BASEM ASFARI, Water and Sanitation Coordinator

BASEM ASFARI

Water and Sanitation Coordinator

Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

Location
Türkiye - Gaziantep
Education
Master's degree, Construction Project Management
Experience
11 years, 3 Months

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Work Experience

Total years of experience :11 years, 3 Months

Water and Sanitation Coordinator at Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
  • Türkiye - Gaziantep
  • May 2017 to September 2017

Leading the WASH implementation of NRC’s response programme, in two areas Azaz and Idleb, this included 5 funds with a total value of 6 million USD, and a variety of projects and contracts.
 Line management of project staff (4 officers, 4 assistants and labourers), and reporting to the Area Manager.
 Contribute to WASH strategy development, project proposals such as OFDA and ECHO proposals.
 Review and approve engineering projects designs, and projects concepts, models, and BOQs.
 Review projects costs and durations, and allocate them to the budget.
 Develop projects specifications, plans, and schedules.
 Confirm project specifications, standards and quality by setting up monitoring and inspection plans.
 Responsible for providing technical support and leadership to staff, partners and communities implementing WASH Response in close coordination with Shelter&NFI team.
 Responsible for the delivery of project Monitoring and Evaluation for NRC and partner-led WASH Response in accordance with agreed standards.
 Ensure capacity building of project staff and transfer key skills;
 Represent NRC in Area-level coordination of WASH Response or related activities and lliaise and collaborate with relevant local authorities and other key stakeholders.

Partnership Coordinator at Save the Children International
  • Türkiye
  • January 2017 to April 2017

Maintain relations with a range of partners and support in communication and coordination with and among partners.
 Support in identification of new partners, working in close coordination with sector leads, and update partner database with new information as necessary
 Support partner trainings and partner capacity building initiatives
 Participate in project and grant review meetings and actively follow up on outstanding partnership issues
 Assist partners in project cycle management of SCI funded programmes, including ensuring workplans, phased budgets, procurement plans and benchmarks.

Water, Sanitation and Infrastructure Technical Programme Manager at Save the Children International
  • Türkiye
  • October 2014 to December 2016

 Line management and supervision of 52 WASH Engineers, Assistants, staff and volunteers, including providing on the job training and capacity building
 Manage the WASH and Infrastructure Projects by ensuring proper Project Management mechanisms are in place, including Planning, Execution, Monitoring, Controlling and Reporting. Insuring the completion of Projects are within budget and on-time following all Safety and Quality standards.
 Management of grants, oversight of budgets, work plans, implementation of activities, and developing donor reports with institutional donors including DFID, ECHO, DANIDA, and Humanitarian Pooled Fund, with an overall portfolio of 36 M USD over the two years.
 Responsible for assessing, planning, designing, and overseeing direct and partner implementation of Save the Children’s WASH and Infrastructure programmes in North West Syria
 Implementation of WASH interventions in camps for internally displaced people (IDP), host communities, and local health and education facilities in rural and urban areas of Idleb, Hama and Aleppo, including besieged areas
 Technical oversight and management of emergency WASH responses for protracted needs and new emergencies (e.g. population influxes and in besieged areas). This includes needs assessments, design and construction of temporary latrines, waste removal, rehabilitation of water systems, hand washing facilities, provision of quality drinking water and hygiene promotion activities.
 Working closely with five implementing partners’ WASH teams, in Turkey and Syria
 Technical contribution in proposal design for donors including DFID and Norway MFA, to ensure proper budgeting and quality design for WASH components.
 Integrating WASH components across sectors, such as Nutrition, Education, Health and Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL), including integration of quality WASH interventions in Save the Children strategy
 Establishing monitoring systems for the WASH sector with the MEAL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning) team, by setting up monitoring tools such as quality checklists, design of KAP surveys and other tools.
 Oversee the transition from direct implementation to partner implementation including close follow up with implementing partners on progress, reporting, quality of implementation and monitoring of activities.

