Vacancy Announcement: Gisagara WASH Program Officer

Job Title: Gisagara WASH Program Officer

Department: WASH Program

Reports to: Senior Water and Sanitation Engineer

Duty station: Gisagara District

Supervisor Duties:

Background  

Water For People is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) that works with people and partners to develop innovative and long-lasting solutions to the water, sanitation, and hygiene problems in developing countries.  The organization strives to continually improve, experiment with promising new ideas, and leverage resources to multiply its impact. Water For People is currently operating in 9 countries including Rwanda where the organization is supporting WASH in the districts of Rulindo, Kicukiro, Gicumbi, Karongi and Gisagara. Ten more districts are supported under the USAID-funded Isoko y’Ubuzima Project.

Job Summary 

The Gisagara WASH Program Officer reports to the Senior Water and Sanitation Engineer. He is responsible for managing all technical aspects of the Program, including participation to the Country’s strategic plans, annual operating, and budget plans, monitoring of the plans, fundraising, communication, and reporting. The Program Officer provides necessary support to program staff as well as local partners to ensure that program objectives are achieved in due time.

He will be responsible for the daily implementation, monitoring, and regular consultation with program partners on WASH program components. The WASH Officer will work closely with all Country Program staff, facilitating them for any meetings, field trips and consultations pertaining to Gisagara WASH Program, to ensure that the Country Program work plan for Gisagara is successfully implemented.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES: 

1. Participation in-country Program Strategic and Operational planning 

• Work with Country Program staff to develop country strategic plans in line with Water For People’s overall strategy and policy objectives;
• Contribute to Water For People’s overall program and policy discussions;
• Participate in sanitation strategic planning;
• Undertake any sector review and/or thematic research in preparation of the next programming cycle;
• Participating to the elaboration of annual operating plans in line with pre-allocated budget.

2. Specific programmatic duties: 

• Supervise the review of detailed engineering (water and sanitation) designs in collaboration with program partners ‘technical team as needed.
• In collaboration with the relevant country program staff, support the district in the elaboration and implementation of its full life cycle WASH Plan, and in its effort to strengthen capacities of the District WASH Board and its decentralized entities, water private operators, local entrepreneurs in sanitation and hygiene, etc. to ensure full and reliable WASH services.
• In collaboration with the relevant country program staff, work with water private operators to gain a better knowledge on water service reliability and water business viability.
• In collaboration with the relevant country program staff, work with Sanitation Business service providers to increase the viability of their business for both liquid and solid waste management.
• Assist the district procurement committee in developing bidding documents following Rwanda Procurement guidelines and support for Tender Evaluation as deemed necessary.
• Support the district procurement officer with contract management and recommendation for payments.
• Thoroughly document program progress, success, and challenges, and contribute to Water For People’s learning agenda by disseminating results to Rwanda’s water and sanitation sector;
• Assist Water For People—Rwanda’s Program team in the preparation of reports as they pertain to the Gisagara WASH Program.
• In collaboration with the relevant country program staff, advocate for the implementation of similar programs in Rwanda, i.e., programs that involve all sector stakeholders to reach full and sustainable access to water and/or sanitation in a geographic area.
• Strengthen relationships with partner organizations, the local private sector, NGOs, government agencies, donors, bilateral and multilateral agencies supporting the Gisagara WASH Program;
• Ensure that the partners and projects related to the Gisagara WASH Program are visited regularly by program technical team, and that partners are provided with the technical and managerial advice, training, and support that enables them to implement projects.
• Assist with adequate and prompt disbursement of funds as needed for the Gisagara WASH Program.
• Support District to organize and invite Gisagara WASH Steering Committee meetings and WASH Board meetings.
• Ensure that materials employed by contractors, approved by project supervising companies comply with accepted quality standards before they are used for the project.

