This position is contingent upon project award and funding.
Water For People is a global nonprofit working across nine countries, bringing together communities, local entrepreneurs, and governments to build and maintain water and sanitation services that will last. We have a sustainable solution to end the global water and sanitation crisis, and our employees across the world help drive this solution.
POSITION OBJECTIVE:
Water For People is seeking an experienced Chief of Party (COP) for the anticipated USAID/India-funded “Transformative Partnerships for Climate Resilient WASH Initiative” project. The overall goal of the project is to strengthen and expand inclusive, climate-resilient, and low-emissions water security and sanitation through collaborative approaches to position India as a global leader in the water, sanitation, and hygiene sector. It seeks to promote innovative water and sanitation approaches that have broad scalability potential to improve water security and safely managed sanitation services for all in India and beyond. This initiative also aims to promote inclusive development, climate-resilience, knowledge management, and the creation of collaborative platforms. By addressing key systemic issues, this initiative aims to not only tackle immediate challenges but also lay the groundwork for sustained, long-term improvements in water, sanitation, and hygiene outcomes across India and beyond.
The project is also expected to contribute to the Government of India’s priorities in WASH, particularly in relation to major urban programs such as Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 2.0. This alignment can also extend to rural WASH priorities to promote comprehensive water and sanitation solutions across diverse geographic contexts. The project will also seek to engage a diverse range of partners, including new, nontraditional, and local actors to address persistent challenges in WASH and Water Resources Management not adequately addressed by other USAID investments.
The COP will be responsible for technical leadership, management and administrative oversight, and overall coordination and successful implementation of the project. They will serve as principal institutional liaison with USAID, the GOI, and other key stakeholders. They will manage staff and ensure that the project meets stated goals and reporting requirements, as well as ensure the quality, timeliness, and efficiency of all products and activities generated under it.
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS & DUTIES:
Technical Leadership
- Provide strategic direction for the project. Develop and update the project strategic approaches, ensuring that programmatic directions are technically sound, evidence-based and consistent with global and country priorities.
- Ensure that project performance objectives and mandated deliverables such as technical activities, annual work plans, and programmatic/financial/technical reports are completed in a timely fashion and meet the highest quality standards.
- Ensure leadership and management reinforce commitment to knowledge sharing among the team and to building and strengthening capacity of local partners.
Program and Operations management
- Provide leadership and direction to monitoring and evaluation strategies, frameworks, plans and indicators to capture project performance and results.
- Lead a periodic implementation review process to monitor progress and to identify specific actions that may be needed to achieve expected results.
- Develop, monitor and revise budget pipeline and conduct monthly reviews to ensure accountability of all project activities as well as the accurate and timely reporting of finance deliverables.
- Manage funds and approve expenditure in accordance with Water For People and USAID procedures, cost principles, and regulations.
Manage Partners and Sub Awardees
- In coordination with Water For People’s Global Hub office, contract with and manage local individuals/organizations for identified tasks according to USAID and Water For People procedures.
- Manage and coordinate activities of subcontractors and partners to create synergy and ensure that project responsibilities are carried out in accordance with donor regulations.
- Ensure capacity strengthening of staff and partners is an intrinsic part of project activities
Representation and Liaison with Donor and key stakeholders
- Cultivate and strengthen positive, productive relationships with USAID, partners, GOI agencies, civil society organizations ensuring that Water For People is consistently viewed as an effective implementing partner in meeting and achieving project targets.
Compliance
- Work with Water For People Global Hub office project management staff to implement and monitor policies and procedures that improve efficiency and quality.
- In collaboration with project staff, establish and maintain the ongoing administrative and financial operations of project offices, ensuring compliance with Water For People’s policy and USAID contract provisions.
- Partner successfully with Water For People’s financial, technical, and operations backstop business units to share project progress, learning and challenges, maximize interface of activities across countries and projects and to receive timely support to address needs.
