Provincial Coordinator x2

t’s hard to believe that today millions of people across the world still don’t have safe water and decent sanitation, resulting in immense suffering, disease and loss of productivity. WaterAid’s vision is of a world where everyone has access to safe water and sanitation. By 2030, we want everyone everywhere to have clean water, sanitation and hygiene. We believe that sustainable development cannot be achieved without the attainment of rights to water, sanitation and hygiene for all.

Do you want to be part of the team that will make this change happen?

WaterAid is looking for an experienced individual to play a vital role in contributing towards our mission to transform lives with safe water, sanitation, and hygiene in poor and unserved communities. There are two openings for the Provincial Coordinator role to be stationed in Lusaka and Mongu, with frequent travel to districts in Zambia as well as periodic international travel.

Reporting to the Head of Programmes, this position is responsible for coordinating WASH programming at the sub-national level. The role requires designing, planning, coordinating, and implementing comprehensive WASH projects tailored to sub national contexts. The role supports WaterAid Zambia’s strategic focus towards decentralised WASH governance, inclusive service delivery, and citizen empowerment to assert their rights to WASH. It aims to ensure access to safe and gender-responsive WASH services and solutions, and it will foster synergies with health, education, climate change, and nutrition sectors, among others, to integrate WASH policies and practices effectively. Additionally, the position will drive the relevance of programme interventions and approaches, cultivate strategic partnerships, and generate evidence to influence policy and practice at national level.

Specifically, the Provincial Coordinator will be responsible for the following amongst others:

Programme Planning, Development and Management.

Coordinates the development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of sub-national programmes, ensuring alignment with WaterAid’s strategic objectives.

Coordinates the programme team in developing effective approaches to address WASH sector challenges at provincial level, facilitating delivery of projects.

Provides technical and institutional advice to WaterAid provincial/district partners regarding the effective delivery of WASH initiatives that improve access to sustainable and gender-responsive services across the province and districts.

Coordinates the annual planning and budgeting processes for the provincial and district programmes, ensuring resources are allocated effectively.

Oversees the preparation of concise internal quarterly, bi-annual, and annual programme reports for the provincial and district programmes and contributes to producing WaterAid Zambia Country Programme reports.

Establishes efficient communication and support mechanisms between the WASH for Public Health programme and other relevant programmes, fostering collaboration and information sharing.

Works to strengthen provincial and districts WASH and Health Systems, facilitating improved and effective planning, financing, and delivery of WASH services.

Ensures that the sub-national programme actively contributes to sector learning and supports local and global advocacy priorities and initiatives in line with the Country Programme strategy.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Research.

Leads the provincial programme team in developing models and learning objectives aimed at contributing to both sector and organisational learning initiatives.

Coordinates the provincial team in ensuring strict adherence to WaterAid’s quality programme standards and PMER (Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting) core procedures and systems.

Implements regular monitoring of budget performance to track expenditure against allocated tasks.

Ensures the consistent application of WaterAid policies and standards across all aspects of the programmes at both provincial and district levels.

Collaborates with the PMER Manager to identify and implement strategic research initiatives within the sub national programme, ensuring that research findings are effectively utilised.

Ensures that the programme, along with all related provincial and district projects, has functional M&E (Monitoring and Evaluation) frameworks in place, ensuring compliance with WaterAid’s PMER core procedures and Quality Programme Standards.

Fundraising and Grants Management.

Supports in the development of high-quality programme/project proposals aimed at fundraising and expanding the provincial programme portfolio.

Collaborates with the Business Development team, Technical Specialist, and Public Health Advisor to identify funding opportunities that align with programme objectives.

Works closely with the Business Development team, Technical Specialist, and Public Health Advisor to develop and maintain positive relationships with donors.

Coordinates the provision of strategic support to provincial level service providers and key partners in developing viable projects, and act as a liaison with donors and international financing institutions.

Ensures effective management of the grants and all projects at sub national level, overseeing their implementation and progress.

Ensures that provincial programme partners are following donor requirements and contractual obligations.

Partnerships, Collaboration and Networking

Develops and implements a provincial-level partnership strategy for the programme, outlining approaches to collaboration with key stakeholders.

Coordinates the sub-national team in establishing and managing strategic partnerships, including activities focused on capacity building.

Ensures that partners receive adequate support and capacity building to effectively implement integrated water, sanitation, and hygiene promotion initiatives in accordance with government policies, sector frameworks, and WaterAid standards.

Coordinates the sub national programme team in establishing and cultivating relationships with various stakeholders, including agencies working in the WASH, health, education, and nutrition sectors, as well as academia, media, and research institutions, aligned with programme objectives.

Coordinates learning initiatives among stakeholders at provincial and district levels, fostering knowledge exchange and capacity development.

Cultivates and maintains positive relationships with government officials at district and provincial levels, fostering collaboration and support for programme objectives.

Actively promotes cross-sectoral learning and cooperation across WaterAid Zambia’s work in targeted provinces and districts, collaborating with other agencies to scale up effective models and approaches for universal WASH access.

Represents WaterAid Zambia in relevant sub national and international forums, sharing experiences and insights gained from WaterAid’s programme work.

Participates in and contributes to Water Aid’s efforts to strengthen sector networks at the sub-national level, enhancing collaboration and coordination within the WASH sector.

Local level Advocacy.

Coordinates local level advocacy in WaterAid target districts.

Coordinates Decentralization and Budget Initiatives.

Coordinates implementation of Social Accountability and Community Engagement at District Level to ensure effective subnational policy engagement.

Coordinate and Support Key policy processes at Provincial and District Level that feed into critical National level policy processes.

Capturing Policy data at Provincial and District Level to feed into National Level policy processes and engagements.

Support capacity at Provincial and District level for staff and Partners to enhance Provincial and District Policy Engagements as required.

People management

Supports the recruitment of staff possessing the necessary skills required for the success of the programme.

Ensures the efficient management of sub-national staff performance, supporting the development of team and individual skills and capacities to meet programme demands.

Ensures that sub-national staff and partners adhere to WaterAid’s Global Code of Conduct and Safeguarding policies, promoting a safe and respectful working environment.

Ensures the health and security of programme staff and people in the communities by implementing robust health and safety protocols to mitigate risks and promote well-being in programme implementation areas.

Complies with the Global Code of Conduct; health, safety, and security standards; and data protection.

To be successful, you’ll need:

Bachelor’s degree in development studies, Engineering, Water Resource Management from a recognized University, or professional qualifications in civil engineering, water and sanitation, and environmental management, and Public Health.

Minimum of five (5) years of managerial-level experience in programme planning, development, and management.

Demonstrated experience in implementing WASH services and management models tailored for communities and institutions.

Comprehensive understanding of government procedures, including budgeting and fiscal decentralization specific to WASH, and ways of working.

Proven track record in conducting participatory context analyses and WASH system assessments at national and sub-national levels to inform programme and project designs. This includes expertise in political economy analysis, WASH system building block analysis, stakeholder mapping, WASH context analysis, asset inventories, and institutional and service provider capacity gap assessments.

Familiarity with key principles such as systems strengthening and human rights, and their application in advancing sustainable and inclusive WASH initiatives in targeted geographic/administrative areas.

Method of Application

If you are interested in the position and have the right skills and attributes, send your updated CV using Provincial Coordinator (include one location only either Lusaka or Mongu) as the subject of the email.