UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.
At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.
UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture.., coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.
Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.
For every child, the right to innovation
UNICEF has been working in Cameroon since 1975 to enable women and children to fully exercise their right to unrestricted development, as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. UNICEF provides financial and technical support to Cameroon in seven areas in order to fully realise the rights of women and children. These areas include health, HIV/AIDS, water, sanitation and hygiene, nutrition, education, child protection and social inclusion. UNICEF focuses primarily on the most vulnerable and excluded children and families. The population of Cameroon in 2020 is estimated at 26,545,863 according to UN data. The population is young and generates strong socio-economic demand. In rural areas, limited access to basic social services and the effects of climate change are leading to impoverished households and severe deprivation for children. The task is immense but not insurmountable; it requires the energy of all the players inside and outside Cameroon: women, men, young people and children, the government, technical and financial partners, donors, civil society, the private sector, parliamentarians and communities. Everyone is invited to join in the fight to meet the challenges that lie ahead. Together, we will take action for Cameroon, a country that sums up the challenges and hopes of Africa.
To find out more about UNICEF Cameroon, use the link below:
https://unicef.sharepoint.com/sites/CMR/SitePages/AboutUs.aspx
How can you make a difference?
Background / Context
The WASH section which is currently understaffed, is involved in several Humanitarian and System Strengthening projects/Initiatives. It ensures that children have sustained access to water, sanitation and hygiene services, in accordance with UNICEF's global strategies. It also provides strategic and technical support services to the Cameroon Government and CSOs to improve overall sector performance and bring about transformative results for children.
The workload being quite high, the section needs and is looking for an intern with professional and academic orientations in one of the following areas:
Civil or Environmental Engineering, Water Resources Management, Public Health, Environmental Science, Climate science, Climate Finance.
The purpose and objectives of the UNICEF internship programme are:
- To provide a framework by which current eligible undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students from diverse academic backgrounds are assigned to UNICEF offices, where their educational experience can be enhanced through practical work assignments.
- To expose the interns to the work of UNICEF.
- To provide UNICEF offices with the assistance of qualified students specialized in various professional fields.
Responsibilities of the Internship:
The candidate with great integrity and having sufficient qualities will be called upon to support the WASH section in the following activities:
- Contribute to the development and establishment of sectoral programme goals, objectives, strategies, and results-based planning, through analysis of WASH needs and areas for intervention, and submission of recommendations for priority and goal setting.
- Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes by executing and administering a variety of technical programme transactions, preparing materials and documentations, and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support programme planning, results-based management (RBM), and monitoring and evaluation of results.
- Identify, capture, synthesize, and share lessons learned for knowledge development and to build the capacity of stakeholders.
- Share updates on new developments on WASH and Climate, as well as promoting technical discussions that facilitate knowledge and dissemination among implementing actors.
- Apply innovative approaches and promote good practices to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.
- Research, benchmark, and report on best practices for development planning of knowledge products and systems.
- Participate as a resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients and stakeholders.
- Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues and partners to collect, analyze, and share information on operational and implementation issues. Suggest solutions, recommendations and/or alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and/or decision-making. Keep record of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.
- Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, WASH \ data collection and analysis, programme reviews and annual reviews with the government and other counterparts, prepare minutes and reports on results for follow-up action by higher management.
- Monitor and report on the use of sectoral programme resources (financial, administrative, and other assets), verifying compliance with approved allocation, goals, organizational rules, regulations/procedures, donor commitments, standards of accountability, and integrity. Report on issues identified to ensure timely resolution by management and stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.
- Prepare regular and mandated sectoral programme/project reports for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of programme progress.
Duration:
The intern is needed for a period of 06 months.
If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: 
TOR Intern WASH_2025_.pdf
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements:
- Education: Be enrolled in a degree programme, in a graduate school, or be a recent graduate university degree (bachelor’s or higher) in Civil or Environmental Engineering, Public Health, Environmental Science, Climate Science.
- Language Requirements: Fluency in English or French is required excellent.
Desirables:
- Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts. (This criteria is essential as a desirable and should be included in all job postings.)
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
The 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
Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.
UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.
UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.
UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.
UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be 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 canceled.
Remarks:
As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.
UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable females and disabled candidates are encouraged to apply.
Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions 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.
UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.
Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.
All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.
Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.
