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 for as long as we are needed. 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 professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture., coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.
Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.
For every child, the right to innovate
UNICEF has a 70-year history of innovating for children. We believe that new approaches, partnerships and technologies that support realizing children’s rights are critical to improving their lives. The Office of Innovation is a creative, interactive, and agile team in UNICEF. We sit at a unique intersection, where an organization that works on huge global issues meets the start-up thinking, the technology, and the partners that turn this energy into scalable solutions.
The Sustainable WASH Innovation Hub, based in Copenhagen, Denmark, aims to source, pilot and scale transformational and frontier climate resilient innovations that respond to key programmatic challenges that, if solved, will unlock faster progress for a water secure future for children and young people. One of the key global challenges that the Hub will address through exploration and scale of innovative solutions will be tackling foreseen climate change impacts on WASH services and delivery access. The Hub will also support research and innovation on the links between climate change and water, sanitation and hygiene.
The Hub will bring together a passionate community of strategic partners including children and young people, academia, private entrepreneurs, public policy makers, social development and humanitarian actors, and our global UNICEF WASH / CEED and innovation colleagues in 150+ countries. Collectively we will co-create, advocate, enable, convene, and motivate for innovative sustainable solutions to long-standing barriers and emerging opportunities for a WASH secure and climate resilient future for every child.
How can you make a difference?
The role of the WASH Hub is to develop pathways to scale for solutions. For the work on Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) we are looking for a consultant to outline the scaling pathway. This should be a structured approach that outlines the steps, strategies, and choices for expanding a proven innovation so it can reach a larger population and achieve sustainable impact over time.
The pathway is not a single, fixed route but rather a sequence of stages and decisions that adapt to changing contexts and challenges as the innovation grows. The strategy will demonstrate success, building evidence, address local challenges, foster partnerships, enable policy, ensure economics, replicate models, and iterate based on feedback to enable MAR to be scaled as a robust, sustainable water management innovation.
Specifically, for the MAR solution the strategy needs to:
- Identify UNICEF countries using a MAR approach and review of work in key countries (Including Iraq, Somalia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Timor L’Este and Afghanistan others to be defined in discussion with the WASH hub team) to identify effectiveness in results and efficiency for delivery while also exploring other relevant MAR schemes;
- Identify and assess how to engage key actors in adoption of innovation; and
- Identify what is needed in deployment kits and other resources to facilitate uptake and adoption into new contexts and countries.
While this consultancy is intended for an individual to carry out it will be informed by the WASH hub technical team including a hydrogeologist and innovation specialists. Technical support will also be available through an existing partnership with IHE-Delft and another with Dresden University who are undertaking assessments on elements of existing MAR schemes and supporting design and activities the WASH hub is supporting. These resources can be used to support the consultant if outlined in the inception report and agreed by the contract manager.
If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: 
MAR Scaling Strategy ToR.pdf
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements:
- Education: An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Innovation management or Water Engineering, other relevant field.*A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.
- Work Experience: At least 8 years of relevant professional experience in technical project management in water
- Demonstrable experience of strategy development, knowledge management and strategic planning to scale projects
- Experience of project and contract management and working with government actors in this process
- Experience of driving projects in development settings with strong stakeholder engagement processes
- Skills:
- Demonstrable strong research, analysis and concise report writing skills.
- Knowledge of models for scaling innovation within development contexts and relevant experience in other contexts that add value to development approaches
- Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.
Desirables:
- Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.
- Demonstrated experience on scaling innovation in low resource settings considered an asset
- Experience with private sector innovation actors considered an asset
- Experience in developing contexts and/or familiarity with emergency and fragile contexts is considered 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 promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.
UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.
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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.
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.
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.
Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.
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.
Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.