Mission and objectives
UNICEF is supporting health, nutrition, HIV prevention, education, access to safe drinking water, sanitation and protection for children and families caught in the conflict. UNICEF — the United Nations Children’s Fund, established in 1946 — is mandated to protect the rights of every child and operates in over 190 countries. In Ukraine, UNICEF has been present since 1997 and serves as the lead agency of the WASH Cluster, a humanitarian coordination mechanism that unites over 100 implementing partners active across 15 conflict-affected oblasts.
Context
This United Nations Volunteers (UNV) assignment is part of UNICEF Ukraine’s WASH programme, supporting the National WASH Cluster Technical Cell, which coordinates the water supply and district heating sector response across conflict-affected oblasts of Ukraine. UNICEF Ukraine's WASH programme supports emergency response, service restoration, and systems strengthening across water, sanitation, hygiene, and district heating sectors. Now in the fourth year of full-scale armed conflict, Ukraine’s water supply and district heating infrastructure face a severe crisis. Over 800 heating facilities have been destroyed or damaged since February 2022, and an estimated USD 1 billion is needed for restoration. The WASH Cluster Technical Cell works directly with vodokanals and district heating companies to monitor needs, coordinate partner support, and manage data and knowledge across the sector. Key stakeholders include vodokanals, district heating companies, local authorities, NGO/CSO implementing partners, and international financial institutions. This assignment provides direct operational and analytical support to the Technical Cell, contributing to more efficient data collection, information monitoring, and coordination with utilities. Further information: www.unicef.org/ukraine.
Task Description
Under the direct supervision of the WASH Cluster Technical Cell Lead, the UN Volunteer will: 1. Monitor open information sources (utility company websites, news portals, Telegram channels) for updates on the operational status of water supply and district heating systems, particularly during emergencies, and support timely information sharing with the cluster team; 2. Assist in the organisation and preparation of cluster meetings and coordination events, including sending invitations, supporting communication with water utilities and district heating companies, and making basic follow-up calls; 3. Assist in drafting meeting summaries and structured reports following cluster and partner meetings; 4. Search for and extract data from internal information platforms (aid.ukrvodokanal.in.ua and aid.dh.ukrvodokanal.in.ua), and collect, organise, and consolidate information received from utility companies into structured formats; 5. Work with spreadsheets (Excel/Google Sheets) to clean, structure, and organise incoming datasets; assist in preparing summary tables, basic overviews, and consolidated datasets for further analysis by the team; 6. Depending on workload and progress: support data entry and verification of surveys and questionnaires from utilities; prepare simple charts, summaries, and visual overviews; sort and organise project documents; assist in tracking communication status with partner organisations; support basic research tasks (e.g., water loss studies, infrastructure data collection); 7. Carry out any other relevant tasks as assigned by the supervisor.
Competencies and values
• Accountability • Adaptability and flexibility • Creativity • Judgement and decision-making • Planning and organising • Professionalism • Self-management
Living conditions and remarks
As it is a national UN Volunteer's assignment, the UN volunteer shall organize his/her accommodation by themselves. Entitlements of National UN Volunteer Community >> USD $687 The contract lasts for the period indicated in the vacancy with the possibility of extensions subject to availability of funding, operational necessity, and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment. This is a full-time contract. Allowances: • Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA): A Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) of USD $687 (equivalent in UAH) is provided monthly to cover housing, utilities, and normal cost of living expenses. This includes Well-Being Differentials for the period while the ICSC applies hardship classification to duty stations in Ukraine as “E”. Medical and life insurance: • Medical insurance: The UN Volunteer will receive UNV-provided medical insurance coverage. Coverage for UN Volunteers begins at the Commencement of Service and normally ceases on the last day of the UN Volunteer Contract. • Life Insurance: UN Volunteers are covered by life insurance for the duration of the UN Volunteer assignment. If a UN Volunteer dies during the UN Volunteer assignment, the eligible designated beneficiaries will be entitled to receive a life insurance lump sum. Leave entitlements: • Annual leave: UN Volunteers accrue an entitlement to 2.5 days of Annual Leave per completed month of the UN Volunteer assignment. Unused accrued Annual Leave up to a maximum of 30 days is carried over in case of a contract extension within the same UN Volunteer assignment. Unused accrued Annual Leave may not be carried over in case of reassignment or a new assignment. • Learning leave: Subject to supervisor approval and exigencies of service, UN Volunteers may request up to ten working days of Learning Leave per consecutive 12 months of the UN Volunteer assignment, starting with the Commencement of Service date, provided the Learning Leave is used within the contract period. • Certified Sick Leave: UN Volunteers are entitled to up to 30 days of certified sick leave based on a 12-month cycle. This amount is reset every 12-month cycle. • Uncertified Sick Leave: UN Volunteers receive seven days of uncertified sick leave working days in a calendar year. This amount will be reset at the established interval period.
This position is no longer open.
