Programme Officer MENA Water and Sanitation

Apr 5, 2021 | Stockholm International Water Institute
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The Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) is looking for an experienced Programme Officer to work on different water and sanitation programs, including in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and other regions.

SIWI is a policy institute that generates knowledge and informs decision-making towards a water wise world. SIWI conducts research, builds institutional capacity, and provides advisory services to water decision-makers and practitioners in emerging and developing economies. Our expertise relates to multi-level governance of shared water resources and sustainable delivery of water and services. We work on the linkages of water with sectors such as climate, food and energy and at multiple scales in countries, cities, rural communities and along river basins.

SIWI organises the World Water Week in Stockholm - the leading annual global meeting place on water and development issues – and hosts the Stockholm Water Prize and the Stockholm Junior Water Prize.

About the Department and related programs:

The Water and Sanitation Department implements a number of major programs in the areas of water and sanitation service delivery, and also conducts several activities in coordination with the water resources department, with the aim to contribute to achieve sustainable and resilient water and sanitation services. Accountability for Sustainability  is a partnership with UNICEF and UNDP aiming to improve governance as a means to increase sustainability of water supply and sanitation services. The partnership has a dedicated program for MENA, which currently covers fourteen countries in the region (Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, State of Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen). The program provides on demand support to the 14 countries, including in water and sanitation enabling environment analyses and related action planning (e.g., WASH Bottleneck Analysis) and for the integration of water scarcity and climate resilience into water and sanitation programming. The MENA program also supports regional level analyses and studies (e.g., water scarcity and water supply interactions, COVID-19 water and sanitation response, and water and sanitation in schools etc.). In addition, there is a global program which covers Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, and another dedicated program for Latin America and the Caribbean. GO-WATER (Building Governance Capacity for Improved Water Security) is a capacity development programme that aims to make policy impact at systemic level through more effective water sector institutions. Iraq and Sudan are the two focus countries in MENA under that program. The Department is also implementing a number of research and capacity building oriented initiatives.

Description of the position:

The assignment is a full-time position. The Officer will contribute to implementation and development of water governance related projects in relation to resilient and sustainable water supply and sanitation. This includes supporting management aspects, as well as contributing to capacity building, technical support and advice on water governance, and support to research; development of methodologies, tools and knowledge products and promote exchanges of best practices. 

The main duties of the Program Officer will include the following:

  • The Officer will contribute to all Water and Sanitation Department projects in MENA, and sometimes other regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

 Within the assignment, the Program Officer will:

  • Contribute to the development of knowledge products, training materials, methodologies, tools and research
  • Support the organization of workshops and trainings as needed, including facilitation.
  • Provide technical support and advisory services to support water governance processes to countries and to SIWI partners as per demand, in collaboration with the rest of the team.
  • Contribute to the identification, and development of project proposals and strategic partnerships
  • Contribute to financial and administrative oversight and results reporting of the projects in charge.
  • Represent SIWI in international fora, as appropriate.
  • Contribute to internal knowledge management and collaboration with other SIWI departments

The Officer will work within the Water and Sanitation Department and collaborate with other departments, as necessary for the different assignments. The Programme Officer will be supervised by the Water and Sanitation Department Director.

Required skills and competencies:

  • Experience of working with water governance in relation to water supply and sanitation at local, national and international level, particularly in the MENA Experience in other regions will be an asset.
  • Experience of working with particular policy and governance aspects, such as IWRM, decentralization, multi-stakeholder participation, inter-sector coordination, accountability, water integrity, water scarcity, climate resilience and/or human rights based approaches
  • Experience of project development and implementation, particularly in the MENA
  • Familiarity with national water related policies and processes as well as national key water agencies of multiple MENA programme countries will be an advantage
  • Experience of working with capacity development, stakeholder facilitation, institutional strengthening and policy development.
  • Strong managerial skills including: Planning, budgeting and risk management; managing external and internal relations; coordinating a number of programme partners;
  • Experience in applied research will be an asset.
  • Good drafting, communication and interpersonal skills are basic requirements
  • Ability to function effectively as part of a team
  • Commitment to, and agreement with SIWI´s core values and vision.

Education and work experience:

  • Bachelor or Master’s degree in relevant Social or Natural / Engineering Sciences.
  • At least 3-5 years of experience working with water development issues, including direct experience (1-2 years) of working in MENA
  • Experience in water scarcity and climate change issues as they relate to water supply and sanitation is desirable
  • Experience of water supply and sanitation service provision and management approaches for fragile and emergency contexts is desirable

Language skills:

  • Proficiency in Arabic is required
  • Proficiency in English is required
  • Good level of French will be desirable.

Availability to travel

  • Ability and willingness to travel and be part of short-term missions, particularly within MENA but also in other regions, is required (up to 40% of the time, depending on the current COVID-19 context). This initial estimate of 40% is based on a travel free restriction situation.

Duty Station

  • The full-time position will be based at the Stockholm International Water Institute office in Stockholm, Sweden.

Duration of contract

  • The position is a 15 months contract, subject to renewal upon good performance and availability of funds.

Starting date

  • June 2021

How to apply for the position

  • Please submit your CV and a cover letter by using the link below.
  • APPLICATIONS SHALL BE SENT IN ENGLISH by 20th April 2021.

For more information about the position, contact: