WASH Recovery Officer

Mission and objectives

UNICEF works to protect the rights of every child and support children and families affected by conflict through humanitarian response, recovery and systems-strengthening interventions.

In Ukraine, UNICEF supports equitable access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene services while strengthening the resilience, governance and operational capacity of local WASH systems.

Context

Ukraine’s water, sanitation and hygiene sector has sustained severe damage as a result of the ongoing war. Ageing and damaged infrastructure has left millions of people, including children, without access to safely managed water services.

Since the escalation of hostilities in 2022, UNICEF has significantly expanded its WASH response through six field offices across Ukraine. The programme combines emergency repairs and critical supplies with longer-term recovery, infrastructure rehabilitation, institutional capacity development and systemic resilience.

This assignment supports two complementary areas within UNICEF Ukraine’s WASH programme: recovery programme implementation and monitoring and evaluation. The WASH Recovery Officer will coordinate implementation across field offices, track recovery results, support grant management and donor reporting, and strengthen programme monitoring systems and evidence generation.

Key responsibilities

1) Recovery programming and field office coordination

• Support coordination of WASH recovery activities across UNICEF field offices in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Lviv, Odesa and Poltava.
• Ensure implementation is aligned with project documents, workplans, targets and programme standards.
• Serve as a coordination focal point between the Kyiv WASH team and field offices, facilitating information flow and helping address implementation bottlenecks.
• Track progress of recovery interventions against agreed timelines and targets.
• Support workplan reviews, field visit planning and adjustments to implementation strategies.
• Identify and document programme risks and proposed mitigation measures.

2) Grant management and donor reporting

• Support management of the WASH recovery grants portfolio, including tracking timelines, deliverables, expenditures and reporting deadlines.
• Coordinate preparation of donor reports by collecting and consolidating inputs from field offices and programme colleagues.
• Ensure reporting is accurate, timely and compliant with donor requirements.
• Assist in developing funding proposals, concept notes and project documents for WASH recovery interventions.
• Monitor grant implementation and flag potential underspending, delays or non-compliance.
• Maintain organised records of donor agreements, amendments and reporting documentation in UNICEF systems.

3) Monitoring, evaluation and results management

• Manage the 5Ws database, including partner submissions, data consolidation, validation and analysis.
• Ensure monthly reporting through ActivityInfo in line with Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan requirements.
• Support maintenance of project databases, datasets, dashboards and assessment records.
• Prepare weekly updates for WASH Cluster technical cells on newly established partnerships.
• Support Third-Party Monitoring exercises, including development of data collection tools and tracking of follow-up actions.
• Monitor key performance indicators such as programme visit completion, implementation of action points and partnership agreement status.
• Maintain the WASH programme monitoring template and present current data through clear and accessible visualisations.

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Water Supply and Sanitation, Environmental or Civil Engineering, WASH Recovery and Development, or a related field.
• Experience: Minimum 3 years of relevant professional experience.
• Languages: Ukrainian – Fluent; English – Fluent.
• Eligibility: Candidate must be a Ukrainian, legal resident or hold refugee status in Ukraine.

Essential skills

• Experience or academic background in environmental science, engineering, water resource management, climate change, sustainable development, social sciences or a related discipline.
• Experience in programme management, monitoring, reporting or related work in humanitarian or development contexts.
• Familiarity with WASH programming, including infrastructure rehabilitation, support to water utilities and humanitarian WASH interventions.
• Strong analytical and writing skills, with the ability to compile, synthesise and present programme data clearly.
• Excellent organisational skills and ability to manage multiple workstreams, deadlines and field-level coordination processes.
• Strong drafting, reporting and document management skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work collaboratively across teams, locations and partner organisations.
• Solid computer literacy, including Microsoft Office and database management.
• Ability to work independently under tight deadlines in a challenging operational environment.
• Sound security awareness.

Desirable skills

• Familiarity with UNICEF programming approaches, the humanitarian-development nexus and conflict-sensitive programming.
• Previous experience with the UN or another international development organisation.
• Experience with ActivityInfo, monitoring dashboards, 5Ws databases or similar humanitarian information management tools.

Allowances

• Volunteer Living Allowance: USD 1,717 per month, paid in UAH equivalent and including the applicable Well-Being Differential.
• Entry lump sum: USD 350 as a one-time payment.

Medical and life insurance

• Medical insurance: UNV-provided coverage for the UN Volunteer and eligible dependants, where applicable, for the duration of the assignment.
• Life insurance: Coverage for the full assignment period.

Leave entitlements

• Annual leave: 2.5 days per completed month of assignment.
• Learning leave: Up to 10 working days per 12 months, subject to approval.
• Certified sick leave: Up to 30 days per 12-month cycle.
• Uncertified sick leave: 7 working days per calendar year.