WASH and Climate Change Officer, NO-2, Managua, Nicaragua

Contract

This is a NO-2 contract. This kind of contract is known as National Professional Officers. It is normally only for nationals. It's a staff contract. More about NO-2 contracts.

For every child, water

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the Organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give more children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

According to Climate Risk Index (CRI), Nicaragua ranked 6th among the countries most affected by climate events between 1998 and 2017 worldwide, with an average score of 20.33 and an accumulated 45 climate events (Germanwatch, 2018). Subsequently, in 2018 it ranked 52nd, with a score of 60.17 and during 2019 it was positioned as number 49 on the list. The latest available data corresponds to 2019; therefore, the impacts of hurricanes ETA and IOTA on the Northern Caribbean Coast in 2020 are not yet assessed.

The Children’s Climate Risk Index (UNICEF, 2021a) positioned Nicaragua in 2020, in the 94th position of the index worldwide. At the Latin American level, the country is in 6th place in terms of climate vulnerability. Nicaragua is classified as a low-carbon country in relation to the environment and climate change, with only 0.02% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2018. An analysis using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Emissions Scenario and downscaling of regional climate models found that 21 municipalities are threatened by hurricanes, 48 by droughts and 33 by floods out of a total of 156 municipalities in Nicaragua.

How can you make a difference?

The WASH Officer provides technical, operational, and administrative assistance throughout the WASH and Climate Change programming process. The Officer prepares, manages and implements a variety of technical and administrative tasks, related to the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the WASH and Climate Change output of the country programme.

Summary of key functions:

1. Programme development and planning 2. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results 3. Technical and operational support for programme implementation 4. Humanitarian WASH preparedness and response 5. Networking and partnership building for WASH and Climate Change 6. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

More details about the job description please see in the attachment.Job Description WASH Officer Level 2.pdf

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

An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in recognized university in one of the following fields is required: public health, social sciences, behavior change communication, sanitary engineering or another relevant technical field.

Experience: DEVELOPMENTAL: a minimum of two years of professional work experience in WASH And Climate Change related programmes for developing countries is required.

Language Requirements: Fluency in English and Spanish 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…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others.

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. All selected candidates will, therefore, 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.

Remarks:

This position has been assessed as an risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is:a role with direct contact with children, works directly with children, is a safeguarding response role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) applies.

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable female and male nationals of Nicaragua are encouraged to apply.

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). 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.