WASH Assistant

Role Overview

This position puts you on the front line of Save the Children's water, sanitation and hygiene work across Garissa, Wajir, Mandera and Tana River, where you will spend most of your week in the field turning plans into working infrastructure and changed household behaviour. Partnering closely with the WASH Officer, you will oversee contractors building and rehabilitating water points, run hygiene promotion and supply distributions, and make sure WASH activities reinforce what colleagues in nutrition, health, food security, education and child protection are doing in the same communities. The role carries real weight during the El Niño preparedness and response period, because the reliability of the water and sanitation systems you help deliver — and the hygiene practices you help sustain — shapes whether families can recover quickly and whether children remain safe and healthy through the crisis.

Key Responsibilities

• Supervise construction and rehabilitation of community WASH facilities, including animal troughs, tank platforms, elevated tower tanks, reticulation systems, and borehole equipping with solarisation.
• Convene and take part in site meetings with contractors and community representatives, gathering feedback, resolving concerns and keeping communities informed about progress.
• Plan, organise and follow up hygiene promotion sessions, and lead the distribution of WASH non-food items such as jerricans, buckets, soap, PUR sachets and Aquatabs to targeted households.
• Check that contractors' work meets Save the Children's quality benchmarks using the agreed quality checklists, validate progress on site, and coordinate with administration and logistics colleagues so contractor payments are processed once work is verified.
• Compile weekly data on project and strategic indicators — beneficiaries reached, and the number and type of activities completed — and keep the WASH Officer informed of progress.
• Maintain WASH programme documentation and capture success stories and learning from the communities served.
• Arrange field logistics for monitoring and supervision visits, and help uphold safety standards on active construction sites while encouraging meaningful community participation.
• Coordinate with other Save the Children sectors operating in the same areas so activities complement rather than duplicate one another, and ensure gender, child protection, HIV and environmental considerations are built into how WASH work is designed and delivered, with specific attention to children, older people and people with disabilities.

Requirements & Qualifications

• A degree or diploma in civil engineering, water engineering, or public health and sanitation.
• At least two years of professional experience in WASH infrastructure construction within a humanitarian or development context.
• Demonstrated experience managing project activities and delivering integrated health and WASH programming within agreed timeframes and budget limits.
• Practical familiarity with community participation and accountability mechanisms in emergency, integrated health and WASH settings.
• Working knowledge of monitoring and evaluation, including collecting field data and reporting against indicators.
• Ability to produce clear, well-argued assessments and project reports, with a high level of written and spoken English.
• Some experience representing an organisation in external forums, supported by strong influencing skills.
• Fluent communication in English, Kiswahili and Somali.
• Personal attributes suited to the setting: cultural and political sensitivity, patience, tact and diplomacy, plus the flexibility and willingness to work in difficult and sometimes insecure conditions.
• Integrity and accountability in your own work, a collaborative and approachable manner, and the drive to set ambitious goals, share a clear vision, and take disciplined risks in pursuit of better solutions.
• Genuine commitment to child-focused aims and principles, and a sound understanding of how a child rights mandate should underpin humanitarian support.