Quality Assurance Officer - UNDP

UNDP is supporting the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to improve access to safe and hygienic private toilets for the inhabitants of the low-income community of Moshie Zongo. In Kumasi, 50% of its 1.2 million population lack access to household toilets. The problem is worst in low-income communities such as Moshie Zongo, where 82.7% of the households do not have access to decent sanitation.

The City Council has explored opportunities and measures to address this problem over the years. Following pilot experimentation, the KMA is implementing an initiative seeking to provide household toilets to low-income residents at Moshie Zongo thanks to access to low-interest loans for toilet construction in private households. The initiative also contemplates training unemployed youth to provide the construction of low-cost toilets locally designed. The initiative was one of the 15 winners of the Global Mayors Challenge in 2021.

Within this context, UNDP is seeking to engage a Quality Assurance Officer to support the implementation of the Global Mayors Challenge in Kumasi.

The Quality Assurance Officer will support the Project Supervisor in monitoring quality assurance of all household toilets constructed under the project, as well as providing quality assurance guidance support to local artisans. The main responsibility will be to ensure the household toilets constructed under the project implementation are safe, hygienic, provide privacy, prevent contamination of ground water and meet all other quality assurance and environmental safety requirements.

The project includes three components:

• Selection and training of unemployed youth to construct household toilets in the community. Activities include supervising the construction of household toilets including containment units, superstructure with related facilities and washing facilities. The training component involves the development and adoption of selection criteria for the unemployed youth, building technical capacities and guidance to connect and fulfill demand for household toilets in the community.
• Civic education and targeted campaigns to educate community members and create demand for household toilet and
• Set up and management of a revolving fund to provide loans to households to privately fund the construction of toilets, working closely with the fund manager to effectively administer the funds and meet project objectives.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Quality Assurance Officer, under the supervision of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, will work with the UNDP technical team to perform the following:

• Coordinate the planning construction schedules with local artisans in the change of toilet construction;
• Arrange and maintain an updated registry of youth artisans receiving training;
• Compile detail information of all households who have been approved for toilet construction;
• Develop quality assurance protocols and quality assurance checklist for household toilet construction;
• Provide guidance to artisans on the completion of quality assurance checklists;
• Schedule quality assurance inspection visits with artisans and households;
• Ensure artisans observe all safety procedures during construction;
• Recommend changes, and modifications to toilet constructions that do no meet quality assurance requirements;
• Approval of quality assurance standards for completed toilets for final payment to artisans;
• Prepare monthly quality assurance report on toilet constructions for the Project Supervisor.

Institutional Arrangement: The Quality Assurance Officer will be reporting to the Project Supervisor and working closely with the project’s financial institution, the KMA and the technical team at UNDP Office in Ghana.

Competencies

Core:

• Achieve Results: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work.
• Think Innovatively: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking.
• Learn Continuously: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning.
• Adapt with Agility: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process.
• Act with Determination: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously.
• Engage and Partner: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships.
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making.

Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies:

Thematic Area

Name

Definition

Business Management

Results-based management

• Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus at improved performance and demonstrable results.

Monitoring

• Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback on the consistency or discrepancy between planned and actual activities and programme performance and results.

Evaluation

• Ability to make an independent judgement based on set criteria and benchmarks.
• Ability to anticipate client’s upcoming needs and concerns.

Digital and Innovation

Data Collection

• Being skilled in Data Sorting, Data Cleaning, Survey Administration, Presentation and Reporting including collection of Real-Time Data (e.g. mobile data, satellite data, sensor data).

Geospatial Analysis

• Skilled in techniques which study entities using their topological, geometric, or geographic properties.

Private Partnership

Private Sector Engagement

• Ability to identify, conduct outreach, and manage relationships with the private sector.

Private Sector Resource Mobilization

• Ability to identify, develop and manage partnerships that leverage private sector technical expertise and resources.

Required Skills and Experience

Min. Education Requirements:

• Master’s degree in Environmental Sanitation Engineering, Civil Engineering or related field, or a
• Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Sanitation Engineering, Civil Engineering or related field with two (2) years of relevant work experience, is required.

Min. years of relevant work experience:

• A minimum of two (2) years with Bachelor’s Degree of relevant work experience in sanitation related projects is required.

Required skills:

• Experience working in sanitation projects in Kumasi or other municipalities in Ghana is required.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) is required.

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies Section:

• Experience in capacity building, advocacy and knowledge management is an asset.
• Experience working on projects related to the local implementation of Agenda 2030 is an asset.
• Proven professional experience focusing on client management and working with a diverse team will be an asset.
• Knowledge and experience of UN procurement and contracting procedures is an asset.

Required Language/s:

• Proficiency in the English language is required.
• Working knowledge of Twi and/or Hausa dialects is an added advantage.