Technical Officer, UN-Water

UN-Water is the United Nations (UN) inter-agency coordination mechanism for all freshwater related issues, including sanitation. The High-Level Committee on Programmes (HLCP) established UN-Water in 2003 in response to the need for strengthened coordination of United Nations’ work on water and sanitation related issues. UN-Water currently includes 33 Members (UN entities) and 43 Partners (non-UN system actors).
UN-Water promotes coherence in, and coordination of, water-related UN system actions aimed at the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other relevant policy frameworks, such as the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on financing for development and the New Urban Agenda. In so doing, UN-Water
complements and adds value to existing UN initiatives by facilitating synergies and joint efforts among the implementing agencies and by fostering greater co-operation and information-sharing within its constituency. UN-Water supports Member States through its three main lines of work: 1. Informing policy processes and addressing emerging issues; 2. Supporting monitoring and reporting on water and sanitation; and 3. Building knowledge and inspiring people to take action.

For the international community, the coming years will be critical to solve the water and sanitation crisis. Although Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) – ‘to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030’ – supports many of the other 16 SDGs, the world is alarmingly off-track and the challenges are unprecedented and growing. To respond to the need for an immediate and integrated global response to rapidly improve progress on SDG 6, in July 2020 the UN system launched the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework – a unifying initiative that involves all sectors of society to speed up progress by improving support to countries.Through the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework, the UN system and its multi-stakeholder partners, driven by country demand and coordinating through UN-Water, unify the international community’s support to countries for SDG 6. The impact of the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework relies also on its synergies with the upcoming UN 2023 Water Conference, which is the first UN conference on water in almost fifty years. In December 2020 the General Assembly adopted at its 75th session the modalities resolution (A/RES/75/212) entitled “United Nations Conference on the Midterm Comprehensive Review of the Implementation of the Objectives of the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018–2028”. The Conference will be held in New York from 22 to 24 March 2023, and will be co-hosted by Tajikistan and the Netherlands.

The Conference will be preceded by regional and global preparatory meetings and informed by existing water-related meetings at the regional and global level. The Conference will result in a summary of proceedings by the President of the General Assembly as its outcome document, which will feed into the High-Level Political Forum. Also in 2023, the High-level Political Forum will hold an in-depth review of SDG 6 and UN-Water will therefore publish a SDG 6 Synthesis Report in 2023.

• Support preparations and follow up of the UN 2023 Water Conference: Actively support UN-Water Members and Partners as well as the UN-Water Task Force on Water Action Decade Implementation to ensure their ability to fully contribute to all aspects of the UN 2023 Water Conference;
• Provide substantive, technical and logistics support to the preparations of the 2023 Water Conference;
• Coordinate with the Conference secretariat, the co-hosts of the Conference, the Conference Secretary-General and other relevant stakeholders, that contribute to the work of the conference as requested;
• Guide UN-Water activities to ensure synergy between SDG 6 related and Conference related processes;
•  Support the activities mandated in the GA resolution 75/212;
• Provide substantive technical support to and participate in the organisation of preparatory meetings both global and regional;
•  Coordinate UN-Water Member and Partner presence at the UN 2023 Water Conference for maximum impact;
•  Analyse the outcomes of the UN 2023 Water Conference and their implications for UN-Water’s 2024-2025 Work Programme;
•  Make recommendations on how UN-Water supports and contributes to the second half of the Water Action Decade;
• Assess and develop a guidance note for UN-Water on the outcomes of the 2023 Water Conference and its implication for the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework; and
•  Coordinate requests or mandates for UN-Water emanating from the UN 2023 Water Conference.

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in earth sciences, water resources management, sanitary or environmental engineering, international development/affairs, public policy, environmental management, environmental journalism/communications, or related disciplines.
• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent with additional years of experience, may be considered in lieu of the requirement of an advanced degree.

• Fluent in oral, written and spoken English is required.
• Knowledge of another UN language is an asset.

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  
• ATscale values diversity and particularly encourages candidates with a lived experience of disability and/or using assistive technology to apply. ATscale offers reasonable accommodation for candidates with disabilities
  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

APPLICANTS MUST INCLUDE A ONE-PAGE COVER LETTER INDICATING THEIR MOTIVATION AND HOW THEY MEET THE JOB REQUIREMENTS.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.