Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Infrastructure Technical Advisor - Ebola Response

Position pending funding approval

Location: Democratic Republic of the Congo - Bunia

Position Status: Full-time, Exempt or Non-exempt, Temporary for Emergency Response

Risk Level: X Level 3 ☐ Level 2 ☐ Level 1

Level 3: Frequent contact with participants, direct contact with children, access to sensitive data, and/or high level of accountability.

Level 2: Some contact with participants; unplanned non-direct contact with children.

Level 1: Likely to have no contact with participants or sensitive data.

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action - helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.Mercy Corps has been operational in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since August 2007 with a current workforce of approximately 300 national and expatriate employees. As a leading NGO in the DRC working with several local and international partners in 2025, Mercy Corps has reached more than half a million people in North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri and Kasai with integrated programmes ensuring equitable access to improved water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in humanitarian and development contexts; economic development and livelihoods to strengthen food security and resilience; as well as institutional capacity-building and social cohesion to foster peace and good governance.

Emergency Ebola Response Team Summary

Mercy Corps is delivering a timely, appropriate, and high-quality response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), grounded in a holistic, community-centered approach. A significant part of this response is delivered through the Integrated Ebola Response Driven by Communities (IERDC) consortium, led by Mercy Corps in partnership with local and international organizations. This consortium approach combines complementary technical expertise and extends the response's reach across affected health zones. Mercy Corps' Ebola response is organized around the following integrated, mutually reinforcing focus areas that are all vital to stopping the Ebola outbreak and mitigating its secondary effects:

• Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) and Community Surveillance: builds community trust, counters rumors and misinformation, and strengthens community-based prevention and early reporting.
• Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH): strengthens IPC/WASH infrastructure and hygiene promotion in health facilities and communities.
• Continuity of Services and Livelihoods: sustains access to essential services, livelihoods, functioning markets, and food security for vulnerable households through cash assistance and other targeted support.
• Safeguarding, protection, conflict-sensitivity, conflict analysis and Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI): ensure the response is safe, inclusive, and does no harm in line with Mercy Corps' humanitarian principles and locally-led commitment.

In line with Mercy Corps' humanitarian principles and commitment to local partnerships, the team ensures that interventions are delivered at scale, with impact, and in close coordination with the DRC MoH, Ebola response working groups and coordination pillars, communities, other community and international partners, and the broader humanitarian coordination system.

The Position

The IPC/WASH Infrastructure Technical Advisor - Ebola Response provides strategic technical leadership, design, and quality assurance for Mercy Corps' Ebola-related IPC/WASH programming in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The role ensures that all IPC/WASH interventions are technically sound, contextually appropriate, conflict-sensitive, inclusive, and aligned with national Ebola response protocols, Mercy Corps standards, WHO/UNICEF guidance, Sphere standards, and broader humanitarian best practice. This includes designing and ensuring IPC/WASH packages meet Ebola Response minimum standards for IPC/WASH infrastructure and activities within health facilities and within communities.

The Technical Advisor works in tandem with the IPC/WASH Program Manager, setting the technical standards, designs, and guidance that inform IPC/WASH interventions in health facilities, Ebola treatment or isolation areas, schools, community spaces, transit points, and high-risk communities. Key areas of technical focus include safe water supply, hand hygiene, environmental cleaning and disinfection, sanitation, health-care waste management, and WASH infrastructure design. The Technical Advisor conducts regular field visits to verify that IPC/WASH implementation meets technical specifications and Ebola response standards, providing hands-on technical guidance and corrective direction where gaps are identified.

The role works closely with the IPC/WASH Program Manager, program leadership, health and protection teams, MEL, operations, logistics, finance, government counterparts, WASH Cluster/Sector, health authorities, UNICEF, WHO, and implementing partners to ensure an integrated, accountable, and adaptive Ebola response.

