Regional Director - South Asia Verified listing

About the Role

The Regional Director provides leadership to the South Asia region and contributes to the global leadership of WaterAid. This is achieved by providing strategic direction and guidance to the region’s work, empowering, and developing staff and influencing key stakeholders to maximise the impact that improvement to safe water, sanitation and hygiene can make to the poorest and most excluded people. This leadership is undertaken in line with WaterAid’s values, guiding principles and global strategy.

In this role, you will:

Strategic Leadership for Country Programmes and Region ​

•  Support the country team in accelerating the momentum of delivering transformative and influential programmes across the South Asia region in line with WaterAid global, regional, and country strategies.
• Set the overall strategic direction of programmes in the region and lead South Asia teams to deliver the shifts and ambition within their country strategies.
• Be effective and influential in the region and elevate the importance of WASH in the agendas of the key stakeholders.
• Lead donor awareness and strategy-led donor engagement to generate income growth in line with the regional growth ambition and plans.
• Contribute to the development of a strong WASH sector especially within the region and with relevant global agencies, institutions, and platforms.  Ensuring WaterAid's vision, mission, values, and aims are communicated in a positive and compelling way.

  Effective Management of Country Programmes and Region

•  Build, lead and manage high performance in diverse teams by creating an environment that enables staff to maximise their potential. Be an empowering leader and nurture staff wellbeing and safety. Foster a culture of openness, ability to speak up and accountability to all stakeholders.
• Provide oversight of the successful delivery of multiyear plans through setting realistic targets, monitoring progress and budgets, providing assurance in terms of quality of programme delivery, capacity development, effective learning and knowledge management and programme monitoring and evaluation.
• Effectively coach and support direct reports in areas such as people development, country programme, advocacy, funding strategies and multiyear plans, budgeting, planning and reporting processes.
• Provide the direction and prioritisation of resources within the regional team to effectively support the country programmes.

   Strategic contribution to wider organisation leadership 

• Contribute fully as a member of the departmental Senior Management Team and global leadership team to support organisational effectiveness and development; engage at the global level on various strategic, thematic, and learning priorities as appropriate
• Represent country programme perspectives to the wider organisation and communicate strategic and operational issues of the region to the wider organisation.
• Develop a thorough understanding of the external environment in which WaterAid operates, identify opportunities, and manage risk, including ensuring appropriate health and safety and security procedures are in place.

• Degree, professional qualification in a relevant subject (i.e., development studies, social sciences, public health/health education or civil engineering) or equivalent experience.
• Substantial track record of successfully working and leading teams at a senior level across different contexts with strategic leadership and management responsibilities in international development.
• In-depth understanding of the South Asian context (social, political, policy and institutional environment).
• Proven track record of building and leading high performing, diverse and virtual teams, skilled in cross cultural management.
• Current experience of development policy and practice with key stakeholders in the region (i.e., governments, donors, regional and continental bodies and networks).
• Track record of policy influencing at regional and/or continental levels.

Although not essential, we’d prefer you to have:

• Post-graduate degree in Development Studies, social sciences or management.
• Experience of working for an international NGO.
• Experience in and understanding of WASH sector will be a strong advantage.
• Understanding of implementing projects through partner organisations.
• Specific experience in one of WaterAid’s key thematic areas – Water, Sanitation, Hygiene, Urban, Sanitation, Human Rights, Gender and Equality, Water Resource Management.
• Experience of institutional strengthening within NGO or government environment.