Hygiene Promotion Officer
Danish Refugee Council, one of the world’s leading humanitarian NGOs, is currently looking for a qualified and motivated qualified and motivated Hygiene Promotion Officer.
The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading protection agency with a mandate to promote and protect durable solutions to conflict and displacement-affected populations based on humanitarian principles and human rights. DRC is implementing a multi-sector response to support Ukraine refugees, IDPs, and host populations both within Ukraine and the neighboring countries of Poland, Romania and Moldova, and wider Europe.
Due to the ongoing conflict that began in February 2022, DRC opened offices in Poland, Moldova, and Romania to provide support to the displaced population in partnership with civil society organizations and national NGOs, duty bearers, and other actors. DRC continues to implement in these three countries through partnerships, technical assistance and capacity exchange, and direct implementation in some cases.
About the Job
The Hygiene Promotion Officer will be responsible for promoting and facilitating hygiene practices, ensuring the adoption of proper behaviors, and raising awareness about the importance of hygiene in various settings, such as refugee accommodation centres and host communities in Moldova. The role involves designing and implementing water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) promotion campaigns, organizing workshops and collaborating with community members, sesrvice providers and stakeholders. Various WASH initiatives will be realised in Refugee Accommodation Centres (RACs), Border Crossing points (BCPs), fast-tracking areas and hosting communities.
Specific duties and responsibilities:
To achieve the overall and specific position’s objectives the Hygiene Promotion Officer will perform the following tasks and undertake the following responsibilities:
- Serve as the focal point person for activities related to sanitation and hygiene promotion in RACs, fast tracking areas and host communities;
- Identify challenges faced in refugee accommodation, border crossings or hosting households and make a detailed plan on how particular WASH practices aim to address them.
- Collaborate closely with DRC Community Mobilizer Officers and other service providers while learning the needs, attitudes and preferences of refugee and host communities and share contacts & referral pathways for further assistance/follow-up support.
- Organize WASH Awareness and Education sessions, providing information on key hygiene practices, such as handwashing, safe water handling, personal hygiene and sanitation, etc., and explaining consequences of poor hygiene, as well as benefits of adopting proper WASH.
- Prioritize community-level hygiene awareness campaigns and prevention of various communicable diseases, conveying hygiene and sanitation messages.
- Create and distribute educational materials, pamphlets, posters, and audiovisual content to convey hygiene messages.
- Identify focal points and volunteers for specific activities and guide them through their roles and responsibilities, as well as make community members aware of these roles.
- Implement activities that highlight the importance of maintaining a clean-living environment and proper waste management (focus on both collective accommodation and host households, with considered specificities).
- Collect data on behaviour change, and evaluate the effectiveness of WASH campaigns, using findings to refine strategies and approaches.
- Liaise with other WASH program components and partners to integrate hygiene promotion efforts with water supply and sanitation activities, ensuring a holistic approach to public health improvement.
- Conduct evaluation to assess effectiveness of workshop and get feedback; Use feedback to improve future WASH efforts towards culturally sensitive services and safe behaviour among refugee and host community members;
- Organize and participate in community events, health fairs and awareness campaigns to engage communities in Moldova in hygiene-related discussions.
- Prepare regular reports detailing the progress of hygiene promotion activities, present successful approaches, challenges faced, and lessons learned, contributing to informed decision-making and future program planning.
- Stay updated on current trends, best practices and innovations in hygiene promotion and public health and stand ready to contribute to WASH Sub-working group’s coordination work.
- Other tasks as required to adapt towards operational needs.
Experience and technical competencies:
- At least 2 years of proven experience in hygiene promotion, public health education or community development.
- Knowledge of hygiene practices, sanitation, water supply, and disease prevention.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to effectively engage with diverse audiences.
- Strong presentation and facilitation skills for conducting workshops and awareness sessions.
- Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to establish effective working relations with relevant stakeholders;
- Strong work ethics and commitment to humanitarian principles.
- Skilled at Microsoft Office environment and office software packages.
Education:
Bachelor's degree in public health, environmental health, social work, community development and/ or a related field.
Languages:
- Professional proficiency in English
- Professional proficiency in Romanian, Ukrainian or Russian (desirable).
We Offer
Contract type: National Staff Contract.
Contract length: 06 months with the possibility of extension depending on the availability of funding.
Band: Non-Management, H
Duty base: Chisinau
Start date: 01.10.2023
We offer a competitive salary and benefits in accordance with the Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for National Staff.
Application Process
All applicants must upload a cover letter and an updated CV in English. Applications sent by email will not be considered.
Candidates must already possess the right to live and work in Moldova.
Closing date for applications: September 26th, 2023.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and we, therefore, encourage you to apply as soon as possible.
For further information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult our website drc.ngo.
