Position Title: Environmental Officer

Department: WFP-DRR Project
Number of Position: 01
Location: Based in Camp under Ukhiya Field Office
Duration: Duration of the Contract will be up to June 30, 2024.

CARE is one of the world's leading international humanitarian and development organizations, committed to  helping people in poor communities improve their lives and alleviate poverty. Founded in 1945, CARE is working in over 100 countries to fight global poverty and marginalization. CARE has been active in Bangladesh since 1949 and is one of the largest programs in the CARE confederation. Women and girls are at the core of all CARE programs because they represent half of the marginalized group, and it is not possible to overcome poverty until all people have equal rights and opportunities. CARE Bangladesh works to implement programs with long-term impacts that result in sustainable changes for the extremely poor and marginalized communities.

Cox's Bazar is amongst the poorest districts of Bangladesh. In Ukhia, 33% of people live below the poverty line, and 17% below the extreme poverty line. This is linked to the region's poor land quality and high risk of natural disasters. Since the Myanmar refugee influx in the fall of 2017, over 902,984 refugees or 201,150 households (HH) have settled in Ukhia and Teknaf. Despite limited resources, the local host community population welcomed the arriving refugees during the fall of 2017, sharing food, shelter, and supplies. However, the refugees' extended presence has strained the community's already scarce resources. Within the sub-region, the residents of Ukhia and Teknaf have been particularly affected, with 336,000 residents directly impacted by the refugee influx, leading to a deterioration of relations between these host community members and the refugees. The region is highly prone to natural disasters; it experiences regular cyclones, floods, and landslides with triple the global average precipitation. Both individual homes and community shelters are weak and in disrepair. Over 40% of households do not meet Sphere standards; they are overcrowded, weak, and highly susceptible to damage and destruction by strong winds, rain, and flooding. Land degradation, including the removal of over 700 metric tons of firewood daily from the area, has led to a loss of topsoil. Coupled with the heightened risk of flash flooding, this has increased the potential for resulting destruction. The accumulation of improperly disposed waste and poor pre-existing drainage systems aggravate these risks and increase the likelihood of damage to host communities' houses. Furthermore, community response plans and structures are ill-equipped to safeguard or offer substantive protection.

CARE Bangladesh is providing life-saving DRR services and site improvement and shelter infrastructure to forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals in camps, Ukhia sub-district, Cox's Bazar. With support from IOM, CARE Bangladesh has acted as the Site Management Support Agency (SMSA) for Camp 16 since November 2017. Since then, CARE has undertaken various Site Management (SM) and Site Development activities in close coordination with the Office of Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission (RRRC) and in support of the Camp in Charge (CiC), to ensure a safe and dignified life for the people residing in Camp 16. CARE Bangladesh is working to address critical humanitarian gaps and meet urgent needs through coordination and collaboration with different stakeholders, information management, linking community members and persons with specific needs to different service providers, camp operations, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), and site improvement works.
The Environmental Officer will be the lead for forestry and solid waste management (SWM) activities under the supervision of the project manager. He/she will supervise all forestry and solid waste management (SWM) activities under the project and will also be responsible for proper documentation.

II. Responsibilities and Tasks:

% Of Time

Responsibility # 1: Project Implementation

50%
  • Have a good understanding of reforestation/afforestation/natural-based solutions/ecosystem-based adaptation activities, as well as SWM/WASH activities, and factors that determine the success of a project.
  • Have knowledge of species selection criteria, site preparation and care, and maintenance for restoring degraded natural forests and conserving forestry resources in degraded natural forests.
  • Have knowledge of sources of SWs, types of SWs, composition and properties, methods for collecting SWs, storage, transportation, disposal, and recycling/materials recovery.
  • Manage the database of project activities.
  • Prepare the monthly plan followed by the project implementation plan.
  • Prepare the event budget and other required documents in line with the project budget.
  • Regularly visit the field, especially remote areas, to ensure the quality implementation of project interventions such as tree seedlings plantation, care and maintenance activities, and community-based solid waste management.
  • Be a proficient user of MS Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and have knowledge of statistical analysis using MS Office Excel/SPSS.
  • Prepare good practice dissemination notes based on the experience gained from the plantation sites.

