Wash Officer

Host entity: UNICEF Papua New Guinea

Volunteer type: National

Areas of expertise: Water, sanitation, waste, Engineering, construction, Community development

Application deadline: 04/09/2026

Mission and objectives

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias, or favouritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic, and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries.
Therefore, the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

Assignment context

UNICEF Papua New Guinea supports the Government of Papua New Guinea in improving equitable, sustainable, and climate-resilient WASH services for children and communities. The WASH programme focuses on strengthening systems, improving service delivery, enhancing monitoring and accountability, and expanding access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services.

The National UN Volunteer WASH Officer will support implementation and monitoring of WASH programmes through engineering oversight, construction monitoring, programme monitoring, information management, data analysis, visualization, and reporting. The position will contribute to strengthening evidence-based decision-making and programme performance across UNICEF-supported WASH interventions.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for UN Volunteers with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process and afterwards in your assignment.

Task description

Under the direct supervision of WASH Specialist, the National UN Volunteer (WASH Officer) will undertake the following tasks:

Engineering and Technical Support
• Provide technical support on WASH engineering design, planning, implementation, and quality assurance.
• Review technical drawings, bills of quantities, technical specifications, and engineering documentation.
• Support government counterparts and implementing partners in applying national standards and UNICEF technical requirements.
• Provide technical inputs to rural and urban water supply, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure projects.

Construction Monitoring
• Monitor implementation of WASH infrastructure projects to ensure quality, timeliness, compliance, and value for money.
• Conduct field visits to project sites and document progress against plans and targets.
• Verify construction quality, adherence to specifications, and completion of works.
• Support identification and resolution of implementation bottlenecks and technical challenges.
• Prepare construction monitoring reports and recommendations.

Programme Monitoring
• Support implementation and monitoring of UNICEF WASH programme activities and annual work plans.
• Track progress against programme indicators, milestones, and targets.
• Support field monitoring missions, partner reviews, and programme verification activities.
• Assist in documenting lessons learned, challenges, innovations, and good practices.

Information Management
• Support management and organization of WASH programme information, documentation, and records.
• Maintain programme databases, project trackers, monitoring tools, and information repositories.
• Ensure data quality, consistency, completeness, and accessibility.
• Support knowledge management and information-sharing initiatives.

Data Management and Visualization
• Compile, clean, validate, and analyze programme and sector data.
• Develop dashboards, maps, visualizations, infographics, and analytical products to support decision-making.
• Support monitoring of WASH indicators and generation of evidence for programme planning.
• Assist in maintaining data management systems and reporting platforms.

Monitoring and Reporting
• Support preparation of donor reports, programme reports, situation updates, presentations, and briefing materials.
• Compile information from field offices, implementing partners, and government counterparts.
• Contribute to annual reports, progress updates, monitoring reports, and management reviews.
• Support timely reporting of programme achievements, challenges, risks, and lessons learned.


UN Volunteer Contribution
• Promote volunteerism and contribute to capacity strengthening, knowledge sharing, and collaborative partnerships within the programme.
• Contribute to UNICEF's commitment to equity, inclusion, child rights, gender equality, and accountability to affected populations.

Skills and experience

Minimum 3 years of relevant professional experience in WASH, engineering, construction supervision, programme monitoring, information management, data analysis, reporting, or related areas.

Other desired/mandatory required technical knowledge
Experience in construction monitoring and infrastructure project implementation is desirable.
Experience with data analysis, dashboard development, GIS, Power BI, Excel, Kobo, or similar tools is an asset.
Experience working with government institutions, NGOs, development partners, or UN agencies is desirable.
Strong report writing and analytical skills.

Competencies and values

• Accountability
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Creativity
• Working in Teams
• Client Orientation
• Analytical Thinking
• Results Orientation
• Stakeholder Engagement

Living conditions

Port Moresby is a family duty station and the administrative and commercial center of Papua New Guinea. The city offers access to housing, healthcare, banking, telecommunications, schools, and shopping facilities. The WASH Officer will undertake periodic travel to provinces and project locations where infrastructure and services may be limited. Field missions may involve challenging travel and logistics and require adherence to UN security procedures. Papua New Guinea offers a rewarding environment for development work, requiring adaptability, cultural sensitivity, and a commitment to improving outcomes for children and communities.

Full eligibility requirements, conditions of service and application instructions are available on the official UNV platform.