Job Opportunities at Water Mission Kenya

Job Summary:

• Under the direction of the Water Mission Kenya, Country Director in coordination with the Director of Professionalized Services in Water Mission headquarters, the Professionalized Services Manager (PSM) will be responsible for organizing, leading, and managing the development of professionalized services within Water Mission Kenya with a goal to ensure sustainability and continued transformation in communities where safe water projects are implemented. This position will be based in Makueni Kenya.

Our culture:

• As an employee of Water Mission Kenya, the Professionalized Services Manager is responsible for developing a biblical worldview culture that leads to God-honoring excellence in all their work and reinforcing the following: providing accurate data, empowering staff to have the skills and mindset needed to acknowledge mistakes or problems as opportunities to find appropriate solutions, and empowering staff to consistently work for excellence in solutions that are consistent with Water Mission’s mission, vision, values, and standards.

Duties and Responsibilities

General Responsibilities

Mission Driven

• Maintain a strong Christian witness and model servant leadership to colleagues, partners, the communities we serve, and the public.
• Engage and participate in prayer before and after team meetings.
• Lead and participate in biblically based staff devotions. 

Key Responsibilities 

• Assess current WASH service provision, focusing on Rural Water Cooperative (RWC), and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Develop and implement strategies to maximize UPTIME, ensure Carbon Credit reporting requirements are realized, and enhance overall service quality.
• Enhance collaboration between RWC requirements and Water Mission staff to exchange information and share experiences to address challenges quickly and optimize service delivery.
• Analyze the country program structure to identify opportunities for future build-up of the team to meet the country program goals.
• Use ROI analysis for decision-making to achieve the impact goals.
• Help lead the operationalization of Assetas management system, customized to the country program\'s unique needs.
• Ensure proper training and capacity building for staff involved in asset management activities.
• Engage in developing innovative models of professionalized services tailored to the country program.
• Support the establishment of a Water Utility entity and strengthen governance, policies, and regulations for effective water utility management.
• Develop and implement capacity-building programs and training workshops to enhance the skills and knowledge of utility management.
• Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and benchmarks to assess the effectiveness of revenue generation strategies and identify areas for improvement of the established utilities.
• Prepare comprehensive reports and presentations documenting outcomes of the projects and utilities, lessons learned, and best practices to inform stakeholders.
• Build relationships with other key stakeholders, including Government of Kenya (esp. Ministry of Water), NGOs, and others that support achieving desired objectives.
• Help build and manage required key capacities including water system operators and professionalized services focused staff.
• This position will require a ‘hands on’ participation in solving problems in the field.

Other tasks as may be assigned.

Qualifications, and Experience

Relationship and Alignment

• Personal and growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Alignment with Water Mission’s Statement of Faith and core values of Love, Excellence, and Integrity.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in civil engineering, Environmental Engineering, Water Resources Management, or a related field. An added degree in Business (such as an MBA) is a plus.
• A minimum of four years of experience in the WASH sector.
• Proven track record of driving results, achieving targets, and managing WASH projects in a dynamic and challenging environment.

Skills and Abilities

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret market trends, financial data, and operational metrics to inform decision-makers.
• Excellent communication, fluent in English and Swahili, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Commitment to promoting project sustainability and innovation in the WASH sector.
• Proficiency in Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and similar applications.

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Job Summary

• Working under the supervision of the Kenya Country Director, with a dotted line to the Regional Carbon Credit Project Manager for East Africa, this position is responsible for coordinating key Carbon Credit Program requirements in  Kenya Country program. The position will manage the office and project portfolio, the scope of work, schedules, and budgets of various initiatives related to generating carbon credits for safe water projects in Kenya. It will also oversee routine baseline and end-line surveys and water quality testing and coordinate and implement staff and stakeholder training.

The position is based in the Makueni Kenya and will require routine travel to community locations.

Our culture:

• The Carbon Credit Project Manager is responsible for leading himself/herself and those under his/her supervision in developing a biblical worldview culture that leads to God-honoring excellence in all their work and reinforcing the following: providing accurate data, empowering staff to have the skills and mindset needed to acknowledge mistakes or problems as opportunities to find appropriate solutions, and empowering staff to consistently work for excellence in solutions that are consistent with Water Mission’s mission, vision, values, and standards.

