Advisor, WASH Research and Learning

Job category: Health

Requisition number: ADVIS005712

Job details

Description

Staff whose work requires or potentially could require any in-person interaction with Save the Children colleagues, partners, or beneficiaries must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 unless otherwise required by law. Save the Children complies with federal, state, and local laws with regard to accommodations related to this policy.

Summary

Save the Children (SC) is a global Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) leader with programming that advances essential services in communities, health facilities, and schools in development and emergency contexts across many countries. The WASH Research and Learning Advisor sits within the WASH team and will support SC’s Strengthening Practices, Adaptation Capacity, and Research for Knowledge and Learning in Agriculture, Natural Resource Management, Livelihoods and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (SPARK) Activity. SPARK is a USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) funded multi-year activity. The Advisor will work closely with the WASH Technical Director, the SPARK team, partners, and USAID colleagues to support the development and implementation of an integrated research, learning, and capacity strengthening strategy.

What You’ll Be Doing (Essential Duties)

Technical Guidance and Support (50% level of effort)

• Contribute to the overall development and implementation of the SPARK research, learning, capacity strengthening, and partner engagement strategy.
• Provide targeted technical support to Implementing Partners (IPs), local and regional partners, and national and international working groups to build their capacity for the systematic and effective collection, analysis, and utilization of data for decision-making and to strengthen WASH programming. This may include remote or in-person coaching or training on identifying research and learning questions, developing methodologies and sampling strategies, conducting primary and secondary data analysis, and using qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Develop and implement WASH capacity-building and knowledge-sharing activities, based on identified gaps, (e.g. , trainings, cross-site visits, peer to peer learning journeys, etc.) for humanitarian and emergency, early recovery, risk reduction, and resilience (ER4) partners in collaboration with IPs, USAID BHA, and local and regional partners.
• Provide remote and in-person mentoring support to USAID BHA partners, humanitarian partners, and the broader WASH and food security sector to deliver quality theories of change, research studies, capacity strengthening, learning activities, and other technical assistance needs as requested by the donor or implementers.
• Work closely with the Technical Leads and the Activity Director to support Resilience Food Security Activities (RFSAs) in their Refine and Implement year, including supporting partners on formative research and capacity strengthening.
• Work closely with the Program Cycle Support (PCS) Associate Award and SPARK colleagues and partners to co-design and pilot test a Refine and Implement toolkit that includes sector specific examples, tools, and templates that can support partners to carry out refinement activities relating to WASH, agriculture, livelihoods, and natural resource management.   
• Serve as an internal and external expert on WASH research and learning; represent SPARK at global forums including workshops, conferences, and meetings, and within global projects.

Program Learning, Knowledge Management, and Innovation (25% level of effort)

• Desk map at project start-up: Work closely with the SPARK Directors to develop and carry out the inception work with IPs, Global Clusters, USAID BHA and USAID Missions, universities, and regional and local partners to identify existing research, learning and capacity strengthening strategies, need assessments, and prioritization exercises related to SPARK’s technical areas. This will also include capturing best practices around localization, translating research into practice, and coordination/collaboration.
• Support secondary and primary data collection, analysis, and documentation during inception including conducting desk reviews, qualitative data inquiry, and validation workshops, in collaboration with the SPARK team and stakeholders.
• Monitor new developments, approaches, and evidence within the WASH and food security sectors, identifying evidence gaps and priorities for research and future documentation.
• Work with IPs, SPARK colleagues, USAID BHA and other stakeholders to develop, document, and disseminate project’s findings, best practices, lessons learned, and scale up efforts for technical and non-technical audiences. This includes webinars, learning briefs, storytelling, social media, video tutorials, and WhatsApp to increase engagement.
• Link practitioners to research, learning, and capacity strengthening opportunities conducted by other organizations (e.g., academic institutions, research bodies, and other international agencies).
• Work with SPARK leadership to identify and build partnerships and/or networks with external agencies and organizations including multilaterals, NGOs, and contractors to share and promote WASH and integrated water resource management (IWRM) research, learning, and innovation, and pursue opportunities to disseminate developed tools, with a special focus on local partners.
• Collaborate with the Global WASH Cluster’s Technical Working Group (TWG), the WASH Sector Roadmap partners, USAID BHA, other WASH investments, research and training institutions, and Communities of Practice to identify and implement priority activities (based on partner demand) including mapping research, learning, and capacity strengthening gaps and opportunities, updating standard and customized ToT modules, and working with national TWGs to customize and pilot test such training materials.

Program Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (15% level of effort)

• Work with the Technical Leads to provide strategic input into the development and implementation of the SPARK monitoring and evaluation plan.
• Serve as the lead on qualitative monitoring/inquiry into SPARK’s activities as part of a M&E plan and on looking at indicators related to Purposes 1, 2, and 3.
• Serve as the lead on human-centered design (HCD) approaches for SPARK’s activities, including supporting the team to use HCD approaches for internal learning.

