Careers at UNICEF

Water And Environmental Sanitation Officer

Job Code-105
Location: Lucknow 
Closing Date: 30th December 2009 

Purpose of the post:

Under the direct supervision of the WES Specialist, overall supervision of Chief, Field Office, with technical/programming guidance provided by Chief, Child Environment Programme ICO, provides support to the State Government for planning, implementation and monitoring of the district focused water supply, water safety, hygiene behaviour,

WASH in Schools and Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) components of the Child’s Environment Programme (CEP) in the state as set out in the Annual Work Plan;  giving special focus to programmes and strategies to address particular needs of children and women from disadvantaged groups of the community.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:-

A) Technical Assistance for Programme Development

1. As a member of the WES sector team at the state level, work closely with the office staff to help prepare Field Office Plan of Actions and the WES sector Workplan. Assist with the development and implementation of WES project components focusing on (i) home hygiene, sanitation and drinking water safety (ii) WASH in schools and (iii) family/community managed water supplies and water resources.

2. In focus districts, assist with WES interventions as developed by other UNICEF sections, supporting in particular coordination and collaboration with other programmes, notably health, nutrition, communication and education.

B) Systems Strengthening and Capacity Building

3. Assist in identifying activities to support community based approaches in rural water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion and inter-sectoral convergence. Assist the state departments and district authorities to strengthen their programmes and inter-departmental convergence to achieve measurable improvements in the adoption of key hygiene practices.

4. Assist with the review of impact, inclusiveness and sustainability of the flagship programmes like the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC), the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP), Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) particularly at the grass-root level; Assist with the development of appropriate guidelines and training for TSC, WASH in schools and water quality/safety programmes.   

C) Project Monitoring and Administration for Quality Assurance

5. Support the accurate and timely input of programme information in programme management system (PROMS) and the monitoring of Direct Cash Transfers to Government, liquidations and supplies. Provide support for the generation and issuance of programme/project status reports, budget review, annual reports, programme analysis, etc. required for management and donors for monitoring and evaluation purposes. Identify and review constraints, taking corrective action when necessary to meet project objectives.

6. Visit regularly UNICEF supported activities, assess local conditions and resources. Assist Operations/Supply staff on WES supply and non-supply assistance ensuring proper and timely UNICEF and Government accountability. Assist with the monitoring and submit financial status report to WES Specialist and Chief Field Office as required.
D) Partnership Development and Knowledge Management

7. Attend technical cooperation meetings, prepare notes and undertake follow-up actions. Assist with the preparation of state progress reports required for donors, management, annual reports, etc., consistent with PROMS and office priorities.

8. Contribute to knowledge sharing for evidence based policy and programme influencing.

E) Emergency Preparedness

9. Assist with the capacity building of counterparts and partners to prepare for and respond to a major emergency. Emphasis being on preparedness planning, training and pre-positioning of essential supplies to the needs of the most vulnerable community members at risk from exclusion in disasters. 

Qualifications, Experience and competencies required:

• University Degree in Public Health, Civil Engineering (Water and Sanitation) Social Development or related technical field.
• One (1) year of professional work experience in rural water supply and environmental sanitation. Experience at state and district level including project formulation, design and implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Experience of community mobilization and participatory monitoring an asset.
• Fluency in English and Hindi. Knowledge of local working language of the duty station an asset.
• Knowledge of technical and non-technical aspects of community drinking water supply, rural sanitation and hygiene promotion, including social marketing and a range of technologies.
• Drive for Results.
• Knowledge of current developments in the fields of water quality mitigation and assurance, including qualitative risk approach for managing arsenic, fluoride and bacteriological contamination.
• Ability to prepare and deliver specialist training in any of the technical areas identified in this job description.
• Sensitive to issues of social exclusion and practical measures that can strengthen the participation of women and marginalized groups in water supply, sanitation and hygiene related initiatives
• Familiar with national policy and guidelines relating to water supply and sanitation, and institutional set-up at state and district level
• Demonstrable analytical and planning skills
• Good communication  and negotiation skills, with emphasis on report writing in English
• Good computer skills, including MS-Word and Excel
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships, both within and outside the organization

Candidates meeting the above requirements may send their application consisting of a cover letter and an up-to-date CV by e-mail to nonprofitjobs@abcconsultants.net before 30th December 2009. In order to ensure that your application is sorted correctly, please clearly mention the Job Code of the post (105) and location in the subject line of your e-mail/application.

Only applications of short listed candidates will be acknowledged. This vacancy is open to Indian Nationals only.

UNICEF is a non-smoking working environment. Applications from qualified women are encouraged.