Senior Director, Global WASH Operations at World Vision Kenya

PURPOSE OF POSITION:

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are at the heart of child well-being and foundational to World Vision’s mission for all children and their communities to experience life in all its fullness. For more than 35 years, World Vision has been committed to stand in the gap, globally leveraging resources and locally working alongside communities to ensure millions of children around the world have access to clean water, dignified sanitation and healthy hygiene practices.

WV has recently launched a new Global WASH Business Plan, which outlines its commitment to invest $1 billion over the next five years to extend the impact of its work across 41 countries.

The Senior Director of WASH provides strategic leadership and direction for the WASH field operations to maximize the WASH contribution to child well-being, the Sustainable Development Goals and to ensure operational performance that meets the sector standards and donor expectations. This position ensures effective partnership with WV field teams, the donors and other partners. The role strengthens WV operational effectiveness and reputation, creates and strengthens strategic partnerships, networking, and innovative approaches and strengthens and mobilizes the community of practice to execute programming that demonstrates evidence of efficiency and impact, enhance global WASH reputation, influence, and thought leadership. The role will report to the WVI Global Sector Lead for WASH and collaborate closely with the WVUS Director of WASH. The role will also work very closely with the Regional WASH Directors (who have a dotted reporting line to this position). The location of this position is continental Africa. The specific location in Africa is negotiable, but should be in a country where WV has an office.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Set Strategic Priorities:
  • Develops annual WASH Business Plans with the Regional WASH Directors, Support Offices and National teams.
  • Provides thought leadership for WASH both within and outside WV.
  • Ensures integration of WV distinctives and ethos in WASH implementation.
  • Ensures alignment of WASH programming with global sector approaches and project models.
  • Ensures overall compliance with WVI Partnership standards and industry standards.
  • Oversees the quality and coverage of WASH programming.
  • Champions cross-sector collaboration for integration of WASH with other sectors.
  • Provide team leadership and mentoring through the WASH Capacity Building Plan.
• Provide Operational Accountability:
  • Ensure accountability of national and regional portfolios to delivery WASH outcomes as defined in Business Plans.
  • Ensure donor promises are met or exceeded.
  • Measure extent to which resourcing opportunities meet WASH operations needs and impact child well-being.
  • Ensure high quality technical support is provided to National Offices on the development of Technical Approach and Technical Programs to address WASH needs.
  • Ensure effective monitoring and evaluation of WASH programming, learning and sharing for quality improvement.
• External Engagement:
  • Actively positions WV as the NGO of choice with potential and key partners, donors and stakeholders through quality WASH programming and evidence of impact.
  • Champions WASH campaigns and resource acquisition in the field.
  • Participates in high level international and regional meetings, forums and conferences as required.
  • Collaborates with Faith and Development actors externally as WV seeks to integrate faith into all its programming.
• Build Capacities:
  • Determines the technical capacity needs for field WASH teams.
  • Builds capability of the field WASH professionals and community of practice.
  • Builds understanding of current footprint and identify opportunities for further growth and impact.
  • Promotes a culture of innovation, collaboration and continuous improvement.
  • Collaborates with WVI sector leadership to ensure WASH lessons are documented and disseminated.
  • Collaborates with WVI sector leadership on the development and implementation of Project Models.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:

• Strong experience and proven skills in leading a team of technical professionals.
• Leader with minimum 10 years’ experience designing and leading WASH programming in the developing world.
• In-depth knowledge/expertise in WASH programming including evidence based best practices.
• Strong relational and networking skills, demonstrated ability to supervise teams, and significant experience engaging with donors and fundraisers.

Preferred:

• Excellent in written reporting and in verbal communication in English.
• Strong experience working with and managing large grant portfolios for foundations, bilateral and multilateral donors.
• Strong experience and proven skills in working effectively across cultures to advance priorities and achieve change, in situations without direct authority.
• Strong experience and proven skills in external engagement that contributes to change in policy and practice and builds WVs reputation as a leader in the industry.
• Strong experience developing strategy and policy in large organization.
• Experience in working with faith, faith actors and faith related issues in development.
• Fluency in a relevant second language (Spanish or French) is desirable.

Work Environment/Travel:

• The position requires ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to 35 % of the time.