Water and Sanitation Engineer

The UNOPS Africa Regional Office, based in Nairobi, Kenya, oversees the delivery of over 250 projects across 40 countries, with a focus on fragile and conflict-affected settings. Supported by more than 1,000 personnel across five multi-country offices—spanning North, West, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa, and the Horn of Africa—the office advances national priorities through strategic initiatives in Climate Action, Health, Infrastructure, Peace and Security, Middle-Income Country Support, and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The Regional Office provides strategic leadership, operational support, and oversight in key areas including Partnerships, Communications, Management and Oversight, Infrastructure and Project Management, Health and Safety, and Security. By promoting excellence in project delivery, fostering knowledge sharing, and driving continuous improvement, the office contributes to sustainable infrastructure, transparent resource management, and a better quality of life for communities across the continent.

Based in Addis Ababa, the Horn of Africa Multi-Country Office (HAMCO) delivers project management, procurement, and infrastructure services across Djibouti, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Sudan, with a primary focus on health, agriculture, and economic development. Established in 2009, HAMCO partners with governments and development stakeholders to implement impactful, results-driven initiatives that contribute to sustainable development. Since 2024, new projects have been aimed at expanding access to healthcare, education, energy, and livelihoods, particularly in underserved and conflict-affected regions. HAMCO also provides human resource management services, supporting the effective implementation of development initiatives. Key efforts include equipping research facilities, strengthening education and health systems, building vaccine research capacity, and enhancing resilience in communities affected by crisis. Through these interventions, HAMCO contributes to inclusive growth, regional stability, and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the Horn of Africa.

Reporting to the Senior Project Manager, the Water and Sanitation Engineer operates within a dynamic project environment, focusing on water supply, sanitation, and fire-fighting systems across multiple regions. The role is essential to ensuring the quality, resilience, and sustainability of infrastructure projects, requiring frequent travel to project sites and collaboration with multidisciplinary teams. The Water and Sanitation Engineer will contribute to improved public health, safety, and resilience of communities by providing reliable access to water, sanitation, and emergency fire-fighting services.

The Water and Sanitation Engineer will provide professional water supply, sanitary engineering, and fire-fighting services, including planning, design, quality control, and reviews within the building design scope, ensuring full compliance with national building codes, environmental regulations, and international standards.

1. Site Assessment

• Conduct technical assessment of infrastructure projects as an input for the design interventions.
• Determine the ground condition in relation to water supply, sanitation, and fire-fighting systems in project location.
• Prepare checklists, undertake desk reviews, field surveys, and consultations to gather baseline data
• Identify critical gaps, risks, and opportunities for integrating resilience, sustainability, and compliance with national and international standards.
• Prepare comprehensive assessment reports.

2. Design Works

• Develop comprehensive engineering designs for sanitary systems, water supply systems, including plumbing networks, fixtures, wells, tube wells (borehole), and rainwater recharge wells.
• Design reliable and sustainable water supply systems, including distribution networks, pumping facilities, storage reservoirs, and treatment solutions, ensuring compliance with national standards and climate-resilient practices.
• Prepare hydraulic calculations and flow diagrams.
• Design sanitation systems covering wastewater plumbing, sewer lines, toilet fixtures, septic tanks, soak pits, reed basins, and runoff drainage systems.
• Prepare designs for fire-fighting systems, incorporating plumbing, pumps, power backup connections, alarms, and portable fire extinguishers.
• Produce detailed drawings, specifications, and technical documents, ensuring integration with other engineering disciplines and alignment with disaster risk resilience standards.
• Prepare cost estimates and bills of quantities (BoQ) based on approved district rates and updated market surveys.
• Ensure that all designs, specifications, and supervision activities comply with recognized national and international standards and guidelines, including Ethiopian Standards (ES/EN), Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA), UNOPS Guidelines, WHO Guidelines for Water, Sanitation and Health, ISO standards, and FIDIC conditions of contract, as well as other relevant codes of practice local or international for water supply, sanitation, and fire-fighting systems.

3. Construction Supervision and Quality Control

• Assist in the procurement process, including the review of suppliers, materials, and installation practices for compliance with specifications.
• Support the Infrastructure Unit in overseeing and monitoring contractors’ work plans and progress to ensure timely and effective implementation of works.
• Conduct quality control inspections during construction and the defects liability period for water supply, sanitation, and fire-fighting systems.
• Provide technical troubleshooting and on-site engineering support to address construction challenges.
• Support quantity surveying and field progress measurement, preparing periodic supervision and compliance reports.

4. Leadership, Coordination, and Stakeholder Engagement

• Collaborate with multidisciplinary design teams to ensure coherent integration of sanitary systems with structural, architectural, and electrical components.
• Support the Infrastructure Unit while coordinating with Regional  Water Supply and Sanitation officials during inspection and to ensure smooth connection of new systems with city networks.
• Facilitate stakeholder consultations and technical discussions to ensure alignment of project deliverables with community needs and regulatory requirements.
• Guide contractors, consultants, and site teams to ensure professional standards are maintained throughout the project lifecycle.

5. Knowledge Management and Capacity Building

• Develop standard specifications, manuals, and technical guidelines for the selection and use of pipes, fixtures, and appliances.
• Document and disseminate lessons learned, case studies, and best practices in sanitation engineering and fire safety systems.
• Build capacity of local contractors, engineers, and stakeholders through technical training and mentoring.
• Ensure effective knowledge transfer and institutional strengthening to promote sustainability of water supply, sanitation, and fire-fighting systems beyond project implementation.

Required

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Water Resources Engineering, Civil Engineering, Sanitary Engineering, or a related field.

Desired

• Master's degree in Water Resources Engineering, Civil Engineering, Sanitary Engineering, or a related field.

• Practicing Professional Sanitary/Water Engineering certification is required.

Required

• Minimum of 4 years of relevant experience water supply, sanitation, and fire-fighting systems design and construction supervision

Desired

• Experience working in international development projects.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• Please note that UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 
• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities. 
• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.