Senior Manager Influence via DevNetJobsIndia

About Water For People

Water For People India is a non-profit organization which supports people of developing countries to improve their quality of life by promoting locally sustainable drinking water sources, sanitation facilities and health and hygiene programs. We believe that access to safe water and adequate sanitation are basic human rights and can help put an end to needless suffering and mortality from water related preventable diseases.

Water For People India initiated its operations in West Bengal in 1996 in Nadia and North 24 Parganas districts. Consistent with the global vision and mission, we exist to promote the development of high-quality drinking water and sanitation services, accessible to all, and sustained by strong communities,  businesses,  and  governments.  We  have  5  organizational  values:  Collective Transformation, Environmental Stewardship, Integrity, Courage, and Amplify All Voices. Water For People India programs have been implemented in 26 districts in the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Assam.

In all, nearly 1.6 million people have been reached through community drinking water and sanitation, WASH in public institutions and market led approaches to sanitation. By 2023, Water For People India programs aim to directly benefit 2.7 million people. We aim to build capacities at the district level which will contribute to organizational commitments, thereby indirectly benefitting 14.8 million people. Water For People India implements programs through locally registered non-government organizations.

Job Description

High level Institutional and individual will for universal and sustainable access to water and sanitation services drives accelerated progress toward SDG 6.

Water For People is seeking an enthusiastic and strategic Influence Specialist to join it’s India Country Program. The Influence Specialist will play a pivotal role in advancing Water For People’s mission by effectively influencing key stakeholders, including government and civil society organizations, and private sector partners. This role requires a dynamic individual who can work closely with the Communication Specialist and contribute significantly to thought leadership of Water For People and resource mobilization efforts.

Working through partnership is another key commitment for Water For People as we work towards achieving SDG 6. Our aim is to seek out and form strong partnerships with National and State Governments, Civil Society Actors like NGOs and Academic Institutions as well as the private sector to work towards a common mission.

Purpose of the Position : Create purposive engagements and drive collective impact by collaborating with Governments, Civil Society and Private sector actors.

The Influence specialist will work closely with multiple functions like Communications, Resource mobilisation, programs at the national and states. Water For People’s work is located within the wider policy environment related to WASH and the role of the position would be to keep the organisation informed about the changes and also inform the policies based on the learning from our work.

The success of the role is pivotal to the success of the Country Strategy.

Key Responsibilities

1. Tracking changes in the external environment related to WASH++

• Keep track of national and state policies, guidelines related to water, sanitation, hygiene, health, rural development etc and share the analysis of the same with concerned team members for improving our program design.
• Engage with sector actors to keep track of best practices related to our work and share the trends within the organization.
• Identify and collate relevant articles, research papers and news items and share within the team. 

2. Curation of programmatic work for various audiences

• Curate the key messages and learn from our programmatic work keeping the needs of specific audiences like the Government, funding organizations, social media.
• Collaborate with the communications and partnership development teams to disseminate the key messages for shaping the sectoral thinking.
• Work closely with the knowledge management, MEL, program teams to develop artefacts like articles, blogs, case studies, policy briefs etc
• Commission research with external agencies for curation of learnings. 

3. Collaboration with sector actors towards collective action 

• Close coordination with relevant central ministries for creating engagements with Water For People and sharing information related to our work.
• Cocreate research projects with various ministries and programs that contribute to generation of knowledge related to water, sanitation, hygiene and related domains like health, livelihoods and climate change.
• Identify and engage with relevant academic institutions for collaborations around internships, research etc
• Convene meetings, consultations, workshops with sector actors for cross sharing, consensus building and strategies for joint action in close collaboration with the Government.
• Anchor processes like national sector assessment in collaboration with other sector actors. 
• Organise learning events/ webinars for internal team and external actors periodically in collaboration with other team members. 

4. Strategy, representation and internal collaboration 

• Provide leadership in developing the influence strategy for Water For People, in close collaboration with State and National teams.
• Coordinate closely with Water For People global influence team, One For All Colleagues and other allies and coalitions like Agenda For Change(A4C) and Sanitation and Water For All (SWA) etc.
• Actively participate in developing annual plans and support State teams in planning and implementing influence and resource mobilisation related plans.
• Represent Water For People in various national and international events and actively drive the thought leadership around WASH and climate change related issues. 

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy, International Relations, Communications, or a related field. A Master’s degree is preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in advocacy, public relations, or a related role, preferably within the non-profit or WASH sector.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and engage government officials, civil society organizations, and private sector partners.
• Strong understanding of WASH issues and the ability to communicate complex concepts to diverse audiences.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Proven track record in resource mobilization and engaging with donors and CSR funding agencies (optional)
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment and coordinate with multiple stakeholders.
• Self driven, proactive and ability to collaborate with others as a natural instinct.
• Strategic thinker with strong organizational and project management skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and other relevant software. 

Additional Requirements:

• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally as required.
• Commitment to Water For People’s mission and values.

Important:

The ideal candidate will need to be inclusive and embrace our values of Collective Transformation, Environmental Stewardship, Integrity, Courage, and Amplify All Voices. 

Email ID for CV Submission: pe.wfp@kaeleste.com and cc to hr-india@waterforpeople.org with subject line “Senior Manager Influence”

How to Apply:

Please apply on email id mentioned above on or before 12 July 2024, while mentioning title of the position in subject line.

We will start the interview process soon based on suitable applications. You are asked to apply ASAP. 

Water For People is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture.

Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with strict confidence.

Water For People has ZERO Tolerance on sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment including sexual harassment and gender / racial discrimination. Any selection therefore will be subject to satisfactory reference and background check.