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. 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 personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

In the West and Central Africa Region (WCAR), more than ever, UNICEF is faced with a broad range of emergency crises differing in scale, complexity and international consequences.

Visit our website to learn more about UNICEF WCAR.

For every child, safety!

The Cholera, Ebola, Marburg, Monkeypox, and Hepatitis E are 5 public health issues that regularly affect West and Central Africa Region (WCAR) with an endemic trend in some areas. The West and Central African Region (WCAR) is one of the most cholera affected worldwide. In fact, between 2000 and 2015, 83% of reported deaths from cholera was in sub-Sahara areas (Lessler et al., 2018). During 2018, 112,730 cases including 2,345 deaths (CFR =2.1%) have been reported in 15 countries in African region, of which 71% of cases and 80% of deaths were from five countries of WCAR: Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, and Ghana (4th meeting of GTFCC, 2021).

In 2021, the West and Central Africa region (WCAR) experienced its largest cholera epidemic in the last 6 years, with a total of 131,019 suspected cases and 4,006 reported deaths (case-fatality rate 3.1%) in 10 countries. In 2023, WCAR reported 63,496 cholera cases and 803 deaths (CFR 1,3%) in 8 countries. As of 31 Jully 2024, a cumulative total of 26 412 cholera suspected cases, including 387 deaths (CFR: 1.5%), have been reported in 6 countries in WCA region (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Benin, Liberia and Togo).

WCAR is also at risk of Ebola, Marburg, and Hepatitis E outbreaks. From 1976 to 2022 the Democratic Republic of the Congo registered 11 Ebola outbreaks with more than 4,389 cases and 2,979 deaths (CFR 68%). From 2014 to 2016 the first Ebola outbreak in West Africa (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone) ended with more than 28,600 cases and 11,325 deaths (CFR 40%). In 2021, Guinea also registered its 2nd outbreak of the Ebola virus disease with 23 cases, 12 deaths (CFR: 52%). In 2023, Equatorial Guinea also registered its 1rst outbreak of the Marburg virus disease with 17 confirmed cases, 12 deaths (CFR: 71%).  Other Marburg virus diseases were reported in Ghana in 2022 with 3 cases and 2 deaths and Guinea in 2021 with 1 case and 1 death. Hepatitis E epidemics are also increasingly common in the WCAR affecting particularly pregnant women. The most affected countries are Burkina (2019-2021), with 1320 cases and 25 deaths reported in 13 health regions; Niger (2017-2018) with 2,431 cases and 39 deaths reported in Diffa IDP sites and Chad (2016-2017-2024) reported 1,910 cases with 23 deaths.

Furthermore, WCAR is facing several humanitarian crises in the central Sahel (Burkina, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger), Eastern Chad, Northeastern Nigeria, Southwestern Cameroon, Central African Republic and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, with millions of displaced people or refugees in camps and host communities, resulting in major needs in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector.

Faced with these multiple public health and emergency challenges, the regional office of UNICEF in WCAR is looking to create a pool of experienced WASH-IPC experts for surge and emergency deployments, to increase the preparedness, prevention and response capacities of its country offices and governments.

Suitable candidates will be included in UNICEF WCAR Roster, which is a list of pre-vetted profiles, highly qualified professionals intended for fast-track recruitment as positions become available. After a rigorous selection process, including assessment center, successful candidates will be placed in relevant roster and may be contacted by hiring offices for job opportunities across the region.

How can you make a difference? 

Under the supervision of the Emergency Coordinator, the overall guidance of the Head of UNICEF Country office, the incumbent has the front-line responsibility for the coordination of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), as well as Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) preparedness and response in communities and institutions. This involves ongoing contacts with a broad range of UNICEF staff and responders as well as a broad range of official from the national authorities, to provide expertise and authoritative advice on priority actions to be taken. The incumbent contributes to designing and implementing WASH-IPC plans of action pertaining to the incident management, including identifying needs, resources, and gaps, negotiating access to common logistics facilities at country level. He/she will work closely with counterparts (health, SBC, emergency, supply) at the national and regional offices level, and other partners (WHO, OCHA, UNHCR, ONGs, etc…).

The mission of UNICEF’s WASH-IPC Specialist is to help countries to coordinate WASH-IPC pilar activities, to prevent, prepare for, rapidly respond to, and recover from public health and emergencies (Ebola, Cholera, Hepatitis E, Monkeypox, Marburg, floods, etc…).

 Key functions/accountabilities:

1. Provide WASH, including waste management, and Infection Prevention Control (IPC) emergency rapid assessment expertise in priority communities and health care facilities in affected or hight risk areas in the country.
2. Evaluate gaps and needs and propose remedial actions to ensure minimum standards are respected in terms of WASH, IPC, and Water Quality.
3. Provide on-site technical support/guidance and tools to improve the IPC practices and prevent transmission of infections.
4. Ensure applicability and appropriate implementation of recommended WASH and IPC activities in communities and health facilities supported by UNICEF CO.
5. Implement a monitoring system of UNICEF’s WASH-IPC activities in the concerned communities and health facilities in coordination with health and WASH partners.
6. Advise, and when required provide onsite support to the WASH partners and WASH Cluster.
7. In collaboration with partners (UN agencies, NGOs) and local authorities, support the implementation of community response activities.
8. Proactively participate to the WASH Cluster or WASH-IPC activities and provide selected guidance.
9. Strengthen capacity building for the WASH and IPC WHO country office team.
10. Support collaboration with other technical working groups/pilar including logistic, risk communications and community engagement (RCCE) and case management as part to the integrated health and emergency response.
11. Where necessary, lead the WASH-IPC training for concerned partners to build up local competences and ease the implementation of activities.
12. Proactively interact with the WASH-IPC experts at UNICEF (CO, RO), and health authorities for the follow-up and support.
13. Perform any other works required by the functional supervisor.

Functional Knowledge and Skills

The technical competencies required for this post suit for WASH programming with a good experience in epidemiology especially IPC. This includes:

• Demonstrated knowledge of public health emergency preparedness and response in the field WASH and IPC, with proven ability to identify and solve technical problems in difficult circumstances.
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills, with proven ability to elaborate and implement projects.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to promote cohesive action and convince officials with tact and diplomacy.
• Knowledge of UNICEF, the UN system or a nongovernmental organization (NGO) work in the field of response relief and/or of their practices and procedures as related to the work.

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

• Education: Advanced university degree (Master’s level or above) in water and sanitation engineering, public health, environmental sciences, social sciences,  or other related field from an accredited/recognized institute.
• Experience: At least eight (8) years of relevant experience, at the national and international levels, in the design and implementation of water and sanitation assessment and/or the design and management of related projects in emergency situations. Experience in the infection prevention and control design and implementation in Ebola, Cholera, Marburg, or Monkeypox outbreak response. Experience in developing and promoting collaborative actions with national authorities.
• Experience or a sound knowledge of UNICEF mandate and goals or in UN organizations/ agencies, WASH-IPC cluster/pilar partners, recognized humanitarian organizations, international institutions, or NGOs. Experience in emergencies whereby UN organizations/agencies operate in protracted emergencies.

• Language Requirements: Fluency in English language is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset. For some positions, fluency in French or Spanish or Portuguese is required.

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…

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (1)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates are encouraged to apply.

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. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background 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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID).

Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government 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 personnel on Fixed-Term, Temporary appointments, Continuing or Permanent Contracts who are interested to be part of the WCAR roster should apply throught Frontlines.