Arghyam hiring : Consultant - Social development

Arghyam is looking for a dynamic individual to join our Urban Water Initiative in Bangalore as a Consultant - Social Development. Arghyam is a not-for-profit organization working in the water sector in India. Arghyam's vision is "Enough water, safe water….always and for all". Through partnerships and grants we support strategic efforts that address issues relating to equity and sustainability for all citizens. We are a small, diverse team comprising individuals who have come together sharing the same dream and passion for making a difference to the people of India. The core members have had decades of experience in running projects in the social, corporate and Government settings. Under Arghyam's Urban water Initiative we are taking up Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) in a pilot town in Karnataka through a collaborative and participative process. It involves working with the town and all its stakeholders to facilitate integrated management of water resources, water supplies, sanitation, storm water drainage, wastewater treatment etc in a sustainable manner. The objective is to develop a model town that manages its water in a manner that is socially, technically, environmentally, and financially sustainable. A core aspect is the social sustainability with a special focus on the urban poor. It also includes community mobilization, citizen participation in local water management, involvement of students, SHGs and local citizen groups, etc. We are looking for a Consultant - Social Development to support this very crucial effort ,conceptualization, design and implementation of the above social and related activities in the pilot town, initially for a period of 6 months. The responsibilities of the Social development specialist will include: • Take the responsibility for the social mobilization component of IUWM • Support the entire process of conceptualizing, design, coordinate and the implementation of a social development plan in association with various partners. This would include gathering requirements, prioritization, design, managing schedules, tracking progress, resolving bottlenecks etc. • The Consultant - Social development will be able to understand the domain issues that arise, in order to make the right decisions. • Co-ordinate and liaise with NGOs, larger resource group, other partners, including documentation team. • As necessary, forge strategic partnerships going forward. • Should work closely with the Local Government, town level partners and community. • Should aim to improve accountability, citizen field participation • Should have a thorough understanding of the current governance, policy and legal context which impact the issues and the solutions being planned. Requirements: • Masters in social work or any field from a reputed institution. • Strong interest and understanding of the development sector is essential. Must be very strong in fundamentals of social development, issues of inequity, gender, vulnerable communities etc. Good understanding of urban water and sanitation sector is desirable • Strong experience of at least 10 years in working on social development issues in rural or urban areas in an NGO or institutional setup; proven track record of core involvement in large projects. • Ability to get multiple groups and partners to work towards a common goal. • Excellent analytical, written and oral communication skills required in English and preferably Kannada. • Ability to understand community dynamics & to identify vulnerable groups • Skills in taking different stakeholders into confidence and build consensus on various issues through effective communication • A lot of travel to the pilot town is envisaged. Post Location , Bangalore Start Date , Immediate No of Positions ,1 Position , Consultant, to start with for 6 months Pay , Commensurate with experience Resumes to be forwarded to: info@arghyam.org, with position applied for in the subject line