Sierra Leone: WASH Technical Advisor

Nov 6, 2016 | Oxfam GB
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The Consortium Coordination Unit is seeking a WASH Technical Advisor to ensure the continued positive impact of our programme and ensure learning across the Consortium member agencies. The WASH Technical Advisor will lead on the harmonisation of technical approaches among Consortium members and the establishment of minimum standards. The post holder will provide advice to members, support capacity development of partners and government actors on WASH technical issues as well as work on programme quality, monitoring and evaluation issues. He/She will also represent the Consortium and serve as an interface with government line ministries, departments and authorities; Provide regular updates on progresses made and ensure alignment of the Consortium work to that of national priorities. The Consortium Coordination Unit which coordinates the work of members is hosted by Oxfam GB in Freetown.

Context

The Freetown WASH Consortium brings together five agencies (Action Contre la Faim, CONCERN, GOAL, Oxfam GB and Save the Children) to address the health situation in Freetown, Sierra Leone by focusing on WASH interventions. Since it began in February 2010, this joint programme of work has provided over 100,000 people with improved access to water, more than 20,000 with improved sanitation and an estimated 400,000 with positive hygiene messaging. The Consortium focuses on four main areas, WASH service delivery following a community led approach, disaster risk mitigation, capacity building of community structures and Government of Sierra Leone stakeholders as well as advocacy on sector financing.

What we are looking for

The individual will have a strong WASH technical background with experience of managing programmes in a developing country context.  Ideally the person will hold a professional qualification in a WASH related discipline (engineering; environmental health, public health etc).  Additionally, the post holder will have strong experience of maintaining programme quality through strong monitoring and evaluation work; Experience of working with institutional donors particularly DFID; Working in or coordinating Consortia and Urban WaSH programming; Budgets and Grants management.  As the role will be working across five agencies, strong communication and facilitation skills will be essential.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Technical

  • To advise Consortium agencies and other partners on the effective implementation of WASH projects in line with international best practice and government standards, and contribute to institutional learning
  • To lead on the harmonisation of unit costs across the Consortium and support procurement processes to ensure technical quality
  • To lead on technical inputs into the Consortium strategy and associated proposals and reporting
  • To coordinate and document Technical Working Group meetings (TWIG)
  • To provide technical advice to TWIG working groups,
  • To develop strong working relationships with Consortium agency teams and develop an in-depth understanding of their activities and support needs
  • To lead on the harmonisation of technical standards and WASH methodologies and approaches across the five Consortium agencies
  • To provide advice on the standardisation, best practice and improvement in WASH programming within the Consortium, in line with national guidelines and internal best practice

External coordination

  • To develop an in depth understanding of the WASH sector including standards, and institutional roles and responsibilities and actively participate in technical forums, using Consortium experience to drive sector strategy and policy development
  • To ensure that Consortium standards and activities correspond to the appropriate national standards by sharing relevant information with government partners
  • To coordinate with other programmes in the WASH sector and develop ways of working and coordination that improve programme quality and harmonization
  • To promote learning exchanges for Consortium members in international programmes.
  • To coordinate with the Liberia WASH Consortium to facilitate joint learning.

Capacity building and training

  • To develop and support capacity building initiatives and workshops with Consortium members, government partners or national organisations

Monitoring and Evaluation

  • Experience in carrying out assessments, quantitative and qualitative monitoring and evaluation methods.
  • Specific experience of developing and/or applying tools for organizational assessment and development
  • Experience of managing consultants for Monitoring and Evaluation purposes

General

  • Knowing where to find current and emerging best practice
  • Strong communication, information management and interpersonal skills
  • Excellent facilitation and interpersonal skills
  • Excellent written and spoken English with demonstrable experience of writing proposals and
  • reports for a variety of audiences including government, donors and INGOs
  • Strong analytical and problem solving skills
  • Ability to work under pressure often to strict deadline
  • Senior Management experience with an ability to represent organisations at a senior level
  • Proven experience and understanding of partnership management and working with government entities as well as civil society groups
  • Sound financial management skills
  • Understanding and commitment of the importance of gender in development programme delivery

DESIRABLE SKILLS AND COMPETENCE:

  • Understanding of the Sierra Leone context and experience of working in different countries within the West African region
  • Previous experience of working within a Consortium model or network of organisations.