Chemonics seeks a Water and Sanitation Advisor for the anticipated, five-year $35-$38 million USAID-funded Resilient Cities Limpopo Activity.

The purpose of this activity is to increase access to safely managed and reliable critical services—namely water, sanitation, and solid waste management— for urban residents in the Limpopo River Basin. The activity will achieve this by partnering with municipalities and entities that are responsible for service delivery, as well as with national governments, to:

• Improve operations and management of water, sanitation, and solid waste services, including natural resource and infrastructure asset management;
• Build institutional capacity for cost-effective service delivery, including a national capacity for policy implementation and municipal support, as well as ensuring a focus on gender, equity and social inclusion;
• Increase and optimize private sector participation in provision or investment in service delivery and associated infrastructure; and
• Improve public financial management for sustainability of service delivery improvements.

The Sanitation Advisor will be involved in several technical activities to work towards meeting USAID’s objectives and will play a critical role in addressing the challenges faced by water and sanitation service providers—formal and informal— in the region. The Sanitation Advisor is anticipated to be based in South Africa. This position is contingent upon Chemonics receiving the award and funding. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world. Citizens of South Africa are strongly encouraged to apply.

Key Responsibilities:

• Assess the condition of sanitation service delivery with a focus on advancing safe non-sewered sanitation solutions including wastewater treatment plants and safe disposal of fecal sludge management

• Strengthen the capacity of national and subnational institutions to deliver critical water, sanitation, and solid waste management services to urban, peri-urban, and informal settlement residents

• Analyze current financial practices and identify areas for improvement in revenue collection, budget allocation, and asset management

• Develop strategies to enhance revenue generation, including tariff structuring, billing system improvements, and debt management

• Coordinate with partners to design water resource management plans to target wastewater treatment interventions and understand sustainable groundwater potential

• Mentor municipal and utility staff to develop operational and maintenance protocols for sanitation services to ensure sustainability and compliance with health and environmental standards

• Assist in the policy and regulation creation and implementation related to sanitation and water services, bolstering community awareness of water and sanitation efforts

• Advocate for the adoption of best practices, policies and innovative solutions to improve sanitation service delivery and environmental sustainability, with a particular focus on gender equality, and social inclusion

• Collaborate with national and local government agencies, NGOs, and private sector stakeholders to leverage local resources and expertise and create an enabling environment for multi-stakeholder involvement in service delivery.

• Conduct regular assessments to evaluate the impact of interventions and identify areas for future improvements

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree and seven (7) years of experience in water and sanitation or a graduate degree and five (5) years of experience

• Experience working with a range of government and civil society counterparts and donor and multilateral partners in WASH design and implementation

• Capable of designing, constructing, and operating WASH facilities

• Extensive knowledge of WASH service delivery management

• Experience in institutional strengthening, partnership building, sanitation demand creation, and market-based sanitation approaches

• Familiarity with USAID-funded projects preferred

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with evidence of ability to productively interact with a wide range of nutrition and WASH actors

• Fluency in English (written and verbal) required. Local language skills a plus.