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 access
Ethiopia is situated in the Horn of Africa and is the second most populous country on the continent with an estimated population of 115 million. It borders six African countries: Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan, and covers 1,104,300 square kilometers. Approximately 85 percent of the population lives in rural areas. Ethiopia represents a melting pot of ancient cultures with Middle Eastern and African cultures evident in the religious, ethnic, and language composition of its people.
Over the past two years, children and their families across Ethiopia faced multiple and complex emergencies, such as the conflict in the northern Ethiopia and the drought, which resulted in millions of people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. UNICEF has programmes in Child Protection, WASH, Health, Nutrition, Social Policy, and Education and serves over 15 million children in Ethiopia. Join UNICEF Ethiopia to contribute to improving the lives of children and women.
How can you make a difference?
Background
As the lead agency for the IASC WASH Cluster, UNICEF is responsible for ensuring effective coordination of humanitarian WASH efforts across Ethiopia. The WASH Cluster Coordinator plays a pivotal role in providing strategic leadership and operational facilitation to align partners around a common response plan, avoid duplication, close critical gaps, and prioritize evidence-based, high-impact interventions. This position is essential for enabling a coherent, inclusive, and efficient partnership framework that ensures affected
populations receive timely, quality, and standards-compliant WASH services—even in the face of constrained resources.
Acting as a key liaison between humanitarian WASH actors and government counterparts, the coordinator helps translate needs into coordinated action, ensures accountability to affected populations, and supports the optimal use of limited financial and human resources. The role also plays a central part in advocacy, capacity strengthening, and information management—further contributing to a more effective and equitable response.
This position is critical to fostering cohesion and mitigating the risks of fragmentation, inefficiencies, and disparities in service delivery. UNICEF is committed to maintaining this role to support both the WASH sector and the Government of Ethiopia in delivering a more impactful, coherent, and sustainable response— ultimately improving the lives of millions of vulnerable people affected by crisis.
Specific Tasks
Core Functions (National Level)
- Strategic Guidance, Normative support & Technical Standards
- Provide high-level strategic direction to guide field-level implementation.
- Ensure adherence to global standards and technical quality whilst adapting these standards to local contexts and revising cost-efficiencies in implementation modalities.
- Lead the way on simplifying the ‘packages’ ‘minimum requirements’ so we deliver tailored responses, and we can do more with less.
- Engage in policy discussions relevant to the sector/cluster.
- Promote government leadership and national systems alignment in line with global standards.
- Develop a transition strategy for coordination.
- Advocacy and Government Engagement
- Serve as the primary technical interface with relevant line ministries to ensure sectoral alignment with national policies and frameworks.
- Advocate principled humanitarian response standards and the inclusion of vulnerable groups in national programs.
- Support capacity exchange and coordination mechanisms with government counterparts to reinforce national ownership and long-term sustainability.
- Field Support
- Support field/area coordination teams with surge, remote technical advice, and training as needed.
- Develop and maintain rosters or deployable expertise to reinforce decentralized coordination in case of emergencies.
- Support area coordination teams in contingency planning and preparedness for new emergencies.
- Share best practices to build technical and implementation capacities of local/national NGOs.
- Needs Analysis & Strategic Planning (HPC)
- Provide sectoral input into joint analysis and Humanitarian Needs Overviews (HNOs) and Humanitarian Response Plans (HRP)
- Provide sectoral inputs to Critical Funding Gaps analysis and other key analysis in terms of priorities and response.
- Resource Mobilization Support
- Support pooled fund allocations (e.g. EHF, CERF) through technical review and prioritization inputs, in collaboration with the field area coordination teams.
- Provide evidence-based inputs for inter-sectoral advocacy and donor briefings.
- Information Management & monitoring
- Establish mechanisms to monitor the quality, continuity, relevance, and equity of WASH services against agreed standards; recommend corrective actions.
- Track progress against the cluster strategy and targets; compile and analyze partner reporting (e.g., 4Ws/Activity Info) and respond to partner information needs.
- Maintain interoperable IM systems and tools (including GIS mapping, dashboards, and metadata standards) and lead IM inputs to assessments and monitoring.
- Produce timely operational updates highlighting plans, targets, achievements, gaps, and constraints.
- Provide technical IM support to the Humanitarian Programme Cycle (HNO/HRP) and represent the cluster in IM/AWG and relevant technical working groups.
- Build IM capacity of partners; ensure the Ethiopia WASH Cluster website and SharePoint are up to date.
- Cross-cutting & Protection Mainstreaming
- Integrate age, gender, disability, diversity, environment, HIV/AIDS, human rights, and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) across assessments, planning, implementation, and monitoring.
- Designate and capacitate focal points for cross-cutting issues and ensure mainstreaming is reflected in guidance, partner reporting, and quality checks.
Expected Deliverables
- Cluster Response Strategy & Prioritization Plan — HRP/HNO-aligned strategy with clear targets, standards, and geographic/technical priorities.
- Monthly 4W + Coverage–Gap Dashboard — cleaned 4W dataset and maps showing who/where/what and unmet needs to steer deployments.
- Coordination Outputs (minutes + action tracker) regular meeting minutes with decisions, responsibilities, and follow-ups (incl. inputs for pooled-fund prioritization).
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements:
Education:
- An advanced university degree (master’s or higher) in a relevant field such as civil or environmental engineering, water and sanitation, hydrology, information management, humanitarian affairs, or other disciplines directly related to WASH project planning and management.
- A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s) in one of the above-mentioned fields, combined with a minimum of two additional years of relevant professional experience, may be accepted in lieu of an advanced degree.
Work Experience:
At least 5 years progressively responsible humanitarian and development work experience, including in emergencies with UN Agencies and/or INGOs, will have any added advantage.
- Extensive work experience relevant to information management and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in both development and emergencies.
- Previous experience in Cluster Coordination or Information Management
- Familiarity and experience working with government counterparts.
- Familiarity with national and SPHERE standards for application in an emergency setting is an asset.
- Understanding of the WASH sector and cluster approaches.
- Proven technical expertise for managing data capture and storage, analyzing diverse datasets, and presenting information in understandable tables, charts, graphs, and reports.
- Knowledge of establishing and managing basic websites (e.g., UNOCHA’s Humanitarian Response platform).
Skills
- Proven skills in using GIS and map-making packages such as ArcGIS, MapInfo, QGIS, and Adobe Creative Suite for mapping.
Language Requirements:
- Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (or a local language is an asset.
Desirables:
- Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.
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…
Builds and maintains partnerships (1)
Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (1)
Drive to achieve results for impact (1)
Innovates and embraces change (1)
Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)
Thinks and acts strategically (1)
Works collaboratively with others (1)
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 female candidates and persons with disability 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.
UNICEF staff members holding fixed-term, continuing, or permanent appointments who are considered to be on abolished post status may apply for this temporary position and, if selected with a start date before 31 December 2025, may take it up as a temporary assignment, in line with UNICEF guidance on separation due to the abolition of posts or staff reduction. They will retain their fixed-term entitlements but will not hold a lien to their abolished post. For other scenarios where a Temporary Assignment may be possible, please refer to Additional guidance on IP to IP temporary assignments after completion of the full TOD.pdf (accessible to UNICEF personnel only).
The conditions of a temporary assignment, including relocation entitlements, will depend on the status of the staff member’s original appointment and may be limited in accordance with applicable UNICEF policies, procedures, and practices in force.
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.
UNICEF shall not facilitate the issuance of a visa and working authorization for candidates under consideration for positions at the national officer and general service category.
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.
