Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Senior Engineer - Garissa Zonal office

Job Summary

Job Title: Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Senior Engineer

Location: Dadaab

Reports to: WASH Specialist, Garissa Zonal office 

Contract Duration: 1 Year

Background

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6 baseline estimates for Kenya indicates that 58% of the population has access to drinking water from improved sources with less than a 30-minute round trip to fetch water. At the same time open defecation is still practiced by 10% of the population and 7.3% of households (KNBS, 2019). Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) has been adopted as the core strategy for implementing the Open Defecation Free (ODF) Rural Kenya initiative aiming to achieve ODF Kenya by end of 2020. The campaign entails working through partnerships and devolved government structures throughout rural Kenya to reach all the communities which includes i) coordinated approach among stakeholders including NGOs and donors, hands on capacity building for facilitation and support for the implementation of the campaign; ii) strengthening planning, monitoring and evaluation systems; iii)undertaking research, documentation and knowledge management; iv) linking communities with affordable sanitation products and

solutions; v) working with the media to keep the ODF agenda alive; vii) sustain behavior change; and viii) engage in advocacy for increased resources.

Justification and Purpose of the position

Responsibilities include overseeing quality assurance of drilling, construction, and rehabilitation works, capacity building of the water service providers, representing CLIENT in the Refugee WASH response coordination forums and leading monitoring and supervision of WASH interventions in communities, schools, and health care facilities. This position also supports Dadaab Municipality and Surrounding areas and the Water Service Providers on the integration of WASH services of host communities and refugees. It promotes collaboration and knowledge sharing among stakeholders to achieve sustainable access to safe, affordable integrated drinking water and sanitation services for refugee and host communities. The WASH Engineer will work in coordination

with the County Director of Water Services, Dadaab Municipality, and receive regular technical guidance from the CLIENT WASH Specialist in Garissa.

Key Responsibilities:

1.Technical Quality Assurance of CLIENT Supported Projects

• Review technical designs, BoQs and specifications of the CLIENT supported WASH construction and rehabilitation works including equipment, supplies and materials.
  
• Supervise the drilling and upgrading/rehabilitation of boreholes to solar-powered systems, ensuring compliance with climate-resilient design standards and timely completion.
  
• Supervise construction of gender- and disability-sensitive sanitation facilities in schools and health care facilities.
  
• Ensure proper installation of mass handwashing stations and water supply systems in targeted institutions.
  
• Conduct regular site inspections and technical assessments to ensure adherence to engineering standards and environmental safeguards.
  
• Review BoQs and prepare certificate of payments for infrastructure works
  
• Provide technical support to artisans trained in repair and maintenance of WASH facilities.
  
• Provide technical support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners/donors on the application and understanding of CLIENT policies, strategies, processes and best practices in WASH, to support programme implementation.
  
• Support hygiene promotion activities including distribution of WASH, menstrual hygiene management for adolescent girls in school and women of reproductive age.
  
• Ensure schools and Health facilities are reached with WASH services to ensure continuous provision of services at the health facilities and continuous learning in schools.

2. Monitoring and Reporting

• Develop and implement Monitoring and Reporting frameworks and tools for tracking progress of CLIENT supported WASH infrastructure construction and rehabilitation activities.
  
• Support data collection, analysis, and reporting on key indicators including access to safe water, sanitation coverage, and hygiene behavior change.
  
• Strengthen and update existing water supply database including asset inventory to ensure real-time updates on water point functionality. Generate monthly reports to inform timely actions and support evidence-based decision-making
  
• through Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E). Collaborate with WASH partners in Dadaab to strengthen coordination and data sharing for improved service delivery
  
• Work collaboratively with colleagues and partners to collect/analyze/ share information on implementation issues, provide solutions on routine programme implementation and alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level interventions and/or decisions. Keep records of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.
  
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises and annual sectoral reviews with government and other counterparts and prepare reports on results for required action/interventions by CLIENT.
  
• Assist in the preparation of learning/knowledge products, success stories for internal learning and donor reporting, covering innovative approaches and best practices, to support overall WASH sector development

3. Capacity Building and Community Engagement

• Provide dedicated technical support to Dadaab water company and existing small scale WASH enterprises on technical operations, legal registration, and governance principles including licensing, billing, tariff reviews and NRW improvements as per WASREB sector benchmarks to progressively deliver sustainable integrated services for refugees and host communities.
  
• Collaborate closely with Garissa Water Services Department, the Environment and Climate Change Department, and the Water Resources Authority to strengthen the institutional and technical capacity of Water Resource Users Associations (WRUAs) within Dadaab Municipality, provide direct support including capacity building for their operations, and facilitate the development and implementation of sub-catchment management plans.
  
• Facilitate capacity-building sessions for school Hygiene and Sanitation (H&S) teachers/patrons, school health clubs and Boards of Management (BoMs) representatives to strengthen their knowledge and skills in H&S promotion and effective operation and maintenance of water and sanitation facilities.
  
• Engage with community structures (e.g., water committees, CHPs, natural leaders) to promote ownership and sustainability of WASH systems.

4. Coordination and Collaboration

• Build and sustain close working partnerships with government counterparts including the County and National government as well as the stakeholders supporting WASH programme intervention through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate programme implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve WASH output results.
  
• Work closely with County Government departments (Water Services, Education, Public Health), Dadaab Municipality, UNHCR, Dadaab water company and other development partners to establish regular Municipality led coordination of integrated WASH services
  
• Represent CLIENT on WASH coordination forums for refugee response in Dadaab
  
• Liaise with WASH partners to ensure alignment with ongoing initiatives.
  
• Participate in joint planning, technical reviews, and other coordination meetings with stakeholders including the refugee transition road map.
  
• Facilitate quarterly/ad hoc inter-agency meetings, WASH forums, serve as secretariat, and enhance linkages through stakeholder meetings, water committees, and county forums.

Qualifications and Experience

• Master’s degree in civil engineering, Water Resources Engineering, Environmental Engineering, or related field
  
• Minimum 5 years of experience in WASH infrastructure design, implementation, and quality assurance in rural or semi-arid contexts.
  
• Knowledge of the water sector reforms and experiences in National / County level government WASH policies, plans and strategies as well as Analysis of national budgets and expenditure for basic WASH, and related advocacy is required
  
• Knowledge and experience in community led total sanitation (CLTS), menstrual hygiene management (MHM), and climate-resilient WASH approach will be considered an added advantage.
  
• Strong knowledge of solar/hybrid water pumping systems and sanitation technologies.
  
• Experience in hygiene promotion strategies in Communities, Schools and Health Care facilities will be considered an added advantage.
  
• Experience in monitoring and evaluation of WASH projects using digital tools and participatory methods
  
• Excellent communication, stakeholder engagement, facilitation, and report writing skills.
  
• Fluency in English and Kiswahili

Desirable Attributes:

• Ability to work in remote and challenging environments.
  
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work in multi-sectoral teams.
  
• Familiarity with donor-funded projects and reporting requirements.
  
• Familiarity on Kenya Water Services Providers policies and regulations
  
• Commitment to community-led development and participatory approaches.

How to apply

Interested applicants to send their cover letter and CV to: HR@artemiske.com on or before Friday 31st March 2026. Please quote the job title as the subject. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.