Regional Technical Advisor - West Africa at WaterAid Nigeria

WaterAid is an international non-for-profit organization dedicated to helping people break free from poverty and disease, unlock their potential and change their lives for good through improved access to clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. WaterAid started its operation in Nigeria in 1995. Since then it has successfully executed several intervention programmes as outlined by its objectives and has made impact in the lives of the very poor. WaterAid with the country office in Abuja currently works in Bauchi, Enugu and Plateau States with funding from various donors and partners.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Regional Technical Advisor - West Africa

Location: Abuja
Job Type: Contract
Contract Type: 2 years, Full-time (renewable subject to performance and funding)
Reports to: Regional Programme Director for West Africa
Travel: Regular international travel within West Africa, with occasional travel outside the region

Team Description

• The Regional Technical Advisor (RTA) is a member of the regional team specifically in the programme quality team. The programme quality team supports all Country Programmes (CPs) to deliver their programmes, and ensures all CPs and regional team comply with WaterAid Mandatory Operating Procedures that include quality programme standards, etc.
• The line Manager of RTA is the Regional Programme Director (RPD).

Job Purpose

• Ensure the technical quality of delivery of our programmes is consistent with national and global best practices in the sector and raises standards of technical competence in country programmes to the highest levels.
• Provide independent advice and assurance to senior programme staff at the country and regional levels on the technical quality of our work and that of our partner organisations, to enable the Country Directors and the Regional Team to take necessary follow-up action/s.
• The RTA will be responsible for working with country leadership to raise their technical competency standards.
• In collaboration with the Regional Research and Knowledge Manager, develop partnerships and collaborations with national and regional organisations to promote our innovations and best practices.
• The role will be instrumental in achieving WaterAid’s aims and mission and provide key support to Senior Programme and Technical Staff in Country Programmes in the West Africa Region, while partnering with other colleagues outside the region, including Programme Support Unit (PSU) and PCD.
• Ensure technical support is provided to CPs on Climate resilient WASH services as well as serve as the technical lead on climate within the Regional Team.

Responsibilities
Technical Support (Programme Quality):

• Review Country Programme approaches and technologies for water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion in the light of national and global good practice with guidance from the Regional Team and PSU/PCD.
• Support country programme technical staff to raise standards of service delivery carried out through Country Programme partners.
• Based on the WaterAid Quality Programme Standards, support country programme and partner staff in the quality assurance of project design, implementation and monitoring in order to achieve technical excellence and long-term sustainability of water and sanitation services. Support the understanding and embedding of the standards in CPs (Quality Programme Standards-QPS Project focal point in the Region).
• As part of WaterAid’s global technical support function, use WaterAid's thematic frameworks - Sustainability, Water Security, Urban, Sanitation, Hygiene, Equity and Inclusion, Disaster Management - in supporting country programmes to adapt these to their respective contexts. Contribute to future developments of these and related guidance documents.

WASH and Climate Programmes Development:

• Design the WASH and Climate Change inputs for the situation analysis. Provide timely, comprehensive and current data to inform WASH and Climate Change policy and programme development, planning, management and implementation.
• Participate in strategic WASH and Climate Change programme planning and implementation discussions. Support/lead WASH - Climate donor proposals (for climate financing), ensuring alignment with WaterAid Global strategy (specifically WaterAid’s Strategic Aim 3 - Climate resilient WASH services) and CPs' strategies and all Aim 3 programmes.
• Ensure the Climate programmes (under WaterAid’s Strategic Aim 3) are aligned with government plans and priorities on climate change such as Climate change policies, NAPs and NDCs.
• Assist in the formulation of the WASH and Climate Change outcome and output results, related indicators, baselines, targets and means of verification.
• Prepare required documentation for programme reviews.
• Work with colleagues and partners to discuss strategies and methodologies for the achievement of WASH and Climate Change output results in the country programmes.
• Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes and ensure integration, coherence and harmonization of WASH with other WaterAid Aims, for the achievement of the WASH and Climate Change output results.
• Coordinate WASH and Climate works and initiatives in West Africa region.

Technical and operational support for programmes implementation:

• Effective monitoring of WASH and climate related activities through field visits, surveys and exchange of information with partners and CPs staff, to assess progress, identify bottlenecks and potential problems and take timely decisions to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for timely interventions.
• Provide technical and operational support to CPs, NGO partners and other relevant actors to implement WASH and Climate programmes.
• Identify technical gap and use WaterAid "Build-Borrow-Buy" approach to increase capacities of CPs on WASH and Climate.
• Participate on behalf of the Regional Team in WASH and Climate Change programme meetings to review progress, share WaterAid good practices and models, and provide expert advice and guidance.
• Develop policy papers, briefs and other strategic materials for use by CPs and Regional Team for advocacy and policy influencing purpose.
• Prepare protocols and procedures to be able to respond effectively and timely to any case of climate disaster/emergency.

