JOB OPPORTUNITY

Regional Adviser, WASH (P5), UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia, Kathmandu, Nepal#64242

Job no: 568290
Position type: Fixed Term Appointment
Location: Nepal
Division/Equivalent: Kathmandu(ROSA)
School/Unit: Regional Services Div (SAR), Kathmandu
Department/Office: Reg Serv – Prog Section, Kathmandu
Categories: WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene)

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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, a champion

How can you make a difference?

The Regional Adviser, WASH reports to the Deputy Regional Director for general guidance and direction. The Adviser serves as an authoritative and expert adviser to the Regional Director/Deputy Regional Director, the Regional Management Team, Country Offices and Government institutions/officials on strategies, policies, approaches, best practices and knowledge on WASH and related issues to support programme development planning, implementation, management, resource mobilization, capacity building, and knowledge management to achieve equitable and sustainable improvements in WASH practices in the region, in line with UNICEF’s Strategic Plan, standards of performance and accountability framework.

Key function, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

Provide advisory services and technical support on strategic planning.

Advise UNICEF Country Offices and their partners on policies, strategies, approaches, and best practices on WASH, including emergency preparedness, to support programme development planning, management, implementation, and delivery of results.
Participate in regional and country programme planning, preparation and reviews to provide advice on formulation, design, management, enhancement and communication of UNICEF country office WASH programmes including setting priorities and formulating outcome and output results, baselines, targets, and means-of-verification.
Lead and/or organize regional strategic discussions and planning on WASH programmes and projects. Collaborate with other Regional Advisers/Country Offices on cross cutting issues to harmonize, link and/or leverage competencies, especially with respect to climate change and environment.

Support to country offices on programme development and planning

Collaborate with Regional Management/Country Office teams throughout all stages of WASH programming to provide technical support to programme preparation, implementation, and monitoring for results.
Ensure that current and comprehensive data is available to guide UNICEF COs strategic policy advocacy, intervention and development efforts on WASH programmes and projects and to set programme priorities, strategies, and implementation plans.
Provide technical advice to facilitate the preparation of the Country Office WASH programme recommendations and related documentation and to ensure alignment of programme goals with the overall UNICEF Strategic (WASH) Plans and regional strategies.
Evaluate and facilitate synergy, integration, coherence, and harmonization of programmes/projects with the UNICEF Strategic Plan and priorities, donors’ development strategies/policies, national priorities/competencies and UN System development interventions/initiatives.

Regional programme monitoring and assessment.

Collaborate with HQ Advisers, Regional/Country Monitoring and Evaluation Advisers/Officers to establish benchmarks, performance indicators and other UNICEF/UN system indicators and measurements to assess and strengthen performance accountability, coherence, and delivery of concrete and sustainable results on WASH programmes.
Participate in major monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual sector reviews with government and other counterparts to assess progress and to provide advice on required action/interventions to achieve results.
Assess COs monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths and/or weaknesses in programme management; identify lessons learned and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely intervention to achieve goals.
Submit and share assessments on WASH programmes in country offices highlighting critical issues and suggestions for enhancing performance and delivery of sustainable results.

Advocacy, partnership building and resource mobilization.

Build and strengthen strategic partnerships through networking and advocacy with regional and national government counterparts, UN system agency partners, donors, international financial institutions (IFIs), NGOs, funding organizations, research institutes, and the private sector to reinforce cooperation and pursue opportunities to promote goals and mobilize resources to achieve sustainable results in WASH programmes.
Strengthen partnerships with climate institutions in the region and develop regional funding proposals related to climate resilience and climate mitigation in WASH.
Participate and/or represent UNICEF (as delegated/designated) in key events, meetings, and in inter-agency discussions and planning on WASH related issues to ensure organizational position, interests and priorities are clearly articulated, fully considered and integrated in development planning and agenda setting.
Collaborate with regional inter-agency partners/colleagues in planning and preparation of WASH related programmes.

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

Promote critical thinking and technical leadership to introduce technological and programme innovations, approaches and good practices in the region for sustainable and climate-resilient WASH services.
Identify, assess, vet, and disseminate a roster of qualified experts and highly recognized institutions for easy access and use by stakeholders.
Lead and/or develop policies and procedures and introduce innovation and best practices to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programmes.
Lead, plan, and implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of stakeholders to promote sustainable results in WASH programmes. Priority learning topics include climate-resilient WASH; safely managed sanitation; urban WASH; water security; Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS); and WASH in institutions.

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

An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: public health, social sciences, behavior change communication, sanitary engineering or another relevant technical field.
Additional relevant post-graduate courses that complement/supplement the main degree are required.

Experience:

A minimum of ten years of professional experience in WASH-related programmes for developing countries is required.
One year of deployment in a developing country is required.
At least one year of deployment in a humanitarian situation (with UN-Govt-INGO) is required.
Relevant experience in water, sanitation and hygiene programme/project development and management in any UN system agency or organization is an asset.
Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and 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…

Builds and maintains partnerships (2); Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (2); Drive to achieve results for impact (2); Innovates and embraces change (2); Manages ambiguity and complexity (2); Thinks and acts strategically (2); Works collaboratively with others (2); Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (2).

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 female candidates are encouraged to apply.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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.

Application close: Jan 07 2024 Nepal Standard Time