BEHAVIORS AND COMPETENCIES:
Connect to Mission – Work to integrate own behaviors with the mission of the organization; connect the organization’s mission with established structure and activities; actively work to improve the capabilities of teams; actions and decisions are taken with the organization in mind
Manage through Ambiguity – Adapt to people, shifting demands, and changing priorities with ease; create clear picture of the importance and relevance of change; find way to apply innovative ideas to enhance business results
Demonstrate Cultural Awareness – Establish an inclusive environment; is appreciative, affirming and inclusive of all cultural backgrounds; demonstrate active listening, empathy and effective engagement to increase cultural competence
Action-oriented – Integrate a variety of information or translate corporate strategy; drive innovation to create competitive edge; introduce substantive improvements to enhance performance throughout a functional area; create something that stands out against the norm to help deliver industry-leading performance
Sense of Team – Facilitate collaboration; invest in building relationships; advocate ideas and effectively negotiate to achieve mutually successful outcomes; know and consider the capabilities of coworkers in own actions; bring people together across boundaries, leveraging differences to achieve results as a team
Build Talent and Team – Build sustainable talent pipeline; look beyond own team, towards building organizational capacity; review employees’ capabilities to assess organization capacity to deliver on strategy; challenge individuals to champion the talent management agenda; benchmark people capability and people processes
Impact and Influence – Empower teams to perform; appropriately use the power of the position as well as personal influence to achieve outcomes; persuade others to willingly pursue a course of action against their initial inclination; create a team spirit of excitement and positive motivation; hold the group/team accountable to higher goals based on greater empowerment
EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS REQUIRED:
Minimum Education and Work Experience
- A master’s degree or higher in engineering, public health, social sciences, environmental health, or a related advanced degree.
- 10+ years of experience managing large grant-funded projects including interacting with local governments, international organizations, and other key stakeholders.
- Proven leadership in project management and a strong track record of meeting targets and deadlines
- Previous experience as a USAID-funded Chief of Party on WASH activities is strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated experience with building and maintaining effective partnerships and leveraging resources with development stakeholders.
- In-depth knowledge of integrated rural and urban WASH activities, preferably in India.
- Demonstrated management skills working with complex programs involving short deadlines, multiple tasks, intense pressure to perform, and coordination with multiple partners.
- Thorough understanding of and ability to analyze financial documents, projections, expenditures, and accruals.
- Excellent diplomatic, interpersonal, and communication (written and verbal) skills in English.
- Demonstrated capabilities in institutional capacity building, and high-level strategic visioning and leadership.
- Proven experience in designing, implementing, monitoring, and WASH, preferably with USAID, or other donor organizations working in the WASH.
- Demonstrated supervision experience of senior staff and technical experts.
Preferred Education and Work Experience
- Demonstrated credibility as a leader in WASH in India.
- Significant operations and financial management experience in India.
- Demonstrated supervision experience of senior staff and technical experts.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/WORKING CONDITIONS:
- Regular travel to program sites.
- This position has the option to work from an office in India or remotely in India.
- Ability to work outside regular business hours to meet with team members located in other time zones.
- Qualified Indian nationals strongly encouraged to apply.
Note: This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, or qualifications associated with the job.
Benefits:
Our benefits program encompasses both a competitive local package and some global benefits that are geared to encourage healthy living for you and your family, along with a flexible work environment. Our health package includes medical, dental and vision coverage, as well as a Telehealth benefit. Additionally, we offer parental leave for growing families and sick days to care for yourself or your family when needed.
Water For People cannot provide immigration sponsorship for this position.
Water For People is committed to protecting children encountered during our work and by our employees, preventing sexual abuse and exploitation of all individuals with a particular focus on women and children and other marginalized communities in the performance of our work, preventing human trafficking in the performance of our work and in our supply chain and to having a drug-free workplace. During the recruitment processes, additional documentation will be requested to comply with our policies and in accordance with the legal requirements in your country of residency, this includes a background check. If you apply for employment, we want you to be aware of our recruitment, selection and hiring processes including important policies regarding employee conduct.
Water For People is an equal opportunity employer who is committed to creating a culture of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in our workplace. For this position we strongly encourage women and people with disabilities to apply. Water for people strives to create and maintain a level of diversity that reflects the communities we serve. Achieving this—regardless of race, ethnicity, ancestry, tribal affiliation, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, veteran status, disability, socioeconomic class, educational attainment, or other social identities is critical to our ability to have a world where every person has access to reliable and safe water and sanitation services.
Our commitment ensures that we:  
- Have a different array of thinking that comes from diverse backgrounds and cultures, enabling us to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges.
- Strive for a culture of inclusion and belonging by treating each other with dignity, respect, and appreciation enabling us to feel welcome, supported, and valued.
- Effectively connect, communicate, and build long-lasting relationships with stakeholders within our diverse communities.
- Have diversity of thought, perspectives, backgrounds, identities, and talents that will support our mission to develop high-quality drinking water and sanitation services are available to Everyone Forever
