DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP SERVICES At African Water Association (AfWA)

CALL FOR CANDIDACIES FOR THE POSITION OF

DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP SERVICES

Position Title:** Director of Membership Services

Direct supervisor: Executive Director

Location:** Abidjan, Ivory Coast

Period: 24 Months renewable with a 6 months’ probation period

Starting date: October,1^st 2021**

1 HISTORY OF THE AFRICAN WATER ASSOCIATION

The African Water Association was created in 1980 as a professional membership Institution and was first called the Union of African Water Suppliers (UAWS).

In 2004, in order to take into account sanitation utilities, as well as regulatory and asset holding companies emerging from institutional reforms during the 90’s in many African countries and the strong will for these new entities to join the Institution, the Union of African Water Suppliers changed name and became the African Water Association (AfWA).

The African Water Association covers the whole African Continent and is the unique African Water and Sanitation Organization bringing together water and sanitation operators as well as various sector’s stakeholders.

In 2020,40 years after its creation, the AfWA was composed of around 120 companies members coming from 45 African countries divided into the following categories:

1. Active Members: These are direct providers of water and sanitation services to African populations. This group may consist of public and private companies, or municipal entities providing the same services in both urban and rural areas. To deliver their mission, these active members need support from consultants and equipment and hydraulic material supplied by industrial suppliers. the latter form a second group de members called the affiliated member.
2. Affiliated Members: These are manufacturers and / or sellers of equipment and consultants who provide goods and services relating to the management of water and sanitation services. There is a “win-win” relationship between these first two groups of members. It is clear to both parties that one cannot prosper without the other. In 2020, they were 88 in this category. To date, academic institutions providing education programs in water, sanitation and environmental sciences, associations of water users or water companies, regulatory agencies, failing to constitute a full category, are incidentally classified in the category of affiliated members.
3. Individual members: These are individuals showing interest in the sector.
4. Honorary members: These are persons identified by the Association and honored at each congress held every two years and who now bear the title of honorary member of the AfWA.

2 VISION, MISSION AND STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

Vision Statement

Being acknowledged leader in strengthening water utility management practices to support the goals of African Water Vision 2025.

Mission Statement

· Undertake programs and support knowledge sharing in sustainable water management – its science, practice, and policy.

· Promote complementarity for professional development through networking and advocacy.

· Support the members in their efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and other near-term targets that have been established for Africa.

· Advocate a balanced approach to utility management, based on corporate governance that is commercially sound, financially self-sustaining, and environmentally compliant.

Main Objectives

· Strengthening the governance and management bodies of the Association

· Improving the quality and variety of capacity Building services offered to its members

· Diversification of partnerships and strengthening of synergies.

· Strengthening the visibility of the Association

African Water Association (AfWA) operates as a continental platform that brings together corporates of drinking water production and distribution, corporates managing sanitation services, with an operational strategy that relies on three pillars.

a) Knowledge Management and Sharing. This is done through the organization of sector events such as webinars, workshops and symposia, Scientific and Technical Council sessions (STC), two to three times a year and congresses (every two years). Since 2015, the AfWA has developed and put online a real online knowledge sharing platform that includes, among other things, an online library, thematic documentation sections, sector expert’s database and sector benchmarking data, consultancy offers, works and calls for tenders, including job searches in the sector.

b) The implementation of Projects and Programs through peer partnerships to develop and promote good practices in the management of water and sanitation services. Currently, AfWA is implementing four programs funded respectively by the USAID West Africa office, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the European Union under the Horizon 2020 initiative, and the German Cooperation. The total budget for these programs is approximately five (05) million USD.

c) The training of professionals in the sector within the framework of the African Water and Sanitation Academy (AWASA). This is the federating body that initiates and validates the identification of training needs in the sector, develops curricula, trains trainers, and administers training approved by AfWA. AWASA operates in satellite mode with a coordination center based in Kampala, Uganda and collaborating centers located in African regions (for the northern region, in Morocco at ONEE / IEA; for the Western region in Burkina Faso at ONEA / CEMEAU; for the Eastern region in Uganda to NWSC / IREC; for the Southern region in South Africa to Water Research Commission (WRC)

For more information, please visit https://www.afwa-hq.org/index.php/fr/ .

As part of the implementation of its 2018-2022 strategic plan, AfWA has undertaken a major transformational change, marked among other things by the creation of a member services department. The main mission assigned to this directorate is to carry out more energetic actions to identify and meet the needs of members according to the different profiles. These are in fact actions aimed at developing and implementing AfWA’s first member services strategy, refining and creating new services and programs to address identified member’s needs, significantly increasing the number of members of the Association through targeted recruitment strategies, supporting existing member retention and improved satisfaction and strategically using member analytics to inform the broader AfWA strategy, business and financial planning. The proposed position is crucial to achieve the above-mentioned objectives in a sustainable manner.

3- POSITION DESCRIPTION

The Director of Member Services will be a strategic thought partner and will report to the Executive Director (ED). The successful candidate will be a hands-on and participative manager and lead an internal team to support the following areas: Membership strategy development and implementation; Membership engagement / marketing and membership management; Gender action planning and promotion of gender equity; Communication, knowledge sharing, events organization (conferences, congresses, workshops, etc.), and AfWA professional networks management.

The Director of Member Services will play a critical role with the senior management team (SMT) in the decision-making and strategic operations of AfWA. The SMT is composed by the Executive Director, the Director of Programs and Finance & Strategy Director. Depending on the action/action to be tackle The Director of Member Services will have to worked closely in excellent communication with each of the SMT’ member for the furtherance of the stated goals of the Membership Services Department and AfWA’ strategic development goals.

