DAI, a global development consulting firm, seeks applications from qualified candidates for the position of County Based WASH Governance Specialists for the Kenya Integrated Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (KIWASH) project.
The Kenya Integrated Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (KIWASH) Project is a USAID-funded project with its primary goal being to improve lives and health of Kenyan citizens in nine counties through development and management of sustainable WASH services. Its purpose is to institutionalize catalytic models of sustainable service delivery for accelerated water and sanitation access in target counties and to improve complementary hygiene behaviors. From September 2020 to September 2021, through a 12-month extension, KIWASH will pivot its activities to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic while maintaining and advancing the development gains with county governments, water service providers, WASH enterprises and sector stakeholders. In its six year of implementation, KIWASH targets to improve access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services for at least 140,000 Kenyan citizens in the nine counties.
KIWASH activities are implemented in nine counties in two principal focus areas: Busia, Nyamira, Migori, Siaya, Kisumu, and Kakamega counties in the Lake Victoria Focus Area, and Kitui, Makueni, and Nairobi counties in the Tana/Athi Focus Area.
DAI/KIWASH is recruiting for one position in the Tana/Athi Focus area and two positions in any of the Lake Victoria Focus Area.
Summary of Primary Activities
The WASH Governance Specialist will support the development of the enabling environment for expanding water supply and sanitation services through capacity building of WASH institutions, county government, and other local stakeholders and enhance their relations with all external stakeholders. He or she will engage with county governments to increase their ownership responsibility through policy and budgeting
Essential Duties
· Lead capacity assessments at the county level to identify skills gaps within WASH sector institutions (County Water Boards, WRUAs, WSPs);
· Design and lead strategies to build the capacity of institutional staff in key technical areas, including water/sanitation planning and budgeting, water security plans.
· Work with country institutions to develop agreements with national level government Ministries to clarify each institution’s responsibilities.
· Provide support to county governments in the development of policies, legislation rules and regulations to govern the relevant sectors.
· Identify ongoing programs by county government to prioritize water and sanitation programs;
· Assess policies and budget allocations to improve water and sanitation services, recommend improvements where required, support implementation of these improvement and monitor benefits and impact on increase access to water and sanitation services.
· Improve ability of local governments to plan, regulate, and monitor water and sanitation utility performance, including improving the financial profile of service providers and oversight responsibility;
· Improve the ability of service providers to garner political support for service improvement, including reforming necessary local policies;
· Support multi-stakeholder development plan for improvement of water and sanitation services based on minimum standards;
· Assess existing mechanisms of citizen involvement in local governance systems, improve where required and monitor benefits and impact on improvement of water and sanitation services;
· Identify ongoing and planned programs by other donor agencies and/or government institutions; discuss and agree on collaboration efforts between these and the KIWASH program
· Other tasks as required by supervisor
Qualifications
- 7+ years of experience working in WASH-related programs;
- Familiarity with county stakeholders in the WASH sector;
- Master’s degree in Engineering, Urban Planning, Business Management or a related area is preferred;
- Knowledge and experience in working on urban/community-based water supply and sanitation program implementation in Kenya
- Experience working in (and addressing) governance issues at County level;
- Fluency in English, both written and verbal**
Skills and Abilities:
• Excellent analytical skills and the ability to summarize information in a clear and concise manner;
• Ability to create organizational work plans;
• Training skills to build the capacity of partner institutions such as subcontractor partners, government institutions, WSPs, etc.
• Ability to work independently to efficiently meet deadlines;
• Strong interpersonal skills;
• Oral and written communication skills to effectively communicate with KIWASH staff, county government officials and the local communities;
How to apply:
Interested candidates should apply via the link; https://kiwashproject.formstack.com/forms/wash_governance_specialist
Deadline for applications will be September 10, 2020 at 5 pm.
Only candidates who send their information by applying through the link and by the deadline will be considered. Copy the link and paste it on a browser to submit your application.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Due to the urgency of the recruitment, shortlisting will be done on a rolling basis.
DAI provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics.