Senior WASH Financing Advisor – Africa

OPEN POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT

SENIOR WASH FINANCING ADVISOR – AFRICA

Water For People is a global nonprofit working across nine countries, bringing together communities, local entrepreneurs, and governments to build and maintain water and sanitation services that will last. We have a sustainable solution to end the global water and sanitation crisis, and our employees across the world help drive this solution.

ABOUT THIS ROLE
The Senior WASH Financing Advisor-Africa supports government partners and staff to identify and capture different forms of finance to help national governments to make progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6). They will be responsible for providing expertise and technical assistance to country programs in Africa on innovations in WASH Financing and managing critical relationships within the Africa continent, international financing partners, and other key stakeholders. The ideal candidate understands public finance and the politics of increasing allocations as well as international financial instruments.

This position will improve effectiveness and impact of programs, build capacity with government partners and within country teams, and foster a culture of quality programming when it comes to WASH Financing within the organization. This position is part of and works in collaboration with other members of the Influence and Advocacy team within the organization. The role also supports WASH Financing related needs of Strategic Communications team, Donor Impact team, and internal funding opportunities in the Africa region.

They will provide senior technical and programmatic WASH Financing expertise and leadership to the planning, updating, and implementation of the project’s WASH financing and/or costing activities in the Africa region, at the macro-level and meso-level supporting Malawi, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania Country Programs.

The One for All Alliance, of which Water For People is a founding member, has since 2022 worked towards its Destination 2030 Strategy. Sector Finance is one of six key outcomes detailed in that strategy and perhaps the most challenging. The aim of this position is to enable the organization to more effectively respond to this challenge and leverage the resources needed to achieve SDG 6 at a national level in each focus country.

IN THIS ROLE YOU WILL
Expertise and Technical Support to Country Programs:
• Support Country programmes to help expand sector investments through diverse mechanisms such as blended financing facilities, public-private partnerships (PPPs), local debt financing, and other viable models of finance that can be replicated and scaled in the region.
• Leading the development of WASH Financing guidelines, framework, approaches and programme approaches to be used by Country Programmes to support them as they work with governments and partners.
• Provide technical assistance to facilitate mobilization of public and private finance to enhance water and sanitation service delivery with emphasis on rural and peri-urban areas, climate resilience, equity, and inclusion.
• Work with Country Programs in the innovations and development of financing models for financing WASH Services.
• Support Country programmes in designing and operationalization of WASH financing strategies that have been developed by Governments.
• Create a framework for WASH Financing at local or national government to increase efficiency and improve organizational flexibility to follow government leadership.
• Work with Country programmes in high level policy dialogue with government stakeholders and partners related to WASH financing for universal coverage.
Influence and advocacy related to WASH Finance
• Liaise with One for All Alliance influence team from the Africa region (IRC and Water for Good and potential future members) to advance themes on WASH Sector Finance.
• Build relationships with regional Finance institutions currently funding WASH programmes in Africa through grants/loans e.g., African Development Bank, Foundations, AMCOW, INGOs, and Private sector including Climate Finance institutions.
• Collaborate with Country Directors to develop financing opportunities with development banks and ensure accreditation to climate financing institutions e.g., Adaptation Fund, Green Climate Fund among others.
• Ensure all WASH Sector Finance programmes emphasize equity and inclusion in improving lasting access to water and sanitation services.
• Participate in international WASH networks, meetings, and selected technical working groups as appropriate to represent Water For People and ensure collaboration with relevant technical work in Africa.
• Participate in and help facilitate high level meetings with Donors, Ministers, and other stakeholders as requested by Country Program teams.
• Lead capacity building and training activities for country program technical staff.
• Promote and contribute to Water For People’s learning agenda as it relates to WASH financing.
• Lead and contribute to specific regional and global training, workshops, and learning webinars related to WASH financing.
External Communications and Support to Funding Opportunities
• Identify WASH Sector Finance funding opportunities that are aligned to Destination 2030 and country priorities.
• Support the Africa region national governments to identify and secure funding opportunities towards the achievement of SDG 6.
• Understand and communicate organizational approach to water and sanitation financing to select audiences, including sector conferences.
• Collaborate with Marketing and Donor Impact to improve our messaging of WASH Financing.

YOU WILL EXCEL IN THIS ROLE IF YOU HAVE
• Bachelor’s degree in economics, Finance or related field.
• Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible experience in WASH Finance activities for an international organization in a low- or middle-income country in Africa.
• Expertise in climate finance, international experience with a good understanding of how country governments can access this finance.
• Experience working with national governments, private sector, blended finance, equity funds, private financing, loan financing, climate financing to name a few.
• Technical skills in research, analysis, processing, collection, software programs.
• Well-rounded understanding of WASH program design and understanding of best practices for WASH Finance.
• Advanced/expert with Microsoft Office programs and specifically business analysis tools.
• Excellent English communication skills.
• Ability to influence without authority.

