Job Description

erms of Responsibility (ToR)

Job Title:

Environment Officer

Reporting to:

Mine Action & Environment Project Manager (MAEPM) or anyone delegated management responsibility by the MAEPM

Location:

Hargeisa-based with regular travel to HALO Areas of Operations in Somaliland and the Ethiopia border region, with periodic visits to south-central Somalia as agreed with the MAEPM

Working Hours:

Sunday to Thursday, 08.00 – 16.00

Leave Allocation:

30 days per annum (including 16 days during Ramadan)

Contract Duration:         

12 months (including 3-month probation period)

Application Deadline:

04 February 2024

Introduction

The Environment Officer role represents the first instance of recruitment by The HALO Trust of an in-region position designed to support the implementation of external environmental projects in the Horn of Africa. The role will also assist regional programmes in achieving improved environmental management of their day-to-day activities.

Based in Hargeisa, the Environmental Officer (EO) role will provide context-specific expertise and added capacity to the ongoing work of the MAEPM who currently supports the Somaliland, Somalia, and Ethiopia programmes with their environmental projects under HALO’s Strategic Goal 3 to “Build Resilient and Prosperous Communities”. The two roles will work in close collaboration, particularly when the MAEPM is visiting the region (4+ months a year). The EO position is designed to provide employment and professional development opportunities to individuals seeking a career in environmental work and Somaliland’s emerging green sector.

The responsibilities outlined below represent some of the key duties that any individual in this role is expected to undertake. However, the successful candidate’s role will not be restricted to these activities, and they will be expected to attend to tasks that fall outside of this list dependent on the instruction of the MAEPM. The EO will not be required to conduct any form of technical task without appropriate guidance and/or training.

Key Responsibilities

• Support management of on-the-ground environmental projects, including stages of scoping, planning, implementation, and closure.
• Proactively identify new project opportunities for appropriate environmental activities related to HALO’s mine action work or otherwise.
• Support with development of concept notes, funding proposals and project reports as required, including the collection of data and communications materials.
• Proactively identify areas for development of programmes’ sustainable practices across all departments.
• Identify areas of programme support and operational work for improved sustainable performance and assist development of associated internal sustainability procedures.
• Measurement and tracking of key programme indicators, including COe2 emissions, water use, power use, fuel use and waste production.
• Support ongoing development of strong working relationships with relevant government ministries and departments, NGO partners, in-country forums and research institutes as required.
• Design and implement appropriate and culturally sensitive environmental awareness training for programme office and operational staff for prioritized knowledge gaps.
• Devise training programmes/participate in Train the Trainer initiatives to provide any necessary capacity development for work teams supporting specific activities for HALO environmental projects.
• Support development of data collection tools and methods which enhance programme understanding of communities’ environmental needs and priorities.
• Achieve basic familiarization with HALO’s mine action operations, including security procedures, mine clearance approach, minefield awareness and roles of staff.
• Provide accurate and relevant oral/written translation from English to Somali, and Somali to English related to environmental activities when required.
• Work in collaboration with relevant programme staff (including logistics, finance, operations, and fleet departments) to action project activities in a timely and cost-effective manner.
• Maintain and manage any assets or equipment accrued for environmental projects.
• Read, understand, and adhere to all HALO policies relevant to the position, including Finance, Procurement and Fleet SOPs.

Experiences and Qualifications

    A university undergraduate degree or higher in Environmental Sciences, Natural Resource Management, Conservation or Land Management.

• At least 1 years’ professional experience in a role related to one of the fields outlined above, preferably located in Somaliland, south-central Somalia, or Somali Region of Ethiopia.
• Fully computer literate with extensive experience and knowledge of MS Office packages, specifically Word and Excel.
• Native Somali speaker and with fluency in written and spoken English. Fluency in Amharic also seen as advantageous.
• Flexible and adaptable, with the ability to plan, take initiative and work independently under pressure.
• Highly organized, self-sufficient and with the capacity to plan and prioritize own workload.
• Ability to work in a mixed, bilingual and culturally diverse team.
• Willingness to travel to and stay in temporary accommodation in remote areas for extended periods, and to work outside of regular working hours when necessary.

Desired:

• Demonstrable project management experience.
• Experience with monitoring and evaluation systems and analysing remote data collection methods.

Personal Qualities:

HALO requires its applicants to work in line with our values, which are:

• Courage
• Discipline
• Integrity
• Respect for Others
• Loyalty
• Selfless Commitment

Skills Required

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