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 Resilience

Join UNICEF’s Global Programme Division (GPD) and help shape the future of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) for children and communities worldwide. Based in Nairobi within the High Impact Solutions Team of the Global WASH Practice, this role contributes to UNICEF’s mission of advancing the rights of every child and accelerating equitable access to safely managed and climate-resilient WASH services. GPD provides global strategic leadership, policy direction, technical expertise, and high-impact solutions that support country implementation and drive programme excellence across UNICEF. As part of UNICEF’s Centres of Excellence model, the team delivers specialized, demand-driven technical assistance to Country and Regional Offices, governments, and partners to strengthen policies, systems, institutions, financing, and service delivery at scale.

Water, sanitation and hygiene are central to UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2026–2029 and play a critical role in improving children's health, dignity, safety, and future development. Despite global progress, sanitation remains one of the most challenging Sustainable Development Goal targets, requiring stronger systems, increased investment, innovation, and climate-resilient approaches. The High Impact Solutions Team works with governments and partners to accelerate sector reform, strengthen governance and financing, mobilize resources, advance innovation, and scale sustainable solutions in both development and humanitarian settings. Through this work, UNICEF helps ensure that children, women, and vulnerable populations benefit from resilient, equitable, and inclusive WASH services that leave no one behind.

How can you make a difference?

As Senior Adviser WASH (Sanitation), you will provide strategic leadership and technical assistance to governments and UNICEF Country Offices to accelerate progress toward safely managed sanitation services at scale. You will help strengthen sanitation systems, institutions, governance, financing, and service delivery, while ensuring that climate-resilient sanitation approaches are integrated into WASH programming. Through technical guidance, policy support, innovation, evidence generation, and partnership building, you will contribute to expanding sustainable access to sanitation services for the most vulnerable children and families in both development and humanitarian contexts.

You will support governments to design and scale effective sanitation solutions, strengthen sector planning and financing, advance institutional reforms, promote digital innovations, and ensure equitable access for children, women, persons with disabilities, and communities affected by fragility and conflict. In addition, you will lead advocacy efforts, foster strategic partnerships, support emergency preparedness and response, and provide technical support to UNICEF Country Offices, helping translate global commitments into tangible results that accelerate progress toward UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2026–2029 and the Sustainable Development Goals.

By leveraging evidence, innovation, and high-level partnerships, you will help mobilize resources, strengthen national WASH systems, and advance resilient, inclusive, and sustainable sanitation services that leave no one behind.

Join UNICEF’s Global WASH Practice and play a leadership role in advancing safely managed, climate-resilient sanitation services for children and communities worldwide. As Senior Adviser WASH (Sanitation), you will provide strategic guidance and technical assistance to governments and UNICEF Country Offices to strengthen sanitation systems, mobilize financing, and accelerate results at scale in both development and humanitarian settings. The role also contributes to advocacy, partnerships, resource mobilization, emergency preparedness, and knowledge generation, while promoting climate resilience, inclusion, gender equality, and disability inclusion across WASH programming. Through technical leadership, innovation, and collaboration, you will help drive sustainable and equitable WASH outcomes that support UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2026–2029 and leave no one behind You will lead efforts in

At-scale sanitation system design
Sanitation system planning and readiness assessment
Quality improvement through digital solutions
Equitable access to safely managed sanitation
Act as Country Office Focal Point Support

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Download File Senior Adviser WASH_Job description.pdf

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

Minimum requirements

Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in civil or environmental engineering, natural or social sciences,environmental or public health, water resource management, or another relevant technical fieldl engineering, environmental science, water resources management and any other related fields.
A Bachelor or equivalent (First Level University Degree) in a relevant area combined with 2 additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
Work Experience: A minimum of 10 years of working experience in national and international organizations infinancing, project management, consulting, technical assistance, research in Water, Sanitation andHygiene (WASH) or closely related areas
Skills: Ability to conceptualize, plan and execute ideas
- Ability to manage projects
- Ability to work effectively in teams
- Excellent organizational skills
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Excellent communication skills
- Strategic thinking skills
- Global thinking skills
- Analyitical skills
Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

Desirables

Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language
Experience implementing complex/large-scale development/humanitarian WASH projects indeveloping countries
Experience supporting WASH governance and system strengthening for both urban and rural areas
Experience implementing WASH projects/programmes in different country contexts, including lower income countries
Experience developing high level partnerships and advocacy, and representation at global/regional level
Experience in/knowledge of the United Nations system
In-dept understanding and relevant experience of UNICEF initiatives and programming
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

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
(8) Nurtures, leads and manages people

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, discrimination, fraud, corruption and other forms of serious misconduct.

UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference, safeguarding and background verification checks. These checks may include verification of academic credentials and employment history, screening against relevant United Nations misconduct databases, and requests for misconduct disclosures from current and former employers, professional associations, other relevant organizations and participating organizations under inter-agency safeguarding initiatives, including the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (MDS), where applicable.

Appointment, selection and continued engagement are subject to the satisfactory completion of all required checks. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information and consent to enable UNICEF to undertake these checks.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 are conditional on the selected candidates' willingness to comply with current or future vaccination requirements, should UNICEF mandate it for personnel. Failure to comply with such requirements, where applicable and without a duly approved medical exemption from the relevant UN authority, will result in the cancellation of the selection or may lead to other administrative measures, including separation from service.

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 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.

In this role, you will collaborate with colleagues across multiple locations. For effective collaboration, we encourage flexible working hours that accommodate different time zones while prioritizing staff wellbeing.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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.

Senior Adviser WASH (Sanitation) (P-5), Fixed Term, #00133992, Global Programme Division, WASH, Nairobi - Kenya.