Description
RANO MAHARITRA is a 5-year project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which started in January 2024.
The goal of the Project is to improve sustainable and equitable access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services for rural households. In collaboration with the Government of Madagascar (GoM) and various experts, the program aims to overcome barriers to gender equality, social inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (DEIA) to achieve four key objectives:
- Component 1 (C1): Strengthen governance and capacity to ensure access to WASH services.
- Component 2 (C2): Increase financial resources to support the WASH sector.
- Component 3 (C3): Improve supply of WASH products and services to meet needs.
- Component 4 (C4): Increase demand for and use of WASH products and services.
RANO MAHARITRA promotes a systems approach to promote sustainable and locally managed WASH services, with a focus on GESI, DEIA and localization to empower communities, particularly women and youth.
The project, led by CARE International in consortium with partners WaterAid, iDE, MiarakaP, BushProofand Sandandrano, encourages partnerships with governments, institutions, civil society organizations, communities, the private sector and beneficiaries.
The project is implemented in ten districts of seven regions of Madagascar: Atsimo-Atsinanana, Anosy, Androy, Betsiboka, Fitovinany, Sofia, and Vatovavy.
About iDE
iDE is an international NGO with 40 years of experience in designing and delivering market- based solutions to poverty. iDE is headquartered in Denver, Colorado USA and operates in 11 countries around the world.
iDE believes inclusive markets are the most powerful tool for creating prosperity, building resilience, and ultimately ending poverty. By listening to every stakeholder—producers, suppliers, retailers and customers—we can overcome critical bottlenecks and develop lasting solutions. At iDE, we continually challenge assumptions, make effective data- and evidence-driven decisions, and enable agile delivery of strategies and resources toward improved outcomes for our interventions. We also work to transform beliefs and practices that perpetuate inequality and use the knowledge we acquire to design social and behavioral change programming that promotes the creation of resilient market ecosystems that benefit all people.
Scope of Work
Reporting to the RANO MAHARITRA Market-Based Sanitation and Social and Behavior Change (MBS & SBC) Advisor, the MBS Specialist is a key member of the project team contributing to Components 3 and 4 of the RANO MAHARITRA project. The MBS Specialist will ensure that human-centered design and market-based approaches and strategies are being used at all stages of the project. The MBS Specialist will promote approaches that integrate GESI-DEAI considerations.
The RANO MAHARITRA project adopts a culture of continuous learning. The MBS Specialist will work closely with the MBS & SBC Advisor, DCOP, the other Senior Advisors, the Country Coordinator and the Strategic Learning Lead for regular learning sessions.
We are looking for a Market-based Sanitation Specialist who is comfortable leading innovation projects, managing client relationships, and, most importantly, using market-based approaches in the WASH sector to improve WASH behaviors under USAID RANO MAHARITRA. While reporting to the project’s SBC & MBS Advisor, the MBS Specialist will be supported by iDE’s Global WASH technical team and iDE’s Innovation Lab – a global team of 15 specialists, including designers, researchers and changemakers working on various projects with a social innovation focus in Latin America, Asia and Africa.
Requirements
YOUR PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Conduct comprehensive assessments and formative, ethnographic research like desk research, expert interviews, designing research plans, etc to understand target audiences, including their motivations, barriers, and social norms related to market-based sanitation solutions, and use findings to inform intervention design
- Understand current product and service offerings in sanitation including, their pricing, financing options, supply chains, sales and marketing efforts in order to identify barriers and opportunities
- Lead the development and implementation of MBS strategies and campaigns tailored to address specific WASH challenges identified during the formative research phase
- Design MBS materials, tools, and activities utilising participatory methodologies, social marketing techniques, and communication channels appropriate to the context
- Collaborate with project teams to integrate MBS components into program planning, monitoring, and evaluation frameworks, ensuring alignment with project objectives and indicators
- Provide technical guidance and capacity building support to project staff, partners, and community volunteers on MBS solutions and best practices
- Facilitate stakeholder engagement processes, including community consultations, focus group discussions, and participatory workshops, to ensure local ownership and sustainability of MBS initiatives, following a participatory approach
- Synthesise findings and presenting them in digestible and visual ways for project stakeholders
- Design strategies and action plans for MBS solutions and coach field staff on their implementation
- Co-run fun and engaging co-creation/brainstorming workshops in the field with communities and the office with iDE colleagues
- Build and develop prototypes and testing loops that will inform the design of the MBS solutions and validating the designed MBS solutions in the field
- Make well-reasoned and timely decisions as required to move the project forward
- Inspire and coach your colleagues on MBS approaches
THE TYPE OF EXPERIENCE THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:
- At least 3 years of experience working in a design or innovation management position with ample experience in applying Market-based Sanitation or Market-based Approach and/or Human-Centered Design methodology
- Experienced in applying various innovation methodologies to projects (human-centered design, rapid prototyping and testing)
- Strong skills and experience in analysing, synthesizing and coming up with digestible strategies and action plans based on the design research effort
- Experience in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene sector
- Possessing visual design or product design skills
- Experienced in facilitating workshops (HCD, co-creations, stakeholder alignments)
- Have confidence in presenting in front of large audiences
- Skilled in using Google Workspace as well as design and project management software like Mural, Asana, etc
- Fluency in French, English and Malagasy (written and spoken) is required
BONUS POINTS IF YOU HAVE:
- A designer with a business/marketing background or as an entrepreneur
- Experience working on digital solutions (UX Design, ICT tools)
- Interest in working with different countries, across diverse cultural environments, or remote areas
- Interested in innovation management methodologies and tools (sprint/agile project
- management, lean, stage gates)
IDEALLY, WE WOULD LOVE TO FIND SOMEONE THAT:
- Is optimistic, passionate, dynamic, and curious
- Is a fast learner and very hands-on
- Is open and happy to share new methods and ideas with the team
- Is an autonomous problem-solver with a mind full of ideas ready to be tested
- Brings a positive attitude to the team and doesn’t take themselves too seriously
- Is driven by a social mission
- Has cultural sensitivity and respect towards unfamiliar contexts
- Has a flexible mindset, is agile and adaptive, and at the same time takes into account
- their capacity, deadlines and limitations
- Has excellent time management skills
- Can embrace uncertainty and manage stress
- Will challenge the status quo to create creative solutions
- Is tech savvy
Benefits
DIVERSITY STATEMENT
iDE takes pride in our talented and diverse workforce. Minorities, women, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Hiring, promotion, and compensation of employees are conducted without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, or age.
Application Deadline: April 4, 2024.
