Senior WASH Financing Advisor Water For People

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 Senior WASH Financing Advisor-Africa supports government partners and staff to identify and capture different forms of finance to help national governments to make progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6). They will be responsible for providing expertise and technical assistance to country programs in Africa on innovations in WASH Financing and managing critical relationships within the Africa continent, international financing partners, and other key stakeholders. The ideal candidate understands public finance and the politics of increasing allocations as well as international financial instruments.

This position will improve effectiveness and impact of programs, build capacity with government partners and within country teams, and foster a culture of quality programming when it comes to WASH Financing within the organization. This position is part of and works in collaboration with other members of the Influence and Advocacy team within the organization. The role also supports WASH Financing related needs of Strategic Communications team, Donor Impact team, and internal funding opportunities in the Africa region.

They will provide senior technical and programmatic WASH Financing expertise and leadership to the planning, updating, and implementation of the project’s WASH financing and/or costing activities in the Africa region, at the macro-level and meso-level supporting Malawi, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania Country Programs.

The One for All Alliance, of which Water For People is a founding member, has since 2022 worked towards its Destination 2030 Strategy. Sector Finance is one of six key outcomes detailed in that strategy and perhaps the most challenging. The aim of this position is to enable the organization to more effectively respond to this challenge and leverage the resources needed to achieve SDG 6 at a national level in each focus country.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS & DUTIES
Expertise and Technical Support to Country Programs:
• Support Country programmes to help expand sector investments through diverse mechanisms such as blended financing facilities, public-private partnerships (PPPs), local debt financing, and other viable models of finance that can be replicated and scaled in the region.
Leading the development of WASH Financing guidelines, framework, approaches and programme approaches to be used by Country Programmes to support them as they work with governments and partners.
• Provide technical assistance to facilitate mobilization of public and private finance to enhance water and sanitation service delivery with emphasis on rural and peri-urban areas, climate resilience, equity, and inclusion.
• Work with Country Programs in the innovations and development of financing models for financing WASH Services.
• Support Country programmes in designing and operationalization of WASH financing strategies that have been developed by Governments.
• Create a framework for WASH Financing at local or national government to increase efficiency and improve organizational flexibility to follow government leadership.
• Work with Country programmes in high level policy dialogue with government stakeholders and partners related to WASH financing for universal coverage.

Influence and advocacy related to WASH Finance
• Liaise with One for All Alliance influence team from the Africa region (IRC and Water for Good and potential future members) to advance themes on WASH Sector Finance.
• Build relationships with regional Finance institutions currently funding WASH programmes in Africa through grants/loans e.g., African Development Bank, Foundations, AMCOW, INGOs, and Private sector including Climate Finance institutions.
• Collaborate with Country Directors to develop financing opportunities with development banks and ensure accreditation to climate financing institutions e.g., Adaptation Fund, Green Climate Fund among others.
• Ensure all WASH Sector Finance programmes emphasize equity and inclusion in improving lasting access to water and sanitation services.
• Participate in international WASH networks, meetings, and selected technical working groups as appropriate to represent Water For People and ensure collaboration with relevant technical work in Africa.
• Participate in and help facilitate high level meetings with Donors, Ministers, and other stakeholders as requested by Country Program teams.
• Lead capacity building and training activities for country program technical staff.
• Promote and contribute to Water For People’s learning agenda as it relates to WASH financing.
• Lead and contribute to specific regional and global training, workshops, and learning webinars related to WASH financing.

External Communications and Support to Funding Opportunities
• Identify WASH Sector Finance funding opportunities that are aligned to Destination 2030 and country priorities.
• Support the Africa region national governments to identify and secure funding opportunities towards the achievement of SDG 6.
• Understand and communicate organizational approach to water and sanitation financing to select audiences, including sector conferences.
• Collaborate with Marketing and Donor Impact to improve our messaging of WASH Financing.

BEHAVIORS AND COMPETENCIES
• Connects to Mission – Embraces the Water For People mission and works to align tasks to support mission; aligns own behavior with the needs or priorities of the organization and demonstrates commitment to the mission; shows respect and composure, publicly admits mistakes, and commits to learn.
• Manages through Ambiguity – Deals comfortably with uncertainty; effectively copes with change; can decide and act without having the total picture; balances thinking with action.
• Demonstrates Cultural Awareness – Understands and values different perspectives while looking for the common ground; recognizes and respects diversity through words and actions; effectively interacts, works, and develops relationships with people of various cultural backgrounds.
• Action-oriented – Sets priorities and acts; has an unwavering commitment to delivering quality work products; recognizes needs or opportunities to act; maintains an attitude of open, curious, and proactive learning, continually expanding own area of understanding and expertise.
• Sense of Team – Creates partnerships and effective working teams; consciously uses the informal structures, dynamics, and culture of an organization to get things done; actively shares and seeks input in decision-making from appropriate sources; shows others how their objectives align with own, getting past individual bias; invests in building relationships with others.

EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS REQUIRED:
• Bachelor’s Degree required in Economics, Finance or related field.
• Master’s Degree in a related field preferred.
• Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible experience in WASH Finance activities for an international organization in a low- or middle-income country in Africa.
• Expertise in climate finance is a MUST, the candidate must have international experience with a good understanding of how country governments can access this finance.
• Experience working with national governments, private sector, blended finance, equity funds, private financing, loan financing, climate financing to name a few.
• Technical skills in research, analysis, processing, collection, software programs.
• Well-rounded understanding of WASH program design and understanding of best practices for WASH Finance.
• Experience in staff development and training on WASH costing and business planning.
• Advanced/expert with Microsoft Office programs and specifically business analysis tools.
• Excellent English communication skills.
• Ability to influence without authority.
• High level of attention to detail, self-motivated, team player and highly numerate.