Job Profile Senior Adviser (N1) Water Sector Adviser Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) Joint Water and Environment Sector Support Programme Uganda Reference number: DK-50991-2013/UGA.03-W 1. Preliminary 1.1. Short background: 1.2. The Joint Water and Environment Sector Support Programme (JWESSP) has commenced with a six months inception phase from September 2013 to April 2014. The Water Sector Adviser will therefore collaborate with two Danida recruited advisers as well as with advisers recruited by other Development Partners and the Government of Uganda. 1.3. Purpose of memo: This memo describes the main tasks involved in the position and the qualifications requested from candidates to the job. 1.4. Expected composition of the selection committee: Applicants for the position will be selected for interview by the Danish embassy following consultation with the local authorities, who will also be represented at the job interview. Mercuri Urval will participate in the process of appointment by conducting personality tests and test interviews with the selected candidates, as well as taking part in the final interview. The final interview panel consists of the sector coordinator from the Embassy, a representative from the local authorities, and the consultant from Mercuri Urval A/S in charge of the recruitment process. 2. The Joint Water and Environment Sector Support Programme 2.1. The programme in short: The Government of Uganda (GoU) and Development Partners (DPs) are implementing a Joint Water and Environment Sector Programme Support (JWESSP) over the 5-year period 2013-2018. The programme is a continuation of a similar programme running from 2008 to 2013 and will support the GoU's effort to eradicate poverty in Uganda. In line with the mandate of the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) and the merging of the two subsectors, this new programme also incorporates support to environment and natural resources (ENR) sub-sector. It is also intended to further harmonise and align DP support to the sector by establishing one, co-ordinated and flexible sector programme, which DPs will be able to "buy in" to and support components or elements that comply with their respective policies and strategic areas of support.
The objective of the JWESSP is: To support the water and environment sector in achieving its targets and improving its efficiency through a consistent harmonised support programme that is aligned with government objectives, policies and delivery modalities. The JWESSP objective supports the overall objectives of Uganda s water and environment sector, which are: Full alignment to the goals and targets of the National Development Plan (NDP, 2010/11 to 2014/15), Uganda s overarching national planning framework. This includes the water supply and sanitation targets of 77% rural coverage and 100% urban coverage to be achieved by 2015, as well as the NDP goals in the areas of water for production, water resources management, environment/natural resources management and climate change. The JWESSP will also help Uganda to achieve the water and sanitation Millennium Development Goals by providing access to safe water supply to at least 3.4 million Ugandans (rural: 2.5 million; small towns and rural growth centres: 0.9 million), and increasing access to improved sanitation for the same target population. The JWESSP also aims at increasing food security through developing an effective enabling framework for the integrated management of water resources and the environment in a context of climate change and increasing demographic pressure. The JWESSP will be managed and implemented by Uganda, with the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) as the lead agency. Coordination between Ugandan authorities and development partners will be through the Water and Environment Sector Working Group (WESWG). Uganda s water and environment sector is at a stage of dynamic change. Appropriate policies and strategy frameworks are in place for sub-sectors and the sector as a whole. Within these frameworks, the sector endeavours to implement Uganda s decentralisation policies and strives to separate different functions, such as implementation, regulation, policy-making and monitoring. In the case of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS), decentralisation has gone far, but in other sub-sectors, policy implementation has been delayed. With the approval of the climate change policy, climate change adaption will be mainstreamed across the sub-sectors. The continuous alignment of the JWESSP to Ugandan procedures and regulations has implications for the management of the programme and influence funding modalities. External support to the JWESSP will be provided through four different channels: Two main modalities (on-budget) - Sector Budget Support (SBS) and the Joint Partnership Fund (JPF) and two complementary modalities (off-budget). The funding modalities below are foreseen: Sector Budget Support will be used to channel funds to the local governments, for JWESSP activities to be implemented at the decentralised level. This type of funding will be channelled through conditional grants, directly from the treasury / Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED) to the Local Governments, in line with Uganda s fiscal decentralisation policy. The Joint Partnership Fund, a pooled fund managed by MWE, is the main modality for harmonised sector funding of the majority of JWESSP components. JPF operations are aligned with government procedures in terms of financial management, auditing,
