Based in Monrovia. Must be willing to travel up to 40% in program counties (Montserrado, Bong, Grand Bassa, Nimba, Lofa), including rural areas.
Position Type: Full time
Start Date: June 2022
Celebrating twelve years of innovative and collaborative work, Athena Infonomics has established itself as a data-driven global consultancy that leverages social science research, data science, and technology to provide user-centric, context-specific solutions and advice to decision makers. Our multidisciplinary and multi-cultural team of 70+ professionals spread across Asia, Africa, DC and London exemplify extensive experience in designing and applying research methods to co-design and co-produce useful research that is inclusive and relevant.
Athena Infonomics is seeking a County Governance Manager to oversee sanitation governance activities in five counties under the 5-year USAID/Liberia Countywide Sanitation Activity (CWSA). The Activity aims to achieve universal access to at least basic sanitation in five counties – Bong, Nimba, Lofa, Grand Bassa, and Montserrado (excluding Monrovia) – through a combination of market-based sanitation and an improved enabling environment. The County Governance Manager supervises and provides technical guidance to a team of 5 County Governance Officers; engages directly with county, district, and city governments, community leaders, businesses, and civil society to strengthen planning, budgeting, and monitoring of sanitation activities; and ensures effective linkages between national- and county-level governance activities.
Institutional Development and Capacity Building
• Supervise 5 County Governance Officers to build and maintain close and collaborative relationships with key subnational stakeholders, including county-, district-, and city-level Government institutions, community leaders, civil society and development partners
• Lead assessment of capacity building needs at the subnational level and work with the Governance Lead and County Governance Officers to design trainings, technical assistance and/or guidance to meet these needs
• Supervise and support County Governance Officers to deliver hands-on technical assistance to county governments for sanitation planning, budgeting, and monitoring
• Support County Governance Officers to ensure stakeholder buy-in for sanitation campaigns through workshops, advocacy, and individual engagement
• Provide guidance to County Governance Officers to facilitate county-level review meetings
• Oversee rollout of new sanitation policies and guidelines at the county level
• Support County Governance Officers to facilitate development of local standards and regulations for sanitation services delivery, including building codes, city ordinances, and community bylaws, and establish monitoring and enforcement mechanisms
• Facilitate reporting and communication to ensure that challenges and experiences from the subnational level inform national-level governance activities.
Public Finance
• Oversee analysis of county budgets for sanitation and support County Governance Officers to engage with county, district, and city governments to identify new internal and external funding sources
• Engage with civil society and GoL to conduct targeted advocacy for increased funding levels
• Provide technical assistance to county governments to improve expenditure tracking and financial management
Learning
• Support County Governance Officers to facilitate communication and knowledge exchange between county governments
• Contribute to annual learning workshops to share good practices and lessons learned
• Collaborate with Activity team to identify and adapt relevant international experience and good practices
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, with a strong background in sanitation, public policy, and/or governance required. Postgraduate degree preferred.
• At least 5 years of work experience in international development in a position related to governance, with at least 3 in governance and/or WASH implementation.
• Demonstrated knowledge of proven approaches and best practices in sanitation service delivery
• Proven experience building strong collaborative relationships with local and national GoL institutions and other stakeholders, including civil society, development partners, and the private sector
• Strong project management and supervisory skills
• Excellent writing and communication skills in English; fluency in other languages spoken in Liberia is an advantage
Reports to the Governance Lead.
• The successful candidate must not be subject to employment restrictions from a current/former employer (such as a non-compete) that would prevent the candidate from performing the job responsibilities as described.
• Only candidates who have Liberia work authorization will be considered.
Interested applicants can send their CVs and a statement of purpose along with the following information to career@athenainfonomics.com. Please mention “Application for County Governance Manager, Countywide Sanitation Activity - Liberia” in the subject line.
Expected Salary:
Notice Period:
Current Location:
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for further steps.
Athena Infonomics is an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status, or disability status.