•   Assist in reviewing the bill of quantities and bill of materials in the CRS funded community sub project proposals to ensure the estimated costs are reasonable and comparable to the market rates

Internal Coordination

•   Coordinate with field officers based in each district to build linkages to school monitoring committees and build the expectation that school and community based groups should be monitoring the quality of construction
•   Work with the I-SHINE MEAL Specialist to accurately report on the progress of construction, providing photographs and written summaries of construction as required for reporting
•   Provide timely updates to I-SHINE Project Coordinator on any issues requiring immediate attention so they may be adequately addressed

Supervisor
I-SHINE Project Coordinator - CRS Ghana

Internal Contacts
I-SHINE team, Health Program Manager, Head of Programming, MEAL Coordinator

External Contacts
Government partners, Contractors

Period of Performance
The period of performance of tasks will be approximately from May 2015 to the end of the project in December 2016.

Qualification Required & Experience

•   At least 2 years’ experience in engineering, building and construction
•   HND qualification
•   Familiarity with monitoring, evaluation and learning and information technology
•   Knowledge of Microsoft word processing and spreadsheets
•   Demonstrate professional maturity and good interpersonal skills for teamwork, and good written and verbal communication skills
•   Ability to work to meet deadlines in multiple tasking environments.
•   Sound report writing, interpersonal, facilitation, and communication skills.
•   Great time management.
•   Able to work with little direct supervision to achieve work objectives.
•   Ability to travel within the area of intervention 90% of the time (day trips)
•   Licensed to ride a motorcycle.

Agency-Wide Competencies (For all CRS Staff)

These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.

•   Serves with Integrity
•   Models Stewardship
•   Cultivates Constructive Relationships
•   Promotes Learning

This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skills, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position. Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply.

Location: Wale-Wale / Bolgatanga

How To Apply For The Job

Please submit your CV and letter of interest to:-

GH_jobs@global.crs.org  by 5pm, on the 14th April, 2015. Application must be saved in this format: Application.CV. (Name). Construction Quality Officer

Closing Date: 14 April, 2015