Vacancy Announcement

Senior Policy Advisor and Government Relations Specialist

For The Project “Supporting a Sustainable Waste and Circular Economy in Rwanda (WCE)”

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federally owned international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations. The GIZ Office in Kigali covers GIZ’s portfolio in Rwanda and Burundi. GIZ Rwanda/Burundi implements projects on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Union and other commissioning authorities in the following priority areas: Sustainable Economic Development; Good Governance; Climate, Energy and Sustainable Urban Development; Digitalization and Digital Economy; and regional projects in the Great Lakes Region.

The GIZ Waste and Circular Economy (WCE) project aims to enable public and private actors to implement circular economy practices in Rwanda’s waste sector. It is part of the Rwandan-German Climate and Development Partnership that was signed by the Environmental Ministers of both countries in March 2022.

The Senior Policy Advisor and Government relations specialist will have a major role in implementing the projects goals by formulation, analysis, and evaluation of policies, building relationships, advocating for policies, and facilitating collaboration among stakeholders. The expertise required for the position is essential for advancing effective and cost-efficient climate-smart waste management and circular economy strategies and policies in Rwanda.

Responsibilities

The Senior Advisor is managing an area of responsibility that forms part of the programme objectives and team agreements, this beneath others include:

Policy Development and Advocacy:

• Strategic Planning: Advice in strategic planning and goal setting for waste management and circular economy programs.
• Policy Formulation: Develop and propose policies or regulations to improve waste management systems and circular economy, focusing on sustainability, efficiency
• Impact Analysis: Evaluate the potential impacts of proposed policies and strategies on the environment, economy, and public health.
• Supporting the government in strategizing the policies: Advocate for waste management policies and initiatives by leveraging relationships and influencing key decision-makers, disseminate information about possible policy developments, funding opportunities, and best practices
• Advisory and Consultation: Provision of advice and guidance to experts, government officials and stakeholders on waste management issues and policy options.
• Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration: Working with various stakeholders, including local governments, environmental organizations, and industry representatives, gathering input, and building consensus on waste management and circular economy policies.
• Working on general Capacity Development Strategy in the sector

Tasks

The Senior Advisor performs the following tasks:

• Advice to Government counterparts and facilitation of knowledge building on strategic planning, cost efficiency, scenario analysis, policy development and framework setting for waste management and circular economy
• Works closely with Government counterparts to identify possible development policy options in regard of a sustainable road map for organisational and infrastructure building over the course of 5, 10 and 15 years and operationalization and maintenance of infrastructure
• Provides advice and support for governance and management processes, programmes, and projects in public and private institutions
• Contributes to the public private policy dialogue with the Government and the private sector
• Supports the government in coordination of activities (pilot activities, Capacity Development measures, etc.)
• Support the projects Capacity Development measures by providing specific trainings for high level sector expertise as lecturer and coach
• Formulation, facilitation, and provision of GIZ inputs at conferences, workshops, and other events
• Participation in sub-regional, regional, and inter-agency initiatives related to climate-smart waste management and circular economy issues
• Program Evaluation: Monitor and assess the effectiveness of implemented policies and programs
• Reporting: Prepare reports and presentations to communicate findings, recommendations, and progress to decision-makers
• Organize and participate in conferences, workshops, and meetings related to waste management
• Plan and execute public engagement activities and contributes to the elaboration of advocacy strategies by identifying and prioritizing audiences and communication means
• Partnership Development: Develop partnerships with organizations and entities that can provide additional resources or support for waste management initiatives.
• Support for the Government to identify and secure funding opportunities and resources to support waste management programs and projects
• Identifies and develops activities to enhance the visibility of GIZ
• Advise and assists national and international advisors in carrying out their work in the context of the WCE project
• Draws up reports and presentation documents, prepares appropriate input for various project/programme reports including annual reports, and contributes to the other reports required
• Assists the project with all organisational and management issues
• Monitor communication and interaction between government institutions, NGOs, private sector, and society through analyses of the media, direct dialogue, participation in meetings and seminars etc.
• Ensures knowledge management, collects, processes, and distributes relevant information, monitors communication and interaction between government institutions, NGOs, private sector, and society
• Performs other duties and tasks at the request of Project leader.

Required qualifications, competences, and experience

Qualifications

• Masters/MSc in an area that is related to the project/programme objectives, with a focus on a relevant field

Professional experience

• More than 10 years of professional experience at the national or international level in policy formation, elaboration of sector policies, strategies, and laws with deep understanding of government processes, policies, and regulations
• Proven track report of more than 5 years of coordinating role in governmental position for the relevant sector
• Proven experience in development of regulatory framework for relevant sector
• Proven experience in strategic and innovative financing mechanism for sanitation services
• Proven experience in knowing and understanding Rwanda’s current waste management issues, trends, and development approaches
• Proven expertise in social and economic factors for developing the sanitation sector
• Proven experience in providing specific trainings as lecturer and coach in the WASH sector
• Proven experience of gender mainstreaming related topics
• Additional years of relevant experience will be an advantage

Other knowledge, additional competences

• Very good working knowledge of ITC technologies (related software, phone, fax, email, the internet) and computer applications (e.g., MS Office)
• Fluent written and very profound oral knowledge of English
• Fluent written and very profound oral knowledge of Kinyarwanda
• French is an advantage