Country Director

Water For People is a global nonprofit working across nine countries, bringing together communities, local entrepreneurs, and governments to build and maintain water and sanitation services that will last. We have a sustainable solution to end the global water and sanitation crisis, and our employees across the world help drive this solution.

POSITION OBJECTIVE:

The Country Director is the most senior Water For People staff member in Rwanda. As such, the Country Manager is ultimately responsible for managing all aspects of Water For People’s work in the country. The CD is responsible for the review and implementation of the country’s strategic plan and ensures the development of new strategies are in line with Water For People’s overall strategy and policy objectives. The CD plays a key role in implementing the D30 Alliance’s strategic objectives and plans in Rwanda.

The CD manages all employees as well as provides effective management of all Water For People funds and equipment in Rwanda. The Country provides leadership for the country’s advocacy, influence and learning programs and manages a wide range of external relationships at the national and local levels, in particular those with the government agencies. This position serves as a liaison between Water For People Denver, Water For People Rwanda, local water and sanitation NGO’s in Rwanda, local Rwanda government officials, and local Rwandan communities in need of water and sanitation projects.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS & DUTIES:  

Strategy

• Work with the existing country coordinator on the implementation and monitoring of the strategic plan
• Develop annual operating plans, budget plans, policies, and procedures in line with Water For People’s overall strategy and global direction of Water For People
• Undertake any sector review and/or thematic research in preparation for the next programming cycle.
• Produce and implement three-year rolling plans and budgets and a master plan of operations to carry forward the country’s strategy.

External Relationship Management

• Strengthen relationships with partner organizations, the local private sector, NGOs, government agencies, donors, and bilateral and multilateral agencies in Rwanda.
• Represent Water For People in Rwanda and host official visitors to the Water For People program.
• Entertain relationships with sector players at the national and local level, in particular with local Rwandan communities in need of water and sanitation projects, local government authorities, and local water and sanitation organizations in Rwanda.
• Identify and develop in-country funding opportunities for further program work.

Internal Management

• Oversee the management of Water For People’s program offices and projects in Rwanda including recruiting, managing, and developing staff and ensuring the correct approval and implementation of projects.
• Implement the country’s standard working procedures in line with Water For People’s overall policies where appropriate.
• Implement Water For People’s financial controls and verify that all in-country staff follows the requirements of those controls.
• Contribute to Water For People’s overall program and policy discussions at a global level.

Learning and Reporting

• Promote a learning environment among Water For People’s partners and staff in Rwanda.
• Develop the capacity of Water For People staff and partners to document their experience for learning and advocacy purposes.
• In cooperation with partners, develop program work that contributes to Water For People’s learning and advocacy agendas.
• Coordinate the production of specific reports for fundraising purposes as and when requested by Water For People Denver.

Accountabilities and Compliance

• Ensure compliance with applicable in-country rules and regulations related to in-country staff and property, e.g. taxes, insurance, etc.
• Ensure program work is kept within budget and that program expenditure remains within the annual budget allocation.
• Ensure that partners and projects are visited regularly by Water For People staff and that partners are provided with the technical and managerial advice and training that enables them to implement projects, and that physical progress and partner monitoring records are regularly checked.
• Oversee the procurement of materials, equipment, and other assets for the Water For People office and programs.
• Commission annual external audits by the standard terms of reference for external audits and participate in financial reviews.
• Immediately report any financial irregularities to your Regional Director, Africa.
• Produce monthly reports to the Rwandan Government as may be required.
• Coordinate and manage the preparation of bi-monthly reports and accounts for Water For People Denver.
• Ensure partners are provided with adequate support to develop and implement their financial control procedures.
• Contribute to Water For People’s financial controls and verify that all in-country staff follows the requirements of those controls

BEHAVIORS AND COMPETENCIES:

• Connect to Mission – Works to integrate own behaviors with the mission of the organization; connects the organization’s mission with established structure and activities; actively works to improve the capabilities of teams; actions and decisions are taken with the organization in mind.
• Manage through Ambiguity – Adapts to people, shifting demands, and changing priorities with ease; creates a clear picture of the importance and relevance of change; finds a way to apply innovative ideas to enhance business results.
• Action-oriented – Integrates a variety of information or translates corporate strategy; drives innovation to create a competitive edge; introduces substantive improvements to enhance performance throughout a functional area; creates something that stands out against the norm to help deliver industry-leading performance.
• Build Talent and Team – Builds sustainable talent pipeline; looks beyond own team, towards building organizational capacity; reviews employees’ capabilities to assess organizational capacity to deliver on strategy; challenges individuals to champion the talent management agenda; benchmark people capability and people processes.
• Impact and Influence – Empowers teams to perform; appropriately uses the power of the position as well as personal influence to achieve outcomes; persuades others to willingly pursue a course of action against their initial inclination; creates a team spirit of excitement and positive motivation; holds the group/team accountable to higher goals based on greater empowerment.

EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS REQUIRED:

• Bachelor’s Degree or professional qualification in a relevant subject (for example, Engineering, International Development, Community Health, Business, Economics, Environmental Sciences) is required
• Master’s degree in Water Resources Management, Water Engineering, International Development, Civil Engineering, Business Management, Environmental Sciences or related field of study is highly desirable
• Outstanding knowledge of Microsoft 365 suite is required
• Minimum of ten years senior program management experience, including financial management and budgetary control, and direct line management of staff preferably in water and sanitation
• 5 years’ experience heading a country program is highly preferred
• 5 years’ experience working in Rwanda highly preferred
• Significant experience in business related WASH programming preferred
• Experience in resource mobilization and managing multilateral projects
• Proven leadership and strategic management skills
• Experience working with national and District local governments in Rwanda
• Significant experience in managing teams and community – based water and supply projects
• Ability to develop long term strategic plans as well as medium- and short-term plans at an organizational level
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to develop and communicate a common vision among diverse partners and the ability to lead multidisciplinary teams
• Maintain sound ethical principles, integrity, and transparency of the due process
• Strong organizational skills, including the ability to prioritize and meet deadlines
• Ability to work collaboratively in teams, build consensus, and effectively coordinate with internal and external actors from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/WORKING CONDITIONS:

• Position is based at Water For People’s Rwanda office located at Kacyiru Sector, Gasabo District in the City of Kigali
• Candidates must be a citizen or legally authorized to work in Rwanda
• This position requires regular travel to program sites in Rwanda and ability to travel at least 25% of the time domestically and internationally, including places where travel might be rugged
• Ability to work outside typical office 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.