TCGI Employment Opportunities

Private Sector Development Expert – Water and Wastewater, Posted January 20, 2012

The Communities Group International (TCGI) plans sustainable communities and helps mobilize financing for project implementation.  Based in the Washington DC area, TCGI works with bilateral, multilateral, and national and local governments and agencies worldwide.

As a member of a consortium implementing the USAID-funded Further Advancing the Blue Revolution Initiative (FABRI), TCG International (TCGI) is seeking a Private Sector Development (PSD) Expert to fill a full-time position on the core team based in Bethesda, Maryland.  The three-year position will require extensive travel to the Middle East and occasion travel to Africa.

About TCGI:
TCGI is a USAID certified Small Business consulting firm based in Silver Spring MD specializing in development finance and planning. As part of The Communities Group, TCGI has worked continuously since 1984 to promote, develop, structure, and arrange financing for affordable housing, water and sanitation infrastructure, community revitalization, and MSMEs. TCGI provides comprehensive technical advice to donors, development organizations, governments, businesses, and civil society on market-based finance, capital markets development, infrastructure and project finance, municipal finance, and institutional development and capacity building. TCGI has full time staff based in the US, India, and the Philippines, and utilizes over 150 associate specialists around the world. Clients include USAID, The World Bank, DANIDA, HUD, and others. TCGI’s finance and planning skills help our clients raise capital and engage the partners needed to improve housing conditions and distressed neighborhoods, increase clean drinking water and sanitation, rebuild after disasters, and create jobs. TCGI has assisted one hundred sixty-one cities in the U.S. and in developing countries improve the lives of more than 19 million people.

Background:
The U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Further Advancing the Blue Revolution Initiative (FABRI) will strengthen regional platforms for integrated water resources management; promote implementation of successful approaches, systems, and practices to improve agricultural water management; foster transboundary water cooperation; and improve water and sanitation utility performance and financial viability.  
FABRI emphasizes partnerships—between and among the scientific community, governments, universities and research institutions, the private sector, and civil society—to achieve the project’s goals and to ensure that the water sector in the Middle East and North Africa is capable of sustaining, and building on, those achievements after the project has closed. It will forge intellectual and financial partnerships among the water sector’s major players to create an integrated process that spans the identification and design of new approaches and technologies to their production and adoption. FABRI will focus on six results:

1.    Middle East and North Africa Network of Water Centers (MENA NWC) Established
2.    Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Programming Strengthened
3.    Access to Clean Water and Sanitation Improved in Target Countries
4.    Research And Development Capacities in Irrigation, Groundwater Management, and Drought Risk Assessment and Mitigation Strengthened
5.    Transboundary Water Cooperation Strengthened in Key River Basins
6.    Technical and Outreach Capacity of USAID Staff in Water and Sanitation Programming Enhanced

PSD in the water and wastewater sector in both the Middle East and Africa is an important component of FABRI and will cross-cut all six results as well as operate as stand- alone activities. The PSD Expert will support a range of PSD activities in Washington D.C. as well as in the field. The PSD Expert will work closely with PSD Experts in Amman, Jordan, and Nairobi, Kenya to successfully complete assigned tasks and objectives.   

Position Description:
Working closely with FABRI Team, the primary focus of the work of the PSD Expert will be to raise funds for the newly created Middle East and North Africa Network of Water Centers of Excellence (MENA NWC).  To succeed and prosper, the Network must have a reliable revenue stream which comes in part from an adequately capitalized Endowment Fund designed by FABRI. And it must transition to financial dependence.  In addition, the PSD Expert will support FABRI’s private sector efforts in Africa, particularly in the area of support to local sanitation service providers.  

