Water and Sanitation Advisor

Vacancy Announcement #168/2023

Water and Sanitation Advisor

Qualification and Employment Prospects for Refugees, Internally Displaced People and Host Communities in Ethiopia II – Social Transformation Cluster

Contract duration: 31.10.2027

Application deadline: 06.10.2023

Number of Positions: 1

Duty station: Assosa, Benishangul Gumuz

On behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, GIZ is committed to improving the employment prospects of refugees and the host population in regions of Ethiopia. The project ” Qualification and Employment Prospects for Refugees, Internally Displaced People and Host Communities in Ethiopia II” has as objective to develop skills and provide employment opportunities for refugees, internally displaced persons and members of host communities in Ethiopia in line with national, regional and international strategies in the context of flight and internal displacement.

Responsibilities and Tasks

The advisor will be based in Assosa. He/she will plan and oversee activities in the WASH sector for refugees, host community members and internally displaced people (IDPs) in Benishangul-Gumuz.

The incumbent is responsible for:

• Supporting the development of a WASH Training and Employment product
• Steering financing agreements, grant agreements and service contracts
• Close and effective coordination with the QEP team in Benishangul-Gumuz and Addis Ababa, cluster Admin & Finance team, GIZ Country Office and implementing partners s
• Monitoring and evaluation processes
• Liaising with governmental and non-governmental partners

Within this context, s/he fulfils the following tasks:

1. Supporting the development of a WASH Training and Employment product

• Conducts further feasibility assessments, identifies partners, develops and plans innovative activities related to TVET and income generating activities for local communities, IDPs and refugees in the WASH sector of region
• Supports the Addis Ababa team in the project coordination of the grant with an (I)NGO​
• Drafts ToR for service providers
• Cooperates, regularly communicates, and updates the programme component manager on the progress of activity implementation in the region​
• Coordinates cooperation with other consortium partners (such as IOM, Danish Red Cross and UNHCR) on the ground
• Organizes various workshops incl. developing terms of references, participant list, agenda, venue and making other logistical arrangements
• Takes on a variety of other tasks according to changing demands

2. Steering financing agreements, grant agreements and service contracts

• Identifies potential recipients for financial agreements, makes an initial assessment and follows up on implementation
• Supports stakeholders in fulfilling their role within the overall cooperation system of the programme
• Supports reconstruction/maintenance of crucial WASH facilities through training followed by formation of business groups, linking them with municipalities and their demand.

3. Monitoring and evaluation processes

•  Contributes to programme reporting, knowledge management, evaluation and public relations (PR)
• Contributes ideas about success stories and major achievements in the field, shares them with the Addis Ababa office and connects respective PR staff with the “faces behind the story”

4. Liaising with governmental and non-governmental partners

• Closely cooperates and builds productive relationships with all relevant government and non-government stakeholders (such as Water Bureau, Municipalities and Water Utilities) in the field of skills and employment within the local community.
• Organizes regular regional steering committees.
• Clearly communicates the objectives of the programme among regional stakeholders, raises their awareness and commitment to the programme and shared objectives​.
• Organizes regional conferences / events and facilitates national and international visits in the region

Required qualifications, competencies, and experience

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in social sciences (eg. educational science, political science, public management/policy, related fields) or bachelor’s degree qualifying as TVET teacher in WASH-specific sectors

Professional experience

• A minimum of 5 years relevant occupation experience in the necessary field
• Experience in organising and steering complex processes that involve a variety of stakeholders and require a high degree of coordination
• Experience in project management, planning and smooth steering of activities
• Experiences in designing and conducting employment creation measures
• Knowledge of developments, challenges, lessons learned and best practices in WASH programming in urban, rural and peri-urban contexts
• Strong local experience and networks in Benishangul-Gumuz, including knowledge of relevant stakeholders in the field of WASH
• Experience in the Benishangul-Gumuz TVET system and ideally other regional government offices which focus on supplying services in the WASH sector
• Excellent knowledge of mandates and roles of regional government bodies in the field of training and employment creation related to WASH
• Experience in cooperating with regional government offices, agencies, and ideally international organisations
• Knowledge of the refugee and IDP situation in Benishangul-Gumuz and experience in designing and conducting projects involving refugees and/or IDPs
• Knowledge of relevant government and multilateral stakeholders concerned with refugees and IDPs; ideally knowledge of CRRF approach and implementation experience in Benishangul-Gumuz region

Other knowledge, additional competencies

• Very good language skills in English (writing, speaking, listening); good knowledge of Amharic (writing, speaking, listening) and good knowledge of Tigrigna (writing, speaking, listening)
• Good skills in using Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Power Point, and Outlook)
• Ability to work proactively and in a dependable, responsible manner with great attention to detail
• Flexibility and preparedness to perform a changing array of duties according to the needs of the programme.
• Ability to perform well in large and diverse team and possesses a team player value
• Capability to perform under intensive workload pressure at sometimes
• Thorough knowledge of GIZ instruments and procedures is a strong advantage