Splash is an international development organization founded in 2007 and headquartered in Seattle, WA. Our mission is simple: we clean water for kids. To date, we have reached over 600,000 children in cities around the world. In 2019, we embarked on an exciting, five-year initiative, Project WISE (WASH in Schools for Everyone), to reach every government school in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Kolkata, India with improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure, WASH behavior change programs, and strengthened school-based menstrual health programs. This multi-donor, $45M Project will benefit one million children by 2023.

Our core values guide everything we do, including every hiring decision we make. They are:

• People – People first. People second. People third.
• Quality – Beautiful products that function and last.
• Honesty – No drama, no surprises, no BS.
• Joy – Kids at heart, seeing potential everywhere.
• Mistakes – Make them, don’t repeat them.

We are an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity and inclusion. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Women, people of color, and LGBTQ people are encouraged to apply.

The Job

This is a full-time position based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

POSITION OVERVIEW

Reporting to the Ethiopia Country Director, the Head of Strategic Initiatives is responsible for spearheading the development of Splash’s strategic engagement with local government, NGOs and other local partners/funders to both grow our programs as well as to ensure their continued success and sustainability.

This includes building government and donor relationships to ensure the successful completion of Project WISE, ensuring a smooth transition to government ownership post-completion, and helping to lead Splash’s expansion into new geographies in Ethiopia.

The position requires strong stakeholder engagement skills and excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to represent Splash Ethiopia locally in meetings conducted with and by Government officials, NGOs, local donor representatives, and the private sector.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Represent Splash interests in meetings with government, donors, partners, and multi-stakeholder groups.
• Work closely with the Addis Ababa city government to ensure continued political and financial support for Project WISE in Addis Ababa during the life of the project and post-completion of the project.
• Work to replicate the Project WISE model in other cities in Ethiopia; responsible to build relationships with city, state, and federal government in new geographies to ensure buy-in, cooperation, and co-investment.
• Partner with Splash senior leadership to position the organization as a leader in urban WASH and trusted partner of government and NGOs.
• Mobilize resources from donors and government to expand the country office portfolio beyond Project WISE.
• Collaborate with other senior managers to constantly be alert to and avoid partnership risks and to ensure clear and meaningful collaborations across the spectrum of partners.
• Develop appropriate tools and systems to enhance coordination, track commitments and opportunities with partners, and strengthen coherence and cohesion of Splash’s overall positioning in the local partnership framework.

COMPETENCIES

Organizational Competencies

• Demonstrates strong commitment to Splash International’s mission, vision, and values.
• Displays openness to diversity of cultures, gender, religions, race, nationality, and age; special emphasis will be placed on gender equity and the prevention of sexual harassment.
• Demonstrates ability to function in a team environment and, where required, enhance effective team leadership and a cohesive team environment.
• Shares knowledge and experience.

Functional Competencies

• Capacity to interact meaningfully with senior government officials, donors, NGOs, and representatives of private-sector institutions.
• Successful track record of negotiating successful partnership(s) with government partners.
• Outstanding analytical and negotiation skills; ability to present coherent and convincing positions both in writing and orally.
• Strong ability to take initiative to move complex processes forward to achieve articulated results.
• Demonstrated ability to work on different initiatives simultaneously.
• Demonstrable networking capability and interpersonal skills.
• Strong ability to promote teamwork.

About You

EDUCATION

• Advanced university degree, preferably MA or MSc, in business management, marketing, sociology, and social administration, psychology, environmental science, international relations, or equivalent required.

EXPERIENCE

• At least 10 years of experience in a senior leadership position, preferably with mixed Government offices and other local stakeholders.

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

• Proficiency in English and Amharic both written and spoken; knowledge of one or more major local or international languages is an asset.

CHARACTERISTICS

• You exhibit absolute integrity, honesty, openness, and sound judgment.
• You enjoy collaboration and have a genuine interest in learning from and developing others.
• You are innovative and creative.
• You constantly seek better ways to accomplish objectives.
• You are an excellent communicator, with the ability to listen and build trust with a wide variety of internal and externals constituents.
• You have the ability and willingness to travel throughout Ethiopia and internationally (as required by this role).
• You are a strong writer who enjoys compiling inputs from various team members and helping create a clear and polished final product.
• You demonstrate excellent organizational skills, self-motivation, flexibility, and the ability to work and thrive in a fast-paced, energetic, entrepreneurial environment.
• You think critically and put a high value on offering and receiving constructive feedback.
• You have a deep belief in and passion for Splash’s work and the children we serve.

Splash values the unique skills and experiences each individual brings to the organization and we are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and accessible environment for everyone. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants for employment.