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, a resilient future for children

UNICEF has been an active partner of the Government of the Philippines and civil society in realizing the rights of every Filipino child, in line with priorities to achieve the SDGs. UNICEF efforts have been focused on the most vulnerable regions identified by the Government of the Philippines Development Plan, particularly in the regions of Visayas and Mindanao. To ensure that interventions are sustainable and scaled up, UNICEF will support both the national and local government units (LGUs) as the main instruments of delivering services and building systems. The level of engagement with government institutions will consider capacities, economies of scale and sector issues.

UNICEF Philippines has two offices. One office is based in Manila and a field office in Cotabato City, the second largest city in Mindanao, Southern Philippines, with some 300,000 population. The city is the regional administrative center of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and over 80 percent of the population is Muslim. Mindanao is both conflict-affected and prone to frequent earthquakes and typhoons.

Visit this link for more information on Philippine Country Office: https://www.unicef.org/philippines/

How can you make a difference? 

Under the supervision of WASH Specialist, the consultant will provide specialized technical services and independent quality assurance to support UNICEF’s WASH Thematic Funding initiative on the solarization of key WASH facilities in Tawi-Tawi Province, BARMM. The consultancy will focus on ensuring the technical integrity, safety, and sustainability of the hybrid solar PV system installation for the desalination plant in Barangay Sikullis, Municipality of Languyan.

Working in close coordination with UNICEF, the contracted solar firm, MENRE, Provincial and Municipal LGUs, and relevant community stakeholders, the consultant will serve as an independent technical authority to review, oversee, and validate all phases of the project from design and procurement to installation, commissioning and sustainability planning.

The consultant will provide high-level technical oversight, ensuring that all designs, materials, installations, and operational plans comply with national regulations, MENRE standards, international engineering best practices, and UNICEF’s renewable energy and WASH technical guidelines.

The consultant will undertake and deliver the following:

1. Technical Inception and Implementation Planning

• Conduct a thorough technical inception review of the project documentation, including site assessments, initial engineering concepts, and implementation timelines, to identify potential technical gaps, risks, or context-specific considerations (e.g., logistics in remote island settings, seasonal variations, security constraints).
• Advise UNICEF, Supply firm and LGU counterparts on technical sequencing, quality control milestones, and risk mitigation measures, ensuring that roles and responsibilities among stakeholders are clear for efficient technical oversight.
• Provide technical advice and establish coordination mechanisms to ensure timely design, validation, issue resolution, and decision-making during implementation by UNICEF.

2. Design and Procurement Technical Oversight

• Review and technically clear the firm’s site-assessment reports, energy load profiles, detailed engineering designs, and Bills of Quantities (BoQs), ensuring compliance with UNICEF technical standards, MENRE regulatory requirements, and international engineering best practices.
• Validate technical specifications and procurement plans, confirming that proposed technologies, materials, and equipment meet required performance, safety, and durability standards appropriate for fragile and remote island contexts.
• Provide independent recommendations on cost-effectiveness, system sizing, component compatibility, and overall technical adequacy prior to procurement.

2. Installation and Commissioning Quality Assurance

• Conduct regular site monitoring visits and/or periodic technical presence during installation to verify that construction and integration of the hybrid solar PV system strictly adhere to approved technical designs, electrical and structural safety standards, and environmental safeguards.
• Assess the quality of workmanship, system configuration, protection mechanisms, and integration with existing desalination and water infrastructure.
• Produce technical quality assurance reports detailing compliance status, deviations, risks, and recommended corrective measures, and validate remedial actions before system commissioning.
• Witness and review commissioning tests, verifying performance parameters against design benchmarks and certifying readiness for handover.

3. Capacity Building and Technical Training Validation

• Review and technically validate all training curricula, illustrated job aids, O&M manuals, and troubleshooting guides developed by the firm to ensure accuracy, completeness, and contextual appropriateness.
• Oversee and technically evaluate the practical training of at least 15 youth and 5 LGU personnel, ensuring trainees acquire operational, maintenance, and troubleshooting skills that support long-term system sustainability.
• Recommend improvements to training approaches to align with international renewable energy maintenance standards and local capacity realities.

4. Sustainability Planning and Policy Support

• Provide technical advice to LGUs and MENRE on the integration of renewable-energy O&M plans, budget allocations, spare-parts strategies, and e-waste management measures into local development and investment plans.
• Contribute to policy and advocacy inputs that strengthen climate-resilient WASH services and renewable energy integration in local planning frameworks.