Duties and Responsibilities 

General Responsibilities

Mission Driven

• Maintain a strong Christian witness and model servant leadership to colleagues, partners, the communities we serve, and the public.
• Engage and participate in prayer before and after team meetings.
• Lead and participate in biblically based staff devotions.

Key Responsibilities

Carbon Credit Project and Program Management

• Audit Coordination: Coordinate regional audits, including logistics and technical leads support for onsite visits, and translate Water Mission’s work in the WASH sector to visiting auditors.
• Government Compliance: Support partnership conversions for buy-in, MoU negotiation, stakeholder sensitization, and government compliance for Water Mission’s carbon program in Kenya country program.

Carbon Credit Project Management:

• Work closely with the Regional Carbon Credit Project Manager in East Africa to provide technical direction for country office staff to successfully implement the Carbon Credit Program.
• Work with the Regional Carbon Credit Project Manager in East Africa to develop and implement annual operating plans and budgets for Carbon projects.
• Manage multiple simultaneous project pipelines.
• Maintain good communications with the project stakeholders, i.e. in-country staff and partner organizations.
• Ensure that aspects of the project are executed according to an agreed-upon scope of work, design, schedule, and budget.
• Prepare and submit agreed-upon Project Status Reports using Smartsheet and other project management tools as directed.
• Budget Management: Prepare written proposals, budget to actuals, and cost estimates for assigned project activities. Support tight fiduciary oversight of all program and project-related expenses.

Community Development, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning  and Program Design

• Health and Hygiene Promotion campaigns: Work with the staff from the Program Design and Standards and SME departments to implement health & hygiene training.
• Stakeholder Inclusion. Work with the Program Design and Standards Team and Community Development SME staff to complete stakeholder inclusivity, stakeholder sensitization and community leadership training for carbon activities.
• Program Design: Coordinate with Program Design and SME staff on integrating new program design elements into existing workflows.
• Household Surveying: Work with Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL), and SME staff to implement project-related surveys and required program documentation, including routine baseline and end-line surveys for all new and existing qualifying safe water projects in the region.

Professional Services

Asset Management:  

• Work with the Project Managers, Engineers, and Technicians to implement standards and processes related to asset management.
• Conduct field inspections and site assessments to ensure projects align with Carbon Credit Program requirements.
• Support Rural Water Cooperative (RWC) staff with robust Operations & Maintenance. (O&M) schedule for participating in communities.
• Household Water Quality Testing: Work with the Technical SME staff to implement routine household water quality testing procedures, including maintaining necessary inventory at routine intervals.
• Continuous Input and Grievance: Work with staff from the Program Design and Standards, Community Development SME, and Rural Water Cooperative (RWC) departments to monitor and follow up on continuous input mechanisms.
• Technical Carbon Training. Work with country office technical leads, coordinators, and leadership to support their technical knowledge of the Carbon Program, oversee QAQC of program deliverables, and coordinate required staff training.

Other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Qualifications, Skills, and Experience

Relationship and Alignment:

• Personal and growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Alignment with Water Mission’s Statement of Faith and Core Values of Love, Excellence, and Integrity.
• Alignment with the principles of servant leadership as embraced by Water Mission

Education Qualification and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in International Development, Public Health, or equivalent 10+ years of experience in an international development setting
• Minimum 5 years of progressive project management experience.
• Experience working in developing countries is preferred.
• Equivalent of 5+ years’ experience in the WASH sector.

Skills and Abilities

• Advanced skills with MS Office suite (Word, Excel, Outlook) and familiarity with project management software such as MS Project, Smartsheet, etc.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills for training and sensitization
• Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and project management skills.
• Excellent relationship and conflict resolution skills.
• Professional Engineering (P.E). license and/or Project Management certification preferred.
• Supervisory experience preferred.
• Experience working with MEL teams and surveying and researching teams.
• Ability to travel regularly in remote or hardship areas; (i.e., require long car rides on rough terrain, standing for extended periods of time in hot weather, and lifting moderately heavy things).
• Flexibility to work periodic long hours and weekends as required for ministry operations.
• Legal authorization to work in Kenya without sponsorship.
• Commitment to the values and mission of the organization and ending the global water crisis.
• Fluency in English required.
• Fluency in Swahili preferred.

