Senior Water and Sanitation Engineer  – Water For People

Position Objective: 

The Senior Water, and Sanitation Engineer, is responsible for supporting districts in developing projects and monitoring execution to ensure high-quality standard water and sanitation infrastructure and sustainable WASH services. The Senior Water and Sanitation Engineer, position, has the following work objectives: 

• Contribute to the Water For People Direction 30 strategy and agenda and related objectives of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including attaining universal sustainable water and sanitation services.  

• Provide support to Ministry of Infrastructure and districts to ensure cohesive approaches to guide water supply and sanitation sector joint programming.  
• Contribute to Water For People’s strategy of integrated water resources management and climate change, considering the increasing demand for water, rising conflict among competing water uses, climate change, fragility, urban development, and other key global trends.  
• Liaising with national and local level stakeholders and maintaining close collaboration, while contributing to the appropriate management of technical knowledge and guidance towards building water security and promotion of sustainable and affordable water supply and sanitation technologies and approaches. 

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES:  

Responsibilities 

• Provide support and ensure professional and economical operations and maintenance of water supply, production, and storage systems in the districts’ areas of service to meet key performance indicators. 

• Support and oversee the operations and maintenance of wastewater plants in the districts’ areas of service to ensure the highest levels of performance and compliance with regulatory standards. 
• Support and ensure water reaching the consumers is of the required standard and infrastructure works meet the required standard. 
• Carry out research on the latest technologies in the Water and sanitation industry. 
• Ensure all the assets and equipment in the districts’ areas of service is safeguarded against loss and damage. 
• Liaise with districts and other stakeholders in catchment conservation activities. 

• Assist the service providers and districts in the preparation of the departmental annual budget and work plans. 
• Ensure maintenance schedules for the water systems and sanitation facilities are conducted with minimal service interruptions. 
• Provide support to districts and service providers to ensure timely and economic repairs of leakages or breakdowns in water systems and sanitation facilities. 
• Provide support and supervise District WASH Program officers to ensure that all program activities are implemented as planned and provide the necessary engineering expertise. 
• Ensure review meetings and on-the-job training to motivate staff to perform in accordance with the standards of safety competence. 

• Ensure staff appraisals are done in a bid to develop staff to ensure that they have appropriate skills for the work. 

Advocacy and Learning 

• Contribute to Water For People’s learning and advocacy agenda. 
• Contribute to organizational learning by documenting and sharing, lessons learned, good practices and statistical and qualitative data to Water For People staff, partners and other stakeholders, and organize periodic learning events to share best practices. 

Other 

• Undertake any other reasonable duties as assigned at the discretion of your line manager. 

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, water or environmental engineering, and construction management. 
• Master’s degree in Civil Engineering, water or environmental engineering, or construction management will be an added advantage. 
• Being a registered Engineer by the engineer’s Board will be an added advantage. 
• Proven 5 years of work experience in the water and sanitation sector, 
• Proven 5 years of work experience specifically in Water Supply and Sanitation Infrastructure development projects would be an added value 

• Proven 5 years of work experience in proposal writing, grant management and grant reporting to external donors would be an added advantage;  
• Experience in coaching or training courses related to engineering, water supply and sanitation infrastructure development and management.   
• Experience in the use of engineering and spatial software (EPANET, Water Germ, WATERCAD, AUTOCAD, GIS tools, etc.). 
• Ability to pay attention to details. 
• Excellent communication skills. 

• Excellent planning and organizational skills. 
• Strong leadership and problem-solving skills. 
• Self-driven individual who is diligent, honest, disciplined, and responsible. 
• Demonstrate good leadership and strong management skills with the ability to work under minimal supervision and under pressure. 

 Desirable 

• Expertise in WASH infrastructure design and construction management. 
• Construction management and stakeholder engagement skills. 
• Fluent in Kinyarwanda and English  
• Valid driver’s license 

BEHAVIORS AND COMPETENCIES:  

• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills. 
• Ability to work with minimum supervision and take initiative. 
• Ability to solve problems and take corrective action. 

• Strong interpersonal and intercultural communication skills. 

Required Competencies 

• Connects to the Mission – Embraces the mission of Water For People and is passionate about advancing the dynamic role it plays leading social impact in international development.  
• Demonstrates Ethics and Integrity – Understands ethical behavior and business practices and ensures that own behavior is consistent with these standards and aligns with the values of the organization.  

• Manages through Ambiguity – Demonstrates flexibility and adaptability in responding to change and ambiguity.  
• Demonstrates Cultural Awareness – Able to engage the wide range of stakeholders from a variety of backgrounds and cultures.  
• Action-oriented – Maintains an attitude of open, curious and proactive learning, continually expanding own area of understanding and expertise. 
• Connects with Others – Listens and fosters open communication through questioning, dialogue, and information sharing.  
• Self-confident – Demonstrates humility, mature confidence and courage to innovate, risk, and lead in own role. 

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/WORKING CONDITIONS:  

• Position is based at Water For People’s Rwanda office; 
• Trips within and outside Rwanda will be required from time to time.