Financing and Business Specialist – USAID/Mozambique Transform WASH

Tetra Tech International Development (http://www.tetratech.com/intdev) is currently accepting expressions of interest from qualified candidates for a potential Financing and Business Specialist position on a USAID-funded program Mozambique.

The anticipated Mozambique Transform WASH Activity (Transform WASH) will be a 5-year project focusing on WASH governance, access to WASH services, behavior change (BC), and gender equality in small towns, rural growth centers, and peri-urban settlements, primarily in Cabo Delgado, Nampula, and Zambezia provinces. Transform WASH will strengthen WASH sector governance through participatory dialogue with the Government of the Republic of Mozambique (GRM) counterparts coupled with a focus on capacity building to strengthen local systems, expand availability of water and sanitation services by catalyzing domestic private resources to complement public sector investments, and accelerate adoption of key WASH behaviors that not only lead to improved health outcomes, but also address sustainability by ensuring that investments in physical infrastructure are used and maintained.

Working under the overall direction of the Chief of Party (COP), the Financing and Business Specialist is responsible for leading the implementation of activities to improve access to water and sanitation financing as well as the business environment for the private sector, which will result in a strengthened government and increased technical, financial, and management capacities of private providers. While supporting water and sanitation activities, the main focus of this position will be on water service providers.

Responsibilities:

* Responsible for leading and implementing tasks related to improving financial viability, business practices, customer care, and the enabling environment, with a special focus on supporting and fostering more female-led businesses.

* Improve cost recovery of water service providers in targeted small towns in Zambezia, Nampula and Cabo Delgado provinces, and others as required.

* Support capacity building for public and private providers and communities to manage water services.

* Support the establishment of a national water fund comprised of public and private funding.

* Support national and sub-national level partners to develop an institutionalized public budget and expenditure tracking for the WASH sector.

* Build the capacity of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and public and private sector actors to attract funding sources for WASH interventions.

* Provide technical assistance in the implementation of the chosen institutional and financing framework for water supply at the sub-national level.

* Serve as a key point of contact between Transform WASH and target water providers related to business and operational performance.

* Liaise with international/local STTA providing guidance on specific improvement business areas.

* Communicate/coordinate activities with other implementing and development partners working in the target areas to avoid duplication of efforts.

* Identify opportunities for partnering with organizations led by women and young entrepreneurs through grants or other mechanisms.

* Conduct regular visits to project sites, as possible, to provide technical assistance, and ensure proper implementation and monitoring of project activities.

* Actively support the COP in preparing annual workplans, quarterly progress reports, and all other major project deliverables.

* Contribute to ensuring the quality of project outputs and provide technical guidance to related field interventions.

* Other duties as assigned by the Chief of Party.

Qualifications:

* Possess a Master’s degree in development economics, finance, business or a relevant social science, or in a water and sanitation related field.

* Minimum of 8 years’ experience (or Bachelor’s with 15 years’ experience) working as a business development services advisor, preferably in the South Africa Development Community (SADC) region and in energy, water, and/or health sectors.

* Demonstrated experience facilitating access to capital markets with a combination of conducting project preparation and investment feasibility assessments, financial and economic analysis, risk analysis, or financial structuring, with a solid understanding of key challenges associated with such transactions.

* Demonstrated experience in providing trainings.

* Must be computer literate (in Microsoft Office applications such as Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.) Strong negotiation skills, and ability to develop relations with local counterparts, donors, and other stakeholders.

* Strong oral and written communication skills in English are required, Portuguese is preferred.

* Excellent analytical and organizational skills. Willing to regularly visit the project sites. Strong diplomatic and interpersonal skills. Cultural sensitivity, integrity, and ability to work with minimum supervision and under pressure.

* Mozambican nationals strongly encouraged to apply.