WASH Officer

Job title

Project Officer

Reporting to

Project Manager

Years Of Experience

3+ years

Location

Nyabihu/Ngororero, Rwanda

Travel Required

Up to 80%

Terms

Full-time

About Raising The Village

Raising The Village's mission is to build and strengthen pathways out of ultra-poverty through an approach guided by data, designed with communities, and scaled by partnerships. We work with last-mile communities to implement solutions that raise incomes, sustain impact, and chart sustainable pathways to possibility within 24 months. To date, we have supported more than two million people in Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with support from our partners and our team in North America. Find out more about our programs and impact at www.raisingthevillage.org.

Position Overview

The WASH Officer is a dual-role position responsible for the holistic delivery of RTV's WASH program, integrating both hardware (infrastructure) and software (behaviour change) components. This role ensures that sustainable water supply systems and sanitation facilities are not only technically sound, but also supported by strong community ownership and hygiene behaviour change.

The incumbent will lead the technical design, procurement, and supervision of WASH infrastructure (boreholes, piped systems, sanitation facilities) while concurrently driving community-led behaviour change strategies to ensure long-term impact and adoption. This role requires a unique blend of engineering expertise and social mobilization skills, working collaboratively with Implementation teams, the VENN (data, planning, evaluation & learning) unit, Operations, and local government authorities in Tanzania.

The WASH Officer will be reporting to the Senior WASH Officer.

Key Responsibilities

Integrated WASH program leadership

• Serve as the technical referent for both hardware and software WASH methodologies, ensuring fidelity to the RTV WASH implementation framework.
• Lead the entire WASH project lifecycle from needs assessment and technical design through community mobilization, infrastructure implementation, behaviour change programming, and post-construction sustainability.
• Ensure seamless integration between infrastructure development and hygiene promotion to maximize health outcomes.

WASH hardware: infrastructure & engineering

• Needs assessment & design
• Conduct technical evaluations of existing water sources and carry out WASH needs assessments in target communities.
• Develop technical designs, drawings, and cost estimates (Bill of Quantities) for water supply systems (boreholes, spring protection, piped schemes) and sanitation facilities.
• Procurement & contract management
• Develop Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for civil works.
• Provide technical support in evaluating bids, ensuring compliance with RTV policies, technical requirements, budgets, and timelines.
• Prepare and manage contracts for vendors and contractors.
• Implementation supervision
• Supervise construction, repair, and rehabilitation of water supply systems and sanitation facilities, ensuring strict adherence to national standards (E.g., MoW) and RTV quality benchmarks.
• Review contractor technical reports and recommend approvals or corrective actions.
• Sustainability structures
• Work with Water User Communities (WUCs) and local authorities on the operation, maintenance, and financial management of WASH infrastructure to ensure long-term functionality.

WASH software: behaviour change & community mobilization

• Methodology implementation
• Serve as the technical lead for all WASH software methodologies (e.g., Community-Led Total Sanitation - CLTS, PHAST, CHAST.
• Drive strategies to achieve high adoption rates in key hygiene practices (handwashing with soap, safe water handling, latrine use).
• Behaviour change communication (BCC)
• Design and execute BCC strategies based on formative research (e.g., Barrier Analysis, KAP surveys) to address specific social and cultural barriers in Tanzanian communities.
• Training & capacity building
• Conduct Training of Trainers (ToT) for RTV field staff and government extension officers (e.g., Village Health Workers).
• Build the capacity of community structures like WASH Champions and Village Health Teams to ensure lasting community ownership.
• Hygiene promotion
• Plan and support field teams in executing innovative hygiene promotion campaigns and community triggering events.

Coordination & stakeholder engagement

• Serve as RTV's primary WASH liaison with local government authorities in Tanzania, including district water engineers, health inspectors, community development officers, and village leaders.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with local government, community leaders, and other NGOs/CBOs working in the project areas to ensure collaborative program delivery and avoid duplication.
• Work closely with implementation and VENN teams to ensure WASH activities are seamlessly integrated with agriculture and financial inclusion components for a holistic household impact.

Monitoring, evaluation, reporting & learning

• Supervise and monitor the implementation of both hardware and software activities, ensuring quality, timeliness, and genuine community participation.
• Collect analyze, and utilize data on infrastructure functionality and behaviour adoption rates to track progress and inform adaptive management.
• Maintain a risk and issue log focused on construction delays, adoption barriers, and sustainability challenges, proposing timely mitigation measures.
• Prepare detailed weekly/monthly reports and contribute to donor reports, highlighting both infrastructure outputs and software outcomes, lessons learned, and impact stories.

Cross-functional duties

• Support the development of context-appropriate Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials in Swahili where applicable.
• As a fast learner, be prepared to be capacitated and take on additional cross-functional duties as assigned by the supervisor to support overall program excellence.

Skills & Qualifications

Education & experience

• Bachelor's degree in Water Resources Engineering, Civil Engineering, post graduate in Public Health, Environmental Health, or a related field. (A combination of engineering and social sciences is highly preferred).
• Minimum of 4 years of progressive professional experience in WASH programming, with demonstrated, dedicated experience in both hardware (infrastructure) and software (behavior change) components.
• Proven experience in the full cycle of WASH infrastructure: technical design (AutoCAD, WaterCAD), cost estimation (BoQs), procurement (RFP development, bid evaluation), contract management, and site supervision in rural Tanzania.
• Proven experience in designing, training, and implementing WASH software methodologies (CLTS, PHAST, BCC) in last-mile communities.
• Experience working with local government structures in Tanzania (District Water Departments, Health Departments) is essential.
• Experience conducting formative research (Barrier Analysis, KAP surveys) to inform BCC strategies.

Technical & interpersonal skills

• Hardware: Proficiency in AutoCAD, GIS, WaterCAD/Epanet, and GPS devices, google earth. Strong skills in Microsoft Excel (formulas, pivot tables) for cost tracking and data analysis.
• Software: Expertise in participatory WASH tools (CLTS, PHAST, CHAST, BCC) and community mobilization strategies.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to use data for decision-making and program improvement.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and negotiation skills in English and Swahili (written and spoken). Proficiency in local Tanzanian dialects is a strong asset.
• Physically able to hike in high-terrain villages and travel extensively (up to 80% of the time).
• A fast learner with adaptability, strong problem-solving skills, and a commitment to capacity building.

Preferred Skills

• Professional certification in Behavior Change Communication, CLTS, or Project Management (e.g., PMP).
• Experience in gender-integrated and inclusive WASH programming.
• Experience working with international NGOs in the Tanzanian context.
• Experience in groundwater development and rehabilitation.

Raising The Village is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We highly encourage female candidates to apply.

Disclaimer: Raising the Village DOES NOT charge any kind of FEE(s) at whichever stage of the recruitment process.