Public Outreach and Engagement Advisor for Non-Revenue Water Management Project

The USAID-funded Non-Revenue Water Management project NRWMP, implemented by Tetra Tech International Development, is currently accepting expressions of interest from qualified candidates for Public Outreach Engagement Advisor. This position will be located in the main office in Hebron.

The purpose of this activity is to improve Palestinians’ access to safe, reliable, sustainable, and climate resilient water services through: 1) the development and strengthening of the institutional capacity of the Hebron, Halhul, and Dura water utilities for sustainable, reliable, and climate-resilient water delivery service; 2) the implementation of strategic infrastructure works to support the objective of the activity; 3) the design and implementation of innovative solutions to expand the use of smart water management technologies for efficient, timely, and transparent water management; and 4) the design and implementation of innovative measures and public awareness campaigns to promote effective water governance at the utility and foster social behavioral change toward more efficient and responsible water use practices and trends. The Public Outreach Engagement Advisor will report to the Task Order Manager and will have the primary responsibility of leading communications, outreach, and coalition building to support improved water governance by the water utilities and conservation of water by the communities with a focus on women and youth engagement. This is a full-time position based in Hebron.

Responsibilities:

The Public Outreach and Engagement Advisor will work directly with the three water utilities to integrate public outreach initiatives that will improve the overall governance and accountability of each water utility. S/he supervises the Gender and Youth Social Inclusion (GYSI) Specialist to improve the active engagement of women and youth in water utility governance issues. S/he also supervises the Communications and Reporting Specialist who is responsible for project specific communications, reporting, and outreach. S/he will work with other technical staff and administrative staff to ensure collaboration with donors and local counterparts and key stakeholders at the municipal levels. This includes but is not limited to the following:

• Support the water utilities in implementing the strategy, policies, and standard operating procedures for complaint redress to ensure improved accountability to customers by resolving reported issues in a timely manner, communicating the resolution, and reporting on redress key performance indicators.
• Streamline the disclosure of information not only to include alerts, notifications, and distribution cycles (which are currently published on social media sites), but also to share financial reports, investment plans, the climate change strategy, and service delivery performance reports.
• Identify both low- and high-tech platforms (phone, short message service, websites) for collecting customer feedback so that information sharing mechanisms are broadly accessible.
• Support the development and dissemination of the water utility communication policy, coordinating with the Commercial Specialist on water tariff rates and the Institutional Support Advisor on water utility capacity strengthening initiatives.
• Collaborate with the water utility public engagement departments to develop road maps for public awareness campaigns customized for each water utility and included in the utility communication policy.
• Familiarize oneself and advise on different engagement mechanisms such as town-halls, door-to-door campaigns, focus group discussions, youth competitions, utility websites and social media, traditional print and promotional materials, outdoor media, and broadcast media.
• Utilize a social marketing model in conjunction with USAID’s social behavior change process to work with the water utilities to generate awareness about water insecurity and the need for climate change adaptation practices.
• Employ Positive Youth Development principles to support youth participation in the Hebron, Halhul, and Dura water sector to promote sustainable water use practices and assist youth to assume a larger role in water security in their communities.
• Support the GYSI Specialist to develop and implement a gender equity action plan in each water utility.
• Incorporate public satisfaction surveys in project monitoring tools.
• Publicize information regarding water tariff payment modalities and incorporate customer feedback loops into water operations processes.
• Supervise project outreach, success stories, learning events, and concise and accurate reporting, including coordination with all team members to elevate outreach of project outcomes.
• Integrate capacity building efforts for the utilities into implementation of all aspects of programming, utilizing a co-design and co-implementation methodology.
• Develop and contribute to success stories and document lessons learned.
• Perform other tasks defined by the Task Order Manager.

Qualifications:

* Bachelor’s degree in Social Science, Communications, or other relevant field and a minimum of ten (10) years of relevant experience working with public outreach campaigns OR

* Master’s degree in Social Science, Communications, or other relevant field and a minimum of seven (7) years of relevant experience working with public outreach campaigns

* Experience working with outreach campaigns related to professional water supply services considered an asset

* Proficiency in Microsoft Office

* Excellent organizational skills and ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, stressful environment.

* Detail-oriented and ability to prioritize tasks and support activity implementation while ensuring adherence to required policies and protocols.

* A demonstrated track record of progressively responsible experience providing leadership to donor projects with similar complexity.

* Proven leadership, organizational, and writing skills.

* Professional fluency in Arabic and proficiency in English is required.

* Qualified applicants from Palestine highly encouraged to apply.