Water Services Lead at DAI Kenya - Development Alternatives, Inc.

Tasks & Responsibilities

The WRM Lead will support the COP and Component leads in achievement of results identified in the SOW. S/He will support the integration of WKWP components, the formation of a collaborative and productive project team, and a county-led development process. Her/His specific responsibilities, conducted with the support of Resource Partners, STTA, and the WKWP team, are to:

• Identify, adapt, and support implementation of 4–6 SDMs aligned to an equivalent set of rural typologies based on key county characteristics. Where the model calls for PSE for O&M services, help develop contractual models, reporting and oversight procedures, and compensation mechanisms.
• Collaborate with WKWP Governance Specialists to help counties develop and enact legislation, policy, and financing frameworks to strengthen rural service provision.
• Increase regulation in the rural sector, particularly where enterprises are not ready for licensing. With county governments, the Water Services Lead will pursue 1) regulation through contract where private O&M contracting is viable; 2) support the adoption of policies by the County Assemblies and operationalization of regulations at the local level; and 3) increased transparency through data, monitoring and benchmarking improvements.
• Provide targeted support to strengthen operational performance of rural enterprises through a mix of corporate governance, business planning, revenue improvement strategies, customer service, NRW and water quality management capacity building and technical assistance to support the selected SDMs.
• Support 1) implementation of O&M results-based service contracts; 2) use of tools such as smart billing and payments; and 3) development of strategic and business plans and consumer outreach projects.
• Facilitate county and service provider co-investment in last-mile measures by helping communities to identify and prioritize needs, mobilizing infrastructure activities and technical assistance to meet those needs.
• Contribute to, and participate in, work-planning, co-creation, project reporting, project monitoring and result reporting, events, and learning activities
• Supervise seven direct reports: Rural Water Services Specialists in Bungoma, Busia, Homa Bay, Kakamega, Kisii, Migori, and Siaya while serving as Rural Water specialist in Kisumu County.

Qualifications

• A minimum of 8 years of professional experience in fields related to rural water service delivery.
• Experience and knowledge of working with and directly building the capacity of in the Kenyan rural water sector.
• An advanced graduate degree in a related field of study preferred, e.g. engineering, natural resource management, environmental sciences, or the social sciences;
• Experience with donor funded projects preferred.
• At least three years of management experience.
• English language written and verbal fluency essential.