WASH Technical Advisor, Operations and Maintenance

About Splash

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA, Splash is an international development organization dedicated to transforming lives through improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). Over 15 years, we have positively impacted nearly one million children globally. Our current five-year initiative, Project WISE, aims to reach over 800,000 children in major urban centers like Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar (Ethiopia), and Kolkata (India) by enhancing WASH infrastructure, implementing behavior change programs, and strengthening menstrual health initiatives in schools. We are entering an exciting phase, exploring new methodologies and planning to extend our reach to additional cities across three to five countries.

Splash empowers local leaders, institutions, and partners to drive sustainable change. We are committed to amplifying the impact of local governments and both nonprofit and for-profit entities, believing in the inherent capacity to solve problems at scale for the betterment of children and families in the communities we serve.

Our core values are fundamental to our operations and guide all employment decisions:

• People - People first. People second. People third.


• Quality - Delivering exceptional, durable products.


• Honesty - Maintaining transparency and direct communication.


• Joy - Cultivating a positive outlook and recognizing potential everywhere.


• Mistakes - Embracing them as learning opportunities, not to be repeated.

Splash deeply values the unique contributions of every team member and is committed to fostering an inclusive and accessible environment. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants. Learn more at www.splash.org.

Location: This is a full-time remote role, offering flexibility for collaboration and travel across the United States, Africa, and various global partner time zones.

Position Overview

The WASH Technical Advisor, Operations and Maintenance (O&M) will be instrumental in translating Splash's global O&M strategy into practical, locally owned operating models. This pivotal role supports Splash's transition from infrastructure delivery to ensuring reliable daily school WASH services. The advisor will focus on establishing robust maintenance, financing, workforce, supply chain, and accountability systems before handing over to counterparts, beginning with pilot programs in Zambia, Ethiopia, and Malawi, with insights informing future city initiatives.

This is a manager-level position. The ideal candidate will adeptly navigate systems-level engagement with governments and utilities, service-level interactions with maintenance providers and supply chains, and school-level operations focused on practical daily functionality.

Reports to: Senior Director, Programs

Roles And Responsibilities

Strategy Implementation and Work Planning

• Assist country teams in executing Splash's sustainable O&M strategy within their respective workplans, including initiatives in Ethiopia, Zambia, and Malawi.


• Develop actionable plans, tools, decision checkpoints, and country-ready guidance for pilot, delivery, and exit phases based on the global strategy.


• Collaborate closely with in-country technical staff to monitor O&M readiness across school cohorts, service providers, utilities, and government counterparts, adapting approaches based on implementation feedback.

Government Financing and Institutional Ownership

• Support national and sub-national discussions on O&M financing, including commitments for Operating Expenses (OPEX) and defining roles and responsibilities ("who does and who pays").


• Create templates for O&M roles, budgets, decision-making authority, escalation procedures, and handover conditions.


• Track government and school-level commitments to ensure they are documented, actionable, and align with Splash's exit criteria.


• Partner with country leadership to integrate O&M principles into educational, water, utility, and municipal planning processes where feasible.

Partnerships and Relationship Management

• Identify and prioritize O&M partners, including service providers, utilities, technical collaborators, and local implementers.


• Facilitate global partner discussions to establish agreements that define scope, service levels, roles, and associated costs.


• Support country teams in developing service agreements and contracts that clearly outline responsibilities, performance expectations, and handover stipulations.


• Manage global O&M partner relationships, monitoring commitments and addressing delivery or performance challenges.

Service Delivery, Workforce, and Supply Chain

• Design O&M service models encompassing preventive, scheduled, and reactive maintenance protocols.


• Assist country offices in implementing tools for measuring service provider performance, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and maintenance schedules.


• Enhance local workforce capacity through mentorship, handover documentation, peer learning, and the establishment of sustainable local support structures.


• Analyze O&M supply chain requirements, focusing on spare parts availability, supplier reliability, and procurement standards to ensure long-term sustainability is integrated into design and contractor handover.

Monitoring, Learning, and Collaboration

• Collaborate with the Impact team to develop efficient monitoring systems that track infrastructure functionality, repair response times, and service provider performance.


• Foster cross-team collaboration between program, infrastructure, finance, procurement, impact, and country teams to ensure O&M is integral to project design, not an afterthought.


• Support country leadership in engaging government counterparts, utilities, and schools to clarify expectations and cultivate shared ownership.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 7 years of experience in WASH, infrastructure sustainability, municipal service delivery, public systems strengthening, operations, maintenance, or utilities.


• Proven ability to manage complex workstreams involving government counterparts, local partners, service providers, and technical teams.


• Solid understanding of O&M systems, including preventive and reactive maintenance, lifecycle costing, service standards, and handover planning.


• Demonstrated success in developing tools, SOPs, workplans, dashboards, or implementation frameworks that enable consistent execution by teams.


• Exceptional writing and facilitation skills, with the capacity to translate complex systems concepts into practical terms for diverse audiences.


• A Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience is required. Experience in East or Southern Africa, school WASH programs, or performance-based contracting is highly desirable.

The Ideal Candidate

• Possesses a pragmatic, systems-thinking approach, transforming strategic ideas into actionable tools, routines, and decisions.


• Brings clarity to ambiguous situations and excels at creating models that empower partners to assume long-term ownership.


• Effectively collaborates across technical, financial, and government-facing teams while remaining grounded in school-level realities.


• Is driven by the creation of infrastructure that maintains functionality long after its initial installation.


• Comfortable working across diverse cultures, time zones, and hierarchical levels, independently managing multiple priorities.


• Thrives in a professional yet engaging work environment.

Salary And Benefits

In alignment with our mission, Splash offers a comprehensive benefits package designed to support our employees and their families.

• Salaries and benefits are country-specific and will be determined based on the successful candidate's location and experience.


• Splash operates across multiple time zones, providing flexible work schedules. Team members establish standard hours within their respective time zones but should be available for occasional work outside of these hours. This flexibility is balanced with a self-managed schedule to allow for personal time.


• For US-based employees, benefits include 18 days of paid time off, increasing by 2 days annually up to a maximum of 28 days, 11 paid holidays, and Wellness Fridays (reduced work hours on Fridays).


• Additionally, two weeks of paid time off are provided annually: one during the week of July 4th and another during the final week of the year.


• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, along with a 401(k) plan featuring a 3% employer match, are available.