| Place of work: | London: 20 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5NN
Applicants from other countries will be considered. |
| Salary: | London: £100,000 Salary ranges are available on request for other locations. |
| Contract type: | Permanent, full time. |
| Reports to: | Chair Designate of RWA Board. |
| Manages: | Senior management team. Currently 4 Directors. |
| Budget responsibility: | £11million over 4 years. |
| Travel: | Frequent travel to international meetings and RWA countries. Travel to London 4 times a year (if not based in London). |
This is a unique senior leadership role, requiring a mix of skills and expertise: vision setting and strategic leadership for growth and delivering results; experience of managing and developing governance structures; a track record of taking new initiatives to scale; strong interpersonal skills to build relationships with a range of partners and organisations; excellent team leadership skills especially across countries and time zones; knowledge and appreciation of climate, water, development and finance; and a spirit of entrepreneurialism.
The CEO will be accountable to the WaterAid and RWA Boards for developing a vision for growth and implementing its strategy (including the budget, policies, and delivery).
Responsibilities include:
- Set the strategic direction for the RWA as it enters the next phase of implementation and delivery. This includes selecting new countries for operation, refine the delivery model, and develop the RWA’s offer to increase the ability to accelerate increased finance for improved water resilience.
- Lead the fundraising strategy and broker high-level relationships with strategic donors to take the RWA’s annual turnover above £5million by 2027. Tailor the RWA offer to a range of partners in the public and private sectors.
- Build RWA’s capacity to become a vibrant independent, wholly owned entity with strong staff and board and a healthy relationship with WaterAid.
- Lead the operational delivery of the RWA. The CEO is responsible for overall management of the budget and reporting to funders; oversight of spending, reporting outputs and outcomes and risk management; providing updates to the WaterAid Board and other partners; and responsible for contracts and the legal and financial operations of the RWA.
- Lead delivery of the RWA in country. Develop the understanding of local markets; assess where the RWA should be working, how and with whom; support deal development and origination of project ideas that align with the RWA’s strategic objectives; and build out the acceleration facility to enable the RWA’s model to be scaled and replicated. The CEO will need to learn from country teams and apply critical thinking to ensure focus on aspects that deliver high reward and challenge the traditional way of doing things.
- Lead the RWA’s thought leadership work at a global level, spot opportunities to engage with new areas of work, and learn from the water sector and other areas (such as renewable energy or nature-based solutions). Current areas of work include developing the application of voluntary carbon markets for water; designing a water resilience green bond platform; exploring opportunities with the insurance sector; and deploying data and analytical solutions in new ways to unlock faster action in the water sector.
- Oversee the transition of RWA from a programme within WaterAid to a separate legal entity – most likely as a Company Limited by Guarantee and a wholly owned subsidiary of WaterAid. The CEO will need to work with the Chair Designate to create the Board of Directors and Advisory Council, and establish frameworks, policies and processes for the RWA and its relationship with WaterAid.
- Develop the RWA offer for the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Water Investment Lighthouse – working with senior finance and business representatives to advance how the investment community and corporates consider investment opportunities for water.
- Represent the RWA to a range of audiences: within WaterAid UK and across the WaterAid Federation; with the RWA’s partners; most critically to country governments; with senior corporate executives; with water sector partners, non-profits, climate organisations and the wider development community.
- Lead a high-ability and mixed-disciplinary team of WaterAid staff and consultants, spread over a range of geographies and time zones.