Job Description

The Global Advisor, WASH Market System Development (MSD) provides guidance and support to all Water For People Country Programs. The principal objective of Water For People’s MSD work is to develop and implement innovative approaches and business models capable of providing long-term WASH services, as required to meet the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 target of universal access to water & sanitation by 2030. Within a model of systems strengthening work. For sanitation, this includes the full value chain from the household toilet to final waste disposal and reuse, supporting market systems to provide sustainable and equitable on-site sanitation services. For water, this includes service provision models that support the public sector to provide domestic water services in a reliable, cost-effective, and equitable manner.

Although this position’s focus will be strategic guidance and advisory support to scalable, market-based water and sanitation solutions, the Global Advisor, WASH MSD also supports WASH initiatives that are more focused on pro-poor strategies and social safety net programs to increase coverage of basic water & sanitation services in underserved areas. These initiatives include publicly-financed subsidy models and social mobilization approaches to ensure inclusion of chronically vulnerable populations.

The Global Advisor, WASH MSD must demonstrate trust and teamwork in all aspects of Water For People business; provide exceptional internal and external customer service; and communicate in an open and honest manner. The innovative nature of Water For People’s MSD work also requires an ability to inspire change with continual challenge of the status quo.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS & DUTIES:  

Country Program Support & Strategic Direction

• Support Country Programs in achieving water & sanitation targets in all internal monitoring – including the Sustainable Services Checklist, service levels goals, D30 Framework, sanitation market initiatives and specific grants
• Support Country Programs in developing influence strategies in strengthening market systems for sustainable provision of water & sanitation services as part of their broader systems strengthening agenda
• Develop global guidance, tools, and opportunities for learning exchange relating to market system development in water & sanitation
• Keep abreast of academic research, successful WASH sector approaches by other actors, and private sector innovations that could be applied in Country Programs to improve and expand the development of market systems and service provision models for sustainable water & sanitation services
• Lead development of organizational sanitation strategy and market system research agenda, as well as strategic technology development, which drives Water for People’s thinking and understanding on increasing global sanitation coverage. Key to success is coordinating this with colleagues across the organization focused on monitoring and evaluation efforts to ensure alignment
• Support the development and implementation of program design and monitoring, evaluation, and learning frameworks focused on market systems development
• Act as a catalyst and facilitator for sharing information and stimulating debate within the organization, to encourage program development and innovation
• Manage the Sanitation Innovation (Shitovation) Fund to inspire and support experimentation with new sanitation ideas in Country Programs, and gather evidence to gauge the potential of these innovations to contribute to meeting D30 sanitation targets
• Ensure organizational monitoring and evaluation systems appropriately monitor progress towards the sanitation targets established through the D30 Strategic Framework; evolve M&E systems alongside natural evolution of MSD programs; and develops lean, rapid, evidence-based adaptive management systems to continually refine and iterate MSD programs for maximum impact and increased speed of expansion
• Lead effectiveness reviews of MSD programs as they reach Scale stage or other critical points of reflection or possible expansion, in order to understand the effectiveness and impact of individual program activities, the current state of sanitation market systems and which sub-groups of the population are served/unserved, and better focus resources and activities as programs scale
• Manage visits to Country Programs (and other partners) in response to demand from programs
• Support design & development of water service provision models to address: better O&M through professionalized/market-based service models; improved system performance of private operators and micro-utilities; equitable expansion of services to underserved sub-groups of the population
• Lead research and global scoping work on social safety net programs for water & sanitation services for poor and vulnerable groups

Sector Influence and Strategic Partnerships

• Identify and develop strategic relationships and organizational partnerships that position Water For People to scale our impact and achieve D30 targets, both inside and outside of the WASH sector. (e.g., academic institutions, finance sector actors, agricultural sector actors, and MSD practitioners)
• Develop proposals and manage contracts which help to deliver the sanitation research agenda
• Provide organizational leadership and external voice to communicate the varied experience of Water For People’s MSD work through contributing to external publications, key sector conferences and working groups
• Contribute and support country contributions to our Learning agenda, with a vision for how they can be used to influence external audiences
• Lead development of private sector partnerships with the potential to support the achievement of D30 strategic targets, with a focus on partnerships that can drive greater scale of MSD initiatives
• Collaborate with IRC and the Influence Team to advocate for the use of public and private funds to invest in development of market systems that support the public sector in delivery of sanitation products & services as a critical component of strengthening national WASH systems

Revenue Generation & Donor Impact Support

• Support Business Development with select proposals focused on our global effort to further influence, global leadership, and scale in sanitation and MSD
• Collaborate with Donor Impact team to ensure that donor reporting draws upon relevant sanitation M&E systems to adequately demonstrate effectiveness/impact of our sanitation programs
• Monitor and lead responses to sanitation & MSD-related funding opportunities that are aligned to D30 and country priorities
• Support donor impact team on positioning our MSD work for funding opportunities
• Support county programs on country-led funding opportunities relating to MSD

 EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS REQUIRED:

• Bachelor’s Degree (e.g., public health engineering, economics, or related field) or equivalent work experience is required
• Master’s Degree in relevant field (e.g., public health engineering, economics, or related fields) is preferred
• 10 years of experience in international development related to water and sanitation service provision
• Professional-level proficiency in English, written and spoken, is essential, Spanish preferred
• Extensive knowledge of the history and evolving approaches for water and sanitation service delivery in low- and middle-income countries
• Extensive knowledge and on-the-ground experience of water and sanitation services in both urban and rural settings
• Experience with market-based approaches for essential service delivery
• Highly skilled at business planning and financial analysis
• Expertise in sanitation technologies and ability to support Country Programs with troubleshooting challenges
• Comprehensive and deep understanding of currently available sanitation technologies and ability to guide technological innovation where gaps exist
• Experience working in Africa, India, and Latin America, with preference for direct overlap with some of the nine countries where Water For People works
• Good “people skills” and situation judgment to relate well and deal effectively with a variety of constituencies, such as staff, donors, volunteers, and representatives of related organizations
• Demonstrated skills with program planning, reporting, and communication
• Capable of functioning in a high energy, intellectual environment

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/WORKING CONDITIONS:

• This position has the option to work from an office or remotely in one of the following countries where Water For People is present: Guatemala, Honduras, India, Malawi, Peru, Rwanda, Uganda, the United Kingdom, or the United States. Candidates must be a citizen or legally authorized to work in the country in which they live
• Water For People cannot support remote work from other countries besides those listed above and from the following states: NY, NJ, WA, VT, and CA
• Open office environment at the Denver location
• This position may require domestic and international travel to low- and middle-income countries, where travel is rugged, up to 15% of time
• Ability to work outside typical offices hours at times to collaborate across multiple time zones

Note: This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, or qualifications associated with the job.

Salary Range:

US anticipated salary range $93,000 – $103,000 per year. (If based outside the US an equivalent country market – based salary will be determined)

Actual salary will be determined based on experience and other job-related factors.

 Benefits:

Benefits are one of the ways we encourage healthy living for you and your family. Our generous package includes medical, dental and vision coverage. But health is more than a well-working body: it encompasses body, mind, and social well-being. To that end, we provide a global EAP and Telehealth benefit to address your holistic health. Healthy living also includes financial wellness tools including, digital tools, classes, counseling, paid time off and generous retirement savings plan. If the position is based outside the US, benefits will be dictated by the country in which the selected candidate is located. 

Water For People cannot provide immigration sponsorship for this position.

How to Apply

Job Categories: Equal Opportunities. Job Types: Full-Time. Salaries: 80,000 - 100,000.

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