UN Associate WASH Officer Job Opportunities – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Job Title:        Associate
WASH Officer

Organisation: United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Duty Station: Kampala,
Uganda

Vacancy Notice: Internal/ External Vacancy notice no. 010/2020

Position Number: 10033672

Position Grade: NO-B

About US:

The Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14,
1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. UNHCR’s mandate under the Statute
of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is to lead
and co-ordinate action for international protection to refugees; seek permanent
solutions for the problems of refugees and safeguard refugee rights and
well-being. UNHCR has an additional mandate concerning issues of statelessness,
as it is given a designated role under Article 11 of the 1961 Convention on the
Reduction of Statelessness.

Job Summary:   The Associate WASH Officer assists
in the provision of professional technical support and guidance on activities
within the areas of Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) in the locations
within the Areas of Responsibility (AoR). The Associate WASH Officer is normally
supervised by (Senior) Programme or WASH Officer and may receive technical
guidance and support from the functional unit in Headquarters. In addition, the
incumbent will be expected to work within multi-functional and
interdisciplinary teams. The Associate WASH Officer will support UNHCR, in
coordination with the Government, to assess needs and coordinate the provision
of WASH, and in particular, hygiene promotion services to Persons of Concern
(PoC) to UNHCR. This will include coordination at site level with WASH partners
in conjunction with the government authorities, and monitoring progress of
hygiene promotion programme implementation to ensure that an adequate level of
hygiene promotion service is provided at each site in accordance with the UNHCR
WASH Manual and Technical Guidelines, and applicable UNHCR Standards and/or
National Standards.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:  

Leadership and
Coordination

·       
Coordinate
activities of WASH implementing partners, together with other UN agencies,
governmental and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other partners
within the AoR to ensure delivery of WASH services to beneficiaries (PoC and
host community) meets UNHCR and /or nationally recognised and most up-to-date
standards and policies.

·       
Where
there are PoCs living outside of camps/settlements, work with partners to
ensure the enjoyment of the human right to water and sanitation by all PoCs.

·       
Work
with senior WASH staff (or management) to engage government and partners,
following the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), to unlock resources
(humanitarian and development) for the design and construction of
community-centred infrastructure, improved hygiene conditions, safe management
of water and sanitation services and service provision upgrades in refugee hosting
areas.

·       
Work
towards ensuring that all decision making regarding WASH services takes in to
account the needs and capacities of PoC, and the solutions proposed by PoC.

·       
Facilitate
WASH coordination among partners, ensuring that inclusive and good practice
coordination structures for all technical sectors covered are in place, and
that sector coordination functions at national and field levels are in line
with operational and partner requirements.

·       
Address
gaps and overlaps in UNHCR funded WASH programmes and unmet needs, and the
activities are oriented to addressing priority WASH issues.

·       
Facilitate
and provide support to a multi-sector “technical unit” in the AoR, including
sector functions covering site planning, shelter, health, nutrition, and
environment.

·       
Where
relevant, provide support to national government(s) for inclusion of PoC within
national SDG 6 development plans (Urban and Rural) and financing mechanisms and
service delivery systems.

·       
Contribute
to building key WASH strategic partnerships with development and humanitarian
agencies to support inclusion of refugee WASH services within national systems
and development financing mechanisms.

·       
Engage
with Urban WASH actors (GAUC, UCLG, UNHABITAT, Municipal Authorities,
Utilities, and relevant government line ministries) for preparedness planning,
inclusion in pro-poor tariffs, and provision of WASH services to PoC hosted in
urban areas.

WASH Strategy,
Planning and Programme Support

·       
Maintain
and follow a WASH strategy which identifies the targets and approaches for
water supply, excreta management, personal and environmental hygiene (including
menstrual health), solid waste management, vector control, and institutional
WASH facilities.

·       
Jointly
with WASH partners and other stakeholders, update detailed needs and resource
assessments and revise designs and technical plans, taking into account
practical aspects of implementation, long-term sustainable solutions, and
relevant technical specifications and guidelines.

·       
Advise
and assist the UNHCR programme staff on the development of WASH aspects of the
programme including planning, budgeting and input to financial management of
the programme.

·       
Involve
PoC during planning, design, implementation, and monitoring of WASH services
using an age, gender and diversity approach.