reporting and procurement but funds are kept separate from the treasury funds. The JPF includes both non-earmarked and earmarked funding. Non-earmarked JPF funding is the MWE s preferred modality to ensure harmonisation of procedures and flexibility for adjustments, using joint decision making mechanisms, and to minimise transaction costs. The complementary, off-budget funding modalities are technical assistance provided in kind; and Development Partner managed programme management support for sector studies and monitoring. The increased use of GoU structures, systems, and procedures will reduce transaction costs but it will at the same time also increase requirements on the GoU to produce comprehensive and consistent budgets and subsequent reports. The Senior Water Sector Adviser will have two areas of focus in supporting the MWE as reflected in the below objectives and scope of works. The first focus is DWD and its Departments in fulfilling its mandate and the second focus will be the support to the MWE liaison and capacity development functions, which include the Directorates of DEA and DWRM. 3. The Position 3.1. Title: Senior Adviser (N1) Water Sector Adviser 3.2. Place of service: Ministry of Water and Environment 3.3. Terms of employment: The contract period is three years, with the third year pending budgetary approval. Attractive remuneration package reflecting family status. Contribution to a pension scheme, health insurance and reimbursement of school fees. Free housing. Grant for relocation. 3.4. Special conditions of the function: Political set up, work with other advisors both long term and short term. Some of whom are recruited by the Ministry of Water and Environment and others recruited by other Development Partners. 3.5. Area of responsibility/tasks: Objective: The adviser will support the sector in achieving its objectives by supporting the MWE management in effectively and efficiently using the resources made available for the sector, while contributing to improvement of alignment, harmonisation, accountability, and transparency as well as supporting the coordination and liaison function with a focus on capacity development. The Senior Water Sector Adviser will have two areas of focus in supporting the MWE at large, with the aim of strengthening the sector s overall performance. The first focus area will be the three sub-sectors within the Directorate of Water Development (DWD), namely; Rural Water and Sanitation, Urban Water and Sanitation, and Water for Production, in fulfilling their mandate. The second focus will be support to the MWE liaison and capacity development
functions, which include the Directorates of Environment Affairs (DEA) and Water Resources Management (DWRM). Scope: The scope of work of the Water Sector Adviser will include advisory services to DWD and MWE at large, with the aim of strengthening the sector s overall performance. Emphasis will be on the three sub-sectors of Rural Water and Sanitation, Urban Water and Sanitation, and Water for Production. It will include but not be limited to: Improved sector performance The Water Sector Adviser shall contribute to strengthening the sector s role in poverty reduction by supporting DWD/MWE in its efforts to: Improve sector planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting, with a special focus on employing a Rights Based Approach in i) the identification and reduction of socioeconomic disparities and gender inequalities; and ii) the relevance and reliability of data and the information systems in which they are used; Continuously improve the institutional, organisational, staffing and managerial structures of sector institutions, with the aim of enhancing their contributions to sector performance; Maintain and/or establish sector funding mechanisms that are well functioning, transparent and accountable, and aligned to government rules and procedures; Refine and implement the sector s decentralisation policies, including the separation of functions such as implementation; regulation; policy-making; O&M and monitoring; Actively involve users/consumers in the planning, financing, management and monitoring of water and sanitation facilities; Enhance sector transparency and accountability at all levels, leading to a tangibly increased share of resources that actually benefit the end-user/consumer; Strengthen the overall sector coordination and liaison function; Support MWE in preparing inputs to the Joint Budget Support Framework/Joint