Uganda: Physical Site Planner
Country: Uganda
Closing date: 26 Jan 2014
Position: Physical Site Planner, P3 grade
Position Location: Adjumani/Pakelle, Uganda
Supervisor: Direct Supervision by the Emergency Response Team Leader and overall supervision of the Head of Office Adjumani/Pakelle
Duration: 3 months
Operational context:
In excess of 30,000 South Sudanese refugees have fled from Jonglei and Unity States, into Uganda since the 15th. of December 2013. New refugees continue to arrive in Adjumani, Arua, Kiryandongo and Koboko districts, using multiple border points. OCHA sitrep no.9 indicates 3,000 to 4,000 daily arrivals. UNHCR and its main government counterpart, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), have activated the Contingency Plan for South Sudan. New arrivals assemble at designated collection points from which they are transported to existing transit and reception centers for further assistance. The very high number of arrivals is of great concern. It is expected that the total number of new South Sudanese refugees may rise to 60,000 by the end of March 2014. Limited assistance has been available so far, with significant gaps in shelter, water and sanitation facilities, as well as medical supplies at the already overcrowded sites. Given the scale of the emergency, in a country that is already dealing with a major refugee influx from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on its eastern front, urgent coordinated humanitarian response is required in order to meet basic needs.In Uganda, all new arrivals are accommodated and provided with immediate assistance in existing transit, reception and settlement facilities; however these are already seriously overcrowded. Based on the outcome of the current joint Government-UNHCR-Inter-Agency needs assessment, and in close cooperation with the relevant Ugandan authorities and other partners, UNHCR will develop new fully-serviced transit and reception facilities so as to decongest the existing ones and reduce public health and safety risks.
UNHCR will also expedite the relocation of new arrivals from the transit/reception centres to receiving settlements. Critical investment will be made in existing and new receiving settlements, in particular in the areas of site planning, infrastructure rehabilitation/expansion/development, including for access roads, plot demarcation and shelter.
Responsibilities:
1) Provide specialized shelter and settlement support to ensure technical integrity while providing emergency assistance to population of concern.
2) Advise Team leader / Field Coordinator on all matters related to shelter and settlement
3) Oversee Site Planning issues in the Arua and Adjumani/Pakelle for refugees’ influx from South Sudan.
4) In close coordination with the UNHCR Kampala , OPM, relevant IPs/OPs and local authorities, review settlement sites and facilities with specific attention to the following:
• Physical planning for Arua and Adjumani/Pakelle influx, with regard to the location of the different villages, nature of settlement of refugees thus far, Organization of households at village level and their proximity to Basic services like safe water facilities, health, education, and community facilities like registration centers, youth centers, reception centers, etc.
• Reviewing the road networks, placement of partner accommodation, offices and other existing infrastructures in the relevant settlements.
• Reviewing the existing refugee shelter and sanitation facilities at the field level clearly pointing out gaps.
• Reviewing the existing site plan recently developed for the Basecamp area in the Arua and Adjumani/Pakelle.
• Updating the available maps of the above listed settlements with relevant mapping features with reference to the existing maps and settlement boundaries. This would also involve Mapping the occupied space in the clusters/settlements as well as the available contingency space;
• Advising on better ways of visualization of the operations/programmes, including better ways of managing/updating the objects and attributes for the infrastructure, services, programmes and refugee statistics.
5) Develop site plans, technical drawings for shelter with due consideration for the overall needs and resources of the population of concern, their cultural preferences and the concerns of the local communities.
6) Develop the shelter strategies to meet the ongoing needs of refugees, taking into account the preferences of the beneficiaries, local construction practices and available materials. Plan and supervise the maintenance and upgrading of family shelters in order to improve standards
7) Work in close collaboration with all relevant stakeholders including, local authorities, relevant partners and affected communities on issues related to ensure sustainability of the shelter and settlement programme. Oversee all matters related to construction activities within the settlement among different sectors (such as water, sanitation, health, education facilities, etc);
8) Provide support to relevant sectors in the market analysis of locally available construction materials and skills, promoting the use of local capacity as appropriate.
9) Ensure regular monitoring and evaluation of site planning and shelter activities, providing inputs for situation reports and reporting back to the country office and headquarters on progress and standards.
Education
• University degree in architecture or Civil Engineering.
Experience
• At least 8 years relevant experience in the related field, including collaboration with different humanitarian organizations (Field experience in responding to emergencies working with relevant governmental technical departments and various organizations in identifying, designing, delimiting, clearing and developing land allocated to establish site camps.
• Good knowledge of site surveying (including topography, hydrology, geology, land use physical planning, environment, engineering, etc.) and extensive experience in undertaking related topography assessments/ feasibility studies for site identification and environmental impact studies whilst using surveying tools (including GPS equipment, GIS software).
• Prior experience in settlement site planning including layout of shelter plots, roads, communal infrastructures and basic services.
• Prior experience in designing and implementing shelter strategies.
• Knowledge of UNHCR standards and criteria for site selection, including consideration of cross sectorial issues related to protection, WASH, environment, land property issues etc.
• Previous experience in tender processes (including development of all relevant technical documentation) to ensure settlement development.
• Experience of site construction management (including supervision, monitoring, quality control, evaluation etc.)
Other requirements
• Capacity to work with multi sectorial teams Cultural sensitivity to the specific needs of the persons of concern.
• Willingness and ability to work in hardship environments.
• Computer literacy in MS Office and other relevant software to produce digital maps, site plans, layout and technical drawings.
• Excellent knowledge of English
• Knowledge of another UN language would be an asset
How to apply:
Please send your CV and cover letter by e-mail to HQSL00@unhcr.org (please note this address has two zeroes not two o's). Applications must be received no later than 26 of January 2014. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
