Associate WASH Officer

Deadline for Applications

August 8, 2026

Grade

NOB

Staff Member / Affiliate Type

National Professional Officer

Reason

Temporary > Temporary Assignment/ Appointment

Hardship Level

D

Family Type

Family

Residential location (if applicable)

Target Start Date

2026-08-03

Target End Date

2027-01-31

Standard Job Description

Associate WASH Officer

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

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 position may be located in Headquarters, in a Regional Bureau or in a Country Operation. In Country Operations, the Associate WASH Officer is normally supervised by (Senior) Programme, WASH Officer or Technical Officer/Coordinator 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.

In Country Operations, the Associate WASH Officer will support UNHCR, in coordination with the Government, to assess needs and coordinate the provision of WASH services to the people we serve. This will include coordination at site level with WASH partners in conjunction with the government authorities, and monitoring progress of WASH programme implementation to ensure that an adequate level of hygiene promotion service is provided at each site in accordance with the WASH entries in UNHCR’s Emergency Handbook, UNHCR WASH Manual and WASH Guidelines, and applicable UNHCR Standards and/or National Standards.

S/he will follow a rights-based and community focused approach to programme design and implementation, aligning with sustainable responses and inclusion from the start, where appropriate. The incumbent will follow the five principles for protection, accountability and WASH as outlined in UNHCR’s WASH Manual, as well as the principles of the GCR. They will aim to mainstream environmental considerations and climate action into WASH activities, while looking at overall sustainability of UNHCR WASH programs.

In order to ensure wider reach out to the people we serve (refugees and their hosting communities) and ensure their close involvement in the delivery and management of the WASH services, the incumbent will need to establish an appropriate consultative and monitoring framework which would draw the experience and expertise of a wide range of actors both internally and externally.

At Headquarters or Regional level, the incumbent facilitates the work outlined above in relevant operations, supporting them with technical guidance, capacity building, data management and other requested support .

All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR’s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties

WASH Planning and Programme Support

• Work with senior WASH staff (or Technical Officers/Coordinators) to support the implementation of sustainable responses in WASH programmes and the inclusion of refugees in national and local WASH systems and development plans, in close collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders (governments, humanitarian and development actors, donors, private sector and academia, among others).
• In emergencies, maintain communication with the sector staff in country to monitor the response and raise issues as they arise.
• Contribute to the development, updates and reporting of joint appeals, regional refugee response plans, regional refugee and migrant response plans, refugee and resilience plans, comprehensive responses.
• Support the review and update WASH contingency plans for potential epidemics, refugee and returnee movement.
• Facilitate and provide support to a multi-sector team typically including settlement planning, shelter, energy, climate, innovative finance, protection, livelihoods and health.
• Support the collection and analysis of WASH and climate action data in the Technical Information Management System (TIMS).

Technical Assistance and Capacity Building

• 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.
• Contribute to 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 the people we serve.
• 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 and Quality Assurance

• Support monitoring of WASH programmes against standard UNHCR and SDG indicators to ensure that programmes are evidence-based and implemented in a comprehensive, protection sensitive, and cost-effective manner.
• Ensure monitoring and quality assurance is carried out following UNHCR’s WASH monitoring system and TIMS using standard resources for data collection, analysis and interpretation.
• Monitor the collection and recording of SDG 6 WASH access data in the WASH Monitoring System to enable comparative reporting against national averages, to ensure that people we serve are not being “left behind”.
• Collate WASH services access data (for both in-settlement and out-of-settlement) to identify and promote inclusion of people we serve within national SDG 6 development plans and financing mechanisms and service delivery systems.

Reporting and Accountability

• Foster access by people we serve to feedback and accountability mechanisms for the WASH services.
• Collate and contribute to analyse data on the satisfaction of people we serve with regards to WASH services.
• Draft regular sectorial reports and submit material for preparation of periodic project monitoring reports as required.
• Provide input to adequate reporting, timely updates and briefings to donor and management.

In Regional Bureaux/HQ

• Contribute to global or regional level collaborations with a wide range of external WASH stakeholders, across the humanitarian and development spectrum, government entities, private sector and academia.
• Support the advocacy for the inclusion of forcibly displaced people and their hosting communities in regional, national and local WASH development plans.

In Operations

WASH Strategy, Planning and Programme Support

• Support alignment of WASH activities with UNHCR’s WASH Manual, and other relevant strategies, WASH and environmental entries in UNHCR’s Emergency Handbook, and the principles of the GCR.
• Engage in a review of national and local standards and practices; advise on the alignment of humanitarian WASH programs with those
• Support the advocacy for inclusion of all people we serve (both in and out of settlements) within national systems of WASH service provision.
• Support the maintenance and application of 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.Where there are people we serve living outside of settlements, work with partners to ensure the enjoyment of the human right to water and sanitation by all people we serve.
• Address gaps and overlaps in UNHCR funded WASH programmes and unmet needs, and the activities are oriented to addressing priority WASH issues.
• Report regularly on WASH activity implementation by all WASH partners, while maintaining accurate records of all relevant performance indicators.

