UNICEF is supporting health, nutrition, HIV prevention, education, access to safe drinking water, sanitation and protection for children and families caught in the conflict.

Within its new Country Programme Document (CPD) for Ukraine, UNICEF has positioned Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) as a core outcome area to ensure that children and young
people live and develop in a safe, sustainable and resilient environment, with equitable access to affordable and safely managed WASH services. This outcome aligns with the Water Strategy of Ukraine until 2050 and supports UNICEF’s broader contribution to humanitarian response, early recovery and longer-term system strengthening in a conflict- and climate-affected context. WASH interventions underpin and enable progress across other programme areas, including health, education, child protection and social services, by safeguarding public health, dignity and environmental sustainability for children and their families.

UNICEF Ukraine’s WASH programme takes a dual humanitarian–development approach, addressing urgent needs through the provision of critical supplies, emergency repairs and essential equipment, while simultaneously supporting recovery and resilience of national and local WASH systems. Working with the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, local authorities and service providers, the programme focuses on strengthening governance, service delivery capacity and system sustainability in line with the principles of building back better and greener.

UNICEF prioritises gender-responsive, inclusive and child-friendly WASH services, promotes improved drinking water and wastewater quality from public health, energy and cost-efficiency perspectives, and advances climate-resilient and innovative technical and governance solutions. Through WASH in schools, healthcare facilities and social institutions, the programme also provides critical cross-cutting support to other programme outcomes, ensuring that children can safely access essential services even in contexts of ongoing shock and disruption.

UNICEF Ukraine is expanding its emergency WASH early recovery interventions in conflict-affected oblasts, with a particular focus on restoring essential water, heating, and sanitation services for households, health care facilities (HCFs), and schools. Through various financing and other donor modalities, UNICEF supports municipal water and heating utilities (Vodokanals and District Heating Companies), hromadas, and essential public service providers to implement rapid repairs, critical infrastructure upgrades, and scalable models for resilient service delivery.

To strengthen technical oversight, improve data quality, and enhance field-level progress verification (PV), UNICEF seeks a Senior WASH Field Engineer to lead site assessments and develop projects with partners, monitor works, generate high-quality Programmatic Visits (PV)/photo documentation packages, and support partner performance management. The role will also support relationship-building with new hromadas, promote scalable WASH service delivery models, and ensure technical harmonisation across UNICEF sectors (including ADAP, HCFs, and schools).

1. Support programme development and planning through field Assessments, Technical Monitoring & Progress Verification

• Conduct rapid technical assessments of damaged or priority WASH infrastructure across hromadas, VKs, DHCs, schools, and HCFs and support in the development and preparation of project documentation.
• Lead monitoring missions to project sites, verifying progress, assessing quality, and documenting gaps.
• Produce high-quality Progress Verification (PV) packages, including geo-tagged photos, field notes, engineering observations, and status summaries.
• Validate installation, commissioning, and utilisation of UNICEF-procured equipment and materials.
• Ensure PV documentation meets KfW, UNICEF HACT and audit requirements.

2. Support to Partner Performance & KPI Tracking

• Follow up with partners (VKs, DHCs, municipal departments) on KPI achievement, including reliability, efficiency, service coverage, and readiness indicators.
• Identify performance issues and escalate technical risks to UNICEF WASH management.
• Support development of simple, scalable tools for utilities to self-report progress.

3. Scalable Models, Knowledge Management & Analysis

• Identify scalable WASH service delivery models emerging from KfW work (e.g., solar systems, energy efficiencies etc).
• Document lessons learned, success factors, and replicability conditions.
• Contribute to technical briefs, case studies, and donor communication materials.
• Support in the development of effective knowledge management tools and systems.

4. Engagement with New Hromadas & Multi-Sector Integration

• Build and maintain strong working relationships with new hromadas seeking WASH recovery support.
• Conduct joint assessments with local authorities to identify needs, prioritise interventions, and prepare pre-feasibility notes.
• Ensure technical integration of WASH interventions across UNICEF sectors (ADAP, HCFs, Education), aligning designs and equipment with facility requirements.
• Map opportunities for linking utility repair projects with community-level resilience planning.

5. Coordination & Reporting

• Coordinate field missions with UNICEF WASH team, Supply, Programme sections, and security colleagues.
• Participate in oblast-level WASH coordination or technical meetings as needed.
• Prepare concise engineering field reports, risk flags, and recommendations for decision-making.
• Ensure that all PV, assessment, and monitoring work complies with UNICEF safety and safeguarding standards.
• Apply UNICEF’s risk management and quality-assurance processes, particularly for donor-funded infrastructure