Program Manager for Water supply service maintenance

CONTEXT

In Malawi Inter Aide launched its first activities in 1992. Today the organization carries out around ten programs in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Health and Food security in both central and southern regions.

The water supply service maintenance program directly contributes to sustaining access to drinking water in the rural areas of the targeted districts. This program is based on two major concepts:
• The development and sustainability of a network of hand pump spare part dealers, (especially the “Afridev” type) through small independent local vendors;
• The creation and empowerment of a network of technicians taking care of water pump maintenance.

The water supply service maintenance was launched in 2002 as part of a WASH program and has then been rolled out on a wider scale. Today, these services are implemented in 10 districts, of which the Program Manager directly supervises five (districts of Mchinji, Dowa, Salima, Kasungu and Ntchisi in the central region). In the five others (districts of Lilongwe and Dedza in the central region as well as Zomba, Mulanje and Chiradzulu in the southern region) these services have been progressively transferred or initiated by BASEDA, the local partner of Inter Aide.

Inter Aide is currently looking for a full-time Program Manager, who will have full responsibility for this program.


TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The mission of the Program Manager is to ensure the success, the expansion and the sustainability of the program in the 5 currently targeted districts in the Centre region.
She/he will be based in Mponela (District of Dowa – 1 hour from the capital city Lilongwe) and will go on a daily basis to the different intervention areas. She/he will refer to the “Chef de Secteur” who is based in France. Her/his main responsibilities are the following:

• Reinforce the efficiency and the autonomy of local technicians (around 110) and the quality of spare parts points of sale (around 50) ;
• Actively collaborate with local authorities (District Water Departments and Ministry of Water) to encourage institutional follow up and a greater support of these technicians;
• Strengthen cooperation with the hand pump spare parts private suppliers and continue the creation of a local micro-enterprise for empowering and supplying local dealers ;
• Collaborate with the stakeholders involved in water systems (NGOS, Ministry of Water, international and local institutions) in order to enhance existing maintenance services and avoid overlap and duplication of actions ;
• Share information with the local partner BASEDA and support it in implementing similar actions in other regions ;
• Plan the expansion of the supply service maintenance in new areas ;
• Supervise and train the local team (around 10 people) ;
• Supervise the monitoring and evaluation of the program: data collection, activities follow-up and analysis with key indicators (e.g. sales, repair contracts, stocks management) ;
• Prepare operational and financial reports to be shared with the rest of the team based in France (frequent activities reports written in English, accountability and budget, and expense forecasts).


PROFIL

• A university degree in a relevant domain (project management, hydraulic, economics, logistics etc)
• First professional experience required, preferably in a developing country 
• Capacity to support the local partners (ability to listen, to be diplomatic and to delegate)
• Rigor, organization, relational and strong negotiation skills
• Interest and knowledge in computer, IT and general mechanical aptitude
• Mobility, taste and aptitude for field work, flexibility, dynamism
• Fluent in English 


CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT 

• Limited-duration contract (for 6 months) and then unlimited-duration contract 
• Total moral commitment of 2 years expected
• Net pay of 1.121 € per month (13 months a year) + living stipend
• Social security + repatriation insurance + annual return airfare
• Couple status (accompanied post) can be considered for this position

Candidates are selected on a rolling basis

TO APPLY for this position, please send a resume and a cover letter under reference “MTCE/MLW” at interaide@interaide.org