Assistance Framework (JAF) planning and monitoring process for provision of budget support to the GoU; Implementation of the sector capacity development strategy. Harmonisation and Alignment The Water Sector Adviser shall assist DWD /MWE in: Strengthening and consolidating SWAP arrangements, based on the Sector Investment Plan (SIP) as the point of departure for continuously increased alignment and harmonisation of contributions from JWESSP as well as non-jwessp partners; Identifying strategic dialogue issues for the Joint Sector Reviews and Joint Technical Reviews, as well as policy and strategic issues for discussion in the WESWG; Developing procedures for integrating JWESSP resources in the planning, budgeting, implementation and reporting systems of MWE and its directorates, while ensuring that confidence from development partners and other stakeholders remains intact;
Developing internal DWD/MWE support mechanisms for i) coordinating the utilisation of JWESSP resources and ii) preparing comprehensive work plans, budgets and reports based on departmental inputs for presentation to the WESWG and required sub working groups as well as development partners; Support the system of the WESWG and its sub-working groups, for interaction between government and JWESSP development partners, which allows strategic dialogue and informed decisions on work plans, budgets and reports, while discouraging outside involvement in tasks that are part of DWD/MWE s management responsibilities; Improving uniform reporting systems that satisfy both government and development partners; Liaise closely with the Water Sector Adviser for the Directorate of Water Resources Management (SA-DWRM). Strengthening the involvement of the private sector and civil society and the regulatory function of DWD over water utilities The Water Sector Adviser will provide support and advice to DWD/MWE on the following issues relating to the private sector and civil society: In liaison with the Operation and Maintenance Adviser, carry out promotion and training of private operators in small towns, rural growth centres and rural gravity flow schemes, hereunder the private sector organisations for operation and maintenance of private sector managed systems; Support to NGOs/civil society organisations through the Uganda Water and Sanitation NGO Network (UWASNET) Secretariat to leverage own funding, by empowering them to address development partners and access funds for sector activities directly from them; Support to NGO/civil society through UWASNET Secretariat in their watchdog role, as well as in strengthening the role of the user in monitoring and influencing how sector resources are used at the local level; Supervision and regulation of water authorities/utilities. 4. Demand Profile/Qualifications 4.1. Requirements and expectations concerning the candidates formal qualifications: A master s degree or corresponding qualifications in subjects relevant to the water and sanitation sector, management and/or public sector restructuring and reform; Profound experience in comprehensive water and sanitation sector reform, including institutional reform and enhanced involvement of the private sector and civil society, or equivalent experience of institutional reforms in other sectors, where institutional reform of the public sector is combined with private sector and civil society involvement; Strong experience in capacity development within public institutions; Extensive work experience from central governments and/or donors; Strong experience from developing countries and, preferably, Eastern Africa; Fluency in written and spoken English;
Experience in catchment-based planning and implementation; Experience in employing a Rights Based Approach to planning and implementation. 4.2. Requirements and expectations concerning the personal qualifications of the candidates: Analytical, outgoing and robust with a pragmatic approach and appreciation of the dynamics in a politically managed organisation; Ability to work as part of an interdisciplinary team with relations to different ministries and stakeholders. 5. Recruitment Procedures (Mercuri Urval takes care of the below) 5.1 How do you apply: Information about the mandatory application procedure can be found at: www.danidajob.dk. Reference number DK-50991-2013/UGA.03-W should be stated in the application. 5.2 Deadline for applications: 24 October 2013 at 12 noon (CEST). 5.3 Preliminary interviews and personal evaluation: Week 47 (18-21 November 2013). Mercuri Urval will conduct a personal evaluation of selected candidates. 5.4 Language test: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided that all candidates called in for interview - except for those to whom the relevant language is mother tongue - shall be language tested in Denmark in the working languages of the duty station (i.e. English). 5.5 Presentation to the appointments committee: 22 November 2013. 5.6 Decision: A decision is expected shortly after 22 November 2013. 5.7 Expected commencement: January 2014.