About the job
Program: USAID WESTERN KENYA WATER PROJECT (WKWP)
Position: Water Services Lead
Employer: DAI Global
Period of Performance: May 1 2023-April 30 2024
Base of Operations: Kisumu, Kenya with frequent travel to Western Kenyan Counties
Position Reports to: Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP)
USAID Project Background:
The purpose of the Western Kenya Water Project (WKWP) is to increase the availability of, and access to, water services in Western Kenya, while enabling better management of water resources. The GOK’s goals for devolution and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals will drive our implementation of the Project, and we will thus focus on enabling county-wide approaches, supported by accessible models, tools, and data necessary for water security. We will employ an efficient and collaborative approach that makes best use of the natural, human, and financial resources available in Kenya across the public and private sectors. The project will work across eight counties in Western Kenya—Bungoma, Busia, Homa Bay, Kakamega, Kisii, Kisumu, Migori, and Siaya—and the Lake Victoria North and South Basins.
WKWP has three overarching goals:
- To increase the ability of selected county governments and service providers to deliver good quality, reliable, and safe water services to urban, peri-urban, and rural populations.
- To strengthen the systems within which providers operate—including governance, financing, and WRM—building a foundation for continued, sustained improvements in country water services.
- To support sector inclusivity, by helping to create channels for increased participated and meaningful engagement of the private sector, women and youth.
Objectives of the assignment
The Water Services Lead will manage WKWP’s rural water activities, implemented through Rural Water Specialists embedded in each county water department, together with STTA and Resource Firms. In coordination with the other component activities, the Water Services Lead
will help drive the identification and development of Service Delivery Models (SDMs) appropriate to the primary operating contexts across the rural areas of the eight counties. Learning is a critical element of this component, given the urgency to identify and scale successful models. It will be important to consult widely and collaborate with development partners, NGOs, professional operators, and social enterprises, like Water Starters and Maji Milele, to identify promising models and their prerequisites, which can be refined and supplemented through WKWP.
Tasks & Responsibilities
The WRM Lead will support the COP and Component leads in achievement of results identified in the SOW. S/He will support the integration of WKWP components, the formation of a collaborative and productive project team, and a county-led development process. Her/His specific responsibilities, conducted with the support of Resource Partners, STTA, and the WKWP team, are to:
- Identify, adapt, and support implementation of 4–6 SDMs aligned to an equivalent set of rural typologies based on key county characteristics. Where the model calls for PSE for O&M services, help develop contractual models, reporting and oversight procedures, and compensation mechanisms.
- Collaborate with WKWP Governance Specialists to help counties develop and enact legislation, policy, and financing frameworks to strengthen rural service provision.
- Increase regulation in the rural sector, particularly where enterprises are not ready for licensing. With county governments, the Water Services Lead will pursue 1) regulation through contract where private O&M contracting is viable; 2) support the adoption of policies by the County Assemblies and operationalization of regulations at the local level; and 3) increased transparency through data, monitoring and benchmarking improvements.
- Provide targeted support to strengthen operational performance of rural enterprises through a mix of corporate governance, business planning, revenue improvement strategies, customer service, NRW and water quality management capacity building and technical assistance to support the selected SDMs.
- Support 1) implementation of O&M results-based service contracts; 2) use of tools such as smart billing and payments; and 3) development of strategic and business plans and consumer outreach projects.
- Facilitate county and service provider co-investment in last-mile measures by helping communities to identify and prioritize needs, mobilizing infrastructure activities and technical assistance to meet those needs.
- Contribute to, and participate in, work-planning, co-creation, project reporting, project monitoring and result reporting, events, and learning activities
- Supervise seven direct reports: Rural Water Services Specialists in Bungoma, Busia, Homa Bay, Kakamega, Kisii, Migori, and Siaya while serving as Rural Water specialist in Kisumu County.
Qualifications
- A minimum of 8 years of professional experience in fields related to rural water service delivery.
- Experience and knowledge of working with and directly building the capacity of in the Kenyan rural water sector.
- An advanced graduate degree in a related field of study preferred, e.g. engineering, natural resource management, environmental sciences, or the social sciences;
- Experience with donor funded projects preferred.
- At least three years of management experience.
- English language written and verbal fluency essential.
Woman and persons of minority groups are encouraged to apply.
About the Company:
DAI works on the frontlines of global development by transforming ideas into action—action into impact. We just celebrated our 50th anniversary as a global development company with corporate offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, Brussels, EU, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Palestine and development projects across 150 countries. We tackle fundamental social and economic development problems caused by inefficient markets, ineffective governance, and instability. We are committed to shaping a more livable world.
DAI is a water security, sanitation, and hygiene (WSSH) sector leader with a dedicated team in DAI headquarters, and current and recent flagship USAID programs in Haiti, Indonesia, Kenya, Lebanon, Philippines, Nepal, and the Africa Regional WALIS Program. We have additional, and significant, WASH activities under our governance programs in Guatemala, Iraq, and Mozambique, among others. We recognize that societies get the greatest health and economic benefits from water and sanitation when we leverage benefits within and across sectors (and across our projects) and when local stakeholders are at the center of the decision-making process and part of a collaborative implementation approach.
Deadline: April 1, 2023.
*Early applicants are highly encouraged. Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible as interviews will be conducted soon. Please note, due to the volume of applications that we receive and the urgency to fill up positions, only shortlisted applicants will receive notification on the next steps.
APPLICATION LINK: https://fs23.formsite.com/OLJTgx/b9enortst0/index
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: Select the position in which you are interested in applying for, fill out the required information, and upload CV. Please note, due to the volume of applications, only shortlisted applicants will receive notification on the next steps.
