The Aquaya Institute (Aquaya) is an independent, non-profit research and consulting organization dedicated to safe, equitable, and sustainable water and sanitation in low-resource settings. Our mission is to improve public health by reducing the burden of waterborne diseases. Aquaya was established in 2005 to provide development agencies, governments, and implementing organizations with a trustworthy and agile resource for conducting rigorous research, experimentation, and evaluation.

Aquaya has completed projects spanning public health, economics, technology development, and social entrepreneurship in over 20 countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. We have published or contributed to over 40 peer-reviewed research articles and produced numerous other reports and publications.

Aquaya maintains an office in Nairobi, Kenya. Staff members are also in the US, Ghana, Uganda, France, Ethiopia, and Morocco. Many of our projects are carried out in collaboration with academic research groups and expert consultants.

About the position

The Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector needs to catch up to the data revolution. Project W aims to support decision-makers in achieving sustainable WASH services at scale through accessible data-driven insights. Project W is a centralized WASH data directory and analytics platform for stakeholders to learn, respond, and invest in effective services. Project W currently includes over 4,500 secondary datasets from over 40 countries. Additional components of Project W may include WASH-related literature, technology, jobs, grants, conferences, and other topics. Project W may also compile original datasets to fill existing information gaps.

The Senior Project W Manager (‘Senior Manager’) is responsible for all facets of Project W’s execution. The Senior Manager is responsible for managing the vision and progress of Project W to build a public, accessible, and innovative data platform. The Senior Manager will help recruit and supervise the relevant tasks of a Data Editor and/or several Junior Data Editors (as they are hired) who will work directly on data collection, entry, and editing.

The Senior Manager’s key responsibilities will be as follows:

• Management: Drive the Project W program by overseeing the activities, budget, timeline, and team, including managing junior staff.
• Web platform: Finalize the Project W beta web platform development, and liaise with the web developer and team.
• Data integration: Expand the web platform to integrate primary and secondary datasets on rural water supply systems and population centers in conjunction with the scale-up of a multi-country water quality testing program.
• Engagement: Obtain feedback from potential users and other stakeholders to refine Project W to address critical data-for-decision-making gaps.
• Expansion: Create the work plan for the next phase of Project W in collaboration with the Project W task force (Senior Management, advisors, and other staff

This position may be remote (for a particularly strong candidate) but preferably based in person in Nairobi, Kenya, or Accra, Ghana.

Criteria for the position

The following qualifications are necessary for this position:

• Demonstrated experience building and/or managing web-based data platforms.
• Demonstrated experience in project leadership, with experience or interest in driving projects from start-up to growth.
• A general understanding of the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector.
• Graduate degree in data science, WASH, or a related field.
• Experience or interest in international development.
• Fluent English speaker with excellent writing and editing skills.
• Excellent IT and analytical skills (coding software, Microsoft Office). Experience building wireframes is a plus.

We are also looking for the following skills and attributes:

• Strong work ethic and a commitment to delivery.
• Outstanding organization and time management skills, with an attention to detail and an ability to establish systems to manage constant information flows and deliver on deadlines.
• Demonstrated enthusiasm for data science/data analytics through past freelance work, professional network involvement, teaching, or volunteer service.
• Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and provide feedback to strengthen capacity and data quality.
• Ability to work productively with remote teams.
• Proven ability to work closely with a small team and to successfully manage multiple and changing priorities in a fast-paced, dynamic environment while maintaining a positive and productive attitude and a good sense of humor!

Compensation and Benefits

This is a full-time position with an initial 3-month probationary period. Aquaya offers competitive salaries that are commensurate with experience. Benefits include medical insurance and enrolment in a pension plan.