Advisor on Sustainable Sanitation at GIZ

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is seeking for an Advisor on Sustainable Sanitation.

Country of assignment and location

Germany, Eschborn

Project / Field of activity

On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), GIZ started the international ecosan program in May 2001 which is now called the “Sustainable sanitation – ecosan” program. The aims of this program are to increase awareness for the importance of sanitation in development cooperation, to establish the ecosan concept as a suitable concept for sustainable sanitation, and to support the upscaling of sustainable sanitation systems particularly for the urban poor.

GIZ is a partner of the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) and hosts the secretariat and website of this worldwide network (www.susana.org). We play a strong role in shaping and promoting this international network in coordination with the 136 partners of the network. An important aspect of our work is knowledge management and dissemination. We also collaborate closely with the bilateral programs of German development cooperation in Sub-Saharan Africa to achieve upscaling of sustainable sanitation.

Responsibilities

You will develop strategies and improve processes for engaging with GIZ colleagues in the bilateral programs (mainly the water programs but also the programs for health, education and urban planning). You will also align the team’s activities with colleagues at the German development bank, KfW, as part of the new “German Development Cooperation Sanitation Task Force”.

The second major focus of your work is the refinement and implementation of the new strategy for the SuSanA, which includes strengthening communication, carrying out advocacy work, activating existing partners and attracting new partners and donors. For example, you will be responsible for coordinating SuSanA’s role in the “Five-Year Drive for Sustainable Sanitation” in collaboration with UNSGAB and UN Water. You will shape the direction of the SuSanA secretariat (together with the SuSanA core group), be active in the SuSanA core group and some of the working groups.

Furthermore, you will develop concepts, approaches and methods for pro-poor sanitation in urban informal settlements and in schools (mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa) and bring this work to the GIZ bilateral programs as well as to the international dialogue on sanitation.

Your responsibilities also include initiation of public private partnership (PPP) projects, quality assurance for the team’s publications and the deliverables of consultants commissioned by the program, supervision of interns and junior team members, technical advice to GIZ colleagues and responding to queries from the BMZ (in collaboration with another program in GIZ on international water policy).

You will work with a young, energetic and dynamic team and will be given a lot of autonomy to implement strategic plans but also benefit from the support of a team.

Qualifications

    * Academic degree related to the aims of the program (e.g. environmental engineering, geo sciences, biology, water resources management, urban planning, public health).
    * At least 7 years of professional working experiences in the field of sanitation, water, hygiene and health (of these at least 3 years of experience in the field of sanitation within development cooperation).
    * Working experiences in developing countries ideally in Sub-Saharan Africa.
    * Experiences with steering or contributing to large international networks.
    * Familiar with the use of internet-based communication tools, such as blogs and facebook
    * Fluency in English is a must, French skills would be a strong asset, and at least basic German skills are also required.

Duration

1 April 2011 to 31 October 2012 (further extension possible)

Benefits offered

With an international remit and a multicultural working atmosphere, we are successful because we share knowledge across disciplinary frontiers. Your professional and personal development is important to us. Whether it is the considerable scope for applying creativity in your work or the job ticket and our company childcare facilities at Head Office in Eschborn – there are plenty of good reasons to join our motivated team.

Application deadline

15.02.2011

Reference : Job ID 6391

Kindly apply online on the GIZ website

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