Essential Responsibilities

STRATEGY & PROGRAM DESIGN

• Provide technical leadership for the design, adaptation, and implementation of Ebola-specific WASH interventions across health facilities, communities, schools, public spaces, and other high-risk settings.
• Lead technical analysis of WASH-related Ebola transmission risks and identify priority interventions based on epidemiological trends, community feedback, access constraints, health facility readiness, and partner mapping.
• Ensure program design integrates WASH, IPC, RCCE, protection, gender, safeguarding, and community accountability approaches.
• Develop or adapt technical guidance, standard operating procedures, training packages, checklists, and supervision tools for Ebola WASH response activities.
• Support the development of proposals, response strategies, donor concept notes, technical narratives, budgets, and implementation plans for Ebola WASH programming.
• Ensure WASH response design aligns with national Ministry of Health protocols, WHO/UNICEF Ebola WASH and IPC guidance, and humanitarian coordination priorities.
• Define and ensure Mercy Corps' IPC/WASH technical approach and specifications meet Ebola Response minimum standards for health facilities and communities.
• Promote community-led and locally appropriate solutions that reduce fear, stigma, and resistance while improving adoption of safe hygiene and infection-prevention practices.
• Ensure hygiene promotion and community engagement technical content developed by program teams is technically accurate and aligned with public health guidance.
• Use community feedback and field data provided by program teams to recommend strategic adaptations to WASH technical approaches.
• Provide technical guidance on hygiene kit contents and design to ensure they are appropriate, dignified, and needs-based.

TECHNICAL OVERSIGHT AND QUALITY ASSURANCE

• Provide technical oversight to ensure high-quality implementation of Ebola WASH interventions, including water supply systems, handwashing stations, sanitation facilities, waste management systems, cleaning and disinfection protocols, and hygiene promotion activities.
• Lead or support WASH/IPC rapid assessments in health facilities, isolation units, schools, markets, public institutions, transit points, and affected communities.
• Verify that health facilities and community sites meet technical standards for WASH infrastructure and supplies, including safe water storage, hand hygiene facilities, waste segregation systems, functional latrines, cleaning materials, and safe drainage, and provide corrective technical guidance where gaps are found.
• Guide teams on safe and appropriate use of chlorine solutions, hand hygiene materials, environmental cleaning protocols, and waste management measures in line with approved guidance and national protocols.
• Support safe management of health-care waste, including segregation, collection, treatment, disposal, and staff safety measures.
• Work with operations and logistics teams to define technical specifications for WASH supplies, hygiene kits, water treatment products, handwashing facilities, PPE-related WASH materials, disinfection equipment, waste bins, incinerators, and sanitation construction materials.
• Review technical designs, bills of quantities, procurement requests, contractor outputs, and completion reports for WASH infrastructure.
• Conduct regular technical field visits and supportive supervision to identify quality gaps, coach teams, and ensure corrective actions are implemented.
• Ensure all WASH interventions are safe, accessible, gender-sensitive, disability-inclusive, and appropriate for children, older people, and other vulnerable groups.
• Support contingency planning for rapid scale-up in new hotspots, including mobile WASH support, emergency water supply, temporary sanitation, hygiene kit distribution, and health facility WASH reinforcement.

INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL INTEGRATION

• Serve as Mercy Corps' technical focal point for WASH contributions to Ebola infection prevention and control.
• Work closely with health actors to ensure WASH measures reinforce IPC standards in health facilities, triage areas, isolation spaces, treatment centers, and community care or referral points.
• Support implementation of facility-based IPC/WASH improvement plans, including water availability, sanitation functionality, waste flow, environmental cleaning, hand hygiene, laundry areas, drainage, and safe patient/staff movement.
• Support the IPC/WASH Program Manager and team in training and mentoring WASH teams, partner staff, community health workers, hygiene promoters, cleaners, and facility support staff on practical IPC/WASH measures.
• Ensure WASH teams understand risk zones, safe work practices, decontamination routes, cleaning flows, and referral mechanisms.
• Support the IPC/WASH Program Manager in the safe reopening, rehabilitation, or decommissioning of WASH facilities after Ebola-related use, in coordination with health authorities and technical partners.
• Ensure WASH and IPC interventions are harmonized with RCCE messages and do not generate fear, stigma, misinformation, or unsafe practices.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND HYGIENE PROMOTION

• Provide technical guidance for Ebola-specific hygiene promotion and community engagement activities, ensuring messaging is accurate, culturally appropriate, and coordinated with RCCE actors.
• Support teams to engage community leaders, women’s groups, youth groups, faith leaders, schools, local authorities, and frontline workers in identifying barriers and solutions to safe hygiene practices.
• Ensure community feedback is systematically collected, analyzed, and used to adapt WASH interventions and communication approaches.
• Promote hand hygiene, safe water handling, sanitation use, cleaning practices, and safe care-seeking behaviors through trusted community channels.
• Work with protection and safeguarding colleagues to ensure Ebola WASH activities reduce risks of exclusion, stigma, discrimination, and harm.
• Support hygiene kit design and distribution approaches that are dignified, needs-based, accountable, and adapted to household and community priorities.

