The Senior Water Specialist will report to the Program Manager of the 2030 Water Resources Group and work closely with the respective Practice Managers in the region, the local MSP leaders and partners from business, government, and civil society leaders who oversee and support the progress of the 2030 WRG work in the countries through their national country platform processes, and through the facilitation of more strategic working groups and other interest-driven activities.
The specific duties and accountabilities of the Senior Water Specialist will include, inter alia:
Lead the operationalization and coordination of technical staff in the participating countries to deliver on the 2030 WRG Regional Program, multistakeholder partnerships goals and priorities.
Lead the implementation of the Eastern Africa Region’s country programs in alignment with the 2030WRG Strategic Plan, in active consultation with World Bank management and MSP partners to achieve transformational impact on the ground at scale with milestones towards the goal of water security for partner countries by 2030.
Support the Program Manager in identifying opportunities to scale-up 2030WRG efforts in the region, such as expansion into new countries or new program areas while supporting existing country programs, and "graduating" the mature country programs into self-sustaining country partnership models, to allow for a focus on expansion to new countries.
Oversee the implementation of 2030 WRG Accelerator and Pre-Accelerator Programs and set the thematic agenda and knowledge exchange system across countries and the region.
Lead the production of high-caliber analytical products and technical assessments in line with the Regional Program needs and priorities and ensure that they are rigorously quality-assured following regular WBG procedures.
Fundraise and bring in new partners, including funding partners at the regional, and local levels, to ensure the financial sustainability of the regional and country programs and effective budget management.
Develop a strategy to leverage opportunities for resource mobilization at the country level, including tapping into World Bank Group and external Trust Funds.
Participate actively in Regional, Unit and Global Solution Groups (GSGs) meetings of the Water Global Practice, and Country Management Unit (CMU) meetings and activities in the respective countries and closely coordinate with all relevant groups in the World Bank and IFC to ensure alignment and visibility of 2030WRG internally and externally.
Work closely with the 2030WRG Global Communications team to strengthen 2030 WRG visibility, thought leadership, and impact communications globally, regionally and at country-level.
Engage with and maintain close ties with all 2030WRG partners in the respective countries in civil society, academia, and private sector partners at C-Suite levels. Build out different partnership formats and/or levels to be able to tap into a wider set of corporate and other relevant partnerships.
Selection Criteria:
Master’s degree in water resources, Environment, Economics, Finance, Engineering, Business Strategy, and/or Business Administration.
At least 8 years of regional and country-level work experience in program management, financing/business development, private sector development, public-private partnerships or water and other environmental issues, with significant experience working across organizations and sectors.
Clear understanding of the technical and policy drivers of the water sector and the political economy of reforms.
Demonstrated track record of successfully leading regional and national level transformational programs and delivering large-scale public-private partnership initiatives in water/sanitation/environment/ sustainability/resource security issues.
Well-established networks among key individuals and organizations associated with the water, climate, and environment agenda, ideally across public, private, and civil society sector activities in Eastern Africa
Proven ability to work with senior business leaders and leading experts in academia, technical staff in the World Bank Group or equivalent in other international organizations, senior-most government officials (at the Minister or Principal Secretary level), non-governmental organizations, as well as with representatives from grassroots organizations.
Team leadership skills, with proven capacity to supervise, coordinate and motivate team members in complex, highly decentralized, and matrixed organizational settings and manage regional and country budgets and work programs.
Outstanding verbal and written communication skills in English; proficiency in other languages desirable.
Direct experience and/or familiarity with the current and potential country partners of 2030 WRG is highly desirable.