Over the course of the next nearly three years, the Private Sector Development Expert will:

• Design and lead an aggressive fundraising campaign for the Middle East and North Africa Network of Centers of Excellence to make it financially sustainable and independent
• Provide intellectual and strategic leadership on FABRI in designing and implementing private sector development activities in the Middle East and Africa
• Manage the planning and implementation efforts of the project’s part-time PSD Experts based in Nairobi, Kenya and Amman, Jordan
• Design, develop, and implement FABRI efforts in private sector investment and participation to foster partnerships with and its members, including the capitalization of the MENA NWC Endowment Fund
• Oversee and substantively participate in the design of the first five-year  business plan for MENA NWC
• Oversee and substantively participate in the design and implementation of the Action Plan for the full scale establishment of MENA NWC
• Organize and implement fundraising efforts aimed at attracting donor funding, charitable contributions, grants, and corporate contributions in the US, Europe, and the Middle East
• Work closely with teams of expert advisors in designing and implementing fundraising efforts, events and strategies including the development of proposals, video, and social media to meet fundraising targets
• Develop public-private partnerships with relevant international corporations to establish programs and projects to raise and leverage financial support and in-kind contributions to MENA NWC
• Design, develop, and implement PSD pilot projects in water and sanitation focusing on non-revenue water, corporatization, and small-scale entrepreneurs, as well as projects that foster PSD in local sanitation
• Design, develop, and implement private sector finance and investment innovations and leverage financial resources for FABRI pilot projects
• Design and develop private sector financing instruments and funds
• Work with the Private Sector Cluster and Team to “mainstream innovation” in PSD best practices, tools, and strategies to FABRI partners and clients
• Help organize and support private sector roundtables and meetings in the United States, Europe, Middle East and Africa
• Identify and work with potential private sector partners for FABRI including the establishment of a Private Investment Network and Database
• Work closely with potential regional partners, including ACWUA, AMCOW, AfWA, and ANEW on private sector initiatives, including attending their congresses and meetings and participation in business planning activities, as requested by the Chief of Party

Qualifications: 
The Private Sector Development Expert should have the flowing minimum experience and qualifications:

• MBA, MPA, PhD or other advanced graduate degree in business, organizational behavior , or other field supporting the position
• At least 10 years of experience advising governments, donor organizations and financial institutions on private sector development strategies in infrastructure investment and management including in the water, wastewater, urban services and other relevant sectors
• At least 10 years of experience advising governments and donor organizations on creating enabling environments that foster private sector  participation and investment
• Substantial experience and familiarity with infrastructure reform, finance, and development of PPP and PSP pilot projects
• Substantial experience and proven success designing and implementing fundraising campaigns targeted at corporate partners as well as donor organizations, foundations, and other contributors
• Demonstrable experience working with financial institutions and investment funds to mobilize finance for projects, organizations and associations similar to the MENA Network
• Experience organizing high level events with senior political and financial leaders and creating PSD “content” for such events
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with Team Members in various geographic and technical settings
• Experience working with USAID
• Project management experience
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
• Preference for professional capacity in French, Arabic, and/or Portuguese
• An intimate knowledge of, and relevant prior work experience in the Middle East and, to a lesser extent, of Africa is highly desirable.

The Private Sector Development Expert may also be a candidate for the FABRI Deputy Chief of Party, depending on the qualifications of the successful candidate.

Instructions:

Highly qualified candidates who meet the above requirements and would like to be considered for the position, are encouraged to respond by forwarding a CV and accompanying cover letter to: beach(@)tcgillc.com and indicating 1) your interest in the Private Sector Development Expert – Water and Wastewater position, 2) ability to start no later than March 1, 2012, 3) highlighting relevant past experience and demonstrated results in completing similar tasks and initiatives.

Responses will be accepted until Wednesday February 1, 2012. Only qualified candidates will be considered. Only finalists will be contacted for this position.

See below to submit a general CV for inclusion in our consultant roster.

TCGI is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

General Inquries

If you would like to submit your CV for future consideration, please forward to: beach (at) tcgillc.com and indicate if you are interested in consulting assignments – see the consulting section for details. There is no deadline for general submissions