MONITORING, EVALUATION, ACCOUNTABILITY AND LEARNING

• Collaborate with MEL teams to develop Ebola WASH indicators, monitoring tools, data collection systems, quality checklists, and reporting templates.
• Analyze monitoring data, assessment findings, epidemiological updates, and community feedback to recommend adaptations to program strategy and implementation.
• Lead technical reviews, after-action reviews, lessons learned exercises, and documentation of promising practices.
• Ensure WASH activities contribute to donor reports, situation reports, response dashboards, cluster updates, and internal learning products.
• Promote use of digital data collection, GIS mapping, facility scoring tools, and rapid feedback mechanisms where feasible.
• Ensure accountability to participants through transparent information-sharing, accessible feedback channels, and timely response to complaints.

COORDINATION AND REPRESENTATION

• Represent Mercy Corps in relevant WASH, IPC, Health, RCCE, and Ebola response coordination forums at national, provincial, and field levels, as delegated.
• Coordinate closely with the Ministry of Health, provincial health authorities, WHO, UNICEF, WASH Cluster/Sector, Health Cluster, NGOs, local partners, and community-based actors.
• Contribute to inter-agency technical discussions, gap analysis, response planning, and harmonization of WASH/IPC standards.
• Support alignment of Mercy Corps programming with national Ebola response plans and local health-zone priorities.
• Build and maintain constructive relationships with local authorities, health facilities, community leaders, and civil society organizations.
• Facilitate joint planning with other Mercy Corps sectors, including health, protection, food security, cash, livelihoods, operations, and security teams.
• Advocate for safe, inclusive, community-centered, and evidence-based WASH approaches in the Ebola response.

CAPACITY STRENGTHENING AND TEAM SUPPORT

• Build the technical capacity of Mercy Corps staff, partner organizations, frontline workers, hygiene promoters, contractors, and community structures on Ebola WASH and IPC.
• Develop and deliver training, coaching, mentoring, and on-the-job support tailored to different staff and partner needs.
• Support the IPC/WASH Program Manager in translating technical guidance into practical implementation plans and daily supervision routines.
• Assist team members with tools, resources, and technical troubleshooting to improve performance and achieve response objectives.
• Promote a culture of safety, accountability, respect, learning, and continuous improvement.
• Provide technical input into the onboarding of WASH staff and consultants, as needed.
• Provide technical inputs into staff performance objectives for WASH-related roles, where appropriate.

SUPPLY CHAIN, OPERATIONS AND COMPLIANCE SUPPORT

• Support the IPC/WASH Program Manager in forecasting, quantifying, and prioritizing Ebola WASH supplies and equipment.
• Provide technical specifications and quality standards for procurement of WASH materials, hygiene kits, water treatment supplies, handwashing infrastructure, waste management materials, and construction inputs.
• Support the IPC/WASH Program Manager in quality inspection of WASH supplies and infrastructure before delivery, installation, or handover, particularly where technical compliance with specifications is in question.
• Support the IPC/WASH Program Manager in ensuring WASH activities comply with Mercy Corps procurement, logistics, finance, administration, risk, and compliance procedures.
• Contribute technical input to risk assessments for field movements, contractor activities, distribution events, and facility-based WASH works.
• Support the IPC/WASH Program Manager in safe storage, transport, and distribution planning for WASH materials in insecure or hard-to-reach areas.

SECURITY

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Proactively ensure that team members and partners operate in a secure environment and are aware of security policies.
• Coordinate with security focal points before field visits, assessments, distributions, trainings, and infrastructure activities.
• Ensure technical field activities are adapted to access constraints, insecurity, and movement restrictions.

SAFEGUARDING RESPONSIBILITIES

• Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates safeguarding risk mitigation into all areas of work.
• Practices Mercy Corps values, including respect for the dignity, safety, and well-being of participants, community members, partners, and team members.
• Encourages openness and communication within the team and supports team members to use reporting mechanisms when they have concerns.
• In coordination with protection and safeguarding colleagues, ensures WASH activities, distributions, trainings, and community engagement processes are designed to reduce risks of misconduct, abuse, exclusion, stigma, discrimination, and harm.

Supervisory Responsibility

The WASH Technical Advisor - Ebola Response may directly supervise technical staff, consultants, or short-term surge team members depending on the country structure. The role may also provide indirect technical oversight to WASH officers, hygiene promotion teams, partner staff, contractors, and response teams across multiple field locations.

