An International Leadership Program for Practitioners in the Water Sector
To deliver on the goal of providing universal access to clean water and improved sanitation, to better balance the water needs of economics and societies with those of ecosystems, to clean up our waterways, restore our river basins and to adapt to the growing impacts of climate change, we need to build leadership capacity across the water sector, globally. To do so, we need to encourage and cultivate emerging water leaders across all levels of all organisations to connect, collaborate and drive change more rapidly than ever before. We need to develop team leaders to motivate and enable more effectively, we need to cultivate authenticity and ethics, we need champions for new ideas-technologies-practices, and we need to develop cross-boundary to transform the way we think about and act to manage water.
The Pathway Program is the International WaterCentre’s globally focused water leadership development program. Comprised of three levels, the purpose of the Pathway Program is to provide an easily accessible, foundational leadership development program for water professionals and practitioners to strengthen their ability to exert influence and drive positive change in their projects and workplaces, and to address our most significant water-related challenges.
Level 1 of the Program commences in September each year, and is a 10-week, interactive, online course that introduces participants to foundational leadership concepts and provides guidance and ‘leadership stories’ (i.e. short case studies and personal stories from distinguished water leaders) on how to address common leadership challenges in the water sector. In 2025, Level 1 will commence on Monday 1st September.
Level 2 of the Program commences in March each year (starting 2025), and is an optional level for water practitioners who have completed Level 1 and want to do more intensive work on their leadership capacity in partnership with an IWC leadership coach. This level involves designing, delivering and evaluating a challenging water leadership project over 6 months, and using it as a ‘leadership practice field’ to apply the principles, concepts, tools and guidelines from Level 1. In 2026, Level 2 will commence in early March, with a live introductory workshop.
Level 3 also commences in March each year (starting in 2026), and has a similar design to Level 2, and is also optional. Level 3 involves scoping, designing, delivering and evaluating a significant, leadership-focused capacity building event or project to help enable other water practitioners to drive change. This is a further leadership development opportunity (i.e. a ‘practice field’ for leadership). In 2026, Level 3 will commentce in early March at the same time as the Level 2 course.
Read on, download our brochure and watch two short films from emerging water leaders globally, to find out more about why developing water leadership skills is important, and how you can go about doing so.
Download the brochure
Learn more about The Pathway Program
Download the Level 1 Learning Summary
Keen to know even more? The Learning Summary provides a week by week detailed breakdown of Level 1.
Register Now for Pathway Program Level 1
Click on the link below to access payment options for domestic and international participants who wish to pay by Credit Card. If you are an organisation looking to sign up multiple staff and would prefer to pay by invoice, please email us at iwc_training@griffith.edu.au
Register your Expression of Interest to enrol in Pathway Program Level 2
(Note that you must have completed Level 1 before enrolling in Level 2.)
Water Leadership Stories and Testimonials
Watch these videos from two outstanding emerging water leaders from around the world – Antonella Vagliente and Yang Villa – to learn why strengthening water leadership capacity globally is important.
