WASH Officer (Engineer), NOA, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Contract

This is a NO-1 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-1 contracts.

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, resilience

On October 22, 2023, a tropical low entered Vanuatu's area of responsibility and the low quickly developed into Tropical Cyclone Lola, which made landfall in Vanuatu on October 24 as a Category 5 storm. TC Lola has caused widespread damage and displacement in the northern provinces of TORBA, PENAMA, SANMA, and MALAMPA. Over 110,000 people were affected by the cyclone, and thousands of homes, schools, and other infrastructure were damaged or destroyed. Coastal flooding caused by the storm surge inundated homes, schools, health facilities, roads, and businesses. Crops and livestock were also damaged, threatening food security for many communities.

Numerous school buildings and infrastructure in the northern provinces of TORBA, PENAMA, SANMA, and MALAMPA have suffered extensive damage due to cyclones, resulting in roofs and roof supports being blown away. Consequently, students are unable to attend school, posing a significant threat to their education in Vanuatu. In response to this urgent situation, UNICEF Pacific, with support from UNICEF HQ, will collaborate with the Ministry of Education and Training and undertake comprehensive measures to rehabilitate school buildings and WASH facilities severely affected by TC Lola. The focus will be on enhancing resilience to climate change and natural disasters, ensuring that these structures can withstand future challenges of natural disasters.

The initiative aims to restore functional learning spaces promptly, allowing school children to resume their studies. Beyond the immediate recovery, the reconstructed facilities will foster a climate-resilient environment, enabling continuous learning and skill development. This approach is integral to preparing the children for the future and empowering them to reach their full potential.

How can you make a difference?

The WASH Officer will offer support towards the reconstruction of school facilities in the cyclone affected area as well offer overall technical support to the overall WASH program on engineering matters from need identification, design, tendering and construction supervision.

The primary purpose is to support, under the supervision of the WASH Specialist and in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Training and UNICEF Education section, the reconstruction of selected schools in the cyclone affected areas. The secondary purposes are to support the WASH team on WASH infrastructure related matters at community and institutional level.

The WASH officer will support these works on technical, operational, and administrative support in the development, implementation and monitoring of rehabilitation works of school infrastructures and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) facilities. The person will be responsible to undertake technical need assessments, survey, drafting the scope of rehabilitation works, design, preparing rehabilitation drawings, developing detailed Bills of Quantities (BoQ), preparing technical specifications, preparing tender documents, supporting the procurement process, and overseeing the execution of construction works of school and WASH infrastructure and to ensure compliance with national and international standards and best practices.

This incumbent will be supervised by the WASH Specialist and will work closely with the UNICEF WASH consultant.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS:

• Undertake technical needs assessments of WASH facilities and building infrastructure of schools in the provinces at the institutional and community levels.
• Under the supervision of WASH specialist, support the Ministry of Education and Training, Ministry of Health, and Department of Water Resources, in the development of detailed design and drawings, BoQ and tender documents.
• Oversee the construction and rehabilitation of infrastructure, including replacing roofs and roof support, school classrooms, health centers, and WASH infrastructure. Provide technical assistance to contractors and assist staff and institutions or community members to negotiate with the contractors.
• Verify construction reports and provide recommendations to improve the quality of works. Ensure the quality assurance and compliance of the WASH interventions in communities, schools and healthcare facilities with the national and international standards and best practices. Apply UNICEF norms and standards to construction projects taking into consideration local context and resilience.
• Build the capacity and awareness of the government counterparts, partners, and beneficiaries on WASH-related topics and issues.
• Contribute to technical guidance and supervision to the Ministry of Education and Training, Ministry of Health, and Department of Water Resources for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of WASH infrastructure and systems
• Contribute to documenting experiences, technical guidelines, training materials and other knowledge management products,
• Contribute to review and evaluations, sharing results with the WASH and Education sectors, and organizing consultations during the period of project implementation as appropriate.

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

• A university degree in one of the fields: Civil Engineering, Construction Engineering, Water Engineering, Sanitary Engineering, or another relevant technical field. Additional relevant post-graduate courses that complement the main degree is a strong asset.
• A minimum of one year of relevant professional experience in the field of engineering, construction, and rehabilitation of public infrastructure, water supply, or sanitation systems
• Experience working with government agencies, local authorities, international organizations, NGOs, and communities in the field of water, sanitation, and participatory approaches in health and hygiene promotion.
• Knowledge of the latest guidance and best practices for WASH programming in the Pacific context especially WASH in healthcare facilities will be an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of the 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.

Remarks:

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.

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable 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). 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.

UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/

The VA is open to all (internal and external) candidates and with ni-Vanuatu Nationality.

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.