Dr Babalobi has 23 years’ experience in water and sanitation sector reform issues, particularly water and sanitation utility management, policy development, institutional reform, organizational development, urban sanitation programming, WASH programme management, knowledge management, conduct of sectoral studies, technical capacity building of stakeholders, media/civil society advocacy and campaigns for pro poor WASH in  thirteen states- Osun, Lagos, Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra, Cross River, Kaduna, Plateau, Benue, Jigawa, Adamawa, Bauchi, and Ekiti; as well as in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

He is currently the Team Leader and Water Sector Reform Expert of the French Development Agency support to 3rd National Urban Water Sector Reform Project, Kano State Water Board (KnSWB) (from June 2022 till date); and in that capacity worked with six Key Experts, the State Ministry of Water Resources (SMWR), Kano State Water Board (KnSWB),  Kano State Government, and other sector stakeholders to provide technical assistance to the SMWR and KnSWB to improve sector governance and performance with the goal of improved and sustainable water supply services.

Until recently, He was the Team Leader and Policy Expert of the World Bank financed 3rd National Urban Water Sector Reform Project (3NUWSRP) in Ekiti State from 2020 – 2021 where he reviewed and updated the existing policy, legal and institutional frameworks for WASH and proposed strategies towards achieving sustainable WASH Service delivery in Ekiti State, meeting the SDG 6 objectives.

Dr Babalobi was the Senior Sanitation Reform Expert of the EU supported Water Supply and Sanitation Reform programme Phase III in Ekiti, Adamawa, and Plateau states (June 3, 2015, and July 21, 2016); and in that capacity worked with community leaders, and other interest groups to design strategies for accelerating safe sanitation and hygiene practices in the three states, where up to 70% of the population practiced open defecation.

Before then, Mr. Babalobi was the Institutional Development Specialist of the USAID financed Sustainable Water and Sanitation in Africa (SUWASA) programme implemented in Ebonyi State, Nigeria between September 2013 -May 2015, and in that capacity supervised a comprehensive organisational development of the Ebonyi State Water Corporation, Institutional, Legislative, as well as Policy development of the Ebonyi State WASH sector; implemented with learning experiences from the Bauchi component of the USAID/SUWASA programme.

Previously, he has also served as Team leader of several WASH programmes including a six-month European Union supported consultancy implemented by a multi-disciplinary team, that undertook the Organizational, Technical, Financial and Commercial reviews of two WASH utilities in Osun state, South West Nigeria- the Osun State Water Corporation (OSWC) and Osun State Environmental Protection Agency (OSEPA), in 2008-2009; EU funded N4m.

He was also Team leader of a consultancy awarded by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources through the World Bank supported 2nd National Urban Water Sector Reform programme in 2010, to develop WASH policies and legal instruments, as well as establish State Water Regulatory mechanisms to enhance sustainable water supply and sanitation services in four states- Kaduna, Lagos, Enugu, and Ogun. He also served as Team Leader of European Union supported Water Supply and Sanitation Reform Programme Phase I- ‘Project Reach’ (Reaching the Urban Poor with Water and Sanitation Services), which assisted 22 small towns in Anambra to identify their WASH challenges and improve access to safe WASH services, 2009-2010.

Dr Babalobi has also worked as WASH Consultant to the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Federal Ministry of Environment, World Bank, UNDP, UNICEF, EU, and WaterAid Nigeria to develop various sectoral studies; as a Resource person, he has facilitated several training workshops for WASH stakeholders in Nigeria including community leaders, journalists, civil society, utility staff, government officials, and school pupils and teachers ; and also served as Nigeria’s delegate to various high level WASH conferences including the World Water Forum, World Water Week, International Dry Toilet Conference, African Sanitation and Hygiene conference etc over the years He was Team Leader of the He was the Sole Consultant that developed the Water and Sanitation polices of four State Governments- Ogun, Lagos, Kaduna, and Enugu States, under the Federal Ministry of Water Resources in Nigeria under the World Bank  financed  National Urban Water Sector Reform Programme (NUWSRP II), 2010.

He holds a BSc in Mass Communication, University of Lagos, 1987; Master of Environmental Management, University of Lagos, 2012; Doctorate in Health, University of Bath, Uk (2023).