WaterAid in Uganda (WAU)
About WAU:
WaterAid’s Vision is of a world where everyone has access to safe water and sanitation. Our mission is to transform lives by improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation in the world’s poorest communities, WaterAid works with partners to maximize its impacts for policy change/influence.
WaterAid works through supporting local organizations and government authorities to design low cost sustainable projects using appropriate and affordable technologies that can be managed by the community itself. WaterAid also seeks to influence the policy change through government and other key international organizations to secure and protect the right of poor people to safe, affordable water and sanitation services.
Job Summary:
The Programme Coordinator – Research & Documentation will primarily analyse political, social and economic trends and to identify learning and research issues on the obstacles to sustainable WASH access in Uganda. The Job holder undertakes research and together with the rest of the team, documents and ensures learning from best practices, lessons, challenges and success stories by the development sector actors including government departments. Envisaged is the ability to translate all this into advocacy work for influencing policy change in WASH and other related sectors together. Further, the post holder will help build the capacity of WaterAid Uganda (WAU) partners, and lead on the coordination of all research and documentation work.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
- Identify, prioritize and manage a specific research agenda as part of WAU’s influencing work. This needs to take into consideration priorities identified by WAU Country Strategy Paper, WASH sector and national situational analysis, and WaterAid global priorities.
- Supervise the research matrix by defining frameworks and parameters of researches, develop concepts, terms of reference, undertake technical review of research proposals, control quality of methodologies, build-in checks of ethics in data and information collation and vet final research reports
- Develop research proposals on selected obstacles and issues on WASH in partnership with other key stakeholders.
- Develop and ensure utilisation of process documentation guidelines to realise quality and accuracy in documentation
- Carry out systematic documentation of case studies and lessons from WaterAid’s policy and practice work, following a clear documentation plan for WAU and partners.
- Collaborate with partners and related programme staff in the production and dissemination of at least three (3) learning documents each year, detailing best practice/policy lessons etc arising from WAU's work.
- Develop an effective mechanism of supporting other coordinators in ensuring research outputs and programme evaluations are incorporated into their project planning processes with partner organisations and promotion to other key stakeholders.
- Identify areas of learning and documentations from partners’ work. Maintain an easily accessible electronic library of key project documents actively managed, updated, and contribute to the WAU’s and sector learning agenda.
- Participate in and contribute to WAU’s efforts to strengthen in-country sector networks by developing and maintaining relationships with other agencies working in the WASH sector, media, and research academia or learning institutions for the purpose of contributing to and gaining information and advice on key issues.
- Actively participate in and support learning within the organisation and the sector
- Work in liaison with the Programme coordinator communications and support the packaging and dissemination of research findings by WaterAid and partners in all projects at both district and national level in Uganda and global WaterAid.
- Respond to training needs in partner organizations on research and documentation through training and mentorship.This will involve working with partners to improve their abilities to evaluate, analyse, document and communicate their research work.
- Together with the Senior Programme Coordinator Policy and Advocacy initiate an explicitly informed Advocacy agenda to expand the self-awareness of poor people regarding their rights and responsibilities to access safe Water and sanitation.
- Work collaboratively with the Senior Programme Coordinator Policy and Advocacy produce general and specific sector briefings and presentations, based on policy research and practical experiences to relevant decision-makers and donors to influence policy change.
- Identifies and communicates relevant information for a variety of audiences for advocating WASH mandate
- Perform any other responsibilities, tasks or activities as reasonably required.
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
- The applicant must possess a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences/Development predisposition, an advanced degree in Public Health, Sociology, Economics, Social Statistics with a strong development bias.
- Possess specialized training in research design, data analysis and report writing (preferred)
- A minimum of five years’ demonstrated working experience in Research and Policy analysis in the field of development with any reputed national/ international/ donor agency.
- Excellent communication, facilitation, presentation, influencing and interpersonal skills.
- The applicant must possess professional skills in preparation research design using different tools and methods, data analysis and reporting.
- Good knowledge of best practices and trends in research and analysis using statistical and other computer based packages. Having planned and led a good number of researches and publication of articles in the recognized journals is preferred.
- Working knowledge and experience in writing technical research proposals, reports and case studies, policy briefs and other information materials generated from research findings.
- Excellent report writing and documentation skills. Creativity in the presentation of information through use of graphical, pictorial or other appropriate communication means
- Possess the ability to communicate research findings clearly to policy-making audiences, as well as being able to identify knowledge gaps
- Significant experience and knowledge on WASH sector/ issues is desirable with proven ability to analyse (qualitative and quantitative) data
- Diligent and thorough working style with commitment to producing high quality and accurate outputs.
All suitably qualified and interested with a desire to work with WaterAid should endeavor to send their applications including a cover letter and Curriculum Vitae (CV) to:
The Head of Human Resources and Administration,
WaterAid Uganda, Plot 90 Luthuli Avenue Bugolobi,
P.O. Box 11759 Kampala, Uganda
Email: wauganda@wateraid.org
NB: Interviews will begin on 17th February, 2014. Please consider your application unsuccessful if you haven’t heard from us by that time.
Deadline: 7th February, 2014
