General
Description of assignment title
WASH Officer (Emergency)
Assignment country
Ukraine
Duty stations
Kyiv
Work location
On UN premises
Expected start date
01/06/2026
Duration
12 months
(with possibility of extension)Long-term benefits and allowances
Sustainable Development Goal
6. Clean water and sanitation
Host entity
UNICEF Ukraine
Modality
Onsite
Type
National
Volunteer category
Specialist UCoS from Apr2026
Work schedule
Full-time
Number of Assignments
1
Details
Mission and objectives
UNICEF is supporting health, nutrition, HIV prevention, education, access to safe drinking water, sanitation and protection for children and families caught in the conflict.
Context
UNICEF Ukraine is one of the largest and most complex UNICEF country operations globally. Since the full-scale military invasion by the Russian Federation in February 2022, Ukraine has been facing one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, with over 14 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, massive population displacement, and systematic destruction of critical civilian infrastructure including water supply systems, sanitation networks, and heating facilities. UNICEF Ukraine’s WASH section leads the organization’s response to the water, sanitation, and hygiene emergency, working across six field offices (Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa, Lviv, and Uzhhorod) and coordinating closely with government counterparts, national and international NGOs, and the WASH Cluster. The WASH section’s emergency programming encompasses the rehabilitation and emergency repair of damaged water and sanitation infrastructure, emergency water trucking to conflict-affected communities, distribution of WASH non-food items (NFIs) including hygiene kits and water purification supplies, and large-scale hygiene promotion campaigns. In parallel, the section manages a growing recovery portfolio aimed at restoring pre-war service levels and building resilience into rebuilt systems. The section operates under significant pressure with a high volume of programming, multiple active donor grants, and a large geographic footprint. This UNV assignment directly responds to a critical staffing gap in the WASH section’s emergency programming capacity in Kyiv. The emergency WASH workstream is currently managed by a limited number of staff while programme volume, partner coordination demands, and reporting obligations continue to grow. The UNV Specialist will provide dedicated support to ensure timely and quality delivery of emergency WASH programming, strengthen monitoring and accountability mechanisms, and contribute to donor engagement and evidence generation. The position is essential to sustaining the section’s operational tempo and meeting its commitments to affected populations across Ukraine.
Task description
Under the direct supervision of the WASH Specialist (Emergency), the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: • Support the planning, coordination, implementation, monitoring and reporting of emergency WASH interventions across conflict-affected areas, including water trucking operations, emergency rehabilitation of damaged water and sanitation facilities, distribution of WASH non-food items (NFIs), and community hygiene promotion activities targeting the most vulnerable populations; • Maintain and update programme monitoring dashboards and tracking tools, monitoring progress against targets, financial expenditure, and partner delivery performance; contribute to the preparation of monthly and quarterly donor reports, situation reports (sitreps), flash updates, and humanitarian situation analyses; • Coordinate with WASH Cluster partners, national and international NGOs, and government counterparts to monitor programme implementation, identify geographic and sectoral coverage gaps, support deconfliction of the humanitarian response, and ensure complementarity between UNICEF-led and partner-led interventions; • Conduct regular field missions to conflict-affected and newly accessible areas to verify programme outputs, assess ongoing and emerging WASH needs, support partner monitoring visits, and document human interest stories and programme results for internal and donor-facing purposes; • Contribute to the development of project proposals, concept notes, technical assessments, and donor-facing briefs supporting resource mobilization for the emergency WASH portfolio; • Compile, update, and quality-assure 4Ws (Who does What, Where, When) matrices, response monitoring tools, and other WASH Cluster coordination products; • Support procurement planning, follow-up, and supply chain monitoring for WASH materials, equipment, and NFIs, in close coordination with the Supply and Logistics section; • Perform any other related duties as assigned by the supervisor.
Eligibility criteria
Age
18 – 80
Required experience
3 years
Nationality
Candidate must be a national, legal resident or hold refugee status in the country of assignment.
Assignment requirements
Relevant experience
3 years
Languages
English, Level: Fluent, Required Ukrainian, Level: Fluent, Required
Required education level
Bachelor’s degree in Civil/Environmental Engineering; Public Health; Hydrology or Water Resources; Environmental Sciences; Development Studies with WASH focus or related fields.
Competencies and values
• Professionalism • Integrity • Teamwork and Respect for Diversity • Commitment to Continuous Learning • Planning and Organizing • Communication • Flexibility
Skills and experience
• 3 years of experience in emergency WASH programming or humanitarian response, including support to planning, monitoring and reporting of WASH interventions (water trucking, NFI distribution, hygiene promotion, or infrastructure rehabilitation); • Experience working with NGOs, government counterparts, or UN agencies on WASH or related programmes; exposure to WASH Cluster coordination mechanisms is an asset; • Experience in data collection, monitoring and reporting in humanitarian contexts; ability to maintain tracking tools, compile 4Ws matrices, and contribute to situation reports and donor updates; • Excellent oral and written skills in English and Ukrainian (both required); ability to draft clear and concise reports, briefs and correspondence; • Good analytical skills; ability to compile and synthesize information from multiple sources into clear summaries; • Solid computer literacy including proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint); familiarity with data management tools is an asset.
Area(s) of expertise
Community development, Energy and environment
Driving license
–
Other information
Volunteerism is understood as a wide range of activities undertaken of free will, for the general public good, for which monetary reward is not the principal motivating factor.
Living conditions and remarks
As it is a national UN Volunteer’s assignment, the UN volunteer shall organize his/her accommodation by themselves. Entitlements of National UN Volunteer Specialist USD 1717 The contract lasts for the period indicated in the vacancy with the possibility of extensions subject to availability of funding, operational necessity, and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment. This is a full-time contract. Allowances: • Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA): A Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) USD 1717 (equivalent in UAH) is provided monthly to cover housing, utilities, and normal cost of living expenses. This includes Well-Being Differentials for the period while the ICSC applies hardship classification to duty stations in Ukraine as “E”. • USD 350 entry lump sum, one-time payment. Medical and life insurance: • Medical insurance: The UN Volunteer and eligible PFU dependents will receive UNV provided medical insurance coverage. Coverage for UN Volunteers begins from the Commencement of Service and normally ceases one month after the last day of the UN Volunteer Contract date. • Life Insurance: UN Volunteers are covered by life insurance for the duration of the UN Volunteer assignment. If a UN Volunteer dies during the UN Volunteer assignment, the eligible designated beneficiaries will be entitled to receive a life insurance lump sum. Leave entitlements: • Annual leave: UN Volunteers accrue an entitlement to 2.5 days of Annual Leave per completed month of the UN Volunteer assignment. Unused accrued Annual Leave up to a maximum of 30 days is carried over in case of a contract extension within the same UN Volunteer assignment. Unused accrued Annual Leave may not be carried over in case of reassignment or a new assignment. • Learning leave: Subject to supervisor approval and exigencies of service, UN Volunteers may request up to ten working days of Learning Leave per consecutive 12 months of the UN Volunteer assignment, starting with the Commencement of Service date, provided the Learning Leave is used within the contract period. • Certified Sick Leave: UN Volunteers are entitled to up to 30 days of certified sick leave based on a 12-month cycle. This amount is reset every 12-month cycle. • Uncertified Sick Leave: UN Volunteers receive seven days of uncertified sick leave working days in a calendar year. This amount will be reset at the established interval period.
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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