General
Description of assignment title: UNICEF Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Officer
Assignment country: Zambia
Expected start date: 01/07/2024
Sustainable Development Goal: 6. Clean water and sanitation
Volunteer category: National UN Volunteer Specialist
Host entity: UNICEF
Type: Onsite
Duration: 24 months (with possibility of extension)
Number of assignments: 3
Duty stations: Lusaka (3)
Details
Mission and objectives
UNICEF helps build a world where the rights of every child are fully realized. It is our conviction that nurturing and caring for children are the cornerstones of human progress. UNICEF was created in 1946 to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path. It has global authority to influence decision-makers, and a wide variety of partners at grassroots level to turn the most innovative ideas into reality.
For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children’s survival, protection and development. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and Governments.
Context
Zambia is a land linked lower middle-income country in southern Africa home to approximately 18 million people. Of that population, 45% are urban. A 2018 survey of households revealed that 15% of children under the age of 5 years in Zambia had diarrhea within the two weeks prior to the survey. In addition, 34.6% of children under the age of 5 years are stunted. Globally, research has shown that consumption of poor-quality water can cause diarrhea and waterborne diseases and may contribute to child stunting. While there is not currently a comprehensive dataset of water quality results in Zambia, various studies have published water quality results revealing contamination. Globally, climate change may increase the consumption of contaminated water. This is especially true in drought-prone areas of Africa where climate variability is likely to increase in the future. It is anticipated that climate change will make sustaining WASH infrastructure and governing structures in Zambia more difficult. Data indicates that parts of Zambia where UNICEF works will have increased temperatures and less precipitation, yet significantly more water discharge and runoff. Increased flooding has already been observed in some of parts of Zambia. In addition, some parts of Zambia where UNICEF focus our WASH work has been identified as locations for potential high winds and flash floods. To improve the sustainability of existing system and climate resilience, UNICEF would like to recruit a UN Volunteer to support the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) focusing on Climate Change, Energy, Environment, and Disaster Risk Reduction/Response (CEED) in the Service Delivery Unit. Zambia has just gone through the largest recorded annual cholera outbreak and is currently in a drought with river levels lower than recorded history during the peak rainy month.
Task description
Under the overall supervision of the UNICEF WASH Specialist – the UN Volunteer will:
- Monitor UNICEF funded end-use, private sector, construction, and behaviour change work at the village, school and healthcare facility level.
- Engage district administrations, partners, and other local stakeholders on matters related to UNICEF WASH activities.
- Coordinate field aspects of stakeholder engagement and facilitate trainings in gender mainstreaming, Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), Disability and climate, and trainings for the Area Pump Minder and Water Point Committees.
- Facilitate village, district, and provincial WASH level planning and implementation by con-tractors and consultants.
- Liaise with contractors and partners leading household water quality, handwashing, menstrual hygiene, and sanitation private sector engagement activities.
- Write meeting minutes, programme monitoring visit reports; end user monitoring reports; and sections/portions of mid and end-year reports.
- Support the coordination of Government partners at all levels, commercial utilities, Local-NGOs/International-NGOs, drilling/construction contractors, engineering supervision firms, District WASH Education Committee, Provincial WASH Education Committee, and technical assistance.
- Conduct Knowledge management activities: summarize information in graphic format, map locations of work for donor reports, adapt/grow the use of WASH mapping applications (such as mWater), contribute to SharePoint tracking documents/files and draft knowledge management articles.
- Other tasks related to service delivery as assigned.
Eligibility criteria
Age: 27 – 80
Nationality: Candidate must be a national or legal resident of the country of assignment.
Requirements
Required experience
3 years of experience in experience in WASH and professional setting.
- Knowledge management activities.
- Advanced computer skills (i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Microsoft Calendar, Social media, and others) is required. Ability to create maps in google earth, mWater, or GIS is helpful.
- Demonstrated dedication to rural development, and equity and inclusion.
- Experience with Household water treatment, sanitation business development, WASH in healthcare facilities, WASH linkages to nutrition and local government, WASH and climate change, and commercial water utility experience would be an added asset.
