Chemonics International seeks an Institutional Strengthening Lead for the anticipated five-year, $50-$99 million USAID-funded Zambia Sustainable Water and Sanitation Activity. The activity will focus on WASH governance and finance mechanisms, sustainable service delivery, and enhancing resiliency of the water system in Lusaka City and the Copperbelt, Central and Eastern provinces of Zambia. The activity aims to improve governance and management capacity for WASH at the subnational level; increase access to sustainable water and sanitation services, including in institutional settings; and increase the resilience of water supply to climate change, disaster and public health emergencies.
The Institutional Strengthening Lead will be responsible for leading the Activity’s efforts to strengthen the governance and management capacity of key public subnational WASH institutions to ensure that these institutions can deliver on their mandates to provide water and sanitation service delivery in rural and peri-urban areas in Zambia. Through targeted capacity building efforts to government ministries (subnational and national), including coordination with non-state actors such as utility service providers and community governance structures, they will support the support the institutionalization of market-based WASH service delivery, including financially sustainable and inclusive governance and management models. The Institutional Strengthening Lead will report to the deputy chief of party and work closely with other technical personnel and activity partners. Zambian nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.
Responsibilities:
- Oversee all aspects of the project’s institutional capacity development activities that relate to inclusive WASH practices and solutions tailored to peri-urban and rural contexts
- Build capacity of subnational water and sanitation government institutions to implement applicable legislation
- Promote proven management approaches for rural water infrastructure and identify policy instruments to facilitate service delivery
- Strengthen coordination and collaboration between and among national, provincial and district level institutions to foster more effective policy formulation, implementation and management of water and sanitation service delivery
- Establish and/or strengthen formal communication and coordination mechanisms and channels between government institutions, water and sanitation service providers, private sector actors and peri-urban and rural communities to enhance accountability and advocacy for improved water and sanitation service delivery to target districts
- Identify selected public sector institutional challenges; develop and monitor interventions to improve process, systems and resource needs including but not limited to public financial management and resource mobilization and allocation, financial planning and execution for effective WASH planning and service delivery, including climate- and gender-sensitive budgeting, human resource and skills building in water resource management, infrastructure monitoring and preparedness for disasters and public health emergencies
- Work across teams to ensure the perspectives and voices of women, youth, and underrepresented or underserved groups are integral to the activity’s implementation
- Deliver trainings and capacity building support to project staff and partners
- Provide input for work plans, reports, and key technical deliverables
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in business, social science, public policy and administration, planning or other related fields
- Minimum of 8 years of professional experience at the managerial and/or advisory level in the area of institutional development, capacity building, training and/or public engagement
- Experience working on WASH service delivery and with WASH stakeholders is highly preferred
- Experience working on USAID or donor-funded projects preferred
- Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain collaborative, productive working relationships with national and subnational governance institutions, private sector associations, civil society organizations; ability to develop and implement effective project initiatives in collaboration with private sector entities
- Experience in strategic planning and policy formulation
- Demonstrated experience building effective working relationships with government counterparts that meet project objectives, strong government network desired
- Supervisory experience and demonstrated ability to form strong working relationships, mentor, and motivate staff
- Ability to build coalitions and networks that can provide synergies and sustainable solutions in the WASH sector
- Demonstrated leadership, versatility, and integrity
- Experience working with vulnerable urban and rural populations preferred
- Fluency in English required
- Language proficiency in Nyanja and Bemba preferred.
- Zambia nationals are strongly encouraged to apply
How to apply
To apply for this position, please use this link. Applications must be submitted by October 4th, 2024. Early applications are strongly encouraged and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. No telephone inquires please.
EEO Statement
Chemonics is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit factors.