Head of Programmes

Head of Programmes

ABOUT GROUNDWATER RELIEF

Groundwater Relief (https://groundwater-relief.org/) is a UK registered charity (No. 1167458) that provides technical expertise and services to organisations and government agencies responsible for developing and managing groundwater resources mainly across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Groundwater Relief’s work is facilitated by a team of international groundwater professionals, comprising over 550 registered technical members. Their collective support has enabled Groundwater Relief to undertake over 130 projects in 27 different countries in the past 8 years.

Groundwater Relief has a small team of core staff who manage the technical membership, manage projects, and support the growth and development of the charity.

THE ROLE

We are now recruiting for a critical role within the organisation. We are looking for an experienced person who will be able to take on overall responsibility for the technical work that GWR undertakes, leading our project work and managing our technical team.

Responsibilities will include:

• Leading GWR’s technical staff, and working with GWR’s global membership of experts, to deliver high quality groundwater services to the humanitarian and development sectors.
• Managing junior technical staff, providing them oversight, mentoring and support as they work to achieve GWR’s project goals.
• Providing direct technical and strategic support to International and National Non-Government Organisations (INGOs/NGOs), UN agencies and Government Agencies engaged in water supply.
• Representing GWR on international projects; it is estimated that during a calendar year you may be travelling for up to 2 to 3 months on assignments that may last between 1 to 3 weeks.
• For in-country projects you will provide technical oversight, with responsibilities that may include undertaking water resources assessments, managing drilling programmes, establishing monitoring networks, rehabilitation works, developing operations and maintenance programmes, and building the capacity of partner organisations and/or water authorities.
• Working with GWR’s CEO, fundraising officer and partners to develop proposals and funding applications that are relevant to GWR’s goals and strategy.
• Producing, and overseeing the production of high quality reports, presenting findings clearly and keeping recommendations practical and direct for the humanitarian sector.
• Support innovation that will help GWR to meet its objectives as a charity.
• Promoting GWR’s services within the humanitarian and development sectors, including presenting at conferences, presenting in coordination meetings, to donors and government departments.

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE

• Relevant degree with an MSc or equivalent qualification in Hydrogeology or similar.
• Extensive experience working in the field of water supply, including water well construction.
• Experience working on international groundwater projects.
• Experience in managing teams to deliver a portfolio of projects and delivering effective and timely outputs under pressure.
• Experience in writing technical proposals, developing detailed budgets, and workplans.
• Highly competent in managing technical projects, writing technical reports and specifications.
• Supervisory and leadership experience in providing support, motivating and setting objectives for junior technical staff.
• Demonstrable ability to engage with a range of different stakeholders, ideally within the humanitarian and development sector, and deliver complex ideas to non-technical personnel.
• Experience in driving growth within an organisation, whilst actively improving practice, processes and outcomes across all aspects of the organisation.

YOUR PROFILE

We are looking for an individual with passion and desire to improve the way groundwater is developed, and managed, for the benefit of people across the globe. You will be ambitious for GWR’s service provision to grow and develop, to increase our impact and effectiveness to meet some of the world’s water resource challenges.

You will enjoy leading teams, mentoring and providing technical support to junior staff. You will understand the importance of and enjoy working towards building a happy and effective working environment within GWR.

You will be comfortable managing GWR’s project portfolio, managing project budgets and utilising available resources to deliver projects in a timely manner. You will take a pride in delivering competent pragmatic solutions and communicating these in a straightforward, way.

You will be willing and able to travel internationally up to 20% of the year. You will be happy to work in demanding environments and in difficult circumstances with basic living conditions. You enjoy meeting and communicating with different types of stakeholders from all walks of life.

You must have fluency in English and be able to work in the UK.

BENEFITS

• Competitive Salary ranging between £36,000 and £40,000 per annum, depending on experience.
• Pension scheme (4.5% by employer, and 4% contribution by employee).
• 25 days Annual Leave per annum, not including bank holidays (pro rata).
• An additional day of annual leave for every 7 days working in-country.
• Opt-in Private Health Care insurance (available from October 2024)

LOCATION AND HOURS OF WORK

• It is hoped that the role will commence as soon as possible after acceptance.
• The normal working location will be in our offices in Totnes, Devon, UK. We also have a flexible working policy, and arrangements can be discussed with the right candidate.
• Will consider a full time (37.5 hours a week) or 4 day (30 hour) per week role. Working in-country will require you to work full time.