 

Responsibility #2: Project Monitoring - Quality control

30 %
  • Track the progress of project activities and prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual reports.
  • Document the progress of project activities, outputs, and immediate impact of project activities.
  • Develop tools for quantitative and qualitative data collection and regularly collect the required data.

 

Responsibility # 3: Information documentation and reporting

20%
  • Monthly/weekly work plans.
  • Monthly/weekly reforestation and SWM updates/reports.
  • Need assessment reports.
  • Database of reforestation and SWM activities.
  • Survival and growth rate assessment reports.
  • Care and maintenance reports.
  • Environmental and health impact assessment reports.
  • Documentation of good practices, etc.

 

Responsibility # 4: Adhere to and support CARE Bangladesh’s Safety and Security policy and systems

As part of this role, the job holder will be expected to adhere to and support CARE Bangladesh’s Safety and Security policy and systems as part of their day-to-day duties, and comply, at all times, to safety & security protocols and directives, including reporting. Staff must maintain situational and self – awareness and be aware of the safety –
security related consequences of their actions upon themselves, their team and the organization as a whole.

Responsibility # 5: Safeguarding

CARE is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behavior at work including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, lack of integrity and financial misconduct and expects staff to promote the welfare of children, young people and adults at all times. CARE expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our Code of Conduct. We place a high priority on ensuring that only those who share and demonstrate this commitment are recruited to work with us.

III. Reporting:

Project manager and work closely with other sectoral colleagues (MEAL, SMSD, DRR, GBV) and with support
team.

IV. Working Condition:

Based in the camp of operation during all working hours, Ukhia, Cox’s Bazar district.

V. Qualification:
  • The candidate must have at least a four-year undergraduate degree in Environmental Science/Forestry/ Natural resource management or any relevant subject from a recognized university.
  • Master's degree in Environmental Science/Forestry/Natural Resource Management/Water Sanitation and Hygiene is preferable.
  • Minimum of 2 years’ experience in implementing Forestry/SWM/WASH projects is required.
  • Proficiency in the Chittagonian language will be an added advantage.
  • Communication skills in both verbal and written English and Bangla.
  • CARE Core Competencies as noted below:

 

Candidates need to be highly motivated and committed to CARE Bangladesh’s vision, mission, and long-term development work to significantly improve the lives of the most vulnerable and marginalized Candidates must be capable of displaying great learning agility, support and encourage knowledge sharing across projects, for the ultimate benefit of all of CARE’s mission wide initiatives.
 
Compensation

Attractive remuneration package will be offered to the really deserving candidate. In addition, CARE offers Provident Fund, Gratuity, Festival Bonus, Leave Encashment, Life and Health Insurance, Day Care Facilities and Working Mother Benefits etc.

Interested candidates meeting the above requirements should apply through CARE Bangladesh’s e-recruitment site: https://career.carebangladesh.org/1244 on or before Febuary 29, 2024. 

Note:

  • CARE Bangladesh aims to attract and select a diverse workforce ensuring equal opportunity to everyone, irrespective of race, age, gender, HIV status, class, ethnicity, disability, location and religion.
  • Women are particularly encouraged to apply.
  • Any personal persuasion/phone-call will result in disqualification of candidature. We guarantee an interview to disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria.
  • CARE Bangladesh has a non-negotiable policy of ZERO TOLERANCE towards discrimination, harassment and abuse. All employees are expected to abide by the Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse & Child Protection Policy of CARE Bangladesh.
  • Internal and external applicants shall be treated equally in the entire selection process.
  • To ensure transparent processes during recruitment, internal candidates should discuss potential applications with their Line Managers to ensure endorsement of their applications by respective Line Managers.
  • There is no cost involved with applying for positions with care Bangladesh. Any solicitation of job application costs should be regarded as fraudulent.