Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene Specialist, Proposal - University Research Co

University Research Co., LLC (URC): URC is a global company dedicated in improving the quality of health care, social services, and health education worldwide. With a non-profit affiliate, the Center for Human Services (CHS), URC has experiences managing projects in nearly 40 countries. Established in 1965, URC offers a range of technical assistance to strengthen health and social systems and service quality by empowering communities and health workers to identify and scale up locally appropriate solutions to critical problems.

Internationally, we expand access to and improve the quality of services addressing maternal, newborn, and child health; infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria; reproductive health and family planning; food and nutrition; and vulnerable children and families. URC’s mission is to provide innovative, evidence-based solutions to health and social challenges worldwide. Please join us in carrying out our mission (http://www.urc-chs.com/).

Position Overview: 

URC is seeking an experienced Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Specialist for the upcoming USAID-funded Resilience in Northern Ghana (RING) II – Systems Strengthening Activity. This five-year Activity will strengthen service delivery systems in order to elicit the adoption of behaviors that promote nutrition and resilience of poor and food-insecure households in northern Ghana. The WASH Specialist will support in the strategy, planning, and implementation of improved water sanitation and hygiene behaviors.

S/he must support the program teams for the proper development, management, use, and maintenance of multi-use water sources, including adequate access to water for production. Under the supervision of the Social and Behavior Change (SBC) Advisor and in close collaboration with the senior program manager, s/he must develop the WASH strategy across sectors and work with local stakeholders to develop water use and WASH plans. S/he must collaborate to develop coordinated strategies and interventions in the areas of governance, livelihoods, and civil society, as well as with the Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) team for continuous quality improvement and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) across all levels.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute overall WASH strategy and work plan activities toward achievement of Activity objectives.
• Build capacity of local and international groups to use data for decision making in the WASH field and stimulate uptake of learning from project results. 
• Monitor WASH-related activity performance to achieve Activity goals and objectives and ensure effective implementation, making adaptations as needed through a continuous quality improvement process. 
• Support development of high quality and comprehensive Activity reports and other deliverables and products and respond promptly to other informational requests by USAID and government stakeholders, as needed. 
• Support preparation of work plans, budgets, annual reports, weekly updates, and quarterly performance reports with program staff and partners.
• Activity t to the USG, donors, relevant stakeholders, cooperating agencies and others. 
• Ensure appropriate and timely documentation and dissemination of WASH-related key results using a variety of communication strategies and media. 
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, beneficiaries, and partners. 

Minimum Qualifications: 

• Master’s degree in public health or social sciences, or a related field.
• At least eight years’ experience designing, implementing, and managing WASH programming and activities.
• At least eight years of cumulative experience providing technical leadership to USG-funded programs, especially community development and WASH programs, with/in international development agencies, non-governmental organizations, or other implementing partners with proven success and leadership.
• Demonstrated experience establishing sustainable community water point management associations.
• Ability to work with people from a multidisciplinary and multicultural environment.
• Efficient management of processes and relationships particularly involving stakeholders, partner organizations and individuals (both internal and external), and beneficiaries.

• Prior experience working with USAID and other international donors is preferred.
• Proven ability to develop productive working relationships with public and private sector stakeholders, USAID and other donors and implementing partners, and organizations.
• Strong verbal, written, presentation, and communications skills.
• English fluency required; secondary language fluency desired.
• Excellent skills in facilitation, team building, and coordination.
• Ability and willingness to travel within Ghana, when required.