Regional Support Officer

Job Title    Regional Support Officer

Place of work    Based in one of WaterAid’s regional offices or Country Programmes (Dakar, Pretoria and Addis Ababa or Dar es Salaam)

Reports to    Regional Programme Manager (except in West Africa where the role reports to the Regional Advocacy Manager)

Internal links    Regional Advocacy Manager (RAM)

Manages    No direct reports

Budget responsibility    None


Introduction
The Regional Support Officer (RSO) is a position within the Regional Team in the International Programmes Department (IPD). The role of the IPD is to support, resource and enable delivery of our WaterAid’s Global Strategy at the country, regional and global levels. It facilitates the development and delivery of our portfolio of programmes to maximise our impact in the region and in the Country Programmes (CPs). The role of the Regional Team is to support and develop the capacity of our CPs in the region to maximise their impact at the national and regional levels, contribute to the development of a strong WASH sector and thus enable the poor, marginalised and excluded people realise their rights to equitable and sustainable access to water, sanitation and hygiene.

Job Purpose
Reporting to the respective Regional Programme Manager (RPM), the RSO will have an indirect reporting relationship with the Regional Advocacy Manager (RAM) to ensure that there is joined up working and cross-pollination of learning and knowledge between the service delivery and the influencing portfolios of our work in the region.
The purpose of this role is to support both the RPM and RAM in regional programme planning, development, effectiveness, quality assurance, learning, reporting and assessment of our impact in the region.



Key Accountabilities
1.    Planning and Monitoring Support
•    Support the development and review of regional plans  and periodic reports
•    Support the review of country programme Multi-year Plans and Budgets (MPBs) and periodic reports
•    Ensure the timely submission of country programme plans budgets and reports as per agreed timelines.
•    Promote and facilitate alignment with key programming guidance, track remedial action especially in terms of outcomes and recommendations of Country Programme Evaluations and Internal Audit, and report progress to the RPM.

2.    Regional Co-ordination
•    Support the RPM and RAM in organizing and hosting regional events
•    Plan and prepare for conferences and regional events
•    Prepare minutes and reports of key meetings at the regional level and disseminate appropriately
•    In liaison with the RAM, develop and/or strengthen regional networks, forums and mechanisms for effective sector coordination
•    Maintain regular liaison with counterparts of relevant key stakeholders such as civil society organizations, networks, research institutions and the media for joined up work, and as sources of sector knowledge and information  

3.    Programme Implementation and Capacity Building
•    Support the identification of regional level focus areas and themes for priority action region-wide in coordination and coordination with relevant programme staff
•    Assist country programme staff in the planning, budgeting for and implementation of evidence based advocacy activities such as lobbying,  campaigning and networking
•     Provide support in identifying regional research in specialist and emerging areas such as climate change, sustainability, rights based and E&I approaches, etc. in order to build and/or enhance regional learning and knowledge for our programmatic and influencing work.

4.    Information management and support
•    Be the point person and key source of information pertaining to the programme in the region
•    In liaison with fund raising teams, support the RPM and RAM in accessing information needed to prepare project funding plans and proposals for both CPs and the region
•    Provide regular updates as may be required by the RPM and RAM on programme matters to support their representational and influencing function
•    Perform any duties and tasks as may be requested by the Regional Programme Manager from time to time.

Person specification
Essential
Education
•    A taught degree or equivalent qualification in a relevant field

Experience
•    Experience of working in the development sector, preferably the water and sanitation sector
•    Programme and project planning, and progress reporting
•    An understanding of technical and institutional issues in WASHE in the region
•    Working as part of a diverse professional and multicultural team
•    Basic financial planning, budgeting and monitoring.

Knowledge and skills
•    Strong oral and written skills especially in report writing and general communication in English
•    Strong analytical, numeracy and research skills
•    Ability to deal with qualitative and quantitative information
•    Comfortable with MS Office and other common computer packages

Personal Qualities
•    Committed to human development especially for poor and marginalized people
•    Belief in WaterAid’s approach, principles and values
•    A team player and fast learner
•    Ability to travel extensively in the region and elsewhere
•    Personal initiative and ability to work with minimum supervision
•    Ability to work in a multicultural and multilingual team
•    Excellent time management and ability to prioritize multiple and competing tasks

Desirable
Education
•    A taught degree or equivalent qualification in a relevant field
Experience
•    Experience of organising events, workshops, meetings, etc.
•    Networking and developing collaborative relationships

Knowledge and skills
•    Good spoken and written Portuguese and/or French
•    Participatory or action research methods and learning
•    Knowledge of advocacy and campaign planning and execution

Abbreviated Terms & Conditions
Salary    Gross starting salary based on location:
Dakar, Senegal – XOF 16,000,000 per annum inclusive
Pretoria, South Africa – ZAR 270,000 per annum inclusive
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia  – to be confirmed
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – to be confirmed
Note: no relocation package is provided for these posts
Main Benefits    Pension scheme or pension allowance, dependent on location and statutory requirements
Annual leave dependent on location and statutory provisions
Medical benefits (either through medical insurance or reimbursements system)
Travel    Regular travel within the region of work for up to 30% of the time
Working Hours    Full time (minimum 35 hours per week). However the nature of the role requires the postholder to work flexibly
Contract Period    Open ended contract is offered. Successful candidates who are relocating may however be subject to work permit regulations applicable to the location.
Probation    Six month probationary period.

Recruitment process

To apply:    please send the following to jobs@wateraid.org (or fax on +44 (0) 2077934994)
1.    A copy of your current CV, which must not be more than 3 A4 pages
2.    A covering letter of no more than two A4 pages stating
o    The job title and your preferred location (one of the following – Dakar, Pretoria, Addis Ababa or Dar es Salaam)
o    your motivation for applying for this role,
o    how your skills and experience meet the person specification requirements for the role and what in particular you would bring to WaterAid
o    details of your current or most recent remuneration package
3.    The names, positions and contact details (email and telephone numbers) of two referees, both of whom must be or have been your line managers. If more than 2 are provided, at least 2 must be your line managers.  References may be taken up prior to final interviews. Please let us know if you do not wish your current employer to be contacted  prior to final interviews

Your application must be in English.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Please assume that you have not been shortlisted if you have not heard from us within 3 weeks of the closing date.  


Recruitment process


To apply:    
1.    A copy of your current CV, which must not be more than 3 A4 pages
2.    A covering letter of no more than two A4 pages stating
o    The job title and your preferred location (one of the following – Dakar, Pretoria, Addis Ababa or Dar es Salaam)
o    your motivation for applying for this role,
o    how your skills and experience meet the person specification requirements for the role and what in particular you would bring to WaterAid
o    details of your current or most recent remuneration package
3.    The names, positions and contact details (email and telephone numbers) of two referees, both of whom must be or have been your line managers. If more than 2 are provided, at least 2 must be your line managers.  References may be taken up prior to final interviews. Please let us know if you do not wish your current employer to be contacted  prior to final interviews

Your application must be in English.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Please assume that you have not been shortlisted if you have not heard from us within 2 weeks of applying.