WASH Officer (Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Development of Water Utilities), Temporary Appointment, NO-2, Dnipro, Ukraine – Open for Ukraine nationals only

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, hope

UNICEF Ukraine

How can you make a difference?

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the Organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias, or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic, and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education, and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give more children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. Therefore, the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

Job organizational context:

As Ukraine enters its second year of the escalation of the full-scale war, the humanitarian and child rights catastrophe continue. The war resulted in death, injuries, and mass displacement of people from the south and eastern parts of Ukraine to the west and to neighbouring countries, as well as severe destruction and damage to homes and civilian infrastructure, including essential services for children such as schools, kindergartens, youth centres, integrated social services, water and sanitation and health facilities.

While there is still an urgent need to respond to the vast humanitarian needs in frontline areas, it is also critical to pivot to recovery priorities, to build back better and ensure that children are at the center of the recovery agenda.

UNICEF is engaging actively with government partners and the Sectoral Working Groups on the National Recovery Plan to ensure that children and youth have improved health, learning and protection outcomes in healthy and safe physical, family and community environments and that systems, policies and communities are built back better to ensure the rights and well-being of every child. 

Purpose of the job:

UNICEF was a key sector player before the escalation of the conflict and is now playing a leading role for the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) response in Ukraine across the nexus, responding to the most urgent humanitarian needs alongside WASH recovery and reconstruction interventions. In line with this, UNICEF is committed to mainstream the institutional strengthening and capacity development of water utilities (vodokanals) in Ukraine.

Access to sustainable water and sanitation services is a growing problem in rapidly de-urbanizing countries, and armed conflicts aggravate the situation in contexts where utilities are already lagging behind. Most of the responsibility for providing access to water supply relies on water utilities, however this is often not backed up by financial and human resources capacity to reach those unserved.

Since the escalation of the conflict in February 2022, the WASH sector has experienced significant damage and losses and has struggled to provide essential services in extremely difficult circumstances.

To overcome these challenges, UNICEF aims at supporting the institutional strengthening and capacity development of Ukrainian water utilities through different specialized technical assistance arrangements, for the Ukrainian water utilities to be better equipped and skilled to provide sustainable WASH services in the country, in line also with the aspirations of Ukraine to join the European Union (EU) and the requirements that come with it, in terms of EU policies, regulations, and performance standards.

This specialized technical assistance partners will support Ukrainian water utilities with institutional strengthening, capacity development and change management initiatives in high-priority areas, ranging from for instance from improving billing and collection to energy efficiency aspects, among many other key performance improvement areas, and assembled in Short-Term Action Plans (STAPs) and Medium-Term Performance Improvement and Investment Plans (MTIPs).

Towards the end of the STAP implementation, different specialized technical assistance arrangements will support Ukrainian water utilities to conduct a more thorough joint analysis of the causes and potential solutions to their performance shortcomings, and will jointly develop the respective MTIPs, which would lay out a suite of longer-term improvement steps, combined with investment components, to be implemented during subsequent phases.

Key functions, accountabilities, and related duties/tasks:

Under the direct supervision of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Manager (P4) in Dnipro Field Office (DFO), and the overall guidance from the Chief of WASH (P5) of UNICEF Country Office in Ukraine (UCO), the WASH Officer (Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Development of Water Utilities – Level 2/NOB) will be responsible for managing the institutional strengthening and capacity development projects/activities delegated to her/him, including the eventual and associated capital and operational investments (CapEx and OpEx) for Ukrainian water utilities being supported.

The WASH Officer (Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Development of Water Utilities – Level 2/NOB) will help along the whole project cycle in the negotiation, design, formalization, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of STAPs and MTIPs to be developed and implemented, including the management of contracts and cooperation agreements with and between specialized technical partners.

Finally, the WASH Officer (Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Development of Water Utilities – Level 2/NOB) will also support the development, preparation, management, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the WASH programme within UCO country programme, and provide technical guidance and management support throughout the programming processes, to facilitate the administration and achievement of the WASH-related output results in the country programme.

