Professionalized Services Manager

Job Summary: Under the direction of the Country Director and the Professionalized Services Director, the Professionalized Services Manager (PSM) will be responsible for organizing, leading, and managing the development of professionalized services within Water Mission Malawi with a goal of ensuring sustainability and continued transformation in communities where safe water projects are implemented.

Our Culture: As a key leader in Water Mission, the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager is responsible for leading self and staff in developing a biblical worldview culture that leads to God-honoring excellence in all work and reinforces the following: providing accurate data, empowering staff to have the skills and mindset needed to acknowledge mistakes or problems as opportunities to find appropriate solutions, and empowering staff to consistently work for excellence in solutions that are consistent with Water Mission’s mission, vision, values, and standards.

Duties and Responsibilities

General Responsibilities

 Mission Driven

• Maintain a strong Christian witness and model servant leadership to colleagues, partners, the communities we serve, and the public.
• Engage and participate in prayer before and after team meetings.
• Lead and participate in biblically based staff devotions. 

Key Responsibilities

• Assess current WASH service provision, focusing on the Rural Water Cooperative (RWC) program, and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Develop and implement strategies to maximize UPTIME, ensure Carbon Credit reporting requirements are realized, and enhance overall service quality.
• Enhance collaboration between Rural Water Cooperative program requirements and Water Mission staff to exchange information and share experiences, address challenges quickly, and optimize service delivery.
• Analyze the country program structure to identify opportunities for future team building to meet the country program goals.
• Use ROI analysis for decision-making to achieve the impact goals.
• Help lead the operationalization of Assetas management system, customized to the country program's unique needs.
• Ensure proper training and capacity building for staff involved in asset management activities.
• Engage in developing innovative models of professionalized services tailored to the country's program.
• Support the establishment of a Water Utility entity and strengthen governance, policies, and regulations for effective water utility management.
• Develop and implement capacity-building programs and training workshops to enhance the skills and knowledge of utility management.
• Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and benchmarks to assess the effectiveness of revenue generation strategies and identify areas for improvement of the established utilities.
• Prepare comprehensive reports and presentations documenting the projects' and utilities’ outcomes, lessons learned, and best practices to inform stakeholders.
• Build relationships with other key stakeholders, including Government, NGOs and others that support achieving desired objectives.
• Help build and manage required key capacities, including water system operators and professionalized services-focused staff.

 Other tasks as may be assigned.

Qualifications and Experience

Relationship and Alignment

• Personal and growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Alignment with Water Mission’s Statement of Faith and core values of Love, Excellence, and Integrity.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Water Engineering, Irrigation Engineering, Water Resources Management, Water Quality & Management or Environmental Health are preferred.
• A Master’s Degree will be an added advantage.
• A minimum of 4 years of experience in the WASH sector or related.
• Proven track record of supporting WASH projects in a dynamic and challenging environment.
• Candidates with an engineering degree must be registered either as Graduate Engineer or Professional Engineer with the Malawi Engineering Institution (MEI).

Skills and Abilities

• Familiarity with design & modelling programs such EPANET, AutoCAD or SolidWorks will be an added advantage.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret market trends, financial data, and operational metrics.
• Excellent communication skills, fluent in English and Chichewa (and any other indigenous languages), with strong negotiation and stakeholder management capabilities.
• Commitment to promoting project sustainability and innovation in the WASH sector.
• Proficiency in Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and similar applications.
• Must have a valid driver’s license.
• Willingness to travel frequently to remote project sites.