5. Technical Documentation and Assurance Reporting

• Lead the systematic and technically rigorous documentation of design reviews processes, site assessments outcomes, validation decisions, and quality assurance findings, ensuring transparency and alignment with engineering standards and programmatic objectives.
• Submit monthly technical progress reports and a comprehensive final technical report that includes engineering reviews, site inspection findings, photos, system performance data, and verification of compliance with UNICEF and national standards.
• Ensure that all reporting emphasizes technical assurance and validation

6. Risk Monitoring and Adaptive Technical Management

• Implement a dynamic technical monitoring plan, adjusting the frequency and intensity of site visits based on identified risk levels (e.g., geographic isolation, security, climatic hazards).
• Continuously assess technical, logistical, and environmental risks, advising UNICEF and partners on adaptive measures to maintain quality, timeliness, and cost efficiency.
• Provide early warning on issues that may compromise technical integrity or sustainability and recommend evidence-based solutions.

Tasks and Deliverables:
Technical Inception and Implementation Planning

• Technical Inception Review Report submitted, summarizing: Findings from the review of project documentation (site assessments, baseline data, engineering concepts, timelines, Pre-Installation Technical Validation Report).
• Identified technical gaps, risks, and context-specific considerations (e.g., logistical constraints, seasonal variations, security/access issues).
• Initial recommendations for technical sequencing, quality assurance milestones, and risk mitigation measures.
• Approved Technical Oversight and Monitoring Plan, Mechanisms for coordination focused on technical validation and decision-making, not administrative follow-up.

Design and Procurement Oversight

• Reviewed and cleared the firm’s site-assessment reports, load profiles, engineering designs, and Bills of Quantities (BoQs).
• Validated procurement plan, technical specifications, and cost estimates, ensuring transparency and cost efficiency.
• One RHU identified and prepared for enhanced service delivery from the solar PV installation.

Installation and Commissioning Quality Assurance

• Monitoring and qualityassurance reports verifying the installation, integration, and testing of the hybrid solar PV system.
• With UNICEF WASH CER specialist, Provincial and Municipal LGUs, MENRE certify that the desalination facility and RHU/health stations are fully functional and meet approved safety and environmental standards.

Capacity Building and Training Validation

•    Approved training design, curricula, and illustrated job aids prepared by the firm.

•    Monitoring reports confirming that at least 15 youth and 5 LGU staff were trained and certified in solar PV operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting

Sustainability and Policy Support

• Evidence that at least one province and one municipality have incorporated renewable energy allocations in their Annual Investment and Operational Plans (AIP/AOP).
• Policy and advocacy inputs to strengthen climate-resilient WASH servicesAdvocacy and Social Behaviour Change (SBC)

Advocacy and Social Behaviour Change (SBC)

• Approved climate-resilient WASH advocacy plan and SBC toolkit supporting WASH-CER awareness and behaviour change.

Monitoring and Adaptive Management

• Provided technical inputs and briefings during  UNICEF quarterly programmatic visits on four quarterly field monitoring missions completed and documented, with risk assessments and corrective actions where needed.

Governance, Documentation, and Reporting

• Regular Progress Reporting
• Immediate brief updates after every key milestone (e.g., completion of site assessment, procurement clearance, installation phase, each training session).
• Ad-hoc alerts issued whenever significant technical risks, safety issues, or deviations are identified.
• Submission of monthly technical report should summarize technical progress, quality-assurance findings, risks, corrective actions, and next steps.
• Comprehensive final report with photographic documentation, confirming
• that the project meets all UNICEF standards and donor requirements.

*Detailed Terms of Reference may be requested.  

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education:
  • Advanced degree in renewable energy, electrical engineering, or a closely related field
• Work Experience: 

  • At least five years of progressively responsible experience in renewable energy particularly solar solutions for WASH, health, or community infrastructure and in climate-resilient WASH and disaster-risk-reduction (DRR) programming.

• Skills:
  

  • Excellent technical reporting and stakeholder advisory skills with the ability to work effectively with government agencies, local communities, and multi-disciplinary technical teams.

• Language Requirements: 
  • Proficiency in English is required; ability to communicate in local dialects such as Sama-Badjao or Tausug is highly desirable to ensure effective engagement with community stakeholders.

• Desirables:
  
  • Certification or formal training in solar PV system design and quality assurance as desirable.

HOW TO APPLY

Qualified candidates are requested to complete an online candidate profile in http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/ by 1 December 2025. Only applications sent through the e-recruitment portal under Job Number: 586055 will be considered.

All candidates are requested to submit a COVER LETTER, and the duly filled P11 Form which can be downloaded from our website at P11 Form.docx (sharepoint.com) indicating three (3) previous supervisors. Please indicate your professional fees and the soonest availability to take on the post based on the above terms of reference.

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.

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.

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…

(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 

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 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.

Remarks: 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. The candidate may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid).