WASH Specialist (Knowledge Management), P3, Kyiv, Ukraine - 364 days

Contract

This is a P-3 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 102,418 USD and 134,109 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

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, hope

UNICEF Ukraine

Welcome to the UNICEF team! - YouTube

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF is the agency of the United Nations mandated for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene is one of the key programmes to fulfil this mandate, particularly in the context of the war in Ukraine.

In Ukraine, UNICEF works with the government and other partners to contribute to national efforts to enable all children and adolescents in Ukraine, especially those in the most vulnerable situations, to have their rights progressively fulfilled and to develop to their full potential in an inclusive and protective environment. In line with the Government of Ukraine National Priorities and strategies, and the current UNICEF Strategic Plan in Ukraine, the country programme of cooperation aims to achieve equitable outcomes for the most in need and hardest-to-reach children.

Centralized and decentralized water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services and infrastructure, have been damaged leaving over a million households without water. Furthermore, displacement is leading to emerging water, sanitation and hygiene needs, especially in communal shelters.

Lack of water, sanitation, heat, and electricity, and fear of death have caused children and their families to flee to other affected areas or to seek refuge in places lacking basic WASH services. Similarly, institutions, and especially health care services, cannot function properly, increasing the risk that children will not receive adequate care and/or die prematurely. In addition, the destruction of wastewater treatment facilities will further contaminate the environment, increasing long -term health risks.

In the context of the large-scale recovery plan of the government of Ukraine, evidence generation and knowledge management in support to national and decentralised authorities are at the heart of UNICEF’s work in the WASH Sector, to achieve a cost-effective, chid-centred, equitable and sustainable restauration of critical WASH infrastructure.

In order to provide sufficient technical and managerial support across the WASH programme, we are looking for a WASH and Knowledge Management Specialist. Under the leadership of the Chief WASH, she/he will support the effective design and conduct of initiatives to support internal and external evidence based knowledge management. The primary function of this post is to support the development and to operationalize the UNICEF Ukraine WASH Programme Evidence based Knowledge management (KM) strategy which has both internal and external facing components.

The objective is to solidify the organization’s role as a knowledge leader, convener and advocate for Children’s rights in the WASH Sector; a knowledge broker – leveraging significant convening power - to foster and support dynamic knowledge exchanges with development stakeholders with the aim to strengthened Government policies and practices and achieve results for children.

Job organizational context:

The position of the WASH/Knowledge Management Specialist at the P3 level is in the WASH Section, Ukraine Country Office, and reports to the Chief o WASH.

Purpose for the job:

Under the supervision of the Chief WASH, the incumbent of the post is responsible for playing a central role mainstreaming the Knowledge Management (KM) functions – evidence based - in the day-to-day work of the WASH section. The incumbent will help provide strategic leadership on KM across all relevant staff from the WASH as well as from other teams, helping strengthen systems for generating evidence, and gathering, customizing, managing and disseminating knowledge in the WASH sector. The incumbent will strengthen the capacity of staff and key partners to be efficient knowledge managers.

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

Summary of results-based key functions/accountabilities:

1. Internal e****vidence generation and knowledge management system and learning environment

Support the implementation of studies, research, evaluation and assessments, and building relevant resources/platforms that are user friendly to ensure effective and efficient exchange of knowledge across sectors, teams and field offices.

• • Support the implementation of studies, research, evaluation, etc, in coordination with relevant UNICEF teams and partners, from the design phase to the end delivery: drafting TORs, mobilising partners or contractors (through tenders or partnerships), managing works and deliveries with due technical assistance and quality assurance.
  • Facilitate knowledge sharing through dissemination of information to specific or general internal audiences through various approaches/mechanisms/platforms.
  • Coordinate internal documentation efforts, including efforts supporting fundraising or donor reporting.
  • Maintain a database/library of evidence reports, papers, products relevant across the WASH sector that colleagues (and others) can access easily for reference.
  • Undertake rapid evidence reviews/syntheses on certain issues/topics for programmatic use, and support ‘helpdesk function’ to find specific evidence on certain topics upon request (internal KM).
  • Collaborate with ICT on managing and maintaining the digital workspace and knowledge sharing platform.
  • Manage contracts and LTAs for documentation and analytical writers, including undertaking renewals and expanding the scope of work as necessary.

