Project Director - Water Services Operation & Maintenance (O&M) Research

Job Description

Job Description

Job Summary

Action Against Hunger-USA seeks a Project Director to lead a 3-year research project on Operation & Maintenance (O&M) for water service delivery in rural humanitarian contexts.

The research will look into alternative models to the traditional community-based governance of water supply infrastructure that is often applied in humanitarian contexts.

The project is expected to identify and compare O&M models for rural water supply through a comprehensive mixed-methods approach in up to 10 countries spanning Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and South-East Asia, before designing and testing specific models in up to three country office where Action Against Hunger operates and responds to humanitarian crises.

The Project Director will serve as the Principal Investigator (PI) of the research and will oversee and coordinate the research project with partners across multiple countries.

The Project Director will serve as the main point of contact between the project team, partners, and the donor, provide overall technical strategy and direction for all project activities and staff, be responsible for global and institutional technical leadership, and ensure administrative, fiscal, and regulatory oversight of the project.

The O&M research project is expected to require at least 50% of the level of effort (LOE) from the position. The position will be involved in other WASH or research projects, including business development, technical assistance, and / or knowledge management, based on needs and profile.

The position is contingent on receiving the funding, and on a final approval by USAID / Bureau of Humanitarian Affairs of the applicant.

II. Essential Job Duties

The Project Director will :

A) Serve as the Principal Investigator (PI) of the Water Supply O&M research (min 50% LOE), and contribute to other strategic research projects at Action Against Hunger USA.

This role will :

• Be accountable as the lead researcher and primary accountable for all-aspects of study design and implementation from inception through completion.
• Ensure that the global study protocol is scientifically sound and of both scientific and social value, as well as applicable across multiple country contexts.
• Manage the project resources adequately to conduct high-quality research and ensure donor compliance.
• Ensure all applicable approvals have been obtained for trial registration and ethical review, both at international and country-levels before starting the study and enrolling subjects.
• After approval, ensure that all required reports are submitted to IRB and / or the donor, as applicable (e.g. progress reports, unanticipated problems, protocol deviations).
• Provide oversight over all study activities at all levels, including tasks delegated to others, to ensure that the research is conducted in alignment with its protocol, in compliance with all donor and ethical rules and obligations, and all guidelines and standards within Action Against Hunger.
• Ensure that each subject’s valid, voluntary informed consent will be obtained and documented using an IRB-approved tool.
• Ensure training and technical oversight of research personnel and consultants in study sites and at global level.
• Oversee overall team management, guidance, direction, and management of the administrative and technical aspects of the project.

Supervision of Deputy Project Director, research staff, and consultants

• Coordinate and oversee inputs from local and global partners, stakeholders, and all actors involved in the research.
• Lead on data analysis, in adherence to the pre-planned protocol analysis plan, using appropriate quantitative and / or qualitative analyses to produce technically sound and robust results.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for host country government agencies, partners, and counterparts, cultivating and strengthening strong, productive relationships.
• Ensure work planning, interim and final reporting, and any contractual or requested deliverable are timely developed, submitted, and revised to the highest quality, and meets donor’s expectations.
• Work with administrative, operation and finance functions at Action Against Hunger and at partners to ensure close oversight of compliance requirements and appropriate allocation and use of project resources.
• Coordinate with Action Against Hunger’s country offices and headquarters (France, Spain) involved in the research, ensuring efficient research delivery and monitoring collaboration protocols.
• Organize and facilitate Pause & Reflect workshops, learning reviews, or other exercises fed by project monitoring to ensure up-to-date decisions and revisions to the research questions or methodology.
• Provide overall financial oversight of the budget over the life of the project.
• Lead the dissemination of project results as appropriate through publications, presentations in conferences and webinars, and organization of learning and dissemination events.

Based on priorities established by Action Against Hunger, the Project Director may be involved in one or more of the following functions :

B) Contribute to new business development in research and / or WASH, especially as it relates to expansion of the Action Against Hunger USA research portfolio.