He / She is a member of the AfWA Membership Engagement and Development Committee. This committee is subcommittee of the Executive Board with the objective of ruling on issues relating to the management and growth of membership of the organization.

The Director of Member Services is responsible for the management and monitoring of the members of the association. As a member of the senior management team, he / she participates in various strategic and operational decisions regarding members and essential member services. The Director of Member Services is responsible for developing and implementing the strategy aimed at developing the portfolio of members and providing services that meet the specific needs of members. He / She initiates and coordinates the implementation of activities aimed at stimulating the growth of the number, fostering loyalty and the return of members who for whatever reason have given in to discouragement. The Director of Member Services will produce analysis reports on member data, recruitment campaign results and member engagement with a view to continuous improvement of the added value of the association for the members. He / she supervises a team of staff composed of database manager, communication manager, marketing and knowledge management and sharing. He / She follows on a daily basis the activities carried out for the benefit of members and those related to the collection of members’ rights.

4- RESPONSABILITIES :

Membership Strategy and Management and analysis of member data

1. Develop and regularly update the membership and retention strategy for members,
2. Regularly conduct member satisfaction surveys and needs analysis to inform this membership strategy and commitment to AfWA,
3. Directs and supervises the activities and services for the members of the organization.
4. Develop a membership reporting system to inform leadership decision making.
5. Create, update a database of members, and disseminate information to members in real time based on demand.
6. Help determine membership fees and contribute to broader strategic financial planning.
7. Effectively communicate and present important issues regarding membership and member services to the Membership Engagement and Development Committee.
8. Supervise the management of the AfWA databases and in particular the members and benchmarking database of water and sanitation utilities and service management units,
9. Establish baseline data on member satisfaction and a periodic review process.
10. Protect member data and ensure the integrity of the member database.
11. Undertake membership analysis in order to periodically make contributions to AfWA’s strategic plan.
12. Develop and monitor performance indicators for the purpose of benchmarking and fostering negotiations with donors for the implementation of performance improvement projects.
13. Set up a management system including data collection and analysis, research on best practices, membership mapping, development, and recommendation of alternative solutions for improvement.
14. As a member of the management team, contribute to organizational development and budget.
15. Compile, analyze and provide monthly member reports.

Commitment, Retaining and Development of the database of members,

1. Examine issues of membership policy and sustainable membership management, strategic planning from a short- and long-term perspective.
2. Develop and implement strategies to increase member satisfaction, membership, renewal, and retention.
3. Ensure membership goals are met or exceeded, and pay close attention to member inquiries and feedback, member satisfaction should be closely monitored.
4. Supervise and contribute directly to the generation of additional income from new members, the return of old ones and new categories of members.
5. Support the vice-presidents in the development and implementation of regional action plans considering the mobilization of members in the regions and meeting the specific needs of members,
6. Communicate directly with and learn from members using a variety of continuous improvement tools, including surveys, feedback forms and direct dialogue.
7. Help determine the amount of membership dues that stimulates their membership.
8. Coordinate the marketing and communications team to develop creative concepts and write content for calls, renewals, and welcome kits for members.
9. Effectively communicate and present important membership issues to the Member Engagement and Development Committee.

Development of new products and services with high added value for members

1. Develop, implement, and promote online services (bookstore, webinars, calls for tenders, database of consultants, advertising, etc.) for the benefit of members.
2. Contribute to the development and implementation of an organization’s networking strategy in a spirit of complementarity of service offers to members,
3. Support the animation of professional networks (young people, women, mayors, emptiers, etc.) to strengthen their interest in the association,
4. Identify, develop, and implement new products, including events, which could contribute to income generation.

Ad**ministration and operations**

1. In collaboration with the DEx and the senior management team, develop the AfWA strategy and strategic plans.
2. Initiate and execute activities in support of organizational goals and be responsible for providing business process solutions to meet member expectations.
3. Participate in the formulation of the overall strategic direction of the organization.
4. Compile and write reports on key business metrics and operational parameters.
5. Oversee all aspects of the membership fee structure,
6. Participate in the invoicing and collection process, including regularly assessing the competitiveness and fairness of contribution rates, monitoring the flow of revenue, and identifying opportunities to improve efficiency.
7. Supervise the administrative staff of the Member Services, Marketing and Communications Department, including the knowledge management function.
8. Coordinate gender equity expertise to AfWA and integrate a gender lens into programming the wash sector, supervise the development of an overall organisation gender support strategy and its implementation.
9. Communicate directly and regularly with the AfWA Executive Board Membership Engagement and Development Committee and prepare reports for said Committee.
10. Oversee the operations and budget of the Department, supervise staff and provide professional development in order to increase the talent and effectiveness of the team.

5- SKILLS AND QUALIFICATION

1. Graduate degree minimum master’s level required.
2. A minimum of 10 years of experience in the management of networks or industry associations, work experience within an associative organization.
3. A good knowledge of the challenges facing the water sector in Africa, with a solid track record in setting priorities; strong analytical, organizational and problem-solving skills that support and enable informed decision-making.
4. Excellent communication and relationship building skills and the ability to prioritize, negotiate and work with a variety of internal and external stakeholders to formulate results-based recommendations.
5. Be an all-rounder capable of multitasking.
6. Commitment to mentoring staff to maximize individual and organizational goals across the organization, including best practices in financial management.
7. Membership association experience.
8. Experience in managing a database of members of an association.
9. Personal qualities of integrity, credibility, and dedication to the mission of AfWA.
10. Fluency in at least one official AfWA language (English or French) with a good basic knowledge of the second. Fluency in both languages is a plus.
11. Experience in management and supervision.
12. Excellent communication (written and oral) and interpersonal skills, as well as a demonstrated ability to collaborate and work effectively.