Director, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) - Africa

Main Purpose of the Role  

The Director, WASH is a senior Africa leadership role responsible for setting and driving CIFF Africa’s WASH vision, mission and system-level influence. WASH is a catalytic enabler across CIFF Africa’s two strategic pillars Resilient Communities and Girl Capital and underpins outcomes in health, nutrition, education, climate resilience, and economic opportunity. 

This role combines deep technical credibility, strategic leadership, and high-level external influence. The Director will oversee CIFF’s WASH investment portfolio, lead and develop a senior WASH team, and represent CIFF at the highest levels with governments, multilateral development banks (MDBs), UN agencies, philanthropies, and the private sector.  

A central focus of the role is not only on ensuring the effective execution of the WASH portfolio but is also focused on shaping and influencing large scale financing for WASH, including engagement with the World Bank’s Mission Water, MDB-led initiatives and philanthropies and the design of innovative and catalytic financing mechanisms. 

As a key member of the CIFF Africa leadership team, the Director will work closely with other members of the management team to actively contribute to Africa leadership decision-making including setting direction at portfolio level, establishing operational systems and processes to boost effectiveness, and maintaining the welfare and morale of the team. 

Roles and Responsibilities  

Africa Leadership and Institutional Leadership: 

• Act as a senior member of the CIFF Africa Leadership Team, contributing to strategy, decision-making, and institutional effectiveness

• Advise the Executive Director Africa, Executive Team and Board on WASH-related strategy, policy, financing, and system reform

• Provide visible, values-based leadership that drives clarity, accountability, and performance

• Represent CIFF as a senior institutional leader and trusted partner, always acting as a corporate ambassador to strengthen the organization’s reputation and profile as a professional, visionary, and collaborative philanthropy

Strategy, Systems and Financing Leadership:  

• Lead the development and execution of CIFF Africa’s WASH Mission 

• Shape system-level interventions addressing governance, financing, service delivery, and sustainability

• Lead CIFF’s engagement with MDBs, Philanthropies, multilateral agencies and governments  

• Oversee the design and champion innovative WASH financing mechanisms (e.g. blended finance, guarantees, results-based financing) with support from the Development finance team and CEO office 

• Oversee the identification and structure co-financing opportunities that unlock significant public and private capital to address WASH in CIFF Africa priority countries 

Programme Portfolio Leadership:  

• Provide strategic, managerial and technical oversight of a large, complex WASH portfolio (circa $250 million)

• Ensure quality, performance, risk management, and learning across all investments

• Oversee design of large-scale, multi-country and multi-instrument programmes ensuring value for money, sustainability and scalability

External Influence and Partnerships:  

• Lead senior relationships with governments, MDBs, UN agencies, and philanthropic partners

• Represent CIFF at global and regional forums including UN Water and MDB Spring/Annual Meetings

• Position CIFF as a thought leader on WASH systems and financing

Leadership of the Team:

• Lead, manage and develop a team of 3–4 senior WASH managers/directors

• Build a high-performing, inclusive and accountable team culture that models CIFF’s code of respect and leadership behaviors, which empowers and enables staff to deliver excellence

• Coach and mentor senior staff and emerging leaders

Requirements

Skills & Experience:

• 15+ years of senior leadership experience in WASH, infrastructure, development finance or related sectors

• Significant experience working in or influencing WASH systems in Africa

• Proven engagement with MDBs, philanthropies, bilateral agencies and large-scale public financing mechanisms

• Strong understanding of WASH financing and system reform

• Exceptional leadership, influencing and partnership-building skills

• Strong commitment to evidence, learning, and impact

• Willingness to travel regularly

Key Working Relationships:

• Executive Director, Africa 

• Deputy Executive Director, Africa 

• Pillar Leads (Girl Capital and Resilient Communities) 

• CIFF Africa Directors 

• CIFF Executive Team 

• CIFF PIC and Board members  

• Other CIFF teams - particularly functional teams (e.g. legal, HR, finance)  

• Global institutional partners/stakeholders - e.g. World Bank, AFDB, AUDA-NEPAD, Africa Water Investment Programme (AWIP), GFCC, UAE et al  

• International charities and NGOs - e.g. World Vision, UNDP, Oxfam, National governments and local NGO partners in priority geographies 

Benefits

CIFF operates a hybrid work policy across all locations, which means employees work in the office and some of the time from home. We are happy to provide more information on this as part of the recruitment process.

Alongside a competitive salary, we offer a generous benefits package here at CIFF that includes, but is not limited to the following.

• Annual leave - 25 days per annum. Increasing by 1 day after each year of service to a maximum of 30 days
• Bonus - CIFF currently operates a discretionary bonus scheme
• Training allowance
• Wellbeing allowance
• Life insurance
• Medical insurance

Please submit your application on or before Friday, 6 February 2026. CIFF reserves the right to close the job advert early if we receive a high number of suitable applications.