WASH Specialist

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

UNICEF WASH focuses its efforts on increasing sustainable access to safe drinking water, eliminating open defecation, improving access to adequate sanitation and promoting hand washing and good hygienic practices, including in schools and healthcare facilities and with particular attention to girls and to children with disabilities. Leveraging its presence before, during and after emergencies, UNICEF WASH provides support to increase access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene among children and families in humanitarian situations.

For every child, water and sanitation for all ….

You will provide expertise on emergencies, COVID-19 cholera and other public health emergencies (PHE) in the field and at HQ level. This includes working with HQ, Regional and Country offices in developing plans and activities to strengthen UNICEF's capacity to deliver effective WASH support in emergency situations, provision of technical assistance to Regional and Country Offices to ensure adequate and appropriate support, both in addressing acute emergencies and in programming to mitigate the impact of chronic and complex emergencies, and contributing to improved approaches and systems for emergency WASH response within UNICEF. Primary focus of work will be in Level 3 emergencies at field level.

When deployed to affected country offices, you will be responsible for supporting the Country team by providing guidance and direction on emergency/PHE WASH issues and ensuring implementation of high impact WASH interventions in acute and chronic emergencies as outlined in UNICEF's technical guidelines. You will be exposed to difficult working conditions, limited infrastructure, stressful situations and long working hours.

How can you make a difference?

  Support to the Senior Advisor  WASH in Emergencies (WiE)

• Advise the Senior Advisor for WiE in establishing the annual work plan and annual workplan outputs, and activities. Monitor workplan implementation, to ensure that WiE output results are achieved to schedule and performance standards.  Report critical issues to the Senior Advisor for WiE for timely action.
• Provide technical advice to other WiE Unit staff on all aspects of programming and implementation.

Programme development and planning

• Provide comprehensive and current data to inform WASH policy and programme development, planning, management and implementation. Draft the WASH inputs for the situation analysis.  Keep abreast of WASH sector developments, for maximum efficiency and effectiveness in WASH programme design, management and implementation.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues and partners to discuss WASH priorities, resources, strategies and methodologies to ensure the most strategic use of the collective resources of external support agencies.
• Participate in strategic WASH programme planning discussions and the formulation of the WASH outcome and output results, related indicators, baselines, targets and means of verification, ensuring alignment with the UNICEF’s Strategic Plan, UNICEF’s global WASH strategy, and the role of other WASH external support agencies.
• Prepare WASH donor proposals, ensuring alignment with the WASH output results.

Programme implementation, monitoring and delivery of results

• Draft documentation for programme reviews and analytical statements on progress and constraints of WASH outcome and output results.
• Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes for the achievement of the WASH output results.  Ensure effective collaboration with other UNICEF sectors, where needed.
• Monitor, report and certify the use of sectoral programme resources (financial, administrative and other assets), verify compliance with approved allocations, organizational rules, regulations/procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity. Report issues to the Senior Advisor for WiE, for timely resolution.
• Prepare sectoral progress reports for management, donors and partners.

Advisory services and technical support

• Participate in strategic discussions to influence PHE strategies including positioning of UNICEF in PHE, GTFCC WASH Working Group and other fora.
• Draft policy papers, briefs and other strategic materials for use by UNICEF regional offices and headquarters.
• Review of miscellaneous documents related to cholera and PHE including cholera costed plan tool, IPC roadmap and strategy, positioning papers and the like.
• Support Regional and Country offices on all matters related to cholera/PHE and emergencies at large

  Advocacy, networking and partnership building

• Build and strengthen strategic partnerships with UN agencies, donor agencies, WASH institutions, NGOs, research institutes and the private sector to stimulate coordination and collaboration.
• Produce materials for WASH programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships and support fund-raising.
• Participate in discussions, ensuring that UNICEF’s position, interests and priorities are fully considered and integrated in the planning and agenda setting.
• Interact with global and regional initiatives and partnerships for PHE. 

Humanitarian WASH preparedness and response            

• Manage all aspects of UNICEF’s preparedness for WASH in emergencies. 
• Ensure that all UNICEF WASH staff are familiar with UNICEF’s procedures for responding in an emergency.
• Take up leadership/managerial role in an emergency response and early recovery when deployed. 

  Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Manage the implementation, monitoring and documentation of WASH action research and innovation (technical or systems), ensuring rigorous monitoring and wide sharing of results.
• Prepare learning/knowledge products, covering innovative approaches and good practices, to support overall WASH sector development.
• Support the professional development of UNICEF WASH staff, to ensure our sector capacity remains up-to-date with latest developments.
• Initiate and contribute to the systematic assessment of WASH sector capacity gap analysis, in collaboration with stakeholders, and support the design of initiatives to strengthen capacities systematically.
• Participate as a resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in public health, social sciences, behavior change communication, sanitary engineering or other related field is required.
• A minimum of eight (8) years of progressively professional experience at the national and/or international levels, in WASH-related programmes for developing countries is required.
• One year of deployment in a developing country is required.
• At least four years of work in PHE and humanitarian situations (with UN-Govt-INGO), is required.
• Effective interpersonal and communication skills; the ability to successfully liaise with people in a wide range of functions in a multi-cultural environment
• Fluency in English (written and verbal) is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Care, Respective, Integrity, Trust and Accountability.

For more information on remuneration and benefits, please visit UNICEF’s Entitlements’ page.  If you would like to find estimates for entitlements, you may use the online Salary Estimate Calculator

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, race, sexual orientation, nationality, culture, appearance, socio-economic status, ability, age, religious, and ethnic backgrounds, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

“UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/”

Advertised:  27 Jan 2021 Eastern Standard Time
Deadline:  10 Feb 2021 Eastern Standard Time

Information

• Location: New York, United States

Industry experience

Education: Masters

Seniority: Expert, Engineer, Consultant

Years of experience: 5 to 10 years

Taxonomy

• Water Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH)
• WASH in remote communities