Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist, Luanda, Angola at World Bank 110 views0 applications

Background / General description: ABOUT THE WORLD BANK GROUP Established in 1944, the WBG is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for development solutions. In fiscal year 2016, the World Bank Group committed nearly $64.2 billion in loans, grants, equity investments, and guarantees to its members and private businesses. The Bank’s Board approved approximately $45.9 billion in financial assistance, comprising about $29.7 billion in IBRD lending and about $16.2 billion in IDA support. The institution is governed by 189 member countries and delivers services out of 120 offices with more than 10,000 staff located globally. The WBG consists of five specialized institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The World Bank is organized into six client-facing Regional Vice-Presidencies, several corporate functions, and fourteen Global Practices (GPs) as well as five Cross-Cutting Solution (CCSAs) Areas to bring best-in-class knowledge and solutions to regional and country clients. The World Bank Group is in a unique position to help governments take an integrated and strategic approach to solve water supply, sanitation, water resources, hydropower and irrigation problems through finance and knowledge. The world will not be able to meet the development challenges of the 21st century – human development, livable cities, climate change, food security, and energy security – without improving how countries manage their water resources. Even today, 2.5 billion people lack access to improved sanitation, of which 1 billion people practice open defecation. Poor sanitation, including inadequate wastewater collection and treatment, impacts health, education, the environment, and industries such as tourism. At least 800 million people lack access to safe drinking water. The lack of access to safe water and sanitation results in significant economic losses in many countries. The WBG is the largest external source of financing for water supply and sanitation projects, and also has a large and growing portfolio in irrigation and water resource management. Apart from water supply and sanitation (WSS) and water resources management (WRM), the Water GP also seeks to ensure that water issues are effectively addressed in all related sub-sectors, including such as agriculture (ensuring sustainable water availability for irrigation), climate change and disaster risk management, and energy (hydropower). In each sub sector an integrated approach is adopted which considers investment alongside issues such as governance, institutions and policies.

GLOBAL PRACTICES & CROSS-CUTTING SOLUTIONS AREAS

There are 14 GPs: Agriculture; Education; Energy and Extractives; Environment and Natural Resources; Finance and Markets; Governance; Health, Nutrition and Population; Macroeconomics and Fiscal Management; Poverty; Social Protection and Labor; Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience; Trade and Competitiveness; Transport and ICT; and Water. The 5 CCSAs are: Climate Change; Fragility, Conflict and Violence; Gender; Jobs; and Public-Private Partnerships. The Global Practices and the Cross-Cutting Solution Areas, in concert with the WBG’s six client-facing Regional Vice-Presidencies, design solutions that address clients’ most pressing developmental challenges, and ultimately, enable the WBG to achieve its twin goals by 2030: (1) End extreme poverty by decreasing the percentage of people living on less than $1.90 a day to no more than 3%; and (2) Promote shared prosperity by fostering the income growth of the bottom 40% for every country The Water Global Practice (GP) has about 300 staff working across the full range of the water sector agenda including on reforming institutions to provide water supply, sanitation and irrigation services at scale, promote integrated water resource management, undertake analytical work on water, poverty and the economy, with a strong focus on learning from implementation. The Water GP is headed by a Senior Director and two Directors, with nine regional Practice Managers, a manager for Program Management Support, and another for Global Programs. In addition, the GP Leadership team includes five Global Solutions Groups (GSGs) that work across and support the regional programs to provide technical support and global best practice in specific areas.

There is one Global Lead for each of the following areas: Service Delivery its Governance and Institutions – Water Supply, Sanitation and Water Quality; Water for Agriculture; Water Security and Integrated Resource Management; Water, Poverty and the Economy; and Operations Analysis and Support. There is growing client demand for World Bank support as the agenda shifts to a focus on reform for WSS service delivery at scale, integrated water resources management and irrigation. The GP has adopted a strategy to better leverage international and national sector specialists through increased field presence, where they work on a variety of programs ranging from policy dialogue and relationships with the clients to business development, project preparation and implementation, and technical and advisory support to clients. The Government of Angola (GoA) has emphasized the institutional development of the water sector and has committed to establishing necessary policy and legal frameworks. Right after the end of the civil war the Water Law (2002) was enacted, mandating cost-recovery tariffs and professionalization of service delivery, and devolving the responsibility for service provision to provincial governments. In 2008, the Government approved Vision 2025, which included the goal of universal access to water supply in urban areas by 2025. Building on Vision 2025, the 2013-2017 National Development Plan and the 2013-2017 Energy and Water Sector Action Plan identified as a key priority the strengthening of urban water supply, in particular in provincial capitals, with special emphasis on expansion of water systems. With respect to water resource management, the National Strategic Plan for Water (2003) highlighted the need to identify and quantify water uses, identify water resources, and establish a water balance. With the aim of improving urban water supply, between 2013 and 2016 sixteen Provincial Water and Sanitation Utilities (PWSUs) were created as a first step towards independent service providers.

