GreenCape Job Opportunity - Water Project Analyst

GreenCape is a sector development agency that was established by the Western Cape Government Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DED&T) and the City of Cape Town to unlock the investment, manufacturing and employment potential in the green economy in the Western Cape. For more on GreenCape, see .

The role of the Water Project Analyst is to driveGreenCape’s water-related projects. This currently includes a three-year project entitled: “Towards sustainable economic development in water constrained catchments: tools to empower decision-making”. This Water Research Commission (WRC) funded project is being undertaken as collaboration between GreenCape and the University of Cape Town’s African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI). In addition, GreenCape will continue to work with stakeholders to identify and develop potential solutions to increasing water needs in and around Saldanha Bay.

A detailed overview of the project and role is provided overleaf.

Requirements for the role:

A successful candidate for the position of Water Project Analystwill:

  • Througha combination of relevant studies (ideally Masters level) and work experience have acquired knowledge and experiencein the fields of water resource management, water policy, water and development planning, and /or resource economics
  • Have demonstrable project management experience, preferably on multi-partner projects
  • Have excellent communication skills (written and verbal), with confidence in both formal and informal public speaking engagements
  • Be able to initiate and foster productive, professional relationships with key stakeholders

The following will be an advantage:

  • An existing network of key stakeholders in the water sector (including government, catchment management agencies, NGOs working in the water space, industry, academia)
  • Previous experience of managing or working on WRC-funded projects.

In addition to the specific role, the candidate will also be required to work with the rest of GreenCape’s team and contribute their knowledge and experience to other relevant projects.

Employment equity will be a consideration in the selection of candidates.

Contract length and remuneration:

The position is available initially as a contract until the end of March 2016, with the understanding that the WRC-funded project is a three-year project, and continuity in terms of project resources would like to be maintained. The contract is expected to be renewed annually subject to performance and the availability of funding for the on-going project or related work.

Remuneration will be market-related, with recognition that GreenCape is a not-for-profit organisation. Offers made will take qualifications, experience and level of responsibility into account.

Application details:

Applications and queries can be submitted via email to .

The deadline for the application is 09h00 Monday 8 June 2015. Interviews will be held in June.

The successful candidate will start as soon as available, ideally on the 1st July or as soon as possible thereafter.

Applications should include:

  • A detailed curriculum vitae (CV)
  • Copies of academic transcripts.
  • Proof of eligibility to work in South Africa (SA ID or work permit)
  • A letter of motivation indicating:

-What motivated the applicant to apply for the role;

-What the candidate feels he/she brings to the role that would make him/her a suitable (and the preferred) candidate;

-An indication of salary expectations;

-An indication of when the candidate would be available to commence work.

Only candidates who are shortlisted for interviews will be contacted. Candidates who have not heard from GreenCape by 22 June should consider themselves unsuccessful.

Role description

TheWater Project Analyst will be GreenCape’s primary technical resource in the water sector, reporting into the Resources Programme Manager. GreenCape is involved in a number of initiatives to ensure that water is not a constraint to economic development. This project work currently includes policy, planning and technical solutions. TheWater Project Analyst will be responsible for driving this work.

The primary responsibility of this role is project coordination of the WRC-funded Project: Towards sustainable economic development in water-constrained catchments: tools to empower decision-making.

The project aims to develop an integrated, systems approach to align water resources and economic development planning.The research work to develop and demonstrate the value of this approach will be done as three separate, but complementary, Masters level degrees to be completed by students registered through the University of Cape Town’s African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI). The Saldanha Bay area will be used as a case study as development is expected to be constrained by water availability. The Masters projects will cover the following themes:

  1. Integrated development planning that recognises the cyclic interdependency of economics and water resources.
  2. Cost-benefit analysis of proposed economic developments, water allocations and resource interventions.
  3. Building a spatial hydro-economic model tool to aid decision-making through allowing the visualisation of quantified “trade-offs” and “knock-on effects” in the lower Berg catchment.

The Water Project Analyst is expected to assume responsibility for:

  • Coordination of water related projects.
  • Identification of and engagement with key stakeholders whose participation is needed to ensure that the project is a success. This may include arranging and facilitating stakeholder workshops when necessary.
  • Ensure that research findings are integrated into reports constituting the WRC deliverables, and that these reports are produced on schedule.
  • The Water Project Analyst will be responsible for reviewing the work done by UCT (or arranging specialist review, if necessary), synthesising the findings, compiling and writing reports, with input from students, supervisors and other technical advisers, as required.
  • Convene and manage monthly project meetings to contribute technical and managerial oversight.
  • Provision of further oversight to the project, convening ofquarterly steering committee/ reference group meetings involving the students and supervisors, GreenCape representatives, and other industry, government and municipal representatives.
  • Liaise with the project funders (WRC and WCG DEDAT) as and when required, and take ultimate responsibility for project reporting (supported by their line manager and GreenCape’s Chief Financial Officer).
  • In year 3 of the project, the Project Analyst will be responsible for integrating findings from the three sub-projects into a Development Planning Guideline document, targeted at water resources and economic development planners. To this end, the Water Project Analyst will manage an “implementation and coordination hub”, the ultimate aim of which is to develop a strategy to implement the key findings of the research being done by UCT.