Head of Water and Sanitation at Kenya Red Cross Society

Overall Purpose

• The successful candidate will be responsible and accountable for the design, development, implementation and evaluation of community-based safe and clean water and sanitation programme. Specific duties include supervising the construction and rehabilitation of water supply systems and sanitation facilities. Other duties include community mobilisation, capacity building and promoting hygiene practices in order to protect health and ensure that communities sustainably manage installed infrastructural facilities in a sustainable manner

Duties & Responsibilities

• Coordinate the development of strategic community-based water, sanitation and hygiene plan and budget aligned to the Society’s strategic objectives as well as Government policies and priorities
• Coordinate the design, development, implementation and evaluation of construction and rehabilitation of water supply systems and sanitation facilities 
• Design, develop, implement and evaluate community mobilisation campaigns aimed at capacity building and promoting hygiene practices in order to enhance health and ensure that communities sustainably manage installed infrastructural facilities.
• Design, develop and implement community-based safe and affordable water and sanitation capacity building programme aimed at strengthening the community to not only adopt water, sanitation and hygiene practices but also take ownership of the installed infrastructure facilities.
• Proactively identify program development opportunities in line with Global and national development plans in the region, expand resource mobilization avenues, new thematic areas of technical intervention and strategic partnerships that would promote the expansion of Kenya Red Cross Society Regional WASH portfolio.
• Develop and implement resource mobilisation strategies, including coordinating the preparation of funding proposals and appeals for material assistance. 
• Coordinate monitoring and evaluation of donor funded programmes by staff in order to monitor progress, ensure accountability, determine impact and report on significant achievements to ensure organisational learning.
• Develop and implement lobby and advocacy programmes with a view to reform laws and policies that hamper the implementation of effective water and sanitation projects to ensure that KRCS is recognised as the leading player in the provision of humanitarian relief services.
• Coordinate emergency WASH activities in liaison with Disaster Management Operations department.
• Participate in hiring staff in order to ensure that the candidates selected have the required job competencies and are provided with a job orientation and induction programme necessary for effective performance.
• Review incidents of violations against organisational policy and regulations as well as handling employee disputes and taking appropriate action in line with approved policies, procedures and regulations.
• Plan, monitor and evaluate the performance of programme staff against set targets and objectives, assess training needs and implementing development action plans aimed at building the capacity of water, sanitation & hygiene staff. 
• Represent the Society at local, regional and international meetings, conferences and workshops and other forums to promote the activities of KRCS and articulate issues related to humanitarian emergencies and support.
• Coordinate preparation of concept papers, periodic progress reports and annual reports showing achievements against planned targets as well as providing justification for performance variances and areas of improvement.
• Support development of departmental strategic plan and monitor implementation across the organization with focus on Water sanitation and Hygiene.

Minimum Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Geology, Public Health Community Development or a related field from an accredited academic institution.
• Over Seven (7) years’ experience in planning, implementing and evaluating community-based water, sanitation and hygiene programmes in emergency/relief context

Key Competencies

• Broad knowledge of water, sanitation and hygiene management, humanitarian relief issues, trends and goals at national, regional and international levels aimed at preventing and alleviating human suffering as a result of disasters
• Strong leadership, team building, conflict resolution and ability to deliver the Society’s articulated vision for change, create a sense of urgency around change and motivates staff to join change efforts
• Ability to initiate and manage change and to recognise and adjust to rapidly changing conditions in order to align programmes to the strategic plan 
• Strong communication and presentation skills in both English and Kiswahili, including ability to develop reports and prepare relevant publications
• Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural skills including the ability to build collaborative relationships with sensitivity to cultural, ethnic and political issues
• Demonstrated ability to influence and resolve differences and conflicts
• Technical expertise in strategic management, project planning, budgeting and implementation ability as well as programme monitoring and evaluation 
• Demonstrated competence in resource mobilisation including implementation of effective fundraising strategies to aimed at expanding financial resources 
• Ability to develop and implement accountability and performance management systems, giving candid performance feedback and providing support for professional development efforts linked to strategic objectives
• Ability to maintain high standards of personal integrity; establishing straightforward, productive relationships; treating all individuals with fairness and respect, demonstrating sensitivity for ethnic, cultural and gender differences
• Demonstrated ability to establish flexible multidisciplinary teams in an environment conducive to continuous learning, creativity and innovation
• Ability to empower programme staff through coaching and counselling by emphasizing accountability and results oriented management rather than direct supervision and control of programme design and implementation
• Demonstrated proficiency in computer applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, data-base, email and utilization of the internet, . Knowledge in AutoCAD and Epanet will be an added advantage
• Ability to monitor project against milestones, double-checks the accuracy of information to discover weakness and strive for high quality performance.