WaterAid (WA) Bangladesh is an international non-government, not-for-profit organisation, determined to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation through convincing the governments to change laws, linking policy makers with people on the ground, pooling knowledge and resources, and rallying support from people and organisations from different corners for making lasting change happen on a massive scale. Currently WaterAid is looking for a dynamic, committed, passionate and self-driven individual for the position of Resilient Water Accelerator Engagement Officer for its country office in Bangladesh.

Job purpose:

As a RWA engagement coordinator, you will drive the Accelerator programmes—linking the work done at the country level with the global work of the Accelerator and reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer and work with Bangladesh liaison manager and WaterAid Bangladesh team. At a first stage, you will be working with supporting in-country colleagues and consultants that the Accelerator will hire and work in co-ordination with country partners to guide stakeholder engagement and support formal agreements with governments. You will be responsible for internal and external co-ordination and will be the main point of contact between an in-country team and the Accelerator Secretariat, to align them with the Accelerator’s core mission, capture their needs and help match them with the right experts from the Accelerator’s network of partners, and to provide oversight over progress on-the-ground and keep the Resilient Water Accelerator Leadership and Steering Committee informed on key milestones.

The position will be hosted by WaterAid Bangladesh, but you will work within the Resilient Water Accelerator Secretariat which is hosted by Global Development Incubator (GDI) and based in Bangladesh.

Key Responsibilities:

As a member of a high-performing team, the incumbent shall:
Support Accelerator staff, partners and consultants in our country programmes in Bangladesh.

• Work with key RWA country partners, including WaterAid Country Programme Staff to ensure that goals and targets of RWA are achieved.
• Support to seek buy in from target governments and relevant authorities.
• Support to set project plan and create key milestones in collaboration with country partners, and follow-up to ensure that milestones are met, and the necessary support is provided for liaison managers to be successful in their assessments.
• Coordinate with relevant staff and address any issues related to country programme administration such as budgeting/HR/Procurements.
• Conduct regular check-ins with colleagues and partners as well as with the Secretariat
•  Connect colleagues across the RWA and partner organisations to share expertise and knowledge.

Drawing on your technical knowledge you will act as the main link between in-country teams and the Accelerator’s Secretariat, and be part of Programme Working Group (consisting of country and regional experts from across partner organizations)

• Support the Programme Working Group and engage with members regularly to get guidance on the Accelerator’s programmatic approach and government engagement efforts.
• Answer any questions that the liaison managers might have and provide them with the relevant materials on the Accelerator’s strategy and operating model in order to conduct successful stakeholder outreach.
• Synthesize intelligence from in-country colleagues and contacts to facilitate the Steering Committee’s decisions around country programmes.
• Work with the Secretariat and country teams to respond to any funding or financing management requirements related country activities.

Capture the needs of in-country teams and match them with the right set of expertise

• Support the Accelerator’s experts’ network, which consists of members from different partner organizations.
• Understand in-country teams’ needs for expertise and technical assistance, expertise in regulatory environment and financing and match them with the right Accelerator experts.
• Support the country teams in learning from each other and the Accelerator, through regular learning and exchange sessions.

Requisite qualifications and experience:

Education and experience: Masters or equivalent degree in environment, geography, climate, water resources or relevant discipline. Minimum of 03 (three) years’ experience in environment, climate, WASH etc. with reputed organisations, preferably INGOs, donor agencies or international organisations. The years of experience may be relaxed for candidates with exceptional credentials and/or fast professional growth track.

Essential skills

• Experience managing in-country programmes related to the environment, climate, water, WASH and/or development while being stationed in-country or at the regional/ global level.
• Experience in developing/running programs. Working with various stakeholders - financiers/bilaterals/private sector/project developers etc.
• Relevant experience and knowledge of the intersection of water and climate change issues at both the policy and programmes level.
• Experience leading government engagement efforts – preferably on climate and water.
• Key networks in country in the Water/government/finance sectors.
• Ability to manage a distributed team and effectively report upwards on progress/key risks.
• Fluent in spoken and written English.
• Passionate about climate adaptation and water security, and driven to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable communities.
• Strong team player.

Desirable skills

• Fluency in languages other than English (particularly Bengali).
• Experience working in or closely with one of the Accelerator’s priority countries (Bangladesh)
• Knowledge of project management tools or design software.
• Experience working with a consortium of partners from both the public and private sectors.
• Expertise on inclusivity, particularly gender equality.
• Expertise on climate financing in developing countries.

Apply Instruction

If you are passionate to make a difference, courageous to improve lives of the people with water, sanitation and hygiene, confident to meet organisation’s expectations and fulfil the above-mentioned requirements;

You are encouraged to visit WaterAid recruitment portal and apply here:

Resilient Water Accelerator Engagement Officer

Or

ONLY SHORT-LISTED CANDIDATES WILL BE CONTACTED
Candidates will have to go through an extensive selection process.
Any lobbying will be considered as disqualification

WaterAid is an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, or pregnancy and maternity. WaterAid is committed to ensure that wherever we work in the world there is no tolerance for the abuse of power, privilege or trust. WaterAid reinforces a culture of zero tolerance towards any form of inappropriate behaviour, abuse, harassment, or exploitation of any kind. The safeguarding of our beneficiaries, staff, volunteers and anyone working on our behalf, is our top priority, and we take our responsibilities extremely seriously. All staff and volunteers are required to share in this commitment through our Global Code of Conduct.

Please visit https://www.wateraid.org/uk/safeguarding-at-wateraid

To know more about our organisation, please visit: www.wateraid.org