Regional Lead, Financial Institution Services

About Water.org

1 in 4 people around the world lack access to safe water and 2 in 5 people don’t have access to a safe toilet. We are working every day to change this. We are Water.org. We’re here to bring water and sanitation to the world. We want to make it safe, accessible, and cost-effective because we believe that water is the way to empower a bright future that we can all share in, worldwide. We are an international nonprofit organization based in Kansas City, Missouri that has positively transformed millions of lives around the world through access to safe water and sanitation. Founded by Gary White and Matt Damon, we pioneer market-driven financial solutions to the global water crisis. For more than 30 years, we’ve been providing women hope, children health and families a bright future.

Summary

The Regional Lead, Financial Institution Services works within a unique partnership between Water.org and WaterEquity, the first-ever asset management company dedicated to mobilizing private sector investments to accelerate universal access to water and sanitation in emerging markets. One of WaterEquity’s primary investment strategies is investing in Financial Institutions to expand water and sanitation lending to underserved households and businesses.  

Water.org and WaterEquity have established an asset origination alliance (AOA) to align the market building activities of Water.org and the investment activities of WaterEquity.  

This position is primarily responsible for:

• Delivering consulting services to support emerging markets Financial Institutions with water and sanitation lending;
• Strengthening and expanding WaterEquity’s investment opportunities with microfinance institutions, banks, and other non-banking financial institutions; and,
• Supporting Water.org’s long-term capacity to develop investment opportunities in the region.

The consulting services will be closely coordinated with WaterEquity’s investment strategy and will collaborate with other Water.org positions that are responsible for delivering consulting services in the region.  

Working alongside the WaterEquity Regional Director, the Regional Lead, Financial Institution Services will lead all aspects of consulting services including marketing, identification of candidate Financial Institutions, design and delivery of services, hiring consultants to deliver consulting services and coordination between WaterEquity and Water.org.  

The services will focus on building Financial Institution capacity in two primary areas:  

• Retail lending to households for water and sanitation via housing, home improvement, or dedicated water and sanitation loan products; and
• Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) lending to utilities and corporates delivering water and sanitation products or services.

Job-Specific Accountabilities

Strategic Development & Leadership

Works collaboratively to support the Financial Institution services strategy and designs the business model for delivering cost-effective, customized, client-driven services.  Identifies opportunities for expansion of markets and services, particularly by assessing markets best suited for Water.org and WaterEquity. Expands available resources for delivering services by building and training a pool of contractors in priority markets.  

Financial Institution Service Delivery

Leads business development and presents Financial Institution candidate opportunities to the investment management team. Designs and delivers service relationships with Financial Institutions, including oversight of local technical advisory consultants to ensure deliverables meet project and organizational requirements.

Portfolio Management

Regularly monitors and reports Financial Institution services teams’ portfolio results and impact milestones.  Leads workouts for problem clients.  

Knowledge Management & Representation

Ensures regional coordination with Water.org and WaterEquity, with particular emphasis on collaboration with Water.org regional teams. Represents the Water.org and WaterEquity partnership at relevant sector events and investor discussions.  Coordinates with key stakeholders to capture lessons learned on service delivery and cross-company coordination to support evolution of business models. 

Complexity + Problem Solving Skills

• Ability to cultivate and maintain strong working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, to develop a unified and comprehensive approach to strategically position the organization for new business opportunities.
• Ability to manage complex projects and relationships, requiring adaptive thinking and solutions to unique circumstances and strategic and project-level requirements.
• Superior communication and presentation skills (written and verbal), including highly developed skills to motivate, influence, and persuade.

Key Competencies

• Customer Focus – Builds strong customer relationships and delivers customer-centric solutions.
• Optimizes Work Processes – Knows the most effective and efficient processes to get things done, with a focus on continuous improvement.
• Communicates Effectively – Develops and delivers multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences.
• Values Differences – Recognizes the value that different perspectives and cultures bring to an organization.
• Nimble Learning – Learns through experimentation when tackling new problems, using both successes and failures as learning fodder.
• Tech Savvy – Anticipating and adopting innovations in business-building digital and technology applications.
• Resourcefulness – Securing and deploying resources effectively and efficiently.

• Individual contributor with no subordinates.

Travel Requirement

• Up to 25% of domestic and international travel.