2. Sharing and use of knowledge related to women and children

Implement and further refine the external components of the UNICEF Ukraine Knowledge Management Strategy and work plan in WASH. Support in positioning UNICEF as the knowledge hub/leader on children’s rights and evidence on children in Ukraine. Ensure effective management, dissemination and use of knowledge and evidence.

• • Ensure ongoing assessment of knowledge management theories, trends and practices and their application to the evolving strategy of the UNICEF WASH programmes in Ukraine.
  • Strengthen planning of knowledge products
  • Collect and compile UNICEF knowledge for presentation on dissemination platforms
  • Identify and curate external knowledge of relevance for UNICEF staff
  • Oversee use of WASH templates, and strengthen quality assurance processes for all knowledge products
  • Initiate/support research partnerships and promote academic publishing among staff

3. Strengthen systems for knowledge management and dissemination

Support the development and roll-out of UNICEF Ukraine Evidence and Knowledge Management Strategy and W****ork P****lan in the WASH sector****.

• • Ensure good practices throughout the team on document management
  • Strengthen online presence of WASH through communication platforms and collaboration sites, external facing sites and communities of practice (e.g. Yammer) and utilization of those platforms by WASH and non-WASH staff
  • Strengthen communication plans for knowledge products
  • Support functioning of KM community(-ies) of practice
  • Quarterly monitoring of KM strategy implementation in WASH and across UNICEF programmes, including gender dimensions, contribution to annual reporting and drawing lessons learned for improving future KM practice

4. Support capacity development of UNICEF staff and the sector
   • Conduct mapping of partner capacities, and support teams in meeting priority needs
   • Plan and implement a WASH capacity development initiatives based on prioritised capacity gaps.
   • Support the development of training content and the roll-out of capacity development to address the capacity gaps
   • Provide regular training on KM through webinars and face-to-face meetings
   • Promote, support and coordinate knowledge exchanges, internally and externally with other countries and international partners

Impact of resultsAs evidence and knowledge are the major currency UNICEF has for advising governments and formulating and implementing programmes, it is vital that the evidence and KM architecture that has been defined in the various strategies is implemented efficiently.

The incumbent will play a key role in ensuring UNICEF Ukraine’s role – both with external partners and donors, and – is optimized so that the WASH Component of the National Recovery Plan is developed and initiated with a child-centered lens, using most relevant approaches and models meeting the aspirations of the government of Ukraine for its post-war development.

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

Education:

An advanced university degree in social science, statistics, development studies, planning, engineering, public health or related technical field.

Experience:

• A minimum of five years of professional experience in WASH related knowledge management, research, monitoring and evaluation, programme management (or a related field) at national or international level
• Proven ability in formulating and implementing knowledge management strategies, and utilizing information technology for knowledge management
• Excellent teamwork and organizational skills
• Excellent writing and communication skills
• Prior significant experience in developing countries is desirable
• Prior experience working in the UN and/or other International development organizations is an asset

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of a second UN language or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, 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...

• Formulating Strategies and Concepts
• Analyzing
• Relating and Networking
• Applying Technical Expertise
• Creating and Innovating

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:

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.

Eligible UNICEF International Professional (IP) Staff Members on fixed-term, continuing or permanent contracts applying to a Temporary Appointment, which is dedicated to L3 (or L2) Response, may be able to retain a lien and their fixed-term entitlements. The conditions of the temporary assignment will vary depending on the status of their post and their current tour of duty, and relocation entitlements may be limited as per the relevant policies.