Organization: UNICEF – United Nations Children’s Fund
Location: Dhaka
Grade: Mid level – P-3, International Professional – Internationally recruited position
Occupational Groups:
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)
Closing Date: 2024-07-14
The WASH Specialist supports the Chief in managing the WASH section and in leading the development, preparation, management, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the WASH programme within the country programme.
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The WASH Specialist reports to the Chief WASH (P5) for general guidance and direction. The Specialist supports the Chief in managing the WASH section and in leading the development, preparation, management, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the WASH programme within the country programme. The Specialist 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 Specialist provides authoritative advisory services to government and sector support agencies and interacts with government at senior levels and with staff of Donor Organizations and International Development Banks.
Major duties and responsibilities:
Management support to the Chief of WASH
Advise the Chief of WASH on establishing the annual workplan and annual work plan outputs, activities, and developmental priorities of WASH section staff, as well as determining priorities and performance measurements. Monitor workplan implementation to ensure that WASH output results are achieved according 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 programming and implementation.
Perform the full duties of the Chief of WASH in his/her absence.
Programme development, planning and advocacy
Draft the WASH inputs for the situation analysis. Provide comprehensive and current data to inform 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 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 country programme as well as government plans and priorities, and the role of other WASH external support agencies.
Prepare WASH donor proposals, ensuring alignment with the WASH output results in the country programme.
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 to achieve the WASH output results. Ensure that the development of all WASH proposals, documents and statements are based on the principles of climate-resilient WASH programming, guided by the UNICEF/GWP strategic framework. Ensure effective collaboration with other UNICEF sectors, where needed.
With other external support agencies, analyze national government WASH sector programmes and projects and other tools available to the sector to design and implement a national planning and monitoring system that strategically services the WASH sector in the country.
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 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 for timely resolution.
Prepare sectoral progress reports for management, donors, and partners.
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.
Technical and operational support for programme implementation
Actively oversee WASH programmes and projects undertaken in water supply services delivery at the national and sub-national levels and ensure strong technical guidance is provided to partners.
Provide technical support and capacity building to Government and sector partners on the stepby-step scientific procedure to target the most vulnerable and unserved with appropriate climateresilient technology options, maintaining the standards of construction and water quality
Provide support to WASH Section, Partner agencies and the government in addressing existing water quality issues like arsenic, salt intrusion, Pseudomonas and E Coli contamination and other emerging contaminants and recommend solutions.
Undertake field visits and surveys, collect and share reports with partners/stakeholders. Report critical issues, bottlenecks and potential problems to the Supervisor for timely action.
Actively collect information on key programming issues, trends and bottlenecks and propose technical solutions to address these, in collaboration with technical experts in the country office.
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/Specialist role in emergency response and early recovery, as and when the need arises.
Climate change mitigation, adaptation and engagement
Undertake research and report the impact of climate change on WASH services and the children and communities that depend on these.
Collaborate with the country office team, government, key stakeholders, and sectoral experts to identify appropriate, reliable and affordable low-carbon solutions.
Identify and support opportunities for low-carbon climate-resilient WASH programming to leverage climate finance.
Provide technical oversight of low-carbon and climate-resilient programmes for sustainable services and climate-proofing of WASH Infrastructure.
Networking, partnership building and resource mobilization
Build and sustain close and positive working partnerships with government counterparts and national/sub-national stakeholders through the active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate programme implementation and build the capacity of stakeholders to design and achieve sustainable and climate-resilient WASH results and outcomes.
Build and strengthen strategic partnerships with government counterparts, UN agencies, donor agencies, WASH institutions, NGOs, research institutes and the private sector to enhance coordination and collaboration.
Produce materials for WASH programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships and support fundraising.
Support active engagements with the private sector to create and meet the demand for climate resilient WASH services.
Research information on potential donors and programming interventions and prepare resource mobilization materials and briefs for fundraising and partnership development purposes.
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 the 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.
If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Download File ToR – WASH Specialist P3_TA.pdf
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: Civil Engineering, Hydrogeology, Water Resources, Climate Change or another relevant technical field. Additional relevant post-graduate courses that complement/supplement the main degree is a strong asset.
Work Experience: DEVELOPMENTAL: A minimum of five years of professional experience in WASH-related programmes for developing countries is required
HUMANITARIAN: At least six months of work in humanitarian situations.
Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language or a local language is an asset.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS:
Expert knowledge in the following areas:
1. WASH services delivery for low and middle-income countries – including low-income settlements
2. Climate-Resilient WASH services Delivery
3. Programme/project management.
4. Analysis of national budgets and expenditures for basic WASH, and related advocacy
5. National government WASH policies, plans, and strategies
Basic knowledge in the following areas:
1. WASH-in-Schools and Health Centres
2. Humanitarian WASH – preparedness, coordination, response and recovery
3. Capacity development
4. Knowledge management
5. Monitoring and evaluation
6. Human rights and WASH Gender equality and WASH
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 benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, time off for breastfeeding purposes[KR5] , 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:
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. The genuine and complete vacancy announcements are published on UNICEF Careers website at https://jobs.unicef.org/en-us/listing/
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.
Internal candidates may be given preference over external candidates. The term “Internal” refers to all staff members with fixed term, continuing or permanent appointments. Internal candidates who are legally permitted to work for UNICEF in Bangladesh, independently of UNICEF appointment, will also be considered.
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.
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.
Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their candidate profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in the Applicant system in order to be considered. The information submitted will be used for administrative purposes, salary/step determination and conditions of employment. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be accepted for applications that have already been submitted for this position.