Position: Project Officer, AWP (KY)
Location: Letcher County, Kentucky; frequent travel required throughout US Central Appalachian Region
Employment Type: Full-time, Salaried, Exempt
Compensation Range: $55,000-$65,000/year DOE
Level: Coordinator II / Officer
Reports To: Director, Appalachia Water Project
Manages: Water & Sanitation Technicians
Supported By: Appalachia Water Project team, Operations team, Development team
Education/Experience Preferences: Bachelor’s Degree, or equivalent professional experience preferred
Start Date: ASAP
We Are DigDeep
The DigDeep Right to Water Project is a WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) organization serving the 2 million + people in the U.S. who still don’t have a tap or a toilet at home.
DigDeep believes access to clean water is a human right. We run several nationally recognized programs that empower communities to build their own water and sanitation systems. We won the 2018 US Water Prize for our Navajo Water Project, which has brought clean, running water to hundreds of Native families across New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. DigDeep launched the Appalachia Water Project in 2020, DigDeep launched the Appalachia Water Project in 2020, in McDowell County, WV. It has since brought clean, sustainable running water to hundreds of families in Southern West Virginia through public – private partnerships with the McDowell County and East Logan PSD’s in Wyoming County. In addition to clean running water, the project is installing septic systems and connecting households to centralized sewer. The AWP is now expanding into neighboring states of Kentucky and Virginia to continue its quest of clean water for every Appalachian family. Our water projects expanded in 2022 when we launched our Colonias Water Project. This project works to bring clean, running water to the residents living in communities along the Texas-Mexico border. The Texas colonias are largely unincorporated, low-income communities that fall just outside city limits and often lack basic infrastructure. Our work began in Cochran colonia near El Paso. DigDeep partnered with residents, housing nonprofits, and county officials to innovate a new model for public-private-partnership that brings these basic services to families for the first time. Now we’re getting the water flowing in 5 more communities.
The Opportunity
DigDeep is looking for a dynamic, motivated, collaborative person to join our growing Appalachia Water Project team as the Project Officer in a newly opening Kentucky office. Reporting to the Appalachia Water Project Director (Director), the Project Officer will support research, logistics, and administration of DigDeep’s growing suite of community-led WASH projects in the Central Appalachia Region of the United States. Under the supervision of the Director, the Project Officer will be responsible for the oversight of the day-to-day operations of the Kentucky site. This includes implementing program activities; assisting with budgeting and staffing; collaborating and coordinating with the relevant local; regional and state government agencies; external partners and community members, while maintaining strong communication with multiple departments within DigDeep.
Key Responsibilities
This is what you’ll do once you join the team:
Project Management
- Collaborate with the Director, AWP, to plan DigDeep’s work in Letcher County, KY and the surrounding areas in eastern Kentucky and southwest Virginia to serve people with excellence and efficiency.
- Identify communities in the project area needing WASH assistance; help develop strategies for serving these communities based on their unique needs and resources.
- Work with Director to establish basic foundational processes and procedures of AWP Kentucky working area in preparation for expansion: including but limited to: ordering supplies, monitoring inventory, identifying storage and potential future office space, creating a AWP Kentucky process manual, and additional duties as directed.
Deliver Services
- Assist with planning and implementing WASH programs that meet the challenges faced by communities in Letcher County, KY and the surrounding areas.
- Manage and organize the local community information and data gathering process, which includes, but is not limited to: engaging in regular off-site/in the field site visits; conducting resident assessments and collecting intake data; assisting in preparing Cooperative Partnership Agreements; gathering client approvals; organizing and preparing data for storytelling use.
- Plan and direct field work according to the plan laid out by the Director to meet all objectives, budgets, and timelines.
- Routinely visit all project sites in Letcher County and the surrounding areas.
- Work with the Director and other necessary departments to ensure program compliance with relevant laws as well as all workplace employee policies.
Steward Resources
- Collaborate with the Development team to maximize all revenue and storytelling opportunities, especially those related to major donor cultivation and annual campaigns.
Build Partnerships
- Foster an environment that promotes trust and cooperation among staff, community members, elected leaders, partner organizations and the public.
- Collaborate with the Director to set targets and timelines and to identify and begin establishing maintain partnerships with local governments, water providers, regulators, nonprofits, businesses, and community members.
- Represent DigDeep at relevant conferences and events as assigned.
People/Team Management
- With the support of the Director, perform day-to-day supervisory duties as the Appalachia (Kentucky) Water Project team expands which will include, but is not limited to: creating work schedules for growing team and monitoring attendance; allocating daily tasks and site work according to project priorities and plans; assisting in hiring, onboarding, and offboarding procedures; and supporting the Director in regular performance reviews and/or disciplinary processes.
- Lead and facilitate regular staff meetings and 1:1 individual check-ins with team, virtually and in-person as appropriate; provide strong day-to-day leadership that bridges multiple communication contexts to ensure all team members and clients are heard and understood.
- Uphold the unique culture of DigDeep by implementing values-aligned operations and leadership strategies for all work conducted by the Appalachia Water Project office.
- Provide clear, concise reports on plans, processes, and outcomes to the Director.