In collaboration with members of the research and technical teams, this role will :

• Identify appropriate funding opportunities to support the development of new research and other program learning opportunities that contribute to the Research and Learning Strategy.
• Lead or support proposal development, including the development of innovative and relevant research questions, robust research study design, and analytical processes, partnerships, and resourcing.

C) Represent Action Against Hunger USA externally to raise the visibility of our research.

This role will :

• Represent Action Against Hunger USA in relevant working groups and other technical committees to capitalize upon internal and external learning to improve our research approach.
• Lead on peer-review publications and other forms of communication and dissemination of results, including oral presentations to maximize the uptake of evidence generated.
• Develop or contribute to the organization’s communication efforts, press releases and other documentation.

III. Physical demands

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to sit for long periods and to concentrate on work, including typing, and turn out heavy volumes of work accurately, within short time frames under stressful situations in the context of a moderately noisy office with many interruptions.

Must be able to proofread own work accurately so that only minor corrections are needed on an infrequent basis.

• Travel to humanitarian contexts will be required. To travel to the field, the employee must attest to a level of physical fitness capable of enduring physically difficult, highly stressful situations which may include the necessity to walk long distances, to eat a limited diet and / or to reside in potentially uncomfortable housing or tents.
• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

IV. Working Conditions, Travel and Environment

• The duties of the job require regular job attendance in New York and / or Washington DC and / or Nairobi, as well as field visits, attendance to external meetings and conferences.
• Must be available to travel to work and travel outside normal office hours, on or weekends as needed or required.
• Must be able to travel coach fare for standard domestic and international business travel as well as to the country project sites.
• While performing the duties of this job in the field, the employee may be exposed to precarious settings under high security risks and / or very basic living conditions and outside weather conditions, as well as infectious diseases

V. Gender Equality Commitments & Zero Tolerance to Abuse

• Foster an environment that reinforces values of people of all genders equal access to information.
• Provide a work environment where people of all genders must be evaluated and promoted based on their skills and performance.
• Promote a safe, secure, and respectful environment for all stakeholders, particularly for children, beneficiaries, and members of staff.
• Help to prevent any type of abuse including workplace harassment and sexual abuse and exploitation.
• Respect beneficiaries’ women, men, children (boys and girls) regardless of gender, sex orientation, disability, religion, race, color, ancestry, national origin, age, or marital status.
• Value and respect all cultures

Requirements

VI. Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree or higher in a relevant field to the study (international development, WASH-related studies, governance, private sector development, etc.);
• Significant leadership experience in each of the following areas, totaling at least 10 years : research, technical expertise in humanitarian response (experience in WASH required), and project management of overall alignment, strategy, and execution across all partners and sub-partners;
• Minimum of five (5) years of demonstrated leadership and senior managerial experience overseeing a team (or teams) of cross-cutting expertise in support staff and / or consultants.

VII. Required Skills & Experience

• Experience working in humanitarian contexts emergency and in post-crisis recovery context.
• Familiarity with all steps of project cycle management and with USAID compliance requirement for cooperative agreements.
• Experience in the international WASH sector.
• Experience conducting operational research, ideally in the WASH sector.
• Demonstrated experience disseminating and presenting results to a broad audience.
• Genuine interest in and commitment to the humanitarian principles of Action Against Hunger USA
• Capacity to represent the organization within the Action Against Hunger USA network and externally to other humanitarian actors and donors.
• Must possess strong organizational skills, and be able to pay attention to writing and reviewing detailed reports, as well as preparing and editing technical documents.
• Ability to take initiative and prioritize multiple tasks with minimum supervision.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to work both independently and as a member of a team
• Good working knowledge of various computer software including MS Office
• Excellent written and verbal English communication skills are essential

At this time, we are only considering candidates who are authorized to work in the United States without the need for sponsorship, either now or in the future.

Thank you for your understanding.