National Intern- Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Programme, 3months, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

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,empowerment

The Government of Mongolia and UNICEF’s current Country Programme 2023-2027 support Mongolia in addressing inequity in accordance with the Vision of Mongolia-2050 and the Sustainable Development Goals.  The Country Programme supports high-impact child-friendly integrated interventions, including the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programme, which promotes energy-efficient, climate-resilient WASH technologies suitable for local communities, households and institutions (schools/dormitories, kindergartens and health care centres).

The current WASH programme is contributing to the achievement of the SDG-6 targets in Mongolia, which encompasses not only the ambitious new targets for universal access to safe drinking water and for equitable sanitation and hygiene but also demands that all water and sanitation system be “safely managed.” However, the combination of rapid modernisation, traditional lifestyle under harsh weather conditions and climate change impact presents many challenges for peri-urban and rural households and for the delivery of equitable and safe drinking water supply and sanitation services.

The UNICEF Internship Programme offers qualified students and recent graduates the opportunity to gain practical experience under the supervision of experienced UNICEF personnel while contributing to high-level national and international processes. 

How can you make a difference? 

The UNICEF Internship Programme offers eligible/qualified students the opportunity to acquire direct practical experience in UNICEF's work under the direct supervision of experienced UNICEF staff. This internship is for the purpose of acquiring organisational knowledge of rules, regulations and processes to supplement academic and theoretical knowledge.

How can you make a difference? 

Under the guidance of the WASH Officer, the intern is accountable for supporting the implementation of WASH construction projects, including construction design, site inspections for the planned WASH facilities, on-site construction monitoring, and handover to the beneficiaries (local governments).  The intern’s immediate assistance is required in the implementation of the WASH programme and projects in the rural areas (Aimag or Soum centres).

Key duties and responsibilities 

The interns will support the following:

• Provide support to the implementation of WASH facilities and services.  
• Update the progress of water and sanitation facilities and analyse the innovation, cost-effectiveness and climate-resilience factors of the facilities.  
• Support in collecting data and narrative reports from districts and designing templates for full compliance. 
• Visit WASH facilities construction sites in partnership with local governments and follow up on the implementation. 
• Ensure the designs are complete in accordance with UNICEF Branding and requirements that include people with disabilities, lightning, water usage, etc 
• Monitoring of each site with the local governments to estimate the population using the facilities according to construction specifications. 
• Perform other related tasks as assigned by the supervisor. 

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: JDfor WASH Intern-VA_final.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

• Be enrolled in an undergraduate program and be at least in your junior and/or senior year in one of the following relevant disciplines:   Construction Engineering, Sanitation Engineering, or a field relevant to WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) designs and constructions.
• Applicants must be at least 18 years old.
• Relevant experience will be desirable but not required.
• Fluency in English is required.
• Have excellent academic performance as demonstrated by recent university or institution records.
• Knowledge/expertise/ skills required in AutoCAD, Geo-referencing, Microsoft Planner and new technology usage, MS Excel, PDF, etc.
• Have no immediate relatives (e.g. father, mother, brother, sister) working in any UNICEF ; and have no other relatives in the line of authority that the intern will report to.​​​​​​​

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 encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. 

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.