Overview
Provide technical, operational, and thought leadership for the Water for Resilience Programme (W4R), a multi-donor programme focused on improving sustainable access to water for agro-pastoral communities in Somalia through private sector engagement and market systems development.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the implementation of water market systems assessments, ecosystem mapping exercises and corridor diagnostics.
- Conduct Market System Mapping and Analysis and prioritize market sectors for program intervention.
- Develop and oversee the portfolio of market system development interventions and partnerships.
- Provide technical oversight to interventions targeting Water Service Providers (WSPs), Water Companies (WCs), Community Water Management Committees (CWMCs), O&M operators and water-related SMEs.
- Lead in identifying market failures, business growth opportunities and investment barriers affecting water ecosystem actors.
- Lead the implementation of business diagnostics, due diligence assessments and capacity gap analyses for targeted enterprises and institutions.
- Implement development and implementation of tailored Business Development Service (BDS) packages for water ecosystem actors.
- Provide targeted enterprises with technical assistance in business planning, governance, operations management, customer service, financial management and investment readiness.
- Facilitate strategic partnerships between private sector actors, government institutions and financial service providers.
- Promote commercially viable, climate-resilient and inclusive business models capable of sustaining water service delivery beyond Programme funding.
- Lead the implementation of water ecosystem strengthening initiatives designed to improve operational efficiency, service quality and business performance.
- Support establishment of private sector platforms and learning networks to encourage peer learning and sector collaboration.
- Lead development and operationalization of catalytic financing mechanisms supporting climate-resilient water service delivery.
- Lead development of financing governance structures, eligibility criteria, selection frameworks and standard operating procedures.
- Ensure financing mechanisms remain market-compatible and do not distort local financial markets.
- Lead identification, screening and selection of enterprises eligible for catalytic financing support.
- Ensure direct establishment and management of investment pipelines for water companies, SMEs and service providers.
- Lead the implementation of investment readiness assessments and business strengthening processes.
- Facilitate engagement with commercial banks, microfinance institutions, impact investors, diaspora investors and development finance actors.
- Ensure due diligence assessments are conducted before financing decisions are made.
- Lead negotiation and structuring of financing arrangements between investors and water ecosystem actors.
- Support organization of investment forums, business matchmaking events and investor engagement platforms.
- Ensure performance of financed enterprises and ensure financing contributes to improved sustainability and service delivery.
- Lead and/or support MSD and gender and youth inclusion assessments, research studies and stakeholder consultations.
- Provide relevant technical input for program work plans, budgets, and MEAL Plan.
- Actively participate in program monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEAL) activities.
- Provide key support for data collection and analyses in collaboration with the MEAL team.
- Contribute relevant technical input for donor reporting and external program communications.
- Participate in development of the annual work plan, ensuring alignment with technical strategy.
- Undertake regular visits to the field to support implementation of M&E and to identify where adaptations might be needed.
- Prepare program progress reporting.
- Establish and effectively manage strong relationships with market system actors.
- Networking and representing the organization through coordinating with stakeholders, partners, government officials.
- Represent the program at networking and relationship meetings with private and public actors.
- Lead and support relevant enabling environment interventions and development of partnerships to address social norms that exclude women and youth and the poor from accessing markets.
- Build capacity of private sector actors to understand the business case for gender equality and unconscious bias.
- Provide technical assistance (TA) to support partners to develop gender equality policies and help them establish equitable hiring and recruitment processes.
- Support private sector capacity building efforts, including TA to partners to build their understanding of the business case for regenerative and environmentally sustainable solutions.
- Manage, supervise, mentor corridor managers and gender, communications and M and E team.
- Deputize the Program Director.
- Work closely with Program Director and Financial Controller to ensure compliance with company and donor regulations and policies.
Required Experience
- Bachelor’s Degree + 7 years’ experience, master’s degree + 5 years’ experience in Economics, Statistics, Agribusiness, Business Management, Marketing, Finance and Accounting, Program/Project Management or related fields.
- At least 5 years’ experience applying MSD (Market System Development) especially in WASH programs in Somalia or elsewhere
- Demonstrated understanding of - and commitment to challenging - barriers that disadvantage the vulnerable, women and youth and exclude them from economic opportunities.
- Good understanding of market systems and their role in poverty reduction from a systemic perspective; experience conducting market analysis in order to make business or investment decisions.
- Demonstrated orientation toward innovative thinking with strong ability to generate creative ideas/solutions and predict possible outcomes.
- Demonstrated experience leading and coordinating consultative planning processes that involve input from a range of experts and stakeholders toward strengthened evidence-based programming and decision making.
- Strong adaptive management skills, including critical thinking, foresight, and vision to actively analyses program activities, challenge assumptions, and make decisions.
Qualifications
Bachelor’s Degree or Master's Degree in Economics, Statistics, Agribusiness, Business Management, Marketing, Finance and Accounting, Program/Project Management or related fields.
