General
Description of assignment title
WASH in Schools and Healthcare Facilities Volunteer
Assignment country
Mozambique
Expected start date
17/03/2025
Sustainable Development Goal
6. Clean water and sanitation
Volunteer category
National UN Volunteer Specialist
Host entity
UNICEF
Type
Onsite
Duration
12 months (with possibility of extension)
Number of assignments
1
Duty stations
Pemba
Details
Mission and objectives
The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, 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 favouritism. 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, hygiene/sanitation and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why 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.
Context
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) aim at ensuring access to water and sanitation for all. Despite efforts made in the past decades, current water and sanitation coverage in Mozambique is amongst the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa with only 63% having access to safe water and 42% to adequate sanitation (JMP, 2022). In the case of Schools, it is estimated that 48% have drinking water, 26% have access to basic sanitation and 6% have basic hygiene services. In rural Healthcare Facilities, coverage for water (basic level of service) is estimated in 52% and for sanitation in 2% (JMP, 2022). In Cabo Delgado, this situation is compounded by insecurity and displacement resulting from armed conflict since 2017. By August 2024, over 1.3 million people in the Northern provinces had been displaced, with approximately 570,000 returnees and 670,000 internally displaced persons, including 417,310 children (OCHA, 2024). Schools in these areas face overcrowded classrooms, inadequate infrastructure, and limited access to inclusive and gender-sensitive latrines and safe drinking water. Many healthcare facilities which have already limitations in providing quality healthcare services and lack adequate WASH services, are also severely affected by insurgent attacks. In addition, extreme climate events have also hindered progress in the province, where it is estimated that 2.2 million people will be at risk of urban/rural floods, drought, tropical cyclones and strong winds in the 2024-2025 rainy season (OCHA, 2024) Under its 2022-2026 Country Programme, UNICEF Mozambique has a dedicated water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) Program, supporting the Government of Mozambique to increase access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education through a range of interventions, including both development and humanitarian contexts across rural and small towns settlements. Specific activities include technical support and advocacy for policy and strategy formulation at national level, decentralized support to Government for planning and implementation of water sources, water supply systems and sanitation infrastructure. Over the past years, UNICEF WASH portfolio has increased in scope through the incorporation and scale up of local based interventions including water supply systems in small towns, multi-use / solar powered water supply systems in rural communities, WASH in Health Care Facilities and WASH in Schools. Together with its supporting role for field implementation, UNICEF also plays a pivotal role into evidence generation to inform WASH sector policy and strategy and in capacity development and training to increase sector’s abilities for WASH programme planning, implementation, and monitoring.
Task description
Under the direct supervision of the WASH Specialist based in Cabo Delgado and in coordination with the other members of the WASH team in Maputo, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: • Support monitoring of field implementation on WASH related interventions (water supply, sanitation, and hygiene activities with a particular focus on WASH in schools (WinS) and WASH in Health Care Facilities (WinHCF); in rural and small towns), including liaison and coordination with implementing partners, undertaking field monitoring and reporting of WASH related interventions implemented with UNICEF support. Assist in the monitoring and management of implementation agreements (project cooperation agreements, contracts, etc.) • Support and provide technical assistance in procurement and contract management: Preparation of bid documents and BoQs for new construction packages, final verification of final works certificates, final supervision reports and contracts closure. • Support field work and analysis of information related to operation, maintenance, and management of WASH systems in schools and healthcare facilities as per the various UNICEF interventions, including the WASH Facilities Improvement Tool roll-out. • Contribute to the development of WASH in institutions related reports and other monitoring and reporting documentation as required, including the 5W and WASH section database alimentation and update. • Support the utilization of previously produced and validated capacity building and training materials; and provide inputs for development of new ones as needed. Database update and training of supervision consultants (fiscais). • Support the documentation of good practices and development of technical notes for WASH in schools and WASH in HCF interventions conducted by UNICEF and partners. Support the review of existing designs. • Support communication activities and liaise with UNICEF communications department for dissemination of UNICEF WASH interventions over mass and social media.
Eligibility criteria
Age
18 – 80
Required experience
3 years
Nationality
Candidate must be a national or legal resident of the country of assignment.
Assignment requirements
Relevant experience
3 years
Languages
Portuguese, Level: Fluent, Required English, Level: Working knowledge, Required
Required education level
Bachelor degree or equivalent in Engineering (with background in Water and Sanitation Infrastructure), Community development, Crisis and emergency response, Social work, Public health & related fields.
Competencies and values
• Accountability • Adaptability and flexibility • Creativity • Judgement and decision-making • Planning and organising • Professionalism • Self-management
Skills and experience
• At least 3 years of experience in the national and/or international level in water supply, sanitation and hygiene, rural / community development, behavioral change and project management. • Experience working in the UN or other international development organizations is an asset. • Excellent computer skills in word, excel and PowerPoint. Familiarity with GIS applications would be an asset. • Analytical mindset, and people orientated. • Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for development. • Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment. • Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel. • Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines. • Sound security awareness. • Have affinity with or interest in issues relating to children’s rights volunteerism as a mechanism for durable development, and the UN System.
Area(s) of expertise
Social work
Driving license
–
Other information
Living conditions and remarks
As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. This position is based Cabo Delgado. National UN Volunteers are part of the malicious insurance plan. National UN Volunteers are expected to be culturally sensitive and adjust to the prevailing culture and traditions. Conditions of Service for national UN Volunteers The contract lasts for the period indicated above with possibility of extensions subject to availability of funding, operational necessity and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment. The applicable Volunteer Living Allowance is provided monthly to cover housing, utilities and normal cost of living expenses. Life, health and permanent disability insurance are included (health insurance for up to 3 dependents – except for UN Community Volunteers), as well as final repatriation (if applicable). You can check full entitlements at https://app.unv.org/calculator . Furthermore, in non-family duty stations that belong to hardship categories D or E, as classified by the ICSC, a Well-Being Differential (WBD) will be provided monthly
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.
Scam warning
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