We are a Kenyan organization committed to accelerating water access in rural areas by championing professionalized management with a focus on small and medium-sized piped water systems. We leverage innovative service delivery models (SDMs), appropriate technologies, and strategic Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to achieve sustainable, efficient, and reliable water services for underserved communities. With a national presence in Kenya and working with 100+ rural water utilities to improve their functionality and commercial performance, a common challenge among the rural water systems in Kenya & Africa.

Purpose of the Position

The Officer will provide hands-on technical assistance, capacity strengthening, coordination and performance monitoring to county governments, WSPs and other water and sanitation service providers.

The Officer will work across urban, peri-urban and rural WASH systems, supporting improvements in institutional performance, infrastructure and operations, customer and revenue systems, investment planning, climate resilience and service sustainability.

Key Responsibilities

WSP capacity strengthening

• Conduct WSP and service-provider capacity assessments
• Support preparation and implementation of performance-improvement plans.
• Strengthen governance and management systems.
• Support establishment and monitoring of WSP KPIs.
• Coach WSP management and technical teams.
• Track implementation of agreed improvement actions.

Technical and operational performance

Support providers to improve:

• Water production and distribution;
• Network operations;
• NRW management;
• Water-quality management;
• Metering and connections;
• Preventive maintenance;
• Asset management;
• Infrastructure rehabilitation;
• Energy efficiency; and
• Service reliability and continuity.

Customer and commercial performance

Support improvement of:

• Customer databases;
• Billing systems;
• Revenue collection;
• Meter management;
• Complaints management;
• Customer communication;
• Payment systems; and
• Commercial-performance monitoring.

Investment planning

• Support county and WSP investment planning.
• Identify priority infrastructure and service gaps.
• Develop technical inputs for investment cases.
• Link investment priorities to WSP business plans.
• Support preparation of investment-ready project concepts.
• Facilitate engagement with financing and private-sector partners.

Rural and small water providers

Support rural and small providers to improve:

• Governance;
• O&M;
• Financial sustainability;
• Tariff and revenue systems;
• Operator capacity;
• Customer management;
• Asset management;
• Delegated management arrangements; and
• Service-level agreements.

County coordination

The Officer will maintain regular engagement with:

• County Departments responsible for water/WASH;
• WSPs;
• Rural water providers;
• Community institutions;
• Private operators;
• Sanitation/FSM actors;
• Regulators; and
• Other relevant sector stakeholders.

The Officer will maintain a county action tracker and follow up agreed actions to completion.

Sanitation and FSM integration

Working with the relevant sanitation/FSM specialists, the Officer will:

• Support county-level coordination of water and sanitation interventions;
• Identify service-delivery gaps;
• Facilitate linkages with sanitation/FSM providers;
• Support integration of sanitation priorities into relevant county/WSP plans; and
• Monitor agreed county-level actions.

Climate resilience and sustainability

Integrate:

• drought resilience;
• climate-risk assessment;
• source and infrastructure protection;
• water-resource considerations;
• energy efficiency;
• solarisation where appropriate;
• resilient O&M systems; and
• long-term financial sustainability

Into county and WSP planning.

Capacity building and knowledge transfer

• Deliver and facilitate practical training.
• Coach county and WSP staff.
• Develop and adapt SOPs, tools and management templates.
• Facilitate peer learning.
• Document lessons and innovations.
• Promote institutional ownership of systems introduced through the programme.

Monitoring and reporting

• Maintain county implementation and performance trackers.
• Monitor agreed WSP KPIs.
• Document technical assistance and capacity-building activities.
• Track progress against county action plans.
• Identify risks and recommend corrective actions.
• Prepare periodic county progress reports.
• Provide data and evidence for Pathway 2 reporting.

Key Deliverables

The Officer will be responsible for:

• County WSP/Service-Provider Capacity Assessment
• County WSP Performance-Improvement Plans
• County WSP Action and KPI Tracker
• Customer Management and Revenue-System Improvement Actions
• Infrastructure and Asset-Management Improvement Actions
• DMM/PPCP Development and Operationalisation Actions
• County/WSP Investment-Planning and Investment-Readiness Inputs
• Capacity-Building and Coaching Records
• County Stakeholder Coordination Records
• Climate-Resilience and Sustainability Actions
• Sanitation and FSM Coordination Actions
• Quarterly County Progress Reports
• County Institutionalisation and Handover Plan

Qualifications and Experience

Minimum qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Civil/Water Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Natural Resources, Public Health, Development Studies, Social Sciences or any other relevant course with a bearing on water and sanitation;
• Postgraduate qualification is an advantage.
• Professional registration/membership where applicable is an advantage.