Coordination (10% level of effort)

• Work with the Technical Director to solicit and manage short-term technical assistance based on specific program needs.
• Work with the Technical Director and Award Management to develop RFAs to solicit and manage research and learning partners.
• Contribute to SPARK’s reporting, annual work planning, operational planning, and other donor and SC requirements.
• Work closely with Award Management, Country Office, and procurement colleagues to undertake logistical preparations for events/activities.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience, plus at least 5 years of relevant experience
• Experience with qualitative and quantitative research (designing methodologies, data collection, analysis, and reporting), including in low resource settings
• Proficient in training and coaching others on research and learning methods, including on human centered design approaches
• Demonstrated expertise in developing and implementing online and in-person learning and training events for adults
• Experienced in supporting WASH programming in multi-sectoral food security programming
• Demonstrated ability to produce practitioner-friendly publications and conference presentations
• Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines with quality products
• International travel up to 20% of the time including travel to fragile or conflict prone zones
• Professional proficiency in MS Office suite
• Professional proficiency in spoken and written English
• Demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with individuals and teams at all levels, both internally and externally
• Demonstrated commitment to fostering and maintaining and environment of diversity, inclusion, and belonging

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced education in social sciences, research, public health, or environmental health
• Experience in designing programming that is Gender and Social Inclusion transformative
• Experience with USAID BHA funded projects and knowledge of USAID policies, standards, guidance, and protocols
• Expertise in one or more of SPARK’s technical or cross cutting themes including collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA), social and behavior change, humanitarian assistance, market-based approaches, rural water supply, water quality monitoring, water service operations and maintenance (O&M), WASH and nutrition multi-level governance and capacity building, WASH systems strengthening, demand-driven sanitation, or watershed management
• French or other bilingual language skills

Compensation

Save the Children is offering the following salary ranges for this position, dependent on candidate location:

• Geo 1 – NY Metro, DC, and other locations with labor costs significantly above national average: Target Salary for this position is $84,150 – $94,050 base salary
• Geo 2 – Locations around the US National Labor Cost Average: Target Salary for this position is $76,500 – $85,500 base salary
• Geo 3 – Locations significantly below the US National Labor Cost Average: Target Salary for this position is $68,850 – $76,950 base salary

Actual base salary may vary based upon, but not limited to, relevant experience, base salary of internal peers, business sector, and geographic location. Save the Children also offers paid vacation, accrued at least 12 days a year, depending on paygrade and length of service, paid safety and wellness leave of at least 1 day per month worked for a full time employee which is pro rata reduced for employees working less than a full time schedule, and at least 10 paid holidays a year. Employees may be eligible for additional bonus compensation. Save the Children US also offers outstanding benefits that include health, dental, vision and life insurances, short-term and long-term disability coverage, an Employee Assistance Program, a retirement savings plan with employer contribution, family leave, paid parental/adoption leave of 60 days, commuter benefits, paid caregiver leave days, 1 paid volunteer day a year, paid critical child illness leave days, dress for your day, and much more.   

Why you should join the Save the Children Team…

Save the Children US offers outstanding benefits that include health, dental, vision and life insurances, short-term and long-term disability coverage, an Employee Assistance Program, 403(b), generous vacation, personal sick leave, family leave, parental/adoption leave, commuter benefits, dress for your day, and much more. 

Click here to learn more about how Save the Children US will invest in YOU!

About Save the Children

No matter your role when you join Save the Children, each and every day you will challenge yourself to devote your skills, talent and expertise to changing the world for kids. It’s an ambitious goal, and a meaningful one no matter how you see yourself professionally: an accountant, a writer, a data analyst, a teacher, a driver, a designer, or any one of the hundreds of dozens of roles we’re looking to fill every day.

You see, Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share. 

Our work for children and their families requires that we commit—at every opportunity—to work together to identify and dismantle persistent systemic and structural racism, inequality, and any other forms of discrimination in this country and beyond.  As an anti-racist organization, Save the Children will not tolerate discrimination in any form—in our employment practices, amongst our staff, in our leadership or toward the people we serve. We stand in solidarity with all people to fight for equal rights, justice, inclusion, and belonging. 

We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, age, handicap, disability, marital status, or status as a veteran. Save the Children complies with all applicable laws. 

Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs and operations in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom we are in contact. All Save the Children representatives are explicitly prohibited from engaging in any activity that may result in any kind of child abuse. In addition, it is Save the Children’s policy to create and proactively maintain an environment that aims to prevent and deter any actions and omissions, whether deliberate or inadvertent, that place children at the risk of any kind of child abuse. All our representatives are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with this commitment and obligation.

Save the Children is committed to minimizing safety and security risks for our valued employees, ensuring all are given training, support and information to reduce their risk exposure while maximizing the impact of our programs for children and families. Our shared duty, both agency and individual, is to seek and maintain safe working conditions for all.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)