“I found the Level 1 course of the Pathway Program highly valuable for water sector professionals, blending theory with practical insights and testimonies from great water leaders, driving impactful contributions. It offered flexible learning at my own pace and time, with remote learning and global networking opportunities.” – Krishna Hari GC, SNV in Nepal
“The Pathway Leadership course Level 1 is delivered by an exceptional team at IWC. Taking this course will provide a foundational understanding to the fundamentals of what is a Leader. It is delivered in such a manner that it has a lasting impact on ones mind, body and soul. A huge paradigm shift in what one understands about what a Leader is. Everyone (including me) can be a Leader influencing social change within his or her sphere of influence, by using ones power to harness the potentials that is out waiting to be manifested”. – Antoinette Ani Wickham, Senior Water and Urban Planning Development Coordinator, ADB
Embarking on the Leadership Development Journey through Pathway Levels 1 and 2 has been a truly transformative experience for me, both professionally and personally. Level 1 laid a strong foundation for my leadership growth. Through the creation of a Leadership Development Plan, I identified clear development objectives to strengthen my ability to influence others and drive positive change in my project and workplace. Level 2 is built on these foundations by offering a real-world, work-based project. This journey is valuable; it goes beyond leadership theory—it’s about practicing what you learn directly in your leadership project as your practice field. It’s an empowering experience that equips you to grow as a leader who leads with purpose and impact. – Lucy Habu, Solomon Islands Water Authority
“It’s easy to pick up leadership tidbits and soundbites from social media and self-help books. What we really need is the discernment to distill leadership insights using an overarching framework, making them relevant to our individual needs and personal leadership journeys. The Pathway Program not only provides this framework but also encourages structured reflection and synthesis. Pathway helped me turn big ideas and headlines into my personalized toolbox of practical leadership skills. Anyone seeking to grow as a leader in the water sector should consider being on the Pathway Program.” – Yang Villa, International Water Association / Asian Development Bank
Program Objectives
- To enhance the ability of water professionals and practitioners to drive positive change and deliver more sustainable forms of water management.
- To provide a practical, accessible, enjoyable and effective entry-level leadership development program for water professionals and practitioners working anywhere in the global water sector, irrespective of their organisation position, leadership experience or financial resources.
- To enable a large number of water leaders from around the world each year to help build the collective leadership capacity needed to address the world’s most significant water challenges and achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal number 6.
- To help program participants to build their knowledge, skill and confidence to engage in leadership, with a focus on addressing common leadership-related challenges that are experienced by water leaders around the world.
- To help prepare program participants for their long term leadership development journey with tangible early results expected within 3 months, and knowledge of how to manage their own development throughout their careers and to engage in developing others.
- To provide a pathway for self-motivated water professionals and practitioners to move through three levels of progressively more challenging and powerful leadership development experiences if they wish to continue to strengthen their leadership capacity and magnify their impact as water leaders.
Target audience
Level 1 of the Pathway Program aims to help any professional or practitioner in the water sector to build their confidence, knowledge and skill in exerting exert influence to drive change towards more sustainable outcomes. In particular, it seeks to serve:
- A highly diverse range of water professionals and practitioners in terms of their professional background, geographic setting, organisational type, water management focus, leadership experience, seniority and demographic profile. Level 1 aims to remove as many barriers as possible to participation in a high-value, foundational leadership development initiative.
- Aspiring, emergent or established water leaders. Importantly, the level 1 course seeks to include people who may not yet see themselves as a ‘water leader’, but nonetheless want to learn how to exert influence, drive positive change in the sector, and ‘make a difference’.
- Established water leaders who want to continue their learning process and build their leadership capacity at an individual and group level.
- Organisations that recognise the importance of building leadership capacity to the delivery of their strategic objectives and want to invest in people and groups so they can more effectively initiate and drive change, lead projects and lead people. To assist in this area, level 1 of the program includes some learning activities that are conducted within small groups, which can involve people from the same organisation working together.
Pre-requisites
The Pathway Program aims to be as inclusive as possible by not assuming that the participants have a particular form of experience, occupy particular leadership roles, have particular forms of power or have already developed a ‘leader identity’. Nevertheless, participants in level 1 of the Program will need:
- The ability to communicate easily in English (both verbally and in written / typed form).
- Access to the Internet and either a mobile/cell phone or personal computer/tablet during the 10 week course, with the ability to record and upload short videos (e.g. via a mobile/cell phone). Note that all course resources will be available for download to assist those participants who do not have access to a fast or stable Internet connection.
- An email account for pre-and post-course communications.
- A local support network (e.g. access to a more experienced leader who works, or has worked, in the water sector who can act as an informal local mentor during the course).
- The time needed to participate in the course over 10-11 weeks (which is approximately 2-3 hours of time per week). Although the core activities occur over 10 weeks, we anticipate that most participants will be using an additional week to finish some activities (e.g. finalising their leadership plan).
Opportunities for Australian Domestic Participants