IUNV Officer – Water and Environmental Health

Contract

This is a UNV International Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as International UN Volunteer. It is normally internationally recruited only. More about UNV International Specialist contracts.

UNICEF strives to build a world in which the rights of every child are realized. lt provides long-term humanitarian and development assistance to children and mothers in developing countries. UNICEF defends the Convention on the Rights of the Child and works to ensure the equality of discriminated persons, particularly girls and women. Their interventions are framed in the Sustainable Development Goals and in the progress promised in the Charter of the United Nations.

UNICEF has been working in Bolivia since the 1970s through a Basic Cooperation Agreement signed with the Government. The current Cooperation Program between the Plurinational State of Bolivia and UNICEF covers the period 2013-2017 and the new Country Program 2018-2022 (CPD).

The 2018-2022 Cooperation Program between the Plurinational State of Bolivia and UNICEF aims to strengthen National and Sub-national institutional capacity for the provision of safe and quality water, sanitation and hygiene services to children, adolescents, and their families, as well as the empowerment of the population in the adoption of healthy hygiene and sanitation practices, especially in rural areas.

The main lines of action in Water, Hygiene, Sanitation in articulation with Environmental Health are the following:

• Participation and social mobilization for the adoption of healthy practices of hygiene and the community management of services of water and sanitation in the rural areas.
• Institutional strengthening for the provision of water, sanitation and hygiene services in communities, health centers, schools, child development centers.
• Strengthening intersectoral work between the Ministry of Environment and Water and the Ministry of Health (Environmental Health Management Programme) for the control and monitoring of water quality for human consumption.

The Country Program has the necessary resources to implement the actions and results presented.

Under the direct supervision of the Wash Specialist, and in coordination with the Health Officer, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

• Provide technical assistance to counterparts at the municipal level with the Environment Division, to strengthen the integrated management of water delivery and sanitation services in the intervention municipalities of the program.

• Provide technical assistance to the Environmental Health Management Program (SEDES) from the Ministry of Health in the process of Water Surveillance for human consumption.

• Facilitate the articulated work between UNASVI and the Environmental Health Uniy for the development of the monitoring and control component of water for human consumption.

• Promote at municipal level the coordinated work between the Environment Division, the Municipal Health Headquarters and the District Education Directorate to ensure the provision of water and sanitation services in Health Centers, Child Development Centers and Schools.

• Participate and provide technical assistance in the analysis of the situation of Early Childhood in the municipalities of Cochabamba, UNICEF intervention area, in coordination with the other sectors and under the coordination of the Responsible of Result 1 of the new Country Program (Chief Child Survival and Development).

• Support the processes of evaluation and follow-up to the implementation of the planned actions with the sectors involved.

• Prepare relevant technical reports and at the request of their supervisors

• Integrity and professionalism

• Accountability
• Commitment to continuous learning
• Planning and organizing
• Teamwork and respect for diversity
• Communication
• Adaptability and Flexibility,
• Commitment to Continuous Learning

general. - Two years of minimum experience in health and/or WASH areas; - Working experience with civil society organisations

Bolivia - a founding member of the United Nations - is a land-locked country with an area of 1,098,581 square kilometers (roughly equal to that of France and Spain together). lt is bordered by Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Peru. A variety of geographical features, such as dense jungles, important rivers, vast plains and some of the highest mountain ranges in the world are found in Bolivia.

Geographers normally divide the country into three main regions. The Altiplano or high plateau, lies between the eastern and western ranges of the Andes, at an altitude of over 3,600 meters above sea level; in the surrounding mountain ranges, several peaks rise above 6,000 meters.

The Altiplano covers about 27 per cent of the total area of the country and contains about 45 per cent of its population. The main cities in this region are La Paz (the seat of Government) and the traditional mining centers of Oruro and Potosí.

The Valleys lie between elevations of 1,200 and 2,500 meters above sea level, bordering the Altiplano and mountain ranges to the south and east. The principal cities of this region, which covers about 14 per cent of the total area of the country, and has about 29 per cent of ¡ts population, are Sucre (the judicial capital), Cochabamba and Tarija.

The third region, the northern and eastern Lowlands, covers 59 per cent of the total area and contains only 26 per cent of the population. The principal city is Santa Cruz which has grown rapidly in economic and political importance in the last three decades. The lowlands lie between elevations of 160 and 500 meters above sea level.

There are wide variations in climate, depending on the altitude. The Altiplano is a cool, semi-arid zone with annual rainfall of 300-600 mm, two-thirds of which falls between December and March. Summer begins with the rainy season. Snow occurs infrequently at altitudes below 4.500 meters, but hailstorms are common, particularly at the end of summer. Winter, however, (June-September) is characterized by cloudless weather and sunshine.

The average temperature in La Paz is 11º C (52º F) with little difference between summer and winter. However, there is a considerable variation between day and night temperatures, and between sunny and cloudy days.

Temperatures in the valleys vary in relation to altitude. The Amazon basin (known as the Chapare) has a much higher rainfall.

The lowlands may be divided into two fairly distinct climatic zones. To the south of Santa Cruz there is a wide temperature range from 0º C to 40º C (32” F to 104* F). To the north of Santa Cruz lies the area of influence of the Amazon, with high temperatures and humidity throughout the year and an annual rainfall of 1,100-1,900 mm.

In Bolivia, almost all the characteristics of a developing country are present. In fact, despite the diversity and abundance of natural resources- in particular, great agricultural and mineral potential - the country has not been able yet to secure adequate living conditions for the majority of its population.