The GoA has, with support from the World Bank, begun the separation of policy, regulatory, and service delivery functions necessary to promote equitable service delivery and the sustainability of investments, including the 2016 establishment of a regulatory office for water supply within the national electricity regulator. In the area of water resource management, the GoA formally created the Instituto Nacional de Recursos Hidricos. While these institutions have been established, they are not yet able to fulfill their mandates for service delivery, management, and regulation. The development of the policy and legal framework is still in process, in particular, measures to guarantee the harmonization of the investment program with policy and legal mandates. In response to these challenges, the Bank’s engagement in Angola in the water sector is expected to grow, working closely with other development partners to support the government’s program. To support this growth, the World Bank is looking to recruit a Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist in Luanda, Angola. The World Bank’s supported water portfolio in Angola is approximately USD 700 million of lending, all financing improvement in water supply services through infrastructure development, strengthening of provincial utilities as well as other key sector agencies. The Government and the Bank are working to expand collaboration to include sanitation, water resources management, and possibly irrigation in the future. The selected candidate will primarily work on the water sector development agenda of Angola with a focus on water supply and sanitation to support ongoing and new projects; supporting development of opportunities for collaboration in WRM and irrigation; and to provide technical assistance and advisory services. As necessary, she/he is also expected to support the WBG’s water programs and activities in the CMU as well as in the Africa Region. She/he will engage with professionals across the Region and other parts of the Water Global Practice (GP) as necessary. The position will report to the Water GP’s Practice Manager for Africa (GWA08) and work closely with staff from other GPs to build cross-sectoral and cross-GP linkages. The assignment will entail travel within Angola and countries in the region.

Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 3 year term appointment.

Duties and Accountabilities: Specifically, the Water and Sanitation Specialist will support the Task Team Leaders (TTLs) and other team members of the Water GP in the preparation, supervision, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of projects, technical assistance, analytical and advisory activities in WSS and WRM, primarily in Angola but also in countries in the CMU and Region as necessary. She/he will be working closely with the WBG’s Country Management and the Program Leader, as well as TTLs and team members of the Water GP and other relevant Global Practices. Extensive coordination and liaison with key relevant Government departments, service provision entities, development agencies and NGOs in Angola is expected. She/he will be expected to work on the following activities, among others:

• Supporting the design, preparation and implementation of WSS and WRM projects;
• Supporting the design, preparation and implementation of water sector strategies, studies, analytical work, policy work, and advisory activities, and actively participating in related training and learning activities;
• Liaising and supporting teams from other Global Practices of the WBG (e.g., Agriculture; Health, Nutrition and Population; and Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience), to ensure that water-related issues are addressed in projects and activities in other GPs;
• Supporting the relevant Government and other project implementing agencies in Project implementation, including providing on a variety of water topics facilitating technical assistance and advisory support;
• Participating in project missions (including project identification, preparation, pre-appraisal, appraisal, negotiations and supervision);
• Preparing reports, summaries, briefs and talking points of WSS and WRM topics, and on the Water GP’s projects, programs, business plans and strategies;
• Contributing to knowledge management primarily in the area of WSS, and to the extent possible also on WRM. This would include participating in the GSG activities, formal or informal communities of practice, supporting formal training programs, and providing technical input and quality control for the Water GP products;
• Contributing to the strengthening of partnerships with external water stakeholders active in WSS and WRM to maintain a strong and appropriate Water GP presence and profile in Angola and the region (this may include establishing and maintaining appropriate sector networks, and participating in regional and national forums, workshops and conferences). The WSS Specialist may be given specific tasks to lead within her/his area of specialization or other areas of interest.

Selection Criteria

• A Master’s degree, in a field relevant to water management such as economics, institutional development, public management, civil and environmental engineering, or other related fields;
• A minimum of five years relevant professional experience in the area of water supply and sanitation; experience in water resources management will be a plus;
• The candidate’s track record should combine experience on institutional development and management of water and sanitation services in particular urban WSS, with a thorough knowledge of the water supply and sanitation sector and the water resources sector in Angola;
• Knowledge and experience working with water utilities would be a plus.
• Experience in coordinating and/or managing multi-disciplinary projects on water or water resources.
• Project management experience in international institutions/companies is a plus
• Good understanding of policy, institutional, regulatory and management frameworks for water supply and sanitation, and water resources management, particularly in the context of Angola
• Experience with multi-sectoral teams particularly desirable;
• Good external client relations skills
• High level of energy, initiative and flexibility in quickly adjusting to changing work program requirements;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills;
• ability to effectively dialogue with and relate to clients and stakeholders;
• Proficiency in Portuguese is required; Proficiency in English is essential; Required Competencies
• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena – Understands policy making process; distills operationally relevant recommendations/lessons for clients.
• Policy Dialogue Skills – Identifies and assesses policy issues and plays an active role in the dialogue with the government and/or other stakeholders.
• Integrative Skills – Working to develop an integrated view across all facets of current sector.
• Water Policy and Strategy – Basic understanding of water policies and strategies and their role in delivering outcomes to end users/customers
• Water Institutions – Basic understanding of WSS sector institutions (ministries, regulators, service providers, community organizations) and how they are best organized to deliver services to end users in a sustainable manner
• Public Private Partnerships – Basic understanding of the various models for partnering with the private sector in the delivery of sustainable services
• Water Financing – Basic understanding of approaches to WSS sector financing of both capital and O&M costs
• Water Supply and Sanitation Infrastructure and Technologies – Direct experience with water supply and sanitation infrastructure and technologies.
• Lead and Innovate – Develops innovative solutions.
• Deliver Results for Clients – Proactively addresses clients’ stated and unstated needs.
• Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries – Collaborates across boundaries, gives own perspective and willingly receives diverse perspectives.
• Create, Apply and Share Knowledge – Applies knowledge across GPs and WBG to strengthen solutions for internal and/or external clients.
• Make Smart Decisions – Interprets a wide range of information and pushes to move forward. The World Bank Group is committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality, culture and educational background. Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence. Women are strongly encouraged to apply.