Regional Engineer, East Africa

Who is Water Mission?

Water Mission is a Christian engineering nonprofit that builds safe water solutions for people in developing countries, refugee camps, and disaster areas. Since 2001, Water Mission has served more than 8 million people in 60 countries, sharing safe water and the message of God’s love. Working at Water Mission is as much a calling as it is a career, and we are searching for people with the courage, passion, and drive to help us change the world. Read more about our Statement of Faith and Our Christian Mission.

What is the opportunity?

The Regional Engineer is responsible primarily for applying sound engineering principles and excellent written and verbal communication skills to a variety of WASH projects in East Africa. This full-time position is based in Nairobi, Kenya, and reports to the Director of Engineering and Design Support in Charleston, SC, USA, and is part of both the Charleston-based Engineering and Innovation department and the East Africa Regional Team. Spoken and written English fluency is required, and experience with Swahili is preferred.

As a key leader in Water Mission, the Regional Engineer is responsible for leading staff in developing a biblical worldview culture that leads to God-honoring excellence in all work and reinforces the following: providing accurate data, empowering staff to have the skills and mindset needed to acknowledge mistakes or problems as opportunities to find appropriate solutions, and empowering staff to consistently work for excellence in solutions that are consistent with Water Mission’s mission, vision, values, and standards.

Though this position is based in Kenya, travel to other Water Mission program countries (primarily Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania, and the USA) is required. Candidates need to be prepared to travel up to three months of the year (i.e., multiple trips during a single calendar year totaling three months), with trip lengths ranging from one week to four weeks. Candidates need to be aware that travel to a disaster response situation may be required with only 72 hours of notice.

A successful Regional Engineer will:

• Maintain a strong Christian witness and model servant leadership to colleagues, partners, the communities we serve, and the public.
• Listen to and learn from others at all levels of the organization, partners, and the communities we serve (i.e. teachability). Work in a posture of humble service to God and others. Commit to the values of Love, Excellence, and Integrity. Work in a team environment to provide technical direction and assistance to other engineers and technicians. Freely share knowledge with others.
• Lead and assist others in adherence to approved engineering and construction standards.
• Assist in the development of guidance documentation for engineering and construction processes.
• Assist in developing project engineering scopes and designs for WASH projects in country program development and disaster response settings.
  • Conduct field inspections and site assessments.
  • Assist in the creation of feasibility studies and engineering reports.
  • Assist in the creation of engineering designs, calculations, construction drawings, and specifications.
  • Conduct construction and implementation inspections.
• Manage multiple simultaneous initiatives.
  • Maintain good communication with multiple team members across multiple countries and time zones.
  • Maintain good communications with outside entities.
  • Ensure work is done within an agreed-upon scope, schedule, and budget.
• Ability to cross engineering disciplines and gain a base level of understanding as required by projects.
• Ability to work within cross-cultural environments and overcome stereotypes and language barriers.
• Participate in disaster response activities when needed.
• Prepare and make presentations to other departments, partner organizations, country program office staff, strategic partners, donors, and volunteers.
• Other duties as assigned.

What is required?

• Personal and growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Alignment with Water Mission’s Statement of Faith and core values of Love, Excellence, and Integrity.
• Bachelor’s of Science degree in Engineering – Civil or Environmental preferred.
• Licensed Professional Engineer (PE) US, CEng (UK/Ireland), EUR ING (European Engineer, FEANI) or equivalent.
• Minimum of 5 years of engineering experience.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Fluency in written and spoken English language.
• Fluency or familiarity with written and spoken Swahili language preferred.
• Knowledgeable skills with Microsoft Office software (Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook).
• Knowledgeable skills with engineering programs such as EPANET, AutoCAD, or similar are preferred.
• Excellent relationship skills.
• High level of accountability to organization standards and qualities
• Identifying and responding to client felt and real needs in a timely manner
• High attention to detail.
• Excellent analytical skills (Experience with data analysis, regressional analysis, and/or business intelligence a plus. Experience with cost-benefit analysis a plus).
• Excellent conflict resolution skills.
• Experience in developing countries, preferably in East Africa.
• Ability to travel up to three months per year, mostly in developing countries. Most international trips are 1-4 weeks in length and require riding in long car rides on rough terrain, standing for extended periods in hot weather, and lifting moderately heavy things.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively with a team.
• Home internet bandwidth strong enough to support video conferencing and other job-related responsibilities.
• Legal authorization to work in Kenya or the United States without sponsorship.