3. Program finance and advocacy 

• Contribute to the proper financial management of the Gisagara WASH Program and Water For People—Rwanda by ensuring that administration and finances related to the program follow the country’s procedures;
• Participate in financial reviews and, external and internal audits as they pertain to the Gisagara WASH Program.
• Ensure that the Gisagara WASH Program is kept within its budget allocation.
• Review the donor’s financial report and provide input.
• Contribute to the representation of Water For People in Rwanda, and represent the Gisagara WASH Program in front of the local government authorities, donors, water and sanitation organizations.
• Attend different coordination meetings called by the government, Water Sector Working Group, and other partners as it relates to Gisagara WASH Program and/or Water For People-Rwanda Program when required;
• Ensure compliance with applicable rules and regulations of Rwanda, the Gisagara WASH Program Implementation Manual, and report any irregularities to the direct supervisor.
• Ensure full participation of program partners and stakeholders throughout the program planning cycle.
• Monitor the Gisagara WASH Program’s progress against the plan.
• In collaboration with the relevant country program and district staff, facilitate annual service-level monitoring exercises.

4. Grants management-related duties: 

• Manage and develop all aspects of donor account management by developing and implementing strategies to maximize the giving potential of donors, while adhering to the grant management process.
• Maximize partners’ relationships by becoming deeply familiar with the donor’s requirements and partners ‘commitments to the program.
• Connecting and facilitating relationships between donors and helping donors connect more deeply to WFP through various opportunities.
• Leverage the activity of Business Development, Global Programs, and Finance staff as appropriate and comply with the grant management process and expectations.
• Drive and support the grant management process, working with donor relationship managers, as appropriate for your role.
• Provide all required data to the finance team on time and ensure accurate expenditure reporting in donor-required format.
• Track revenue and expenditures against the grant budget monthly.
• Perform any other lawful duties deemed necessary by the direct supervisor or Water For     People Management.

Guidelines

The following written and unwritten guidelines will be applied to performing the duties of the post:

Written

• All Water For People handbooks on administration and others.
• Any established and agreed Country Program procedures. 

Unwritten

• Common sense in applying proper business practice and sound purchasing principles.
• Know when to negotiate and how to achieve goals successfully.
• Maintain sound ethical principles, integrity, and transparency of the due process. 

COMPETENCIES: 

• Connects to the Mission – Embraces the mission of Water For People and is passionate about advancing the dynamic role it plays leading social impact in international development.
• Demonstrates Ethics and Integrity – Understands ethical behavior and business practices and ensures that own behavior is consistent with these standards and aligns with the values of the organization.
• Manages through Ambiguity – Demonstrates flexibility and adaptability in responding to change and ambiguity.
• Demonstrates Cultural Awareness – Able to engage a wide range of stakeholders from various backgrounds and cultures.
• Action-oriented – Maintains an attitude of open, curious, and proactive learning, continually expanding own area of understanding and expertise.
• Connects with Others – Listens and fosters open communication through questioning, dialogue, and information sharing.
• Self-confident – Demonstrates humility, mature confidence and courage to innovate, risk, and lead in own role. 

QUALIFICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS REQUIRED:

• A bachelor’s degree in Water and Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, and hydraulic engineering. A master’s degree will be an added advantage.
• At least 5 years of professional experience in water and sanitation project management
• At least 2 years of experience in the designing or construction or supervision of WASH infrastructure including the design, construction, and supervision of water supply systems, improved toilets, installation of rainwater harvesting systems, construction of girls’ menstrual hygiene rooms, and handwashing facilities.
• Experience in project management will be an added advantage.
• Knowledge of the Rwandan administrative framework is required.
• Good experience in procurement, computer engineering software usage applied to hydraulics such as AutoCAD, WaterGEMS, EPANET, ARCGIS, and access to e-mails and internet services are mandatory.
• Excellent organizational/logistic, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Self-starter and ability to undertake projects and tasks without intensive supervision.
• Maintain sound ethical principles, integrity, and transparency of the due process;
• Fluent in English, knowledge of French and Kinyarwanda would be an advantage.
• A valid driving license would be an added advantage.

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

This role will require traveling to the areas of Water For People’s operations and other parts of the country to execute her/his responsibilities.

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS:

• Position will be based in Gisagara district.
• May be required to travel to other program sites.

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

Salary Range:

Rwanda’s expected annual gross salary range is RWF 13,966,198 to RWF 25,794,552.

The 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 and life insurance, annual leave allocation equal to one month of salary, and other benefits in accordance with the Rwanda labour law.