Country Director - WaterAid Ghana

WaterAid Ghana is looking for a Country Director who will provide leadership to the Country Programme (CP) and contribute to the regional and global leadership of WaterAid.

The CD will steer the direction of the Senior Management Team and the Country Programme, and influence public and private institutions on the positive impact of safe water, improved sanitation and hygiene on the poorest and most excluded, thus contributing to wider poverty reduction and human development.

Key roles and responsibilities include:

Strategic Leadership & Management

• Develop and deliver the Country Strategy in line with WaterAid's Global Strategy.
• Provide strong strategic and inspiring leadership to the country team promoting a management culture that is supportive, empowering and collaborative.
• Contribute, as a member of the Global and Regional leadership teams of WaterAid, to support WaterAid’s organisational effectiveness and development.
• Ensure the successful, timely delivery of the country programme’s multi-year plans and budgets. Accountable for the effective and efficient use of WaterAid’s financial resources; transparent management and reporting of all income streams and compliance with restricted funding contractual obligations
• Strengthen and maintain WaterAid Ghana’s reputation by ensuring high-quality programme delivery, liaising with government and other sector actors to deliver WASH and promoting WaterAid values.
• Ensure coherence in all CP activities - programming, influencing, funder engagement, staff development, internal system and process development, etc.

External Representation, Advocacy & Influencing 

• Represent WaterAid externally; ensure that WaterAid's vision, mission, values and aims are communicated in a positive and compelling way.
• Effectively representing WaterAid to government and other development partners, with strong ability and confidence to lobby and advocate for the desired change in WASH in Ghana
• Facilitate the building of relationships between partners, staff and other stakeholders, and facilitate relationships between sector stakeholders (actors) to support the development of the sector.

Fundraising & Donor Relations

• Have strong knowledge of the international funding landscape and staying aware of the local funding context and maximise this in exploring (funding) opportunities
• Identify appropriate opportunities to increase income, in conjunction with the Regional Director and the global funding teams.

Ability to champion Equity, Rights & Inclusion

•   Lead the approach of ensuring that the Country Programme has integrated Rights, Equity and Inclusion into its work as well as being a diverse and inclusive place to work.
• Demonstrate understanding and commitment to leading work using a rights-based approach and ability to translate this into action, to support WaterAid’s aim of ensuring the human rights to water and sanitation are realised by everyone, everywhere.
• Proven experience, confidence and commitment to tackling the social, economic and geographical inequalities that manifest in Ghana, and understanding of how these impact WASH or related sectors.
• Demonstrate political and practical expertise in supporting teams to deliver WaterAid’s commitment to gender and socially inclusive approaches and outcomes in WASH

Security, Safeguarding & Risk Management

• Develop a thorough understanding of the external operating environment, identifying and managing risks including ensuring appropriate health, safety, security and safeguarding procedures are in place.
• Ultimate responsibility for staff health and safety, security and safeguarding in the CP; adherence to protocols, leading on serious in-country incidents or crisis management, critical decisions to suspend field activities or close offices due to health and safety or security concerns, and showing exemplarity in integrating health, safety, security in all stages of programme/project management.

Required Skills or Experience

To be successful, you’ll need:

• Master’s Degree or professional qualification in a relevant subject area
• Proven experience leading a Country Programme/Office in an International Development setting
• Senior management experience in an international development organisation
• Experience of working in Ghana and West Africa
• Strategic leadership and management of a multi-disciplinary team of professionals, preferably in the water and sanitation sector.

In addition:

• Experience developing key strategic and operational partnerships with national-level NGOs and government authorities for programme, policy and advocacy interventions.
• Experience raising funds from government and/or international agencies (bilateral/multilateral), managing large budgets with diverse international donor base.
• Leading on engagement with national governments, bilateral and multilateral agencies on policy influencing.
• Significant experience of community-based water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion projects
• Good understanding of the linkages between programme and advocacy