Context

GRET is an international solidarity organization whose goal is to improve the living conditions of the most vulnerable populations and promote social justice, while preserving our planet. Founded in 1976, the association is now present in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Its areas of expertise are diverse: natural resources, essential services, cities and housing, integration and employment, nutrition and health, food systems, land governance, and inclusive economics and finance.

GRET’s actions are based on an action-research approach, co-construction with communities, and the creation of relationships with a vast network of partners. By sharing their experiences and knowledge, its teams also contribute to the evolution of public policies and development practices.

In both its interventions and its internal operations, GRET advocates gender equality and democratic participation. The association is also particularly committed to preserving biodiversity and combating climate change. GRET has been working in Laos since 2004 and encourages local initiatives and know-how in a participatory approach to meet the basic needs of the population. National and international experts form a multidisciplinary team that works on a wide range of issues in a dynamic of skills transfer.

Job Description

This call for applications is to support the Lao Local Essential Services (SEL) program team. The SEL program includes water, sanitation, and solid waste management projects. nature-based solutions. More specifically, the position will mainly support three projects in the province of Luang Prabang.

• SEWIT 3: Supporting the extension of water supply in Luang Prabang province, phase 3. SEWIT project is aiming at supporting the Provincial Nampapa to build new water supply services in rural priority areas.
• WISE II: Wetlands Improvement and Sanitation Enhancement in Luang Prabang city. This project is aiming at improving wastewater management in the wetland areas and to restore keys functions of the urban ponds of Luang Prabang.
• Dear Water II: The project is implemented by GRET, in partnership with Confluence (lead organization), to support the development of access to water supply and sanitation, water resource protection and implement wastewater treatment options using NBS in rural villages of Luang Prabang Provinces.

As part of WISE II, GRET Laos is implementing an innovative urban development project focused on wastewater treatment improvements, nature-based solutions (NBS), and sustainable urban planning to increase climate resilience of Luang Prabang city. We seek to balance conventional engineering approaches with environmentally sustainable alternatives.

GRET is looking for a Junior Engineer with expertise in nature-based solutions for water management, including wastewater treatment to support our technical team in the design and supervision of sustainable infrastructure. The ideal candidate will have a strong foundation in conventional engineering while being passionate about innovative, ecological approaches to urban sanitation challenges.

The junior engineer will support the team on a large diversity of activities according to the priorities of the project implementation and the needs of the team, with a primary focus on the engineering and technical aspects. He/she may also support the SEL team as a whole, on project proposal, and fund raising.

Duties/Functions

With the support of the country project managers and experts both at headquarters and in Laos, the technical assistant will support the teams in carrying out the following activities:

• Support the design of NBS for wastewater treatment and water resource protection adapted to the local context
• Assist in drafting technical specifications and drawings for both green and conventional infrastructure
• Provide technical supervision during implementation phases
• Implement and monitor water quality testing protocols
• Collect and analyze water quality data following scientific methodologies
• Collaborate with senior engineers on feasibility studies and technical assessments
• Participate in site inspections and quality control
• Contribute to the monitoring and evaluation of implemented solutions
• Prepare technical reports and documentation
• Support knowledge sharing on NBS within the team and with stakeholders
• Assist in capacity building activities for local partners on sustainable sanitation approaches
• Collaborate with senior engineers on feasibility studies and technical assessments
• Supporting the team on an ad hoc basis for clearly defined needs validated by the national project manager and the head office program manager;

• Contribute to monitoring, prospecting and setting up projects.

Contact

Please send your CV and covering letter before 27^th April 2025. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.

Applications should be sent in French or English to the following address: accueil@gret.org, indicating in the subject line « Recruitment_VSI_SEL-LAOS ».

Only selected candidates will be contacted. Candidates whose applications are selected will be offered an interview (by video conference).

Please do not call. For more information on GRET: www.gret.org

Gret publishes all its job and internship offers on its website:

https://gret.org/rejoindre-le-gret/

To apply, please refer exclusively to the job offer on GRET’s website.

Applying is free of charge. Any request for a financial contribution constitutes fraud. Please do not respond to any such requests.

Gret never uses personal data entry forms. Requests to fill in such forms could be an attempt to phish for your personal data.