WASH Institutional Management Specialist at WaterAid
Job Description
Job Summary
The WASH Institutional Management Specialist will provide hands‑on technical leadership and delivery support to WaterAid country teams and governments participating in the National Water Compact Delivery Accelerator, with a particular focus on institutional arrangements and governance, delegated management models and implementation readiness.
The role bridges strategy and execution, supporting countries to design practical institutional governance, service delivery and management frameworks that underpin credible, finance‑ready WASH investments.
Key Duties & Responsibilities
1. Institutional diagnostics and design
- Lead or contribute to detailed institutional and governance diagnostics at national and sub‑national levels.
- Analyse roles, mandates, incentives and capacities across ministries, agencies, utilities and service providers.
- Identify binding institutional constraints affecting project delivery and sustainability.
2. Management and delivery model development
- Support governments to design fit‑for‑purpose institutional and management models for priority WASH investments.
- Define delivery units, implementation arrangements and accountability frameworks aligned to investment requirements.
3. Integration with financing and project development
- Work closely with finance and project development specialists to ensure institutional arrangements meet lender expectations.
- Contribute to the preparation of investment‑ready project documentation, including institutional sections of concept notes and appraisal documents.
4. Country‑level facilitation and coordination
- Provide embedded or close‑support accompaniment to country teams and government counterparts.
- Facilitate multi‑stakeholder workshops and consultations focused on institutional reform and delivery models.
5. Quality assurance and learning
- Contribute to quality assurance of diagnostics, project concepts and full project packages.
- Capture and document practical lessons on institutional reform and management arrangements.
Minimum Qualifications Required
- Strong professional experience in WASH institutional management, governance or service delivery reform.
- Practical experience working with government systems in low‑ and middle‑income countries.
- Understanding of how institutional arrangements underpin investment viability and sustainability.
- Strong facilitation, analytical and written communication skills.
- Although not essential, we’d prefer you to have:
- Experience contributing to MDB‑financed or large‑scale infrastructure programmes.
- Familiarity with utility reform, delegated management or hybrid delivery models.
- Experience working across multiple countries or regions