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building:

• Identify key areas where capacity gaps exist in WaterAid country offices and among partners and provide support to address these gaps in coordination with the Regional Team and PSU/PCD.
• Identify key resources/organisations within the region and at the global level, which can provide support to country programme and partner staff.
• Monitor effectiveness of capacity development inputs to ensure they address the challenges identified.
• Identify and promote good practices in the region that enable us to achieve high levels of technical excellence.
• Undertake systematic documentation of our experiences for sharing.
• Host, co-ordinate, anchor discussions and seminars on technical issues to promote our knowledge and understanding.
• Write papers with other relevant staff in Country Programmes, region, and PSU/PCD to disseminate our experience more widely, especially at key regional and global events.
• Actively encourage innovation in the technical spheres of our work and explore possibilities of these being scaled up and replicated.
• Lead the development, implementation, monitoring and documentation of WASH and Climate Change action research and innovation (technical or systems).
• Prepare learning/knowledge products, covering innovative approaches and good practices, to support overall WASH and Climate Change sector development.
• Create and deliver learning opportunities for WaterAid West Africa staff, to ensure our sector capacity remains up-to-date with latest developments.
• Contribute to the systematic assessment of WASH and Climate Change sector capacity gap analysis, in collaboration with government and other stakeholders, and support the design of initiatives to strengthen capacities systematically.
• Participate as a resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of partners and other relevant stakeholders.

Networking and Regional collaboration:

• Identify key opportunities for the region to be represented to promote and enhance our understanding and experience of technical issues on WASH and Climate.
• Lead in developing joint proposals for fundraising and technical research and take part in advocacy actions which promote our work, knowledge, and experience.
• Influence other stakeholders through focused advocacy in promoting practices that, based on our experience and that of our partners, are effective in ensuring sustainable access to and use of water and sanitation services.
• Be the key spokesperson in the region on technical matters related to WASH and climate delivery practices.
• Be a member of the Regional Leadership Team and contribute to the effectiveness of the region in promoting WaterAid’s mission.
• Work closely with the Programme Support Unit as well as with the CountryProgrammes.
• Build and sustain close working partnerships with government and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate programme implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve WASH and Climate Change output results.
• Prepare materials for WASH and Climate Change programme advocacy to promote awareness and establish partnerships.
• Participate in regional fora to ensure WaterAid’s position, interests and priorities are fully considered and integrated in national and regional policies and mechanisms on WASH and climate agenda.

Person Specification
Essential:

• Master's Degree in Engineering with specialisation in Water, Sanitation, Environment, or other WASH-related area.
• Additional relevant post-graduate courses that complement/supplement the main degree are a strong asset.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in WASH, working at a senior management level in International development sector.
• Technical WASH experience: water security, climate change, well-updated on innovative technologies, systems, and approaches.
• Experience of developing, designing, and implementing WASH and climate programmes.
• Strong experience in at least one of WaterAid’s key thematic areas - Water security, Water resource management, Urban, Sanitation, WASH & Health, sector strengthening (sustainable services).
• Ability to develop organisational strategies and translate them into plans and budgets.
• Ability to plan own work, setting priorities and completing them when faced with competing demands.
• Experience of operational planning, monitoring, reporting and evaluation.
• Ability to prepare and write high quality reports.
• Fluency in English or French and good communication skills including proposal preparation and presentation.
• A team player, able to work responsibly, under pressure, and collaboratively across diverse groups and cultures.
• Innovative.
• Delivery focused, holding self and others to account.
• Committed to continuous personal development.
• Ability to work in different environments and with diverse stakeholders.
• Commitment to WaterAid’s values and a working style that reflects these.

Desirable:

• Chartered membership of a relevant professional institution.
• Experience of operating in a challenging environment.
• Experience of managing consultants, technical experts and WASH enterprises.
• Demonstrable skills in research and innovation on technical issues.
• Advanced knowledge of specific technical fields appropriate to WaterAid's work.
• Speaking and writing English and/or French.

Salary

• Competitive with excellent benefits
• Pay band: G Regular

Application Closing Date
18th July, 2023.