·       
Work
towards the inclusion of all UNHCR PoC into the WASH Strategy, which considers
at a minimum WASH access data collection, and advocacy for inclusion of all PoC
(both in camp and out of camp) within national systems of WASH service
provision

Technical
Assistance and Capacity Building

·       
Plan and
address adequately the needs of women, children, the elderly and people living
with disabilities in planning and implementing WASH activities.

·       
Support
operations to define the scope of UNHCR involvement, expressed in terms of
overall and operational objectives during emergency, transition, and protracted
phases.

·       
Support  the review and analysis of partner project
proposals and budgetary submissions.

·       
Use
community-based approaches, including clear involvement of women, girls, boys,
and men, elderly, persons with disabilities in the design of WASH related
infrastructure, products, and services.

·       
Provide
technical assistance to UNHCR office(s) and programmes in the development,
integration and mainstreaming of appropriate client-focused and cost effective
WASH programmes.

·       
Ensure
development of information, education and communication materials through
community consultations, collaborating with women, girls, boys, men, elderly,
persons with disability, and other potentially marginalised groups.

·       
Facilitate
capacity strengthening activities of UNHCR and its implementing/operational
partners to address key areas of WASH importance to PoC.

·       
Contribute
to capacity and competence building of UNHCR’s staff on both hardware and
software components of WASH

·       
Ensure
community capacity building is carried out through multi-discipline teams
working with women, girls, men, and boys of the community to train and empower
them on WASH related aspects including: menstrual health, hygiene promotion,
operation and maintenance, monitoring and reporting, and other topics.

Monitoring,
Evaluation and Quality Assurance

·       
Monitor
and evaluate WASH programmes within the AoR against standard UNHCR and SDG
indicators to ensure that programmes are evidence-based and implemented in a
comprehensive, client-focused, and cost effective manner.

·       
Ensure
monitoring and evaluation is carried out following UNHCR’s WASH monitoring
system using standard resources for data collection, analysis and
interpretation.

·       
Ensure
that all data regarding the boreholes and WASH infrastructure is updated on
UNHCR’s GIS portal and relevant website(s).

·       
Monitor
the collection and recording of SDG 6 WASH access data in the WASH Monitoring
System for all UNHCR PoC to enable comparative reporting against national
averages, to ensure that refugees/IDPs are not being “left behind”.

·       
Collate
WASH services access data (for both in-camp and out-of-camp PoC) to identify
and promote inclusion of PoC within national SDG 6 development plans and financing
mechanisms and service delivery systems.

Reporting and
Accountability

·       
Foster
PoC’s access to feedback and accountability mechanisms for the WASH services.

·       
Collate
and contribute to analyse data on the satisfaction of PoC with regards to WASH
services.

·       
Draft
regular sectorial reports and submit material for preparation of periodic
project monitoring reports as required.

·       
Report
regularly on WASH activity implementation by all WASH partners, while
maintaining accurate records of all relevant performance indicators.

·       
Provide
input to adequate reporting, timely updates and briefings to donor and
management.

·       
Perform
other related duties as required.


Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

·       
The
ideal candidate for the United Nations UNHCR Associate WASH Officer job
placement should have completed an Undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS)
in Water/Civil/Environmental Engineering/Water Resources Development.

·       
At least
three years of previous work experience in Water/ Sanitation/Environment or a
related field dealing with large scale WASH activities and Integrated Water
Resource Management is required.

·       
Proven
expertise in the area of WASH including surveys, programme implementation,
monitoring and evaluation, and coordination is required.

·       
Excellent
knowledge of English (written / oral / comprehension) is required

·       
Knowledge
and understanding of water and wastewater hydraulics and physical, chemical and
biological properties; solid waste management practices, vector control and
hygiene promotion/awareness raising strategies is desirable.

·       
Knowledge
and understanding of relationship between water, wastewater, solid waste,
vector control to public health indicators, and value of hygiene
promotion/awareness raising and behaviour change methodologies is desirable.

·       
Judgement
and Decision Making

·       
Managing
Performance

·       
Empowering
and Building Trust

·       
Innovation
and Creativity

·       
Planning
and Organizing

·       
Technological
Awareness

How to Apply:

All interested
Ugandan nationals who wish to join the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) in the aforementioned capacity are encouraged to click on the
link below and follow the application instructions after reviewing the job
details.

Click
Here

Deadline: 25th June 2020

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