WASHE Technical Advisor

Job description

Introduction
The Scottish Government Climate Just Communities (CJC) programme is a flagship programme under the new round of the Climate Justice Fund and will implement community-led projects in Malawi, Rwanda, and Zambia. The purpose of CJC is to develop and deliver, through a participatory approach, a series of interventions that build inclusive and climate change resilient communities. CJC will achieve this by enabling local communities in Malawi, Zambia and Rwanda to identify local priorities linked to the material and social impacts of climate change. Following which, CJC will support the delivery of interventions, developed through a participatory approach with communities themselves, that address these priorities.

The objectives of CJC are to:

a) Empower communities to identify their own priorities to be addressed through climate justice support and build resilience to the local material and social impacts of climate change;
b) Empower the most marginalised within communities (including but not limited to marginalisation for reasons related to gender, age, disability or indigenous status) to participate and take action in building resilience to the local material and social impacts of climate change;
c) Empower communities to advocate for climate justice and local equity;
d) Create long-term, sustainable change within communities in line with the pillars of climate justice.
CJC Zambia is a £7.4m programme which began in August 2023 and will run March 2026.

NIRAS Group (UK) Ltd has been contracted to deliver the CJC Lot 3 programme in Zambia. To deliver the assignment, NIRAS has developed a consortium of national and international organisations. NIRAS will be the Lead Service Provider contracted by the Scottish government. Three Community Delivery Partners, Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ), Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ), and the Green Living Movement Zambia (GLM), are the local Community Delivery Partners (CDPs), providing the entry points into target CJC communities, and responsible for facilitating community participation to design, implement and monitor programme interventions under CJC, in coordination with ward-level Community Management Committees (CMCs). Three advocacy partners, Tearfund, the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), and Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR), lead the advocacy activities of CJC, working with the Community Delivery Partners to advance participatory climate justice advocacy at the local and national levels. A pool of specialised Technical Service Providers and consultants will offer innovative solutions and will work either directly with communities or provide support to Community Delivery Partners to implement the climate resilience-building interventions requested by communities.
CJC Zambia is being implemented across four of the most climate-vulnerable districts in Zambia: Luangwa, Sinazongwe, Shangombo, and Sioma. CJC Zambia will deliver interventions to over 15,000 households in climate-vulnerable communities in diverse areas including WASH; climate-resilient agriculture and livestock management; natural resource management (NRM); disaster risk reduction (DRR); economic development (access to finance, business development); gender equality, disability, and social inclusion (GEDSI); and climate advocacy.
Role Description
Access to clean water aims at reducing the vulnerability of the households to the unpredictable weather effects of climate change and waterborne diseases caused by the poor quality of drinking water and other water sanitation hygiene (WASH) factors. The WASHE Technical Advisor’s role is to support productive and consumptive water in the project communities. The incumbent will report to the Deputy Team Leader. The engagement will be based in Lusaka but with frequent travels (estimated 75% of the time) in the field to support implementation in project districts and wards. The Technical Advisor will also develop the technical specifications and line manage short-term technical assistance (STTA) consultants and liaise with service providers and Community Delivery Partners (CDPs) to deliver activities under this workstream. The Technical Advisor will also work closely with the NIRAS Procurement Manager to coordinate on the budgeting and supply of construction materials to the project sites to facilitate these activities.

Key Responsibilities:

Water Points:

Facilitate drilling and installation of new boreholes with solar pumps.
Facilitate rehabilitation of non-functional existing boreholes and installation of solar pumps.
Facilitate the construction of protected wells.

Latrines:

Provide oversight to construction of ventilated improved pit latrines
Facilitate collaboration with government agencies on community hygiene and sanitation awareness.
Oversee training of community water management committees (VWASHE committees) in borehole, well, and pit latrine infrastructure maintenance and management.

All activities above should be implemented with a view toward achieving community ownership and sustainability following project closure in March 2026.
The Technical Advisor is also expected to contribute to monthly and quarterly client performance reports.

Key Deliverables

Deliverables will be determined on a quarterly basis and reflected in the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Appraisal Process

KPIs will be produced, against which performance will be measured on an annual basis during an appraisal process.

Required Expertise

Master’s degree in civil/water engineering
Experience in managing water infrastructure suppliers and contractors
Experienced in community training and facilitation
Experience in WASHE