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UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

Purpose of the Job

The WASH Manager reports to the Chief WASH/CSD (P5) for general guidance and direction. The Manager supports the Chief in managing the WASH section, and in leading the development, preparation, management, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the urban WASH programme within the country programme. The Manager provides technical guidance and management support throughout the programming processes, to ensure the achievement of the WASH-related output results in the country programme. The Manager provides authoritative advisory services to government and sector support agencies and interacts with government at senior levels and with senior staff in the International Development Banks.

For every child, Clean Water,

How can you make a difference? 

Key functions/accountabilities

1. Management support to the Chief of WASH

• Advise the Chief of WASH in establishing the annual work plan and annual workplan outputs, activities and developmental priorities of WASH section staff, determining priorities and performance measurements. Monitor workplan implementation, to ensure that WASH output results are achieved to schedule and performance standards.  Report critical issues to the Chief of WASH for timely action.
• Provide technical advice to WASH section staff on all aspects of urban programming and implementation.

2. Programme development and planning.

• Draft the WASH inputs for the situation analysis.  Provide comprehensive and current data to inform Urban WASH policy and programme development, planning, management and implementation. 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 national Urban WASH priorities, resources, strategies and methodologies to ensure the most strategic use of the collective resources of external support agencies.
• Participate in strategic Urban 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 country programme as well as government plans and priorities, and the role of other WASH external support agencies.
• Prepare Urban WASH donor proposals, ensuring alignment with the WASH output results in the country programme.

3. Programme management, 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.
• With other external support agencies, analyze national government WASH sector programmes and projects, with a focus on WASH outcomes (behaviors), using bottleneck analysis tools available in the sector (WASH-BAT, CSOs, SDAs). 
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual sectoral reviews with government and other partners and prepare reports for the Chief of WASH/CSD and CO management.
• 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 Chief of WASH/CSD, for timely resolution.
• Prepare sectoral progress reports for management, donors and partners.

4. Advisory services and technical support

• Participate in strategic discussions to influence national WASH policies and strategies, including the reduction of inequalities, contributing global sector learning.
• Advise senior officials in government, NGOs, UN agencies and WASH sector donor agencies on WASH policies, strategies and best practices.
• Draft policy papers, briefs and other strategic materials for use by management, donors, UNICEF regional offices and headquarters.
• Plan for the use of technical experts from the Regional Office and HQ, as and where appropriate in the WASH programme, through remote support and on-site visits. 

5. Advocacy, networking and partnership building

• Build and strengthen strategic partnerships with government counterparts, UN agencies, donor agencies, WASH institutions, NGOs, research institutes and the private sector to stimulate coordination and collaboration.
• Support analysis of national budgets for WASH, cost analysis and value-for-money studies, to advocate for improvements in sector efficiency. 
• Produce materials for WASH programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships and support fund-raising.
• Participate in inter-agency 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 WASH. 

6. Humanitarian WASH preparedness and response  

• Manage all aspects of UNICEF’s preparedness for WASH in emergencies. 
• Ensure the coordination arrangements for humanitarian WASH are in place, for instant robust coordination in case of an emergency. 
• 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, as and when the need arises. 

7. 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 government and other 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…

Minimum requirements:

Education: An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: public health, social sciences, behavior change communication, sanitary engineering or another relevant technical field.

Work Experience: 

• A minimum of eight years of professional experience in WASH-related programmes for developing countries is required. One year of deployment in a developing country is required.
• HUMANITARIAN: At least six months of work in humanitarian situations with UN-Govt-INGO is an added asset for the role.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language 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.