This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. As the organization continues to evolve, duties or tasks may change without impacting the overall Job Description.
Competencies
- Initiative: Deep questioning of processes; begins to suggest improvements. Seeks out new challenges that require risk taking. Determines the resources, team support, and technical needs necessary to enable success and procures them. Identifies solutions and makes recommendations before being asked or before the situation requires it. Able to focus in the face of pressure, deliver against timelines and not be intimidated by tasks/time limitations.
- Communication: Professional presence, strong written and verbal communications skills, gaining ability to appropriately represent both oneself and the company in external facing situations, able to adapt and react appropriately to novel circumstances. Ability to effectively determine and use appropriate written and visual communications, graphics, statistics, presentations, and language in such a way as to have maximum impact on the intended audience. Handles conflict empathetically. Conducts/Leads discussions with and writes memoranda to all levels of colleagues and peer groups in ways that support understanding, troubleshooting, and problem solving. Seeks and shares relevant information, opinions, and judgments. Explains the context of interrelated situations, asks probing questions, and solicits multiple resources of advice prior to taking action when appropriate.
- Collaborative Working: Actively solicits ideas and opinions from others to efficiently and effectively accomplish specific objectives targeted at defined business outcomes. Openly encourages other team members to voice their ideas and concerns, helps bridge conversation.
- Change Management: Receives/follows direction, but should be able to lead certain aspects of projects under less supervision. Proposes and implements own ideas and suggestions in order to develop and streamline processes. Deliver value to a specific functional area, but is conscious of other department goings-on. Ability to simultaneously work on and may help lead multiple projects. Able to complete increasingly complex/ambiguous projects through a greater understanding of the industry and organization’s goals.
- Analytical Thinking: Beginning to gather information needed to address problems and inconsistencies. Organizes and synthesizes information in order to reduce it into its fundamental issues. Using the information, identifies probable causes of problem. Identifies options and solutions for addressing problems and inconsistencies. Gathers all relevant information to address a problem or inconsistency. Investigates to define problem more accurately. With some guidance, determines importance and priorities for action.
Skills and Qualifications
We want to hear from you if you have:
- Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent professional experience preferred
- At least 3 years of applicable professional experience required; experience in nonprofit or local government sector, and / or water service preferred.
- At least 3 years experience managing a team required
- Diploma/Certification/Hands-On experience in a skilled trade (electrician, carpenter, plumber, etc.) preferred
- Proficiency in MS Office Suite, Google Workspace, Quickbooks required
- Experience with Slack, Asana, Zoom preferred
- High computer literacy, and tech savviness required
- Experience/willingness to work across various cultural contexts and communicating across cultural differences required
- Good physical condition required; able to lift at least 25 lbs
- Fluency/strong proficiency in Appalachian culture required
- Willingness to travel, including but not limited to: Navajo Nation (AZ/NM/UT), West Virginia, Kentucky, Texas, DigDeep HQ (CA), and additional locations as needed
- Understanding of data security best practices preferred
- Residency in one of the counties of the project strongly preferred (KY – Letcher, Knott, Harlan, VA – Wise, Dickenson)
Compensation and Benefits
At DigDeep, we believe that great work requires a great job. We understand that people thrive with rest and holistic support, which is crucial for our long-term success. We take pride in offering top-notch benefits to our team across the United States, prioritizing their health and wellbeing, as well as providing additional support for our employees’ families. If you join us, here’s how we’ll support you in your work:
- Competitive wage to commensurate with level of position
- Generous vacation and sick leave
- 23 weeks paid Parental Leave
- Annual Professional Development Stipend
- Annual Wellbeing Reimbursement
- Health Benefits
- Employee Offering: Medical, dental, vision insurance, 100% employer paid
- Spouse/Children/Family Offering: Employer covers up to $500 of the monthly cost for medical insurance for spouse/children/family; Employer covers 100% of the cost for dental and vision insurance for spouse/children/family
- One Medical membership
- Life insurance, 100% employer paid
- Work laptop
- Monthly cell phone use allowance
- Monthly internet use allowance
- 15 paid holidays (including one week closure for Labor Day)
- Domestic travel
- 401k retirement plan, with employer match
Interested?
When applying, please submit a thoughtful cover letter and resume. References should be available upon request. No office visits. No calls please.
DigDeep has adopted a COVID-19 vaccination policy to safeguard the health of our employees and community at large. Candidates applying to work at DigDeep should be ready to demonstrate proof of receiving a COVID-19 vaccination and booster as a condition of their employment.
In an effort to promote pay equity and transparency, DigDeep does not negotiate compensation outside of posted compensation ranges. DigDeep’s compensation is based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to: internal budget analysis, external market value, internal pay alignment, and annual merit increases. A candidate’s compensation history will not be used in determining compensation at DigDeep.
Please note that DigDeep cannot provide immigration sponsorship for this position.
DigDeep is deeply committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. We believe social change happens when people with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and identities come together with a common purpose. DigDeep is built on the principles of equity, transparency and the power of human experience. Your work will improve the daily lives of real people. We believe everybody should have the clean, running water they need to thrive. Join us, and we’ll close the US water gap in our lifetimes.
DigDeep is a certified Great Place to Work®
