Job Description
This is an exciting and strategically important new position in a small but mighty team. The design, delivery and documentation of rigorous action research, and the strategic use of evidence are the foundations of our advocacy and action for a fair water future. To secure and scale our impact, Water Witness is therefore strengthening its research capabilities, technical skills and scientific expertise in water management, policy, and climate resilience through the creation of a dedicated team which will be led by the post holder. They will be responsible for ensuring that our work is underpinned by high-quality interdisciplinary research, state-of-the-art knowledge, and a deep understanding of water issues from multiple perspectives – technical, social, and political-economy.
The post holder will lead our research and investigations into the water and climate challenges facing vulnerable people around the world, their root causes, and actionable solutions. They will use their knowledge and experience to support implementation of our Strategy and Programmes, and guide the organisation towards new opportunities for influence, impact, and growth. They will provide high quality advice to our team, partners, and stakeholders, ensuring that their work is based on solid foundations of science and policy ‘know-how’. As well as generating world-class analyses, publications, and outputs, they will lead our monitoring, evaluation and learning function to attribute and document our impact and ensure that emerging lessons shape our approach. Informed by this, the Director will work closely with the Public and Political Engagement team to turn evidence into action, and complex concepts into compelling communication for a range of audiences- including governments, businesses, financial institutions and the press.
They will be a confident and convincing advocate for change and will represent the organisation in multiple demanding contexts. Above all they will nurture a growing community of water justice leaders by building collective credibility, reach and influence, and ensuring that our evidence is strong, relevant, and packaged and presented in ways which will drive change.
As we onboard several major research focused programmes (Fair Water Footprints/Just Transition for Water, BASIN, Accountability for Water) this is a superb opportunity for a dedicated and high-calibre individual to take the next step in their career as a world changing scientist at the forefront of innovation for global water justice. We seek a dynamic leader who shares our values, who will be equally comfortable when facilitating participatory research with communities in remote locations, as they are when interrogating global datasets, publishing peer-reviewed papers, or speaking with the media, Ministers or corporate CEOs.