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 Health

How can you make a difference? 

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

The Metsi a Lesotho Rural WASH project, funded by the European Union (EU), is dedicated to enhancing access to safe and sustainable water supply and sanitation services in rural areas of Lesotho. This project is designed to address critical challenges within the water and sanitation sector, such as inadequate infrastructure, limited access to clean water, and poor sanitation practices. To tackle these issues, the project will deliver inclusive WASH facilities in rural schools, healthcare facilities, and communities, while simultaneously establishing and implementing a decentralized framework conducive to effective rural WASH management.

Central to this project is the capacity-building of local, district, and national departments responsible for water supply, WASH in schools, WASH in healthcare facilities, and the promotion of sanitation and hygiene education. A particular focus will be on empowering women and persons with disabilities. The project also seeks to support and equip key stakeholders—including the Department of Rural Water Supply (DRWS), Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), Environmental Health Division (EHD) in the Ministry of Health (MoH), District Council WASH teams, and Water Service Authorities (WSAs) and Water Service Providers (WSPs)—to effectively utilize monitoring and evaluation frameworks, GIS data, and planning tools to ensure accountability, transparency, and timely reporting of both physical and financial progress in WASH initiatives across communities and institutions. Ultimately, the project aims to improve health outcomes, reduce poverty, and contribute to the overall socio-economic development of rural communities in Lesotho.

One of the specific outputs of the project is to construct and rehabilitate inclusive WASH facilities in 250 communities, 125 schools, 15 health care facilities, as well as provision of 125 public toilets in rural areas. Building on these efforts, ensuring adequate WASH in Health Care Facilities (HCFs) is a particularly essential step—it safeguards patients, health workers, and visitors from infection risks, enhances maternal and child health outcomes, and fosters trust in the health system. Globally, 25% of health care facilities lack basic water services and 20% lack basic sanitation services, and an estimated 17% fall short on hand hygiene facilities at points of care, affecting billions of people​.[1] Lesotho set a national target to increase access to basic WASH services in health care facilities to 50% by 2023​, as part of its Sustainable Development Goals and Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) commitments.[2]

However, comprehensive national data on WASH coverage in healthcare facilities remains limited, and Lesotho lacks consolidated national standards and guidelines that outline clear standards for WASH in HCFs. This gap is partly due to the pending finalization and validation of the 2023 Water and Sanitation for Health Facility Improvement Tool (WASH FIT) assessment report covering 184 health facilities. Experience from other countries shows that this lack of consolidated guidelines and standards leads to inconsistent, ad-hoc interventions and hampers effective planning and monitoring​. Conversely, countries that have developed national WASH in HCF guidelines are providing clearer direction to health workers and engineers on required WASH services, design and maintenance standards, and routine monitoring.

Under the guidance of the WASH Specialist and in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MoH), Department of Environmental Health, the consultant will:

Develop a National WASH in Health Care Facilities Guideline for Lesotho, addressing infrastructure requirements, protocols, and monitoring mechanisms for sustainable WASH services.

Specific Objectives:

1. Finalize and validate the 2023 assessment report on WASH in healthcare facilities.
2. Conduct a comprehensive situational analysis of WASH in HCFs in Lesotho to identify infrastructure gaps, policy shortfalls, and capacity needs, aligning with WHO/UNICEF guidance for conducting a situational analysis of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and quality in health care facilities.
3. Engage stakeholders from government, partners, and HCF managers/workers to ensure alignment with on-the-ground realities and best practices.
4. Draft and finalize a National WASH in HCF Standards and Guideline, building on global frameworks (WASH FIT, JMP)
5. Facilitate validation and endorsement by relevant government ministries and partners to foster local ownership.

Build an Investment Case on WASH in Health Care highlighting the return on investment (IPC, maternal and Child Health

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: [ ToR_National Guidelines for WASH in HCFs 2.9.25.pdf]

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

Minimum qualifications required: Masters

Enter Disciplines: University education in engineering, water resources, environmental management, or related filed

Language: English

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

Education

1. Advanced university degree (Masters or higher) in a relevant field such as Environmental Health, Public Health, Water/Sanitation Engineering, Health Policy, or related discipline. A combination of degrees covering both technical (engineering/environmental health sciences) and health aspects would be an advantage.

Professional Experience

1. Proven knowledge and experience (minimum 5 years) in WASH as it applies to health care settings. This includes familiarity with standards and technologies for water supply, sanitation, health-care waste management, and infection prevention and control (IPC), and quality of care in hospitals/clinics.
2. Specific experience with WASH FIT (Water and Sanitation for Health Facility Improvement Tool) or similar quality improvement tools in health facilities will be a strong asset​
3. Demonstrated experience in developing national strategies, guidelines, or action plans in the WASH or health sector. The candidate should have successfully led at least one comparable assignment – for example, drafting national WASH guidelines, health IPC guidelines, environmental health policies, or similar documents – ideally in collaboration with government ministries and multiple stakeholders.
4. Excellent ability to conduct situation analysis and synthesize information from diverse sources. The consultant should be capable of both qualitative and quantitative analysis – e.g., interpreting survey data on WASH coverage as well as capturing insights from interviews. Experience in designing and carrying out assessments in health facilities (including using checklists or surveys) will be beneficial.
5. Strong skills in stakeholder engagement, workshop facilitation, and participatory approaches are essential. The consultant must be able to work with a wide range of stakeholders – government officials, health workers, donors, community representatives – and facilitate meaningful input and consensus-building. Prior experience coordinating multi-stakeholder working groups or task forces, especially in the context of developing national guidelines or plans, is highly desirable​

Desirables:

1. Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts. 

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

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.

Interested candidates should indicate their ability, availability, and rate (daily/monthly) expressed in USD to undertake the terms of reference. Please indicate an all-inclusive fee (including lump sum travel and subsistence costs, as applicable) to undertake the tasks in the Terms of reference.

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.

Lesotho CO specific: visa residence requirements: i.e.: UNICEF shall not facilitate the issuance of a visa and working authorization for candidates under consideration for positions at the national officer and general service category.]

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.