Experience

At least 7 years of relevant professional experience, including:

• WASH service delivery in Kenya;
• Water sector reforms in Kenya
• Demonstrated experience in both urban/peri-urban and rural settings;
• WSP or water-service-provider strengthening;
• County government engagement;
• Water infrastructure, operations or service management;
• Institutional capacity strengthening;
• Stakeholder/community engagement; and
• Implementation of government or donor-supported WASH programmes.

Regional experience

Demonstrated practical experience in Northern Kenya and/or ASAL counties shall be strongly preferred.

• Conduct WSP and service-provider capacity assessments.
• Support preparation and implementation of performance-improvement plans, strengthen governance and management systems, and support establishment and monitoring of WSP KPIs.
• Coach WSP management and technical teams and track implementation of agreed improvement actions.
• Support providers to improve water production and distribution, network operations, NRW management, water-quality management, metering and connections, preventive maintenance, asset management, infrastructure rehabilitation, energy efficiency, and service reliability and continuity.
• Support improvement of customer databases, billing systems, revenue collection, meter management, complaints management, customer communication, payment systems, and commercial-performance monitoring.
• Support county and WSP investment planning, identify priority infrastructure and service gaps, develop technical inputs for investment cases, link investment priorities to WSP business plans, and support preparation of investment-ready project concepts.
• Facilitate engagement with financing and private-sector partners.
• Support rural and small providers to improve governance, O&M, financial sustainability, tariff and revenue systems, operator capacity, customer management, asset management, delegated management arrangements, and service-level agreements.
• Maintain regular engagement with county departments responsible for water/WASH, WSPs, rural water providers, community institutions, private operators, sanitation/FSM actors, regulators, and other relevant sector stakeholders.
• Maintain a county action tracker and follow up agreed actions to completion.
• Support county-level coordination of water and sanitation interventions, identify service-delivery gaps, facilitate linkages with sanitation/FSM providers, support integration of sanitation priorities into relevant county/WSP plans, and monitor agreed county-level actions.
• Integrate drought resilience, climate-risk assessment, source and infrastructure protection, water-resource considerations, energy efficiency, solarisation where appropriate, resilient O&M systems, and long-term financial sustainability into county and WSP planning.
• Deliver and facilitate practical training, coach county and WSP staff, develop and adapt SOPs, tools and management templates, facilitate peer learning, document lessons and innovations, and promote institutional ownership of systems introduced through the programme.
• Maintain county implementation and performance trackers, monitor agreed WSP KPIs, document technical assistance and capacity-building activities, track progress against county action plans, identify risks and recommend corrective actions, prepare periodic county progress reports, and provide data and evidence for Pathway 2 reporting.

• WASH service delivery and water-sector reforms in Kenya
• WSP and water-service-provider capacity strengthening
• Water infrastructure, operations, and service management
• Performance assessment, improvement planning, and KPI monitoring
• Water production, distribution, network operations, and NRW management
• Water-quality management, metering, maintenance, and asset management
• Customer databases, billing, revenue collection, and commercial performance
• County and WSP investment planning and investment-readiness
• Governance, O&M, tariffs, and financial sustainability for rural water providers
• County government, stakeholder, and community engagement
• Training, coaching, SOP and tool development, and peer learning
• Monitoring, reporting, action tracking, and risk identification
• Climate resilience, drought resilience, and sustainability planning
• Sanitation and FSM coordination

• Bachelor's degree in Civil/Water Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Natural Resources, Public Health, Development Studies, Social Sciences or any other relevant course with a bearing on water and sanitation.
• Postgraduate qualification is an advantage.
• Professional registration/membership where applicable is an advantage.
• Demonstrated experience in both urban/peri-urban and rural settings.
• Demonstrated practical experience in Northern Kenya and/or ASAL counties is strongly preferred.