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 Results

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF Rwanda operates in a development-oriented and highly coordinated institutional context, characterized by strong government leadership and notable socio-economic progress, alongside persistent disparities affecting children’s well-being. While Rwanda has made significant gains in health, education, and governance, key challenges remain, including child malnutrition, inequities in access to safe water and sanitation, and vulnerabilities linked to climate shocks and population pressures.

Within this context, UNICEF’s Rwanda Country Office works closely with government institutions and partners to strengthen national systems and deliver sustainable, large-scale results. The current country programme focuses on realizing the rights of every child, with strategic priorities spanning child health and nutrition, education, child protection, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and social policy, all delivered through integrated, equity-focused approaches.

As Chief WASH, your role is central to advancing UNICEF Rwanda’s objectives related to equitable access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services, which are critical to child survival, health, dignity, and educational outcomes. The WASH section leads the design and implementation of programmes that strengthen national and decentralized systems, improve service delivery in communities, schools, and health facilities, and enhance resilience to climate related risks. It also provides strategic and technical leadership in policy development, sector coordination, and partnerships with government and development actors. Through these functions, the WASH section directly contributes to reducing disease burden, supporting nutrition and education outcomes, and improving overall child well-being, while also enabling cross-sectoral impact across UNICEF’s broader programme priorities.

As Chief WASH (CEED), you will report to the Deputy Representative for general guidance and direction. You will be responsible for managing and supervising all stages of the WASH & CEED programme from strategic planning and formulation to the delivery of the WASH & CEED outcome and output results. You will also be responsible for leading and managing the Country Office WASH & CEED team. In this role, you are accountable for ensuring that the WASH & CEED outcome and output results are achieved according to plans, allocations, results based-management approaches and methodology, UNICEF’s Strategic Plan, standards of performance and accountability framework.

Join our team and support the implementation of the following key functions/accountabilities:

Managerial leadership
Programme development and planning
Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results
Advisory services and technical support
Advocacy, networking and partnership building
Humanitarian WASH & CEED preparedness and response
Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Download File Classified Job Descriptions - Chief WASH-P-4.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in one of the following fields is required: public health, engineering, climate and environment or another relevant technical field.
Additional relevant post-graduate courses that complement/supplement the main degree are required.
Work Experience:
Developmental: A minimum of 8 years of professional experience in WASH-related programmes for developing countries is required.
One year of deployment in a developing country is required.
Proven ability to effectively lead a team to deliver results is required.
Humanitarian: At least one year of work in humanitarian situations, including one three-month mission deployment (with UN-Govt-INGO) is required.
Skills: Rural water supply for low- and middle-income countries - including water safety, sustainability, applying CATS principles. Proven ability to effectively lead a team to deliver results. Humanitarian WASH – preparedness, response and recovery. Urban sanitation for low- and middle-income countries, including sustainability. WASH-in-Schools and Health Centres. Analysis of national budgets and expenditure for basic WASH, and related advocacy CEED programming.
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 is an asset.
Additional direct experience with UNICEF CEED programming is strongly preferred.
Knowledge of climate and environmental conventions and associated policies is an asset.
Human rights and WASH. Gender equality and WASH. WASH-in-Schools and Health Centres. Handwashing with soap. Menstrual hygiene management. National government WASH policies, plans and strategies.
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 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, we particularly welcome applications from individuals who can bring fresh perspectives and innovative ideas to our team.

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.

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.

Chief WASH (Climate Change, Environment, Energy and Disaster Risk Reduction, CEED), P-4, FT, #00052394, Kigali, Rwanda - ESAR