Urban Sanitation Internship at RTI International

Overview

• The RTI University Collaboration Office seeks a prospect for the Urban Sanitation Internship within the International Development Group (IDG).
• The USAID Western Kenya Sanitation Project (WKSP) is a five (5) year project which will be implemented in Busia, Bungoma, Homa Bay, Kakamega, Kisii, Kisumu, Migori, and Siaya counties. The overall goal of the project is to create a financially sustainable, transformative, replicable, and locally owned sanitation marketplace in the target counties of western Kenya. The objectives to achieve this goal are (1) increased access to and uptake of market-based improved sanitation and fecal sludge management (FSM) products and services; and (2) increased access to and uptake of market-based improved MHM products and services at the household level.
• The project is seeking to recruit an Urban Sanitation Intern on short term contract to support Urban Sanitation activities in the project counties. DELIVERABLES:
  •  Verified data on FSM and Sewer connections as a result of WKSP influence.
  • Activity reports for all urban sanitation activities facilitated/supported.
  • MPE Groups supported with business development services.
  • Demand creation activities and marketing follow ups for FSM and sewer connections.
     

Learning Objectives:

• To gain skills on stakeholder co-ordination in sanitation service delivery.
• To gain knowledge on sanitation project implementation, monitoring and documentation.
• To provide an opportunity to apply data collection and management skills to inform project interventions.

Responsibilities

• Support data collection on Fecal Sludge Management and sewer connection from Manual Pit Emptiers and WSSPs respectively in Kisumu Cluster, upload monitoring data on WKSP reporting portal on a weekly basis.
• Support Business development mentorship and coaching of the Manual Pit Emptiers
• Support marketing activities for Fecal sludge management and sewer connections in Kisumu Cluster
• Support Urban sanitation and Business Development Manager in preparation of training materials related to urban sanitation.
• Participate in county stakeholder forums and engagement processes to support knowledge exchange, coordination and learning, and documentation of the same.
• Provide day-to-day support of specific county Urban Sanitation project activities, ensuring work is completed against the scope, timelines, and budget.
• Support any other duty as informed by the supervisor or WKSP leadership team. 

RTI's Internship Program emphasizes experiential and mentored learning experiences, providing students and recent degree recipients an opportunity to apply their academic knowledge and skills in a meaningful and practical way. We are committed to developing the future workforce by encouraging interns to explore various career paths in a nonprofit research institute setting that values diversity and inclusion. Through this program, interns will be exposed to RTI's open and educational culture; support RTI's mission to improve the human condition; and build upon their career goals. 

Additional Information

• This academic credit (with a stipend) internship can hybrid or fully in-person. Internship will take place from June 2023 through August 2023. Pending completion of onboarding compliance, start date may change.  The internship requires a minimum commitment of 20 hours per week. Hours are flexible during business hours, Monday through Friday.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Must be a local resident of Kisumu, Kenya
• Senior undergraduate student pursuing a degree in public health, environmental Health, social science, or other relevant field.
• Must be eligible to receive academic course credit or fulfill an academic program requirement. Please provide document in with application confirming eligibility.
• Able to travel across the project target counties
• Strong interpersonal skills working with cross cultural and multi diverse teams.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills. -
• Excellent analytical skills, as well as the ability to express facts and ideas in a clear, convincing, and organized manner and good writing skills.
• Highly organized and able to set priorities and handle multiple competing time and resource demands.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office products.

Preferred Qualifications

• The ideal candidate should be highly motivated, entrepreneurial, resourceful, flexible, independent, and energetic student with excellent communications skills, cultural sensitivity, and a passion for supporting technical assistance projects.