IWMI Vacancy - Senior Advisor: Products and Services Advisory Unit

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is looking for a Senior Advisor: Products and Services Advisory Unit. This is a key function requiring close coordination with several departments, teams and individuals within IWMI, including the Deputy Director General - Research; leaders of the Institute’s research themes (i.e., Resource Recovery, Water Quality and Health, and other themes); Director, Business Development; regional directors; office heads and regional research uptake coordinators.

The selected candidate will report to the Global Science Uptake Coordinator, and will be based at IWMI’s headquarters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, or at one of the Institute’s country/regional offices.  

Purpose:

The Senior Advisor contributes to IWMI’s Strategy 2014-2018 by supporting research uptake and fund-raising through:

• increasing visibility of IWMI’s research-based solutions to development challenges;
• supporting the alignment of products and advisory service delivery to research users and partners;
• catalyzing innovative financing options to support external investment in research and uptake of solutions;
• monitoring and supporting the uptake of solutions on behalf of IWMI, which will help to assess development impacts; and
• building and managing partnerships and alliances that advance solution implementation.

You will be responsible for:

70% of the time will be allocated to the following: There is significant interest from donors, development agencies and others to invest in products and services of IWMI’s work on resource recovery and reuse (RRR). This includes:

(i)                 RRR business models;
(ii)               related feasibility studies resulting in investment plans; and
(iii)             implementation of these plans, for example, through public-private partnerships.

The Senior Advisor will respond to this demand, represent the program at high-level meetings with key decision makers and investors, build relationships with partners, and support the uptake of RRR products and services for development, policy advocacy and capacity building. The person will support the RRR program in collaboration with IWMI’s Business Development Unit through fund-raising for its uptake-oriented research.

The person will monitor and document uptake and application of the RRR business solutions, and other related products and services that IWMI can offer in this area.

Performance targets:

(i)                 Within 1 year: Identify new opportunities, partnerships and impact pathways for the uptake of RRR products and services.
(ii)               Within 2 years: Mobilize, at least, an additional USD 2,000,000 in funds for the RRR program.

30% of the time will be allocated to the following:

IWMI has produced a wide range of innovative products (e.g., flood- and drought-risk assessment tools, the Water Data Portal) that require further investments to deliver their full potential, especially in terms of the services that the Institute may provide to ensure that such products are used and useable by potential beneficiaries.

The Senior Advisor will position IWMI competitively in the knowledge market by leading:

• an assessment of demand for current and potential research products and services;
• market/business analyses for such products and services, including analysis of the competitive landscape, and identification of IWMI’s potential niche and value added;
• development of value propositions for prioritized products/services, and effective outcome delivery channels and strategies to scale-up utilization of IWMI’s products;
• analysis of potential funding streams to take products to the knowledge market; and
• development of recommendation(s) for changes to IWMI’s future research portfolio, uptake approaches and funding based on the above.

You will possess:

• an advanced degree relevant to developing business opportunities in IWMI’s areas of work. This may include an advanced degree in policy, finance and/or business;
• at least 10-15 years of experience and a successful track record in business development, partnering with development banks and investors, market research, product development forecasting, and financing;
• an in-depth knowledge of investments and trends of donors and the development sector;
• strong skills in market assessment, segmentation and profiling, and product delivery to market;
• a strong history of, and skills in, fund-raising and proposal development;
• demonstrated success in building strong external partnerships and alliances in complex environments;
• experience in agriculture and the agriculture-sanitation interface, and water issues more generally, as well as knowledge of water-related tools, metrics, indicators and advisory services; and
• maintaining high-quality interactions with colleagues in different geographic locations.

Other requirements

• Frequent travel to Asia, Africa, Europe and the United States of America (approximately 30-50% of the time).

This is an internationally recruited position with a competitive salary and benefits package, which includes a housing allowance, transport, education, shipping assistance, annual home leave, retirement and health insurance package. IWMI’s policy is to appoint staff initially on three-year contracts which are subject to renewal, depending on performance and the Institute’s needs.

Closing date: 28 February 2015

Please submit your application online at: www.iwmi.org/jobs