- Ability to gather and analysis data and conduct research.
- Fluency in spoken and written English language is required.
- Demonstration of high-quality written English, such as published papers is an advantage.
- Previous experience as a volunteer and/or experience of another culture, (i.e., studies, volunteer work, internship) would be highly regarded.
- In the cover letters candidates should clearly state their years of experience in WASH and examples of work they have done monitoring WASH, engaging Government, coordinating WASH stakeholders, facilitate planning, liaising with contractors/partners, and leading Master’s degree is an advantage.
- Three positions will be offered, one in Kasama, one in Lusaka, and one in Kitwe or Kabwe. In some cases, the UNV will be hosted in a Ministry of Water Development or Commercial Utility Office.
Area(s) of expertise: Development programmes, Community development, Energy and environment
Driving license: .
Languages
English, Level: Fluent, Required
Required education level
Bachelor degree or equivalent in Civil Engineering, Public Health, Policy, Community Development, Behavior Change, Youth Engagement, Commercial Finance, Entrepreneurship, Adult Education, Water, Sanitation, Hygiene, and Menstrual Health will be helpful.
Competencies and values
- Professionalism and ability to work with partner organisations including Government at the provincial and district levels.
- Motivated to contribute towards peace and development and to serve others.
- Excellent interpersonal, networking and communication (verbal and written) skills.
- Planning and organizing skills.
- Willingness to contribute and work as part of a team.
- Flexible and open to learning and new experiences.
- Respect for diversity and adaptability to other cultures, environments and living conditions.
- Demonstrated self-awareness and ethical awareness.
- Drive to achieve results for impact.
- Innovates and embraces change.
- Manages ambiguity and complexity.
- Thinks and acts strategically.
- Works collaboratively with others.
Other information
Living conditions and remarks
Zambia is a land-linked, resource-rich country with sparsely populated land in the centre of Southern Africa. It shares its border with eight countries (Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe) that serve as an expanded market for its goods.
Lusaka is the capital of the Republic of Zambia. The climate is sunny and temperate, but it can be very cold during few months, with freezing temperature at times especially during the night. It is therefore advisable to bring warm clothing and foresee using heaters and other heating options when necessary. As the commercial and cultural centre of Zambia, Lusaka has seen rapid development in recent decades, with reasonable transportation connections and widely spoken English making the city highly attractive to vacationers and experts alike. Unemployment and poverty are issues in the city, and beyond. Key industries for the region and Zambia as a whole, include mining, agriculture, and tourism. Like most Southern African cities, life in Lusaka will require some adjustments for a person moving from outside the region, but the potential rewards and opportunities for experiences are well worth the effort.
Lusaka hosts several international organisation and embassies/diplomatic missions, therefore there is a very large community of expatriates from around the world. Housing is most of the time readily available and of good standard options are available. Most foodstuffs, beverages, household goods, furniture, and clothing, mostly imported from South Africa, Europe, and China while some ranges of local brands are available at a competitive price to imports. Meat, fish, fresh fruits, and vegetables are reasonably priced and abundantly available.
The basic infrastructures – roads, utilities, and telecommunications are of reasonable standard, although the city experiences power outages from time to time. Medical facilities are still largely inadequate, although several private clinics and hospitals provide reasonably good routine care. Several restaurants around the city serve local or international cuisine and there are numerous social and sports facilities (fitness, tennis, swimming, riding, golf, etc.) in the major hotels or in different establishments around the city. There are no major or special security concerns within Lusaka city limits. For more information, please visit http://zambiatourism.com.
Inclusivity statement
United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme that welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, care protected characteristics. As part of their adherence to the values of UNV, all UN Volunteers commit themselves to combat any form of discrimination, and to promoting respect for human rights and individual dignity, without distinction of a person’s race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.
Reasonable accommodation
UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for UN Volunteers with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process and afterwards in your assignment.
Note on Covid-19 vaccination requirements
In addition to duty station-specific vaccine requirements, appointments are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the appointment. It does not apply to UN Volunteers who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their contracts.