BONUS POINTS IF YOU HAVE
• Master’s Degree in a related field preferred.

MORE ABOUT THIS ROLE
• Opportunity to travel up to 15% of the time domestically and internationally to low- and middle-income countries where travel is rugged.
• Option to work from an office or remotely. Water For People will seek candidates in the following countries where Water For People is present: Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda. Candidates must be citizens of one of these countries or legally authorized to work in them.
• Ability to work outside regular business hours to meet with team members located in other time zones.

HOW YOU WILL APPLY:
If Water For People and this position interest you, please visit our Career Center and apply with your resume and cover letter to this position.

Actual salary will be determined based on experience and other job-related factors.

Water For People is committed to protecting children encountered during our work and by our employees, preventing sexual abuse and exploitation of all individuals with a particular focus on women and children and other marginalized communities in the performance of our work, preventing human trafficking in the performance of our work and in our supply chain and to having a drug-free workplace. During the recruitment processes, additional documentation will be requested to comply with our policies and in accordance with the legal requirements in your country of residency, this includes a background check. If you apply for employment, we want you to be aware of our recruitment, selection and hiring processes including important policies regarding employee conduct.

Water For People is an equal opportunity employer who is committed to creating a culture of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in our workplace. For this position we strongly encourage women and people with disabilities to apply. Water for people strives to create and maintain a level of diversity that reflects the communities we serve. Achieving this—regardless of race, ethnicity, ancestry, tribal affiliation, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, veteran status, disability, socioeconomic class, educational attainment, or other social identities is critical to our ability to have a world where every person has access to reliable and safe water and sanitation services.

Our commitment ensures that we:
● Have a different array of thinking that comes from diverse backgrounds and cultures, enabling us to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges.
● Strive for a culture of inclusion and belonging by treating each other with dignity, respect, and appreciation enabling us to feel welcome, supported, and valued.
● Effectively connect, communicate, and build long-lasting relationships with stakeholders within our diverse communities.
● Have diversity of thought, perspectives, backgrounds, identities, and talents that will support our mission to develop high-quality drinking water and sanitation services are available to Everyone Forever.

Portfolio Manager (West Africa)

The African Visionary Fund (AVFund) is unleashing breakthrough impact by driving resources to high-impact African founders. Our belief is simple – when tackling challenges and improving lives on the continent, proximity matters. Despite their potential for impact, African-led organizations receive less than 5.2% of all US grant funds given across Africa and less than 0.4% of all international funding. We envision a world where African visionaries are recognized and resourced by funders for their ability to accelerate progress and drive systems change on the continent.

The AVFund started in 2020 and we are entering an exciting moment of growth as we expand our funding partnerships and our portfolio of African changemakers, launch our philanthropic systems change strategy, and grow our team to help us deliver on our ambitious vision. We have a small but mighty team of 8 spread across 3 time zones and 4 countries. In the last three years, we have raised close to $8M, committed over $4.5M in flexible multi-year funding to 25 African changemakers, been featured in the New York Times and The Guardian, and we are just getting started!

We believe deeply in our core values of Transformative Impact, Equity, Solidarity, Trust and Integrity, and Striving to Learn. We strive to take the path aligned to these values at every decision juncture, even if the less values-aligned path might be faster or easier. We are looking for team members who are passionate and dedicated to these values and who will continue to challenge us to live into them at every turn.

Role Summary

Why does this role exist? We are a young organization striving to constantly learn from our partners to evolve our grantmaking process and relationship development. Our goal is to create a simple, straightforward and mutually enjoyable relationship with our partners. We strive to be consistent in iterating our grantmaking criteria and selection process to be more equitable and inclusive.
We believe that co-designing our programs in grantmaking and portfolio services with our partners in Sub-Saharan Africa leads to an impact that aligns with our mission of being an equitable funder.
AVFund’s programs team leads the pipeline management, grantmaking processes and cycle, portfolio services and relationships with all partners. We are looking to expand our team in Sub-Saharan Africa with a dynamic self-starter who will collaborate with our Africa co-CEO, Senior Operations Manager, Portfolio Managers and others in building and improving systems and processes for grantmaking and portfolio services.
This role is for someone who is excited to grow with the fund and ready to play a critical role in a team that is centered on building equitable relationships of trust and mutual respect with our partners.