Suggested wording to adapt: The WASH Technical Advisor directly supervises [insert title(s) and number of positions] and provides technical oversight to WASH and partner teams working across the locations.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Emergency Ebola Response Team Lead

Technical Reporting Line: Regional or Global WASH Advisor

Works Directly With: WASH teams, Health team, Protection team, MEL team, Operations, Logistics, Finance, HR, Security, Risk and Compliance, Safeguarding Focal Point, Ministry of Health, WASH Cluster/Sector, Health Cluster, WHO, UNICEF, local partners, and community structures.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and international standards guiding relief and development work. Mercy Corps is committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring, adaptation, and evaluation of field activities.

Minimum Qualifications & Transferable Skills

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Public Health Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Water and Sanitation Engineering, Civil Engineering, or related field. Master's degree preferred.
• Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian WASH programming, including at least 3 years in emergency response or outbreak settings.
• Demonstrated technical experience in WASH and IPC programming for infectious disease outbreaks, preferably Ebola or other viral hemorrhagic fever responses.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with government authorities, UN agencies, NGOs, local organizations, community leaders, and donors.
• Understanding of donor regulations and compliance requirements, including UNOCHA, DOS/DHR, USAID/BHA, ECHO, FCDO, and other UN agencies and institutional donors, preferred.

TECHNICAL

• Strong understanding of WASH in health-care facilities, including water supply, sanitation, hand hygiene, environmental cleaning, waste management, drainage, and facility-based risk reduction.
• Experience conducting WASH/IPC assessments, developing improvement plans, and supporting health facility readiness.
• Proven ability to design and oversee emergency water supply, sanitation, hygiene promotion, disinfection, waste management, and community-based WASH interventions.
• Demonstrated experience developing and reviewing technical engineering designs, drawings, and bills of quantities (BOQs) for WASH infrastructure.
• Familiarity with WHO, UNICEF, Sphere, national Ebola response protocols, WASH Cluster guidance, and humanitarian coordination systems.
• Experience developing technical guidance, SOPs, training materials, monitoring tools, quality checklists, and donor-facing technical inputs.
• Strong skills in capacity strengthening, coaching, mentoring, and working with local partners and frontline teams.
• Experience with digital data collection, GIS, facility mapping, or real-time monitoring tools, preferred.

WORKING STYLE

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, coordination, and representation skills.
• Demonstrated flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving under pressure.
• Ability to work effectively in insecure, rapidly changing, and resource-constrained environments.
• Readiness and willingness to travel frequently to field locations, including insecure or remote areas, as required.

LANGUAGES

• Effective verbal and written English and French required; knowledge of Swahili, Lingala, Tshiluba, or other relevant DRC languages is an asset.

Success Factors

The successful WASH Technical Advisor - Ebola Response will combine strong technical expertise in emergency WASH, outbreak response, and infection prevention with practical field leadership, diplomacy, and sound judgment. They will be able to translate technical standards into realistic, safe, and community-accepted actions in complex environments.

The ideal candidate will be highly collaborative, solutions-oriented, and comfortable working across technical sectors and coordination platforms. They will demonstrate strong capacity to mentor teams, support local partners, manage competing priorities, and adapt programming based on evidence, community feedback, and changing outbreak dynamics. A strong commitment to accountability, inclusion, safeguarding, gender equity, and Mercy Corps’ mission and values is essential.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The WASH Infrastructure Technical Advisor position is based in Bunia, DRC: a city currently located at the epicenter of the 17th Ebola outbreak. This location is insecure. Housing is group accommodation with limited freedom of movement beyond the house/office. Team members will have limited access to medical services but access to electricity, water, etc. This position requires 30% of travel by road and plane to field offices in insecure environments.

Given the emergency context, this position requires exceptional work schedules, including evenings and weekends.

Ongoing Learning

In support of Mercy Corps’ belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient, and relevant to the communities they serve, all team members are encouraged to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further personal and professional growth and development.

Team Engagement and Effectiveness

Achieving Mercy Corps’ mission starts with how we build our team and collaborate. By bringing together individuals with a variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives, we strengthen our ability to solve complex challenges and drive innovation. Mercy Corps fosters a culture of trust and respect, where every team member is valued for their contributions, empowered to reach their full potential, and motivated to do their best work.

Mercy Corps recognizes that building a strong and effective team is an ongoing process and remains committed to learning, improving, and growing together.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion or belief, national origin, gender, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected under applicable law.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that everyone we come into contact with in the course of our work, whether they are team members, community members, program participants, or others, is treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the UN Secretary-General's and IASC's Core Principles for the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and have signed the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Program. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or members of our team. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to behave professionally, respect local laws and customs, and adhere to the policies and values of the Mercy Corps Code of Conduct at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses at the time of hiring and on an annual basis.

As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline ([email protected].)