Team Leader, Human Resources for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Assessment at Social Impact (SI)

Project Objective:

Liberians have poor access to clean water and sanitation services compared to other countries in the region, which contributes to poor health outcomes especially for children. This is due to weak sector governance, government institution capacity to manage, and funding constraints that hinder access to improved WASH services. Data from UNICEF and WHO Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP 2020) indicates that, about 75.26% of Liberians have access to a basic level of drinking water, where 85.53% of the residents are in urban areas and 64.10% of residents in rural areas. Sanitation and hygiene also remain inadequate due to a lack of latrines and management systems. Open defecation is the primary method of human waste disposal in rural areas as well as for many urban residents. According to data (JMP 2020) about 18.16% of Liberians had access to basic sanitation services where 29.02% of the residents are in urban areas and just 6.36% of residents in rural areas.

Liberia not only lacks water and sanitation infrastructure, but also needs improved sector governance, more capacity and financial models to design, build, operate and maintain the medium to large scale WASH infrastructure (e.g. water supply systems, institutional toilets). There is limited capacity of the government, communities, and private sector to properly manage and maintain water and sanitation infrastructure in both rural and urban areas of the country. At the national level, this problem is exacerbated by the lack of coordination among WASH-related ministries and entities, compounded by the shortage of sufficiently skilled personnel in government and civil society related to water and sanitation. However, the gaps in data availability and quality across the country calls into question the current state of human resources for WASH in Liberia. To address the human resources needs related to WASH in Liberia, USAID/Liberia intends to carry out a human resource gap analysis related to WASH operations, maintenance, management and training, and assess current and future HR needs related to WASH in all 15 counties of Liberia.

USAID/Liberia has engaged DELTA to conduct this gap analysis and assessment. This assessment will provide USAID/Liberia with robust information about the workforce needs related to water supply and sanitation (WASH operations, maintenance, management and training) and associated gaps as well as:

• Identify types of training institutions and programs for WASH professionals in Liberia
• Quantify the existing HR training capacity in the country and assess the gaps/shortages
• Estimate a proxy of HR demand per type of service delivery (obtaining, cleaning, transportation, delivery of clean water and safe sewage disposal)  per 10,000 people.
• Analyze the skills and education levels required to operate and maintain medium to small sized water and sanitation systems annually in Liberia in the following areas:
• Drinking water - piped systems and small systems
• Sanitation - sewer networks and wastewater treatment (as applicable)
• Sanitation - on-site systems and fecal sludge management (as applicable)   
• Hand hygiene - facilities/technologies and behavior change
• Any other sanitation infrastructure relevant to specific in-community needs (including community toilets and hand pump operations)
• Specific planning and training efforts required to fill the operations and maintenance (O&M) HR gap
• Clear recommendations on how to address the HR gaps and needs in Liberia
   

Position Description:

SociaI Impact is seeking a Team Leader (TL), HR for WASH to conduct this assessment. This is a consulting position with an estimated start date of November 28, 2022. The estimated level of effort (LOE) for the TL will be 60 days, with 35 days in Liberia (both in and outside of Monrovia). The TL will report to the DELTA Deputy Chief of Party and Senior M&E Advisor and work under the supervision of the Assessment and Evaluation Specialist, both based in Monrovia. The TL will manage a team of two subject matter experts.

Responsibilities:

The TL will be responsible for oversight and management of all team members by assigning responsibilities and producing high-quality assessment deliverables. The TL will oversee and lead on major assessment activities, including:

• Document current environment for human resources for the WASH sector through a comprehensive desk review, including a large quantity of secondary data
• Craft assessment workplan including methodology, site visit strategy, sampling protocols and other aspects of assessment design
• Conduct meetings and presentations with USAID/Liberia
• Coordinate with DELTA regarding operations, data collection expenses and procurement as needed.
• Lead the assessment team in data collection, including travel within selected counties and conduct in-person and remote KIIs,
• Lead the assessment team in completing a systematic analysis of the qualitative and quantitative data

Assume responsibility for the following high-quality deliverables:

• Work plan with methodology and interview protocols
• PowerPoint presentations to USAID/Liberia
• Draft Assessment Report
• Final Assessment Report
• Infographic Brief
• Make recommendations based for greater impact/results in the HR for WASH landscape of Liberia and future programs and designs
• Familiarity with existing secondary data sources and processes for acquiring secondary data on WASH human resources in Liberia highly preferred
   

A five-page writing skills sample should be submitted by the candidates for the TL position as part of the requirements in the recruitment process.

Qualifications:

Requirements for this position include:

• A master’s degree in a relevant public health discipline with a minimum of 10 years of experience in the public health sector
• Significant experience in one or more of the following areas: human resources for health, workforce development, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), public or health administration, and health financing.
• Proven managerial/leadership skills on large teams on complex projects, especially evaluation activities
• Proven expertise in conducting operational research (both quantitative and qualitative), monitoring and evaluation and/or health program implementation research, data analysis and presentation.
• Significant experience with advanced analysis methods for qualitative and quantitative data, including secondary data analysis and statistical regressions is required.
• Ability to liaise with multiple agencies/clients and exceptional organizational and communications skills,
• A commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive work and learning environment.
• Willingness to travel to multiple areas within Liberia
• Prior work experience in Liberia is recommended
• Fluency in English is required