Food For The Poor, one of the nation's largest international relief and development organizations, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor primarily in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the elders, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance.
"Join us in our mission to serve the poorest of the poor".
Job Summary:
The Technical Advisor will serve as the organization’s subject matter expert (SME), in housing, community infrastructure, and WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) programming; providing strategic guidance, technical oversight, and quality assurance to ensure all projects meet industry standards (e.g., Sphere, CHS, UNICEF WASH, SDGs 6 & 11), comply with local building codes, and integrate climate resilience, inclusiveness, and cost-effectiveness.
This role will strengthen program quality, cost-efficiency, compliance, and impact of affordable and sustainable WASH and housing solutions, while also contributing to internal capacity-building, risk mitigation, and advancing innovation in resilient and sustainable communities. The Advisor will work closely with the International Programs department and implementing partners to deliver impactful, scalable, and sustainable housing, WASH, and community infrastructure solutions.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Technical Leadership & Program Design
- Provide technical guidance for the design, implementation, and evaluation of housing, WASH, and community infrastructure projects across relief, recovery, and development contexts.
- Review and validate engineering/architectural designs, site plans, and cost estimates for safety, feasibility, and compliance with international and local standards.
- Advise on the integration of climate-smart and disaster-resilient approaches into affordable and sustainable solutions, including green technologies and solarized water systems, sustainable sanitation, and flood-resistant structures.
- Advise on shelter and emergency interventions (including NFIs, temporary housing, and rapid WASH responses).
- Contribute technical input to proposals, budgets, and donor submissions.
- Present and explain project proposals to prospective donors, ensuring the ability to clearly articulate and simplify technical concepts.
2. Program Quality, MEAL & Innovation
- Ensure program quality through the development and application of technical standards, guidelines and benchmarks for infrastructure and WASH programming.
- Conduct technical field visits, quality assurance reviews, and feasibility assessments.
- Strengthen MEAL frameworks with robust housing, infrastructure, and WASH indicators to measure results, accountability, and community ownership.
- Promote innovation and evidence-based practices in affordable and sustainable housing, community development and WASH programming.
3. Risk Management & Compliance
- Advise teams on safe site selection, structural safety, and risk reduction in disaster-prone areas.
- Ensure compliance with donor requirements, national building codes, and environmental standards.
- Identify risks and recommend mitigation strategies to prevent operational, financial, or safety issues in housing and community construction and WASH solutions.
4. Capacity Building & Knowledge Management
- Develop and adapt technical guidelines, SOPs, and training resources and participatory tools for staff, community members, and implementing partners to strengthen knowledge transfer.
- Build capacity with program managers, community members, and local partners in safe construction practices, infrastructure design, community-owned infrastructure, and WASH training (safe water supply and treatment practices, sanitation and hygiene promotion, operation and maintenance of WASH systems, behavior change communication, and community mobilization).
- Document and promote organizational knowledge by sharing lessons learned, case studies, and best practices.
5. Strategic Alignment, representation & external engagement
- Ensure infrastructure initiatives align with organizational strategy, mission, and long-term sustainability goals.
- Represent the organization in technical working groups, humanitarian clusters, and sector forums.
- Advocate for integrated, affordable, and climate-smart approaches to housing and WASH that prioritize vulnerable populations (women, children, persons with disabilities).
- Support resource mobilization by providing technical inputs for donor engagement and funding opportunities.
