Water Resources Management Expert - OWAS at African Development Bank - AfDB

With its Ten Years Strategy (TYS) for 2013-2022, the Bank has positioned itself as a partner of choice to support Africa in its development. The Bank has taken the leadership in infrastructure (NEPAD Infrastructure Program, Infrastructure Consortium for Africa) and is carrying out a number of initiatives in the Water Sector through its Water and Sanitation Department namely, the Rural Water and Sanitation Initiative (RWSSI) and the Multi-donor Water Partnership program (MDWPP). Since 2005, the African Development Bank is the trustee for the African Water Facility Special Fund (AWF). The AWF aims at supporting the implementation of the Africa Water Vision and the Framework for Action for 2025 adopted at the 2000 World Water Forum in The Hague.

The objective of the African Water Facility is to i) Help reduce poverty and promote sustainable development by expanding Africa’s access to financial resources for the water and sanitation sector ; ii) Attract massive, appropriate and strategic investments and also for the development and management of sustainable water resources ; and iii) Strengthen enabling environment for water management to generate more investments.

Duties and responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Director OWAS, and in consultation with the directors of other relevant departments the incumbent will:

• Serve as Focal Point for the Multi Donor Water Partnership Programme (MDWPP);
• Contribute to strengthening collaboration across the water – energy- food nexus between OWAS / AWF and other departments within the Bank and partnerships with other regional and global IWRM organisations;
• Support the preparation of key MDWPP documents including the Final Phase 1 Report and the medium term strategic plan (2013-2015);
• Coordinate the organization of periodic MDWPP steering committee meetings;
• Contribute to mobilization of resources for MDWPP;
• Prepare or contribute to the preparation of activity work programmes and approval memos for newly approved activities prior to disbursement;
• In collaboration with task managers, oversee the timely preparation and implementation, of the annual work plan and budgets for MDWPP activities;
• Review Terms of reference for projects proposed for MDWPP funding and assess them in line with MDWPP objectives;
• Review MDWPP outputs (study reports and knowledge products) and ensure that they are suitably packaged for eventual publication where appropriate;
• Contribute to building capacity within and outside the Bank for mainstreaming IWRM in general including climate change adaptation and green growth in operational guidelines and tools;
• Prepare and deliver presentations on various MDWPP issues to stakeholders in various fora as necessary.

Selection Criteria

Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience

• A minimum of a Master's degree with specialization in Water Resources Management or a related discipline.
• A minimum of ten (10) years’ post qualification experience in national and transboundary IWRM issues, and in preparing, appraising, implementation and evaluation of water sector projects, is required. Experience with operations in the water sector in Africa financed by multilateral/bilateral development institutions will be considered as an advantage.
• Authorship of analytical studies or publications relevant to water resources management or the water sector in general would be an advantage.
• Ability to build partnerships and deliver results that meets the needs and long-term interest of clients within and outside the institution.
• Proven ability to work effectively within a team of professional staff, and utilize talent and expertise of team members in a productive way.
• Capacity to initiate and manage innovation and change.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and/or French, with a good working knowledge of the other language.
• Competence in the use of the standard Microsoft software applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, SAP.

NB : Funding for this Technical Assistant expert position is provided by the Nigerian Technical Cooperation Fund (NTCF). The position is a two year fixed term contract open only to nationals of African countries.