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For every child, a safe environment

The South Sudan humanitarian crisis continues to affect millions of children, remaining one of the largest, most volatile in the world. The pace of displacement has been significant, with nearly 2 million people currently estimated to be internally displaced, 9.3 million people are in need, of which, half are children. With this scale of humanitarian need, the affected population continue to require a broad range of life-saving and specialized assistance.
WASH needs currently exist for over 75 per cent of the total population. South Sudan is also currently responding to a national Cholera Outbreak.

How can you make a difference? 

A WASH Cluster Coordinator is required to support a coherent, strategic, coordinated, effective and efficient system of partnerships to maximize reach, with limited resources; ensuring that those in need are well served, at standard, by WASH partners. On behalf of UNICEF as the lead agency for the IASC Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Cluster, and in collaboration with the State Authorities, provide leadership and facilitate the processes that will ensure a well-coordinated, coherent, strategic, and effective WASH response in South Sudan.  In support of the national government, function as an interface between humanitarian WASH partners and duty bearers to ensure WASH related needs of the affected population are met. 

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS

The key functions are aligned with the IASC Cluster Coordination functions and minimum requirements (MRs) for coordination at country level. The MRs are designed to provide a light-approach mechanism to monitor WASH humanitarian platforms (clusters or sectors) at the country level.

1.  Inclusion of key humanitarian partners:

Coordination

• Provide a platform that ensures service delivery is driven by the Humanitarian Response Plan and strategic priorities.
• Developing mechanisms to eliminate duplication of service delivery.
• Ensure the inclusion of key WASH humanitarian partners in a way that respects their mandates and programme priorities, as well as national and local authorities, other governmental actors, civil society and other actors working and related to the WASH sectoral response.

Needs assessment, analysis and strategy development

• Ensure effective and coherent WASH assessment, analysis and feedback involving all relevant partners, including the identification of gaps and conceptualize how sectoral needs can be met through collective delivery, involving all relevant partners and ensuring complementarity of their actions.
• Identify and find solutions for (emerging) gaps, obstacles, duplication and cross-cutting issues.
• Formulate priorities based on analysis.

2.  Participatory and community-based approaches:

Ensure utilization of participatory and community-based approaches in WASH related assessments, analysis, planning, monitoring and response.

 Accountability to Affected Population

Ensuring that women, men, girls and boys of all ages and diversity backgrounds, affected by a crisis have equitable and meaningful access to:

• Appropriate, relevant and timely information
• Two-way communications channels that facilitate feedback and complaints and provide redress for complaints.
• Means to participate in decisions that affect them, including fair and transparent systems of representation; and active involvement in the design, monitoring and evaluation of the goals and objectives of programmes.

3.  Attention to priority cross-cutting issues:

• Ensure integration of agreed priority cross-cutting issues in WASH assessments, analysis, planning, monitoring and response (e.g. age, diversity, environment, gender, HIV/AIDS and human rights).
• Ensure specific cluster/sector focal points for cross-cutting issues identified, are equipped, and capacitated to lead on the cross-cutting area.

4.  Emergency preparedness:

• Ensure adequate WASH related contingency planning and preparedness for potential significant changes in the nature of the emergency and for high risk or recurring disasters (for example Floods).
• Identify hazard, assessment and monitoring of risk is undertaken as part of the Humanitarian Programme Cycle or on a needs basis and reflected into the national WASH Cluster contingency plans.
• Ensure that core pipeline is adequately replenished, gaps managed. 

 5. Planning and strategy development:

• Develop sectoral plans, objectives and indicators that directly support realization of the overall response’s strategic objectives.
• Apply and adhere to common standards and guidelines.
• Clarify funding requirements, help to set priorities, and agreeing cluster contributions to the HC’s overall humanitarian funding proposals.

6.  Application of standards:

• Ensure that WASH cluster/sector participants are aware of relevant policy guidelines, technical standards and relevant commitments that the Government/concerned authorities have undertaken under international human rights law.
• Ensure that WASH responses are in line with existing policy guidance, technical standards, and relevant Government human rights legal obligations.
• Ensure critical WASH issues are identified and brought to the attention of the relevant stakeholders

7.  Monitoring and reporting:

• Ensure adequate monitoring mechanisms are in place to review impact of WASH interventions and progress against implementation plans.  This specifically needs to include an analytical interpretation of best available information to benchmark progress of the emergency response over time. 
• Measure progress against the cluster strategy and agreed results and recommend corrective action where necessary.
• Ensure mechanisms are in place to monitor the quality of WASH services delivered to the affected population against established standards (relevance, quantity, quality, continuity of WASH services)

8.  Advocacy and resource mobilization:

• Identify core WASH advocacy concerns, including resource requirements, and contribute key messages to broader advocacy initiatives of the HC, UNICEF and other actors.
• Act as the media spokesperson for the sector.
• Advocate for donors to fund WASH actors to carry out priority WASH activities in the sector concerned, while at the same time encouraging WASH actors to mobilize resources for their activities through their usual channels.

9.  Training and capacity building:

• Identify capacity gaps and needs of the WASH cluster/sector partners, including government and development capacity development action plan and initiative.
• Promote and support training of WASH humanitarian personnel and capacity building of humanitarian partners, based on the mapping and understanding of available capacity.
• Support efforts to strengthen the WASH capacity of the national/local authorities and civil society.

10. Transition planning

• Lead on the design of appropriate transition strategies for the cluster to ensure continuity between the humanitarian response, recovery and development phases and disaster risk reduction initiatives.  Ideally this will involve working closely with national counterparts and development actors to ensure a resumption of national ownership of cluster activities.  It will also involve consideration of how coordination mechanisms and cluster membership should change as the humanitarian emergency subsides.

11.  Advocate for provision of assistance or services as a last resort:

Where critical gaps in addressing WASH priorities are identified the WASH Cluster Coordinator will:

• Lobby for implementing humanitarian partners (including UNICEF) to address the gaps.
• With advice/support from the HC and support from other humanitarian partners will advocate, as appropriate, on the adequate provision of resources and safe access.
• If persistent gaps remain then with the full support of the UNICEF Country Representative will specifically request that the UNICEF take action to fill the critical gaps through direct implementation action, where funds and access allow.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete job description here:  Terms of Reference- WASH Cluster Coordinator P-4 TA Juba SSD.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

Education: 

Advanced university degree qualification desirably in subjects/ areas of WASH e.g. Health Promotion or Education, Civil or Public Health Engineering, Public Health (MPH), Environmental Health. 

 

Work Experience: 

Eight years relevant professional experience in the WASH programmes which should include:

• At least five years direct WASH emergency experience at least four of which would be based in the field at a Team Leader/WASH programme management level.
• A minimum of 2 years’ experience of responding to first phases of an emergency. 
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience with either the UN and/or NGO. 

Language Requirements: 

• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

 

Desirables:

• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency. 
• Experience of leading WASH cluster / sector coordination is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others 

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of measures to include a more diverse workforce, such as paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Eligible staff members on fixed-term, continuing or permanent contracts applying to IP TA positions in a duty station designated as L2/L3, may be able to retain a lien and their fixed-term entitlements, subject to approval by their Head of Office. The conditions of the temporary assignment will vary depending on the status of their post and relocation entitlements may be limited as per the relevant policies.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.