Water Supply Services Specialist

Water Supply Services Specialist

Project Background

The USAID/Nepal Karnali Water Activity will create healthy, resilient, and water secure communities at the watershed level through strengthened water and sanitation governance that improves water resource management (including water for more resilient and biodiverse ecosystems), enhances sustainable access to drinking water, improves agriculture water management, and reduces the fecal pathogen burden in the environment from poorly managed non-sewered sanitation through fecal sludge management. The program team will methodically integrate water resource management (WRM), watershed biodiversity conservation, and water and sanitation service delivery by mapping and strengthening the roles, connections, and capacities of key actors and stakeholders system-wide.

Primary Duties

The Water Supply Services Specialist will lead project activities related to increasing access to water supply services, including service provision quality and managing demand. S/he will provide technical inputs to interventions related to watershed management and improved sanitation. S/he will also direct technical assistance to WUSCs, WAGS, drinking water management boards, WASH management committees, local government WASH coordination committees, and municipalities related to governance, planning, budgeting, O&M, and other institutional reforms.

Essential Duties

• Provide leadership on all water supply services activities, including the identification, design and development of new and rehabilitated drinking water supply and multiple-use water service (MUS) schemes, infrastructure asset management, performance monitoring, and WUSC/WAG operations and maintenance support, including the establishment of cost-reflective tariffs
• Support the development of WUMPs, and integration of WASH Plans into WUMPs.
• Oversee the implementation of the WUMP process across Karnali Water Activity municipalities to finalize infrastructure site locations. Ensure WUMP alignment with local government budgeting and planning processes, as well as larger watershed management plans
• Ensure uptake of the WUMP process by local governments, including its integration with municipal planning, budgeting and monitoring processes
• Provide leadership in mobilizing communities for water supply and sanitation scheme construction and rehabilitation, including the development of individual scheme O&M plans and establishment/strengthening of infrastructure management committees and/or private water service providers
• Explore private sector WSS operating modalities through the facilitation of private sector-government roundtables to help identify candidate localities for PPP arrangements. Where PPP models are viable, assist local governments in developing contractual agreements aligned with the national policy and regulatory framework
• Work with municipalities and service providers to develop financial investment proposals for grants from provincial and federal government or financial institutions
• Where appropriate, lead analysis of capital investment needed for supply network expansion and improved
• Lead the development of municipal-level agricultural value chain business plans
• Provide design, local procurement and supervision support for water supply engineering works and subcontracting in coordination with Senior Water and Sanitation Engineers, Field Engineers and Municipal Coordinators (MCs)
• Support and ensure the delivery of 270 rehabilitated or newly constructed water supply systems and the development of 50 MUS schemes
• Support the One Water asset mapping/inventory and vulnerabilities assessments, ensuring alignment with and uptake of new data into the National WASH M&E/MIS Platform
• Provide technical direction and support to Field Engineers and MCs 
• Working with embedded MCs, coordinate activities with Bhakarai Activity, as well as USAID FtF projects and other WASH partners working in Karnali River Basin and Nepal, at large
• Support development of annual work plans
• Participate in development and implementation of the monitoring, evaluation, and learning plan for indicators related to his activity areas
• Provide timely, detailed, and accurate trip, activity, quarterly, annual, and final reports

Level of Effort/Timeline

This position is full-time with 8 working hours per day or 40 working hours per week. The employment contract will be on a yearly basis, with possible extensions until the close of the project. The position is based in Surkhet and reports to the Deputy Chief of Party.

Qualifications

• A master’s degree in a development-related field with a minimum of 12 years of progressively responsible experience and expertise working on local and/or international projects focused on community development for peri-urban and rural water systems and services OR a bachelor’s degree in a development-related field with minimum of 14 years of progressively responsible experience and expertise working on local and/or international projects focused on community development for peri-urban and rural water systems and services (For excluded groups-10 years of experience with a master's degree and 12 years of experience with a bachelor's degree).
• Proven ability to develop new ideas and find solutions for water security challenges as well as have excellent ability to work with counterparts at various levels of government, community water management committees, water utilities, as well as with various partners (e.g. NGOs, donors)  
• Strong experience with the WUMP process, WASH plans, and NWASH M&E system highly preferred. 
• Demonstrated ability to ensure local government adoption of key sector policy reforms and increased sector financing, including experience negotiating cost-share arrangements for key WSS infrastructure.
• Knowledge and experience facilitating private sector engagement in service delivery, are highly desirable. 
• Strong analytical, negotiation, interpersonal and communication, and multidisciplinary skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and demonstrated success making connections with key stakeholders to enhance the adoption of GESI principles.
• An energetic, forward-thinking and creative individual with high ethical standards and appropriate professional image.
• An extremely well organized and self-directed individual with sound technical skills, analytical ability, good judgment, and strong operational focus.
• Strong ethics and experience dealing with sensitive community dynamics and conflict. 
• Professional verbal and written fluency in English, as well as strong writing skills.
• Ability to write coherent and analytical reports.

Application link: https://fs23.formsite.com/OLJTgx/yhqhbtjtzv/index.html?1655849592582

Application instructions:

Select the position in which you are interested in applying for, fill out the required information, and upload CV. 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 notifications on next steps.

Interested candidates should submit their application no later than July 5, 2022

DAI promotes workforce diversity and considers excluded groups to include women, Dalits, indigenous ethnic groups, Madhesi, Muslim, persons with disabilities, people living in remote areas, and sexual and gender minorities.