cewas Middle East and BORDA-WesCA are looking for an Innovation Coordinator based in Erbil for their jointproject “Innovating solutions for sustainable sanitation and water management (SSWM)”. PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR CV AND A COVER LETTER (REQUIRED) explaining why you’d like to join us
With support from the cewas Middle East team and the BORDA team based in Iraq, and the overall guidance of a Senior Project Manager, you will be responsible for the implementation of our program activities in Iraq and the development of partnerships, a strong support network and the further development of the program approach to ensure we continue to add value. This means your tasks range from organizing logistics for the next training course to co-designing long-term strategies.
More concretely your will:
- Manage the “Innovating solutions for sustainable sanitation and water management (SSWM)” Program, being responsible for defining the work plan, planning the activities and achieving the objectives.
- Organize the implementation of Sustainable Sanitation and Water Management (SSWM) trainings and workshops for partners from the public sector, NGOs and development organizations as well as private companies together with a senior trainer.
- Develop yourself as a trainer and coach for business strategy development and implementation.
- Network, partner-up and engage with key actors in the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem (I.e.: attend networking events)
- Develop and strengthen partnerships for the implementation of the program and manage the Network of Practitioners, a platform of like-minded professionals in sustainable water and sanitation.
- Recruit the participants for the start-up activities (Hackathon), organize the trainings and support a senior trainer in coaching entrepreneurs.
- Manage the communication, marketing and reporting around the project in Iraq, including writing articles, connecting to TV stations, running social media activities.
- Develop the program component to foster regional exchange and build a more enabling environment in cooperation with the cewas ME team.
- Write proposals and acquire matching funds for the expansion of the program.
What makes this job most interesting, beyond the broad range of tasks listed above is that you will work with inspiring people who want to change things and get their hands dirty.
You also will work very close to the BORDA team based in Erbil. You will work with a decentralized team located in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Jordan and Lebanon. A Senior Project Manager based in Switzerland will be supporting and back-stopping you. Two senior cewas trainers and coaches will be working with you in the delivery of the capacity strengthening activities in Iraq.
For the operational tasks:
- You are a coordinator. You have proven experience in planning and implementing projects.
- You are passionate about innovation.
- You are committed with supporting entrepreneurs in developing new solutions to bring to the market.
- You have very good organizational skills – be prepared to do multi-tasking.
- You are a great communicator.
- You are a networker and great at developing relationships, connecting and matching people.
- You are a potential trainer and coach.
- You have organized events or workshops before and ideally you have experience in what it takes to engage participants for trainings and workshops.
- An academic and/or professional background in Business Administration and Business Development is preferred. Expertise in the WASH sector or a personal interest in environmental topics will be an advantage.
- You have effective time management skill.
- You can do small logistical tasks too, such as translation.
For the strategic tasks:
- You are from Iraq or have experience working there and ideally you have an existing network in the business or environmental sector in Iraq.
- You have enthusiastic about supporting start-ups and developing capacities in water, sanitation and waste management. Learning new topics, either in the business or environmental sector, motivates you.
- You can strike the thin line between being diplomatic, making compromises and being determined, to engage partners and strengthen partnerships.
- You are interested in working in an international (virtual) environment and learning about new cultures.
Other requirements:
- Perfect Arabic, Kurdish and English is a pre-condition, German an asset Iraqi nationality or work permit in a Schengen State (EU, Switzerland) Extensive experience outside Iraq (study, work) is an asset
- You want to think, plan, decide and do things rather than administering work
- We are a decentralized team, which means that you will have to be able to work independently and in a team at the same time
- Implementing an initiative like ours, that is dependent on partnerships and has to be continuously adapted to a very complex environment, means that it is often not clear what is the right thing to do. We love this uncertainty and figuring out a way to still make things work and so should you.
- Experience in social media communication is an asset
Additional information:
- Contract type: 100%
- Location: Erbil, with travels to Baghdad, Mosul and Sulimaniyah
- Experience level: between 3 and 10 years
- Starting date: 15th of September 2019
- Interviews will be conducted in Erbil during the week Tuesday 16th to Tuesday 23rd of July 2019
Please submit your CV and a cover letter explaining why you’d like to join us. Applicants who do not submit their cover letter will not be considered.
