Backstopping Mandate “Support to the Water Task Force project of Kosovo”

The Swiss Government supports the WTF mainly by funding local long-term advisors, as well as short-term experts. The respective Support to the WTF Project, managed by SECO through the Swiss Coordination Office (SCO) in Kosovo, started its implementation in April 2009 with a time span of 42 months. The goal of the first phase was to establish a conducive legal framework, as well as long term management structures and functional relationships between corporate entities, municipalities and the central government in the water sector, to provide cost-effective and high quality water services to all sectors of the population. Since July 2009, Skat as backstopping consultant has assisted and supported the SCO in Kosovo in the steering and monitoring of the project and provides technical support (advice, coaching and training) in relevant global and regional water sector issues. The main duties of the backstopping support were to:

• Assist and support the SCO/SECO in monitoring and steering of the project
• Monitor on a periodic basis (i.e. during field missions) project progress, performance and synergies with other sector endeavours of SCO;
• Provide thematic and methodological advise to the two permanent advisors upon demand, whilst bringing in relevant regional and global best practices;
• Support the IMWC secretariat in developing their Yearly Plans of Operations;
• Contract and manage the intermittent advisors to the IMWC based on the ToRs and profiles (CVs) proposed by the secretariat and approved by IMWC/SECO/SCO;
• Participate in / contribute to, upon demand of SCO, conferences, workshops, IMWC meetings and other events organized within the framework of the project;
• Conduct, in consultation with relevant project stakeholders, an internal review of the project providing the basis for the client’s decision taking on the extension of the project beyond year two.