JOB DESCRIPTION
Title: Director, Government Partnerships, Kenya
Reports to: Country Director, Kenya, with a dotted line to the Global Lead, Strategic Government Partnerships
Employment Type: Full-time
About Impact Water
Want to help make safe drinking water a reality for every student, everywhere?
Impact Water is a nonprofit that provides point-of-use water treatment systems and safe water education to public schools in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. Today, we support more than 24 million students in over 60,000 schools.
Our model is simple and practical. We install point-of-use water treatment systems in schools, keep them resupplied, and maintain them so they keep working year after year. Our field teams visit schools regularly to train teachers on safe water practices, check that water is actually being treated, and teach students why they should only drink treated water.
We work closely with national and subnational governments, and over the next five years we are supporting them to take greater ownership of safe water in their schools, from budgeting and procurement to delivery and monitoring. Our goal is for every public school in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda to have safe drinking water by 2030, provided as a routine government service.
Position Overview
We are seeking an experienced Director of Government Partnerships to lead our subnational government co-financing strategy and accelerate our path to universal safe drinking water coverage across our counties of operation by 2030. This senior leadership role will develop and execute government partnership strategies across our counties of operation in Kenya.
You will lead Impact Water's day-to-day government engagement in Kenya on the co-financing mission. The role builds and keeps relationships at national level and county level. It turns those relationships into signed MOUs, costed budget lines, policy and plan integration, and county-led procurement and delivery of chlorine tablets to our partner schools.
The ideal candidate will bring at least 7 years of experience, including 5 years in policy and government partnerships, a track record of working with governments to deliver results and a deep understanding of the international development and WASH landscape.
This position is within a small team where you'll need to be resourceful and work independently to get things done. Our Strategic Government Partnership team is in its early stages with lots of opportunity to shape how things work. We're looking for someone who embraces the challenge of building systems and processes from the ground up.
Key Responsibilities
County Co-financing of the School Safe Water Program
Work with the Global Lead on the successful execution of the county government co-financing of the school safe water program in Kenya
Prepare county investment cases and lead high-level advocacy, organise the County Executive onboarding workshops, support MOU negotiation and signing
Support the engagement of County Assembly WASH and Health committees to build political goodwill and county legislative support for co-financing when budgets are tabled for approval, and help identify County Assembly champions
Support the county co-design workshops and set up School Safe Water Program (SSWP) committees/ technical working groups (TWGs) in each county, so that chlorine tablets distribution runs through county channels and models the county-led delivery approach
Support County teams to secure 167mg chlorine tablet procurement specifications and a costed recurrent budget line in their fiscal estimates, and to move to county led procurement and distribution
Scale up from pilot counties: support the selection and expression of interest process by counties; lead courtesy calls and leadership political goodwill meetings and departmental onboarding; and drive MOU negotiation and signing
Public Finance, Budgets & Resource Mobilisation
Map the county planning and budget cycle in each pilot county (CIDP, Annual Development Plan, County Fiscal Strategy Paper, budget estimates, supplementary budgets) and set an engagement plan for each decision point and decision maker
Work collaboratively with County Directors of Health, county finance and planning officers to get a chlorine tablet line into the Financial year estimates and Annual Development Plans in the counties
Track government financial commitments (annual work plans, budget allocations, releases, procurement milestones) and follow up until funds are expended and chlorine tablets are delivered from County stores through the SCDEs structures to schools
Collaborate with the Global Lead to maintain the county co-financing scorecard and report progress quarterly to senior management
Contribute technical input to procurement frameworks and specifications, and to the pooled procurement option being explored with counties
National Policy & CIDP Integration
Co-lead preparation and delivery of the National Workshop on CIDP Integration for the 40 counties, co-convened with the support of the Council of Governors and the Ministries of Health and Education: agenda, county case studies, participant mobilisation, and the county co-financing action plan that comes out of it
Develop, with the Global Lead, the CIDP guidance note and costing tool that counties use to embed point-of-use chlorination in the CIDPs 2027-2032, and lead follow-up co-planning workshops to localise the workshop agreements into county plans
Keep strong working relationships with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Council of Governors, and position the SSWP within the national school health policy and other relevant government frameworks
Lead the post-election follow-up plan: from September 2027, brief and induct incoming Governors, County Executive Committee Members and Chief Officers so that new administrations adopt the SSWP in their final CIDPs and budgets
Advocacy, Representation & Thought Leadership
Represent Impact Water at national forums (the Devolution Conference, KEPSHA, the National Health Conference and CECH conference) and at technical working groups and roundtables, making the case for school safe water financing