Essential Competencies

The ideal individual for this role truly believes in equitable partnerships between funders and grantees. You excel in active listening and absorbing insights that facilitate continued development of collaborative solutions to overcome challenges our African leaders face. Having prior experience in a grantee-centric setting would be a valuable asset. In addition we seek a highly curious individual with a strong desire to see African-led organizations succeed in achieving their ambitions.
● You have a deep understanding of the realities of African-founded and led organizations, the challenges of traditional grantmaking systems and are excited to challenge these and be part of creating different approaches
● Proven ability to consistently build and maintain equitable relationships with diverse stakeholders.
● Excited and comfortable to work with organizations across different regions, sectors, and growth stages.
● Proven results in an investment or grantmaking environment, for example in driving grantmaking processes and/or portfolio services.
● Strong interpersonal skills with proven ability to effectively influence and collaborate with diverse team members in a multicultural environment.
● High level of strategic thinking with a strong ability to analyze organizational data and information, draw patterns, identify opportunities for growth and use the insights gained to inform strategy and decision making.
● Ability to step into unique contexts, creatively troubleshoot and co-create impactful solutions with various stakeholders.
● Strong self leadership skills, with the ability to own and drive performance and results in a fully virtual team
● Thoughtful & disciplined project management and organization skills with the ability to successfully handle multiple and complex moving parts simultaneously.
● Possess a commitment to experimentation, an iterative mindset and constant learning as key ingredients for building sustainable solutions and achieving the desired outcomes
● Proficiency with using CRMs like Salesforce and other task & data management systems
● English fluency is required, French fluency is preferred.
● The role is based in West Africa. The successful candidate must have pre-existing work authorization in their desired country of residence.

 

Why work with us?

● Meaning: This is an opportunity to amplify and accelerate the impact of African social changemakers and to tackle inequities, injustices and power imbalances in funding in Africa.
● Autonomy: There is considerable autonomy and agency to shape how our grantmaking, capacity investment and portfolio management strategies are designed and implemented
● Variety: From engaging with existing grantee partners to cultivating relationships with prospective ones to creating a portfolio management strategy, no two days in this role will look alike.

Main Responsibilities

Portfolio Services ~50%
● Support in the creation of bespoke portfolio services in collaboration with our partners. This will include but not be limited to working with partners to map opportunities for positioning, and proactively deliver on the same (through AVFund comms channels, speaking engagements, funder connections, event attendance, new initiatives, etc).
● Help in the co-creation and implementation of tools and frameworks that enable our partners to identify opportunities that will catalyze their growth and development.
● Proactively work with the partners to identify the areas that need investment for organizational strategic growth and work on prioritizing timely and impactful needs to effectively channel resources.
● Track and measure the efforts and results from our portfolio services. Draw regular insights to help improve portfolio services.
● Perpetually audit AVFund’s approach towards portfolio services to stay true to our mission of creating an equitable relationship with our partners.
● Participate in the long term creation of a knowledge base that allows our teams to deliver portfolio services efficiently.
● Ensure the real time updating of internal systems used to track critical information about organizations in our portfolio for equitable engagement with each partner.

Grantmaking ~40%
● Contribute to the constant iteration of our grantmaking criteria and selection processes by effectively incorporating the voice and input of our partners & pipeline.
● Participate in the creation of an inclusive pipeline across the continent through strategically and actively engaging local leaders for referrals and recommendations.
● Participate in implementing the AVFund’s grantmaking processes, including developing grantmaking work plans, managing grantmaking timelines, and
managing the due diligence process.
● Participate in the design and implementation of grant renewal systems and processes with our existing cohorts.
● Facilitate grant disbursements to ensure that each partner receives their grants in a timely and efficient manner.

Partnerships and ecosystem engagement ~10%
● Keep a pulse on social sector trends and developments to identify opportunities that AVFund can use to leverage its presence, networks, and experiences, to benefit our visionary partners and the general social impact ecosystem in SSA.
● As needed, participate in strategic activities to amplify our work and share our approach on equitable and unrestricted grantmaking in collaboration with our marketing and communications team
● As needed, support the AVFund team in cultivating relationships with INGOs, embassies, foundations, high net worth individuals and other on-continent funders to leverage funding for our partners.

Other information

The anticipated start date is January 2024. The ideal candidate is an African based in West Africa, with pre-existing work authorization.This is a full time role (average of 40 hours a week). Working hours will be agreed on based on where the candidate lives.
Candidates should be ready for rural travel with basic amenities. There will be a six-month probationary period and we will agree on performance and learning objectives. We are looking for candidates who are ready to make a long-term commitment.

Does this feel like you? Application details below!
● Fill out the application form under this link https://recruiterflow.com/edge/jobs/94
● You will be asked to upload your CV on the application form. Please ensure it is in PDF format, tailored to this role and no more than 3 pages.
● Applications will be shortlisted on a rolling basis. Apply as soon as you see this. For any questions get in touch with AVFund@edgeperformance.co.ke
● Recruitment process in collaboration with edge, our talent partner. All emails regarding this role will come from email accounts in the domains @edgeperformance.co.ke and @africanvisionary.org