Duties and responsibilities:

Summary of key functions/accountabilities under the incumbent’s Area of Responsibility (AOR): 

1. Programme development and planning
2. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results
3. Technical and operational support for programme implementation
4. Humanitarian WASH preparedness and response
5. Networking and partnership building
6. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

1. Programme development and planning

• Provide timely, comprehensive, and current data to inform WASH policy and programme development, planning, management and implementation. Keep abreast of WASH sector development trends, for maximum efficiency and effectiveness in programme design, management, and implementation.
• Participate in strategic WASH programme planning discussions. Contribute to the preparation of WASH donor proposals and reports, ensuring alignment with 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 external support agencies.
• Assist in the formulation of the WASH outcome and output results, related indicators, baselines, targets and means of verification. Prepare required documentation for programme reviews.
• Work with colleagues and partners to discuss strategies and methodologies for the achievement of WASH output results in the country programme.
• Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes and ensure integration, coherence, and harmonization of WASH with other UNICEF sectors, for the achievement of the WASH output results.
• Draft assigned sections of the annual work plan, in close cooperation with government and other counterparts.

2. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results 

• With other external support agencies, strengthen national government WASH sector monitoring systems, with a focus on Ukrainian water utilities institutional strengthening and capacity development.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual sectoral reviews with government and other counterparts and prepare reports on results for required action/interventions at the higher level of programme management.
• Prepare/assess monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths/weaknesses in programmes and management, identify and document lessons learned.
• Monitor and report on the use of sector 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 on issues identified to enable timely resolution by management/stakeholders.
• Prepare sector progress reports for management, donors, and partners.

3. Technical and operational support for programme implementation

• Actively monitor UNICEF-supported activities through field visits, surveys, and exchange of information with partners, to assess progress, identify bottlenecks and potential problems and take timely decisions to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for timely interventions.
• Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, UN system partners and others, to support programme implementation.
• Participate in WASH programme meetings, to review progress, with government, other sector agencies and implementation partners, involved at various stages of WASH programme implementation, to provide expert advice and guidance.
• Draft policy papers, briefs, and other strategic materials for use by management, donors, and UNICEF.

4. Humanitarian WASH preparedness and response 

• Take up support roles in the overall emergency response and early recovery for WASH, as and when the need arises.

5. Networking and partnership building

• Build and sustain close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate programme implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve WASH output results.
• Prepare 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 UNDAF development planning and agenda setting.

6. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Support the development, implementation, monitoring and documentation of WASH action research and innovation (technical or systems).
• Prepare learning/knowledge products, covering innovative approaches and good practices, to support overall WASH sector development.
• Suport learning opportunities for UNICEF WASH staff, to ensure our sector capacity remains up to date with latest developments.
• Contribute to the systematic assessment of WASH sector capacity gap analysis, in collaboration with government and other stakeholders, and support the design of initiative to strengthen capacities systematically.
• Participate as a resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders.

Impact on results:

The support provided by the WASH Officer (Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Development of Water Utilities – Level 2/NOB) will enable the country office to achieve the WASH-related output results of the country programme.  This, in turn, will contribute to the achievement of the outcome results of the country programme document. When done effectively, the achievement of the outcome results will improve child survival, growth and development and reduce inequalities in the country.  

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

Education:

• An university degree in one of the following fields is required: Environmental Engineering, Environmental Science, environmental management, or another relevant technical field.
• Additional relevant post-graduate courses on Water Utilities Management that complement/supplement the main degree is a strong asset.

Experience:

• A minimum of two (2) years of professional experience in water utilities management in Ukraine is required.

Language Requirements:

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

Technical Requirements:

Expert knowledge of one component and basic knowledge of two components:

• Experience in management, operation, and maintenance of water utilities.
• Experience developing action plans for institutional strengthening and capacity development of water utilities.
• Experience in designing standards and instruments for water utilities strengthening and capacity development.
• Experience in monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) of institutional development projects.

Expert knowledge of two components and basic knowledge of the other two components:

• Program/project management.
• Capacity development.
• Knowledge management.
• Monitoring and evaluation.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
• Works Collaboratively with others (1)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (1)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

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, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.
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 promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. 

Remarks:

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

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also 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 cancelled.

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.

Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government 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.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

This position is based in Dnipro and the incumbent will be expected be work on-site. However, depending on the security conditions and advisory, s/he will be required to relocate within Ukraine.

Please note, this position is for Nationals of Ukraine only.