WASH Technical Coordinator at Save the Children
  • Iraq - Erbil
  • January 2016 to January 2016

WASH Technical Coordinator, Exchange Visit
Field visits to IDP camps and host communities in Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI) to exchange experiences and learning in relation to WASH programme design, implementation and strategy for Save the Children.

WASH Technical Coordinator at Save the Children International
  • Türkiye
  • April 2013 to October 2014

Led and managed a team of 3 WASH Engineers, 2 WASH Assistants, 3 Infrastructure Engineers and a hygiene promotion team of 2 Hygiene Officers and 42 Hygiene Promotion Volunteers.
 Responsible for the design, rehabilitation and establishment of water systems and sewage systems in twenty- four schools, six primary health centres and in nine camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) and nine communities in the governorate of Idleb and west of Aleppo governorate in Syria.
 Monitored and ensured effective contract management, quality of contractors’ work on water trucking, waste removal, construction of latrines and reinforced water storage, rehabilitation of sewage and water systems, and rehabilitation of schools, health centres and nutrition centres.
 Ensured hygiene promotion activities were implemented in line with hygiene promotion plans in schools, camps and communities, including appropriate monitoring.
 Represented Save the Children in coordination mechanisms with other Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) through the WASH cluster at Antakya level and for the Whole of Syria (WoS).

Head of Technical Services Office at Ministry of Local Administration, Adra Municipality, Damascus Countryside, Syria
  • Syria - Damascus
  • October 2010 to March 2013

 Supervised and managed a team of 3 engineers and 29 workers throughout the municipality to ensure construction standards were met throughout basic municipal services including sanitation (both sewers and refuse), water provision, electricity and gas, public spaces and other public services.
 Responsible for supervising construction and ensuring quality control for construction and other infrastructure services by governmental authorities throughout the municipality in line with Syrian contract law.
 Specific project work included the design and supervision of construction of a 2km sewage system and the resurfacing of a 5km stretch of road in Adra countryside.

Prefabricated Building Detailer and Designer Engineer at Root Steel Systems Saudi Bin Laden Group, Adra Industrial City, Damascus countryside, Syria
  • Syria - Damascus
  • August 2009 to September 2010

 Responsible for preparing shop and erection drawings of hangars and steel structure buildings using AutoCAD and TEKLA software.
 Involved in producing designs and drawings for the Princess Nora University in Saudi Arabia.
 Design of steel structure and pre-engineered steel structures using customized software as well as STAAD, SAP and MBS.
 Prepared Bill of Quantities (BOQs) for fabricated sections to the design and production sectors.

Construction Design Engineer Trainee at Engineering Consultancy, Idleb, Syria
  • Syria
  • January 2006 to January 2009

 Trained in producing drawings and sketches using AutoCAD for urban buildings and villas
 Produced designs for various buildings according to national Syrian construction code.

Education

Master's degree, Construction Project Management
  • at Heriot-Watt University
  • December 2018

MSc in Construction Project Management, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, UK (Distance Learning) 2016 – ongoing Part time Independent Distance Learning.

Master's degree, Engineering Project Management
  • at Damascus University
  • March 2013

MSc in Engineering Project Management, Damascus University, Syria 2011 – (incomplete due to Syria crisis) Completed first year of studies with a grade of 69%, Modules included: Business and Engineering Project Management, Construction Techniques, Economic and Legal Aspects in Construction, and Informatics Systems.

Bachelor's degree, Civil Engineering
  • at University of Aleppo
  • August 2009

Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering, Aleppo University, Syria 2004 - 2009 Overall grade of 64% (Good). Modules included: Structure Mechanics and Dynamics, Reinforced Concrete, Construction Technology, Steel Structures, Engineering Economics and Contracts, Project Management.

Specialties & Skills

AutoCAD
Primavera
Construction Management
Project Management
AUTOCAD
Modelling softwares
Primavera
Microsoft Office Package
CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
MICROSOFT OFFICE
PRODUCTION
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

Languages

Arabic
Expert
English
Expert
Turkish
Beginner