Current vacancies

Contract Duration: 4.7 months

Working arrangement: Remote/Home-based

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.

                                                         TERMS OF REFERENCE

Specific Objectives:

• Conduct a comprehensive situational analysis of the drinking water quality and surveillance landscape, including institutional capacity, legislative frameworks (e.g., Building Control Act, draft WSS Bill), and coordination mechanisms across MoH, DRWS, WASCO, and District Councils
• Develop a five-year National Drinking Water Quality Strategy addressing urban, rural, and small-scale water supplies, integrating climate resilience, equity, and risk-based approaches
• Develop Operational Guidelines for Water Quality Surveillance (WQS), incorporating Water Safety Plan (WSP) principles from catchment to consumer
• Establish standardized monitoring protocols, quality assurance mechanisms, and enforcement procedures applicable to all service providers and community-managed systems
• Define a clear multi-stakeholder coordination framework aligned with decentralization, clarifying roles across MoH, MNR, MoLG, LEWA, and local authorities
• Develop a costed capacity-building and implementation roadmap, including integration with the GIS-based WASH MIS

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here:  ToR TMC0002373.pdf

Minimum requirements:

• Education:

An advanced university degree (Master’s level or higher) in one or more of the following fields:

• Environmental Health
• Public Health
• Public Health Engineering
• Water Resources Management
• Water and Sanitation Engineering or Water, Sanitation and Health Engineering
• Civil or Environmental Engineering
• Environmental Sciences
• Or a closely related discipline

A multidisciplinary academic background that combines public health and technical/engineering aspects of water systems will be considered a strong advantage.

Additional training or certification in areas such as water quality management, environmental health, or climate resilience will be an asset.

• Work Experience:

• Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible experience in the WASH sector, with a strong focus on drinking water quality and public health.
• Proven experience in drinking water quality management and surveillance, including water quality monitoring, sampling, laboratory systems, and data interpretation
• Demonstrated experience applying WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, including risk-based approaches such as Water Safety Plans (WSPs) and public health surveillance frameworks
• Strong track record in developing national or sub-national policies, strategies, guidelines, or regulatory frameworks in the WASH, environmental health, or public health sectors
• Experience in institutional and governance analysis, including defining roles and responsibilities across multiple stakeholders and sectors
• Proven experience working within multi-sectoral environments, engaging ministries (e.g., health, water, local government), utilities, and development partners
• Demonstrated experience in designing and implementing capacity-building programmes, including training frameworks and institutional strengthening initiatives
• Experience working in developing country contexts, preferably in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English

• Desirables:
• Prior experience working in Lesotho or similar contexts
• Experience in climate-resilient WASH programming
• Familiarity with environmental health inspection systems and regulatory enforcement
• Experience working with Ministry of Health systems and water service providers (utilities or rural water supply programmes)

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 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 reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. 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.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

• An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)
• Cover letter
• A separate financial proposal  Financial proposal template TMC0002373.docx

Remarks:  

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.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.