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What is the opportunity?

• Under the direction of the Regional Manager Makueni, the Lead Engineer directly supports Water Mission’s vision of providing safe water and an opportunity to share God’s love with all. This position entails providing technical guidance and support to Water Mission Kenya Engineers and technicians following the Water Mission Kenya Country Program’s established standards and procedures. This is a full-time position that requires residency in Makueni, Kenya. The position might require frequent travel to remote locations within the Makueni area and occasionally outside of Kenya to carry out assessments and to support some of the technical aspects of the organization.
• Our culture: As an employee of Water Mission Kenya, the Lead Engineer is  responsible for developing a biblical worldview culture that leads to God-honoring excellence in all their work and reinforcing the following: providing accurate data, empowering staff to have the skills and mindset needed to acknowledge mistakes or problems as opportunities to find appropriate solutions, and empowering staff to consistently work for excellence in solutions that are consistent with Water Mission’s mission, vision, values, and standards.

The Lead Engineer will:-

General Responsibilities:

• Maintain a strong Christian witness and model servant leadership to colleagues, partners, the communities we serve, and the public. 

Other Responsibilities:

• Understand, support, and nurture the Vision, Mission, and Core values of Water Mission.
• Conduct engineering fieldwork and design according to established engineering principles and standards to a high degree of excellence and dependable accuracy.
• Lead the technical team to provide oversight, review and assistance for technicians, volunteers, and other engineers to ensure quality of output and adherence to established standards and procedures.
• Promote, encourage, and model Water Mission’s mission, vision, and values to the technical team members and all other staff members.
• Work in collaboration with Water Mission staff members and departments to ensure the successful completion of every area of project implementation and sustainability.
• Train and facilitate a culture of capacity building for team members.
• Perform Engineering tasks, including water system hydraulic design, solar and electrical design, and development of plans, specifications, and structural drawings.
• Provide onsite visits for the purpose of quality control and instruction of field engineers and technicians in support of approved projects.
• Champion and ensure that Quality Assurance/Quality Control- (WMT QA/QC) standards and procedures are upheld by the technical team.
• Lead technical and systems innovation that seeks to further Water Mission’s mission.
• Layout and design water systems, including water source, pumping, treatment, storage and distribution.
• Ensure that all work, including that of the Lead Engineer, is reviewed by another engineer as designated by the Country Director.
• Perform assessments in communities, including water quality and quantity testing, survey measurements, and other aspects as may be required.
• Write and submit timely project reports, including monthly assessment reports with supporting photographs as per specific assignment guidelines.
• Provide disaster response support and work in other countries as needed.
• Prepare and conduct presentations to the Operations Team, Strategic Partners, donors, and volunteers.
• Other tasks as assigned.

What is required?

• Alignment with Water Mission’s Statement of Faith and core values of Love, Excellence, and Integrity.
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering – Civil, Chemical, or Mechanical are preferred (Master’s degree certification is desirable but can be offset with quality experience).
• Registration as a Professional Engineer with a valid practise license.
• Minimum experience of at least 8 years in similar project work, including leading and managing Technical Teams.
• WASH engineering experience is preferred with a strong skill in project design and implementation, problem solving and use of international/local WASH standards.
• Valid driver’s license, at least class B.
• Advanced skills with office computer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and drafting and hydraulic modelling programs (AutoCAD/Autodesk CIVIL 3D/Revit Structures/REVIT MEP Mechanical/Electrical, EPANET, PowerCADD, WaterGems, SolidWorks, ProE).
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.
• Excellent analytical skills, process design skills, and project planning and management skills.
• Impeccable integrity and stewardship that demonstrates to those who invest in Water Mission Kenya a sense of security and trust that their gifts are well used and invested.
• Must be standards and detail-oriented with an ability to plan.
• A strong work ethic.
• A heartfelt dedication to providing and modelling servant leadership.
• Ability and willingness to travel for fieldwork.
• Legal authorization to work in Kenya.