Utility and Operations Management Specialist at Chemonics International

Chemonics International is a leading global sustainable development firm for one reason: our people. We are 6,000 experts in more than a hundred countries around the globe, and 90% of us are working in a community we’ve long called home. Our teams reflect a diversity of technical expertise and lived experience, because solving complex development challenges requires both. And as a company, we are committed to connections - global and local, human and technological - that allow learnings to efficiently flow and adapt between experts, projects, and countries.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Utility and Operations Management Specialist

Location: Lagos
Employment Type: Full-time

Description 

• Chemonics seeks a Utility Operations and Management Specialist for the USAID Lagos Urban Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Activity (LUWASH) in Nigeria.
• The project aims to increase availability and sustainable management of safe and climate-resilient water and sanitation services in Lagos, Nigeria. LUWASH will increase the availability, quality and use of safe water and sanitation services and improve the governance and sustainable management of associated sector institutions in Lagos.
• The activity’s objective is to expand and improve urban WASH service delivery and infrastructure through strengthened governance, increased accountability, and improved financial and technical capabilities of public water utilities and private sector providers.
• The project has four components as follows: governance and institutional arrangements strengthened to deliver improved WASH services, public and private service provider performance improved, access to safe and sustainable water services increased, access to safe and sustainable sanitation increased and the quality of source water improved.
• The Lagos Urban Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Program (LUWASH) activity aims to rebuild the social contract around WASH services in Lagos through contributing to the following objectives 1) reliable data on water resources and services and 2) change management for institutional development across objectives to catalyze sector transformation, generating WASH service improvements for at least 4 million people in low income communities and building a foundation for continued progress beyond LUWASH.

Reporting:

• The Utility Operations & Management Specialist reports to the Deputy Chief of Partyor designee.

Job Summary

• Embedded in Lagos Water Corporation, the Specilaistleads capacity building efforts of public and private service providers in operations, maintenance, and overall management . Contributes to activity support for the restructuring of the LWC, advising on recruitment and training requirements.Provides timely advisory on non-revenue water, billing systems, and performance improvement.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• The main objective of this position is to build capacity of the Lagos Water Corporation (LWC) in general utility operations including technical service, water production, distribution, management of non-revenue water, and other operational aspects with the aim of improving their operational and technical viability.
• In this respect the position will support the LWC to have adequate capacity in technical competencies, GIS skills, metering and meter management, non-revenue water mitigation and other operational skills.
• This means developing accurate, transparent accountability systems and strengthening performance management across critical departments of the utility.
• The position will also support routine performance management processes and support the creation and operation of a pro-poor unit.

Other functions will include:

• Support the development and execution of incentives and performance-based contracts including defining performance monitoring and assessment approaches with clearly defined KPIs and implementation of the PIP’s.
• Facilitate the development of non-revenue water reduction (NRW) strategy for LWC and the private sector
• Facilitate the implementation of NRW strategy for LWC which include carrying pout hy4draulic modelling, water balance/audit and District Metered Areas (DMA)
• Facilitate the development of asset management strategy for effective operations at LWC waterworks.
• Support and implement the development of a comprehensive energy optimization roadmap tailored for LWC.
• Support LWC to update its GIS infrastructure and system to enhance the utility operations.
• Support in development and collation of relevant utility operations data for the purpose of pro-poor tariff restructuring.
• Support the Pro-poor Unit of the LWC/LSWMMO
• Support prioritization and use of private sector partnerships to improve delivery of water supply services. Identify innovative cost recovery mechanisms and service delivery models.
• Support prioritization and use of local, own-source revenue to improve delivery of water supply services.

Qualifications and Experience

• A Master’s Degree and 6 years of experience or bachelor’s Degree and 10 years of post-qualification experience in engineering, utility operations management,or any related field
• Demonstrated expertise in utility operations management, performance improvement and specific expertise in the following areas: water supply service delivery, production processes, distribution and water quality surveillance are critical.

Application Closing Date
28th June, 2024.