Coordination

• Support the coordination of 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 meets UNHCR and /or nationally recognised and most up-to-date standards and policies.
• 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.
• Where relevant, provide support to national government(s) for inclusion of the people we serve 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 WASH actors (, Municipal Authorities, Utilities, and relevant government line ministries) for preparedness planning, inclusion in pro-poor tariffs, and provision of WASH services to the people we serve.

• Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).
• Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level

For P2/NOB - 3 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 2 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 1 year relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education

Civil Engineering; Hydrology;

Water Resources Development; Public Health Engineering;

Environmental Engineering; Water/Sanitation Engineering;

or other relevant field.

Certificates and/or Licenses

Geographic Information Systems;

(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience

Essential

Proven expertise in the area of WASH including surveys, programme implementation, monitoring and evaluation, data management and coordination.

Ability to multi-task in a fast changing environment while handling competing priorities. Good interpersonal, written and spoken communication and data analysis skills and the capacity to interact with a variety of cultural and educational backgrounds. Good computer skills.

Desirable

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. 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.

Field level experience in leading transitions to local/national service providers in either WASH or energy, including the development of transition plans and budgets, stakeholder coordination and the development of users’ associations/committees/cooperatives.

Functional Skills

PG-Programme Management (programme cycles & reporting standards)

CO-Reporting skills

EV-Environmental Mainstreaming

FO-Complex field emergency operations

IM-Information Management tools

WA-WASH for refugees and other persons of concern in out-of camp settings (urban WASH)

WA-WASH in emergencies

(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements

For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.

For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.

For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

Competency Requirements

All jobs at UNHCR require six core competencies and may also require managerial competencies and/or cross-functional competencies. The six core competencies are listed below.

Core Competencies

Accountability

Communication

Organizational Awareness

Teamwork & Collaboration

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Client & Result Orientation

Managerial Competencies

Judgement and Decision Making

Managing Performance

Empowering and Building Trust

Cross-Functional Competencies

Innovation and Creativity

Planning and Organizing

Technological Awareness

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination, and abuse of power.

As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.

Desired Candidate Profile

National Water Officer (NOB) – Green Climate Fund (GCF) Project

Approval is requested to recruit a National Water Officer (NOB) under a temporary appointment arrangement to support the implementation of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Project FP218: Building Climate Resilience in the Landscapes of Kigoma Region, Tanzania.

UNHCR and the Vice President’s Office (VPO), as Executing Entities, are implementing this five-year project (2024–2029) under the overall supervision of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as the Accredited Entity. The project seeks to enhance climate resilience and adaptive capacity among refugee and host communities in Kakonko, Kasulu, and Kibondo districts.

As part of UNHCR's implementation responsibilities under Outputs 2 and 3 of the project, the National Water Officer will provide the specialized technical expertise required to plan, coordinate, supervise, and monitor water-related and ecosystem restoration interventions. The incumbent will oversee engineering activities aimed at reducing soil erosion and flood risks, support stakeholder engagement and land-use planning processes, prepare technical specifications and Bills of Quantities (BOQs), and provide technical oversight for water harvesting, irrigation, and watershed management infrastructure.

Given the technical complexity of the assignment and the need to coordinate with multiple government counterparts, implementing partners, contractors, and project stakeholders, the responsibilities warrant recruitment at the NOB level.

The position is critical to the implementation schedule of the project. Water-related activities under Output 3, which are to be implemented by the Vice President’s Office within host communities, cannot commence without the technical oversight and support provided by the National Water Officer. Delays in recruitment would therefore directly affect project implementation timelines, achievement of project outputs, and compliance with donor commitments.

To ensure effective and timely delivery of project activities, the National Water Officer should be onboarded by August 2026.

Functional Clearance

This position requires Functional Clearance

Required languages (expected Overall ability is at least B2 level)

,

,

Desired languages

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Additional Qualifications

Skills

CO-Reporting skills, EV-Environmental Mainstreaming, FO-Complex field emergency operations, IM-Information Management tools, PG-Programme Management (programme cycles and reporting standards), WA-WASH for refugees and other persons of concern in out-of camp settings (urban WASH), WA-WASH in emergencies

Education

Bachelor of Arts: Civil Engineering, Bachelor of Arts: Environmental Engineering, Bachelor of Arts: Hydrology, Bachelor of Arts: Public Health Engineering, Bachelor of Arts: Water/Sanitation Engineering, Bachelor of Arts: Water Resources Development

Certifications

Geographic Information Systems - Other

Work Experience

UNHCR Salary Calculator

https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales

Other information