Provide technical support to counties on national and county WASH and school health commemoration days (up to eight counties) to raise visibility and share impact evidence at county level
Prepare presentations, talking points, policy briefs and investment cases for senior government meetings, and present on behalf of Impact Water
Political Economy, Risk & Stakeholder Intelligence
Keep an up to date stakeholder map of national and county decision makers, including transfers, promotions and political changes, and organise courtesy calls and briefings for newly appointed senior officials
Identify and assess policy and political risks and opportunities that could affect the SSWP, and work with the Global Lead and Kenya Country leadership on mitigation plans, including the 2027 election transition plan
Track policies, guidelines and government protocols relevant to Impact Water's work, and brief internal teams on what they mean for operations
Team Leadership, Coordination & Learning
Manage the Manager, Government Relations: set objectives and work plans, supervise and review performance, and support their professional development, so that government-linked operational work (delivery, serialisation, joint monitoring and county follow-up) is well coordinated with the strategic engagement agenda
Work with county education, health and public health officers to embed Social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) on correct and consistent use of treated water in government systems, including teacher training, learner engagement and messages that carry from schools to communities; align these with Impact Water's school learner engagement and education model and the national school health policy, and use joint monitoring data to track and improve usage
Support Field Coordinators in their county government engagement providing guidance on stakeholder mapping, courtesy calls and follow-up, and train and mentor them and Field Agents on the related tools and templates
Work collaboratively with the Kenya Operations team on government-linked delivery activities, including joint monitoring with county officials and quarterly programme review meetings in pilot counties
Contribute to the Strategic Government Partnerships toolkit, community of practice and cross-country learning with Uganda and Nigeria, and support scoping of co-financing opportunities there as directed by the Global Lead
Coordinate government meetings, record and circulate outcomes and action points, and follow up so commitments are met on time
Document lessons from the pilot counties, including the process evaluation and replication model, to guide expansion to more counties
Required Qualifications
Experience & Track Record
At least 7 years of professional experience, including at least 5 years in policy, government relations or public partnerships, working directly with national and county governments in Kenya
Proven record of negotiating MOUs or partnership agreements with government and of securing budget allocations or policy commitments
Experience using programme data and evidence to inform policy engagement, influence decision-makers and track partnership outcomes
Skills & Competencies
Fluency in English and Kiswahili, with excellent writing, presentation and negotiation skills
Willingness and ability to travel about 60% of the time to counties across Kenya
Demonstrated ability to interpret public budgets, develop investment cases and track allocations, releases and expenditure
Strategic thinker who can also execute: moves easily between high-level advocacy and detailed follow-up
Persuasive negotiator and communicator who handles conflict constructively
Builds trust with diverse stakeholders, from Governors and Principal Secretaries to sub-county officers and head teachers
Works independently, owns results and keeps commitments to deadlines
Collaborative team player who coaches and develops others
Careful with detail, organised and able to manage several counties and workstreams at once
Strong political judgement and awareness of context, especially around budget cycles and elections
Knowledge & Network
Bachelor's degree in Public Policy, Public Administration, Political Science, Economics, Development Studies, Public Health or a related field
Sound knowledge of devolution and county public finance in Kenya, including the CIDP, ADP and budget processes under the Public Finance Management Act, and the role of County Assemblies
Preferred Qualifications
Experience in WASH, school health, education or public health programmes, particularly where the government took over financing from a non-state partner
Experience designing or running multi-county workshops and convenings with senior government officials
Existing networks in the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Council of Governors or county governments
Master's degree in a relevant field
Compensation & Benefits
Competitive salary, commensurate with experience
Health insurance for you and up to three dependents
21 days of paid time off (PTO)
Career growth and professional development opportunities
Regular performance feedback and learning opportunities
The opportunity to contribute to improving access to safe drinking water for schoolchildren
Location & Travel
This position is based in the Nairobi office. The role requires regular travel to the counties for meetings, workshops, conferences and programme visits.
Reporting Structure
This position reports to the Kenya Country Director on all administrative matters, with a dotted line to the Global Lead, Strategic Government Partnerships, who will be the supervisor for all functions of the role. The role manages the Manager, Government Relations and works collaboratively with the operations team.
Application Process
To apply, please submit an application here. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Impact Water is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, particularly those with lived experience in our countries of operation.
