Position Title : Programme Officer (WASH) (Research and Innovation Lead)
Duty Station : Geneva, Switzerland
Classification : Professional Staff, Grade P3
Type of Appointment : Fixed term, one year with possibility of extension
Estimated Start Date : As soon as possible
Closing Date : 22 October 2024
Established in 1951, IOM is a Related Organization of the United Nations, and as the leading
UN agency in the field of migration, works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and
non-governmental partners. IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the
benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants.
IOM is committed to a diverse and inclusive work environment. Read more about diversity and
inclusion at IOM at www.iom.int/diversity.
Applications are welcome from first- and second-tier candidates, particularly qualified female
candidates as well as applications from the non-represented member countries of IOM. For all
IOM vacancies, applications from qualified and eligible first-tier candidates are considered
before those of qualified and eligible second-tier candidates in the selection process.
For the purpose of this vacancy, the following are considered first-tier candidates:
1. Internal candidates
2. Candidates from the following non-represented member states:
Antigua and Barbuda; Barbados; Comoros; Congo (the); Cook Islands;
Guinea-Bissau; Holy See; Iceland; Kiribati; Lao People's Democratic
Republic (the); Madagascar; Marshall Islands; Micronesia (Federated
States of); Namibia; Nauru; Palau; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia;
Samoa; Sao Tome and Principe; Solomon Islands; Suriname; The Bahamas;
Tonga; Tuvalu; Vanuatu
Second tier candidates include:
All external candidates, except candidates from non-represented member states.
Context:
IOM recognizes that access to water and sanitation services, paired with hygiene promotion, is
lifesaving in humanitarian contexts, while sustainable access to water, sanitation and hygiene
(WASH) services is also critical in the context of resolving displacement situations and building
resilience to future shocks and stressors. The provision of WASH services is an important
component of IOM operations worldwide.
Under the overall supervision of the Head of the of Humanitarian Operations Division and direct
supervision of the IOM Global WASH Coordinator, and in collaboration other HQ Departments
and Units. The Programme Officer will be responsible to lead the bridging of research, policy
and practice in humanitarian innovation by accelerating and managing high-impact innovation
projects, including global sourcing of new opportunities for piloting and scaling solutions to
complex WASH migration challenges, and convening strategic and operational learning to
missions, within the Organization and the wider humanitarian sector, whilst simultaneously

delivering on additional relevant objectives and activities outlined in the IOM WASH Strategic
Plan.
Core Functions / Responsibilities:
1. Strategy:

• Provide substantive inputs for the review and/or development of IOM WASH strategies, global

and at country or regional level.

• Lead the implementation of activities developed in the IOM Global WASH Strategic Plan

2023-2026 (and successive) to achieve one or several strategic objectives related to Research
and Innovation.

• Support IOM’s institutional engagement on WASH across the Organization, including IOM’s

leadership support for and engagement on WASH both internally and externally.

• Advise on the strategic alliances which should be built with key stakeholders at national, local

and regional levels to increase programme impact and performance.

• Support in the collection and analysis of statistical data from IOM WASH interventions and

contribute to the creation of global, regional and country reports to showcase the results of the
various analyses.

• Represent IOM’s work on WASH in global processes and commitments, notably in the context

of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Global WASH Sector
Roadmap, the Humanitarian-Development Peace Nexus and Global Compact on Migration, to
ensure that WASH activities and work are captured and reflected.

• Contribute to various global reports related to WASH, e.g. the UN World Water Development

Report. 2. Resource Mobilization:

• Proactively identify programme development opportunities, new funding sources, new thematic

areas of technical intervention and strategic partnerships that would promote the expansion of
the IOM WASH portfolio.

• Liaise effectively with donors at regional and international/global level in order to advocate for

adequate funding to sustain the WASH programme and prepare proposals for funding. 3. Technical and Surge Support:

• Provide effective and timely strategic and technical support to IOM Country Offices (COs) in

the development of technical guidance, SOPs, policies, strategies, tools and approaches for
WASH programme implementation, including in the engagement with partners and authorities.

• Act as the primary WASH technical advisor for programs in Asia and the Pacific (e.g.

Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribabi, Republic of Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands and
Bangladesh), providing strategic guidance and technical expertise to ensure alignment with
global WASH standards, addressing context-specific challenges and supporting
capacity-building initiatives in all regions.

• Supporting the integration of WASH programs into transitional programming through

consultations with COs, collection of case studies, and development of tailored guidance.

• Support in the review of WASH proposals, reports and other documentation developed by IOM

COs and Regional Offices (ROs).

• Provide surge support to IOM country offices as required.

4. Human Resources:

• Develop standardized tools to assist the recruitment and assessment of global IOM WASH

staff.

• Expand IOM WASH diversified channels to acquire human resources, to support IOM COs in

short term and long-term recruitments. 5. Coordination:

• Actively liaise with the UNICEF / UNHCR and other WASH agencies, government authorities /

entities and any other relevant stakeholders to ensure that IOM WASH activities are coordinated
to avoid duplication and delivered in accordance with national regulations and operational
agreements set by the humanitarian community at the country level. Ensure that any needed
operational agreement or authorization from the local authorities is convened to guarantee
project stability and good relations with the local government.

• Coordinate with relevant IOM Divisions to develop and strengthen joint initiatives and to

mainstream the WASH portfolio into institutional frameworks, processes and trainings, notably in
the areas of preparedness, public health, environment and climate change, CCCM, protection,
disaster risk reduction and HDPN/TRD programming.

• Sit on various global Technical Working Groups (TWi Gs) as required, including Faecal Sludge

Management TWi G, Hygiene Promotion in Emergencies TWi G, Menstrual Hygiene
Management in Emergencies WG, the Sub-Group on Hygiene Promotion for Cholera Control,
the UN-Water Innovation Task Force and the Global E-waste Task Force. 6, Research and Innovation:

• Lead the relationship building and management of key innovation and research collaborations

and partnerships including government, public sector, private sector, universities,
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and start-ups that can support the organization
and/or implementation of innovation and research projects.

• Undertake foresight research and horizon scanning with researchers and practitioners in order

to effectively scope new and emerging areas of interest and build the evidence base around
what works to advance innovation in humanitarian settings.

• Work with country offices to conduct evidence-based research activities to inform future

programming.

• Work with country offices and globally to find opportunities of turning pilot innovations into

scalable WASH technologies and/or service delivery.

• Work with other departments on opportunities for innovation cross-collaboration and sharing of

lessons learnt, in particular the Innovation and Knowledge Management Unit and Donor
Relations Division supporting synergies, collaborative approaches and capacity building to
enhance impact.

• Development and facilitation of capacity-building support for implementation of innovation and

research including best practice advice on enabling factors, techniques, and cost effectiveness.

• Deliver / facilitate impactful innovation content from IOM WASH to the global humanitarian

community focused on new and improved processes, technologies and research findings that
will make humanitarian action more effective and efficient, including peer-reviewed journal

articles, expert panels, papers, briefings, reports, events, media articles, conference
presentations and other knowledge products.

• Ensure appropriate and ethical research methodologies and methods, evaluation strategies

and research tools are applied.

• Participate in relevant research and innovation fora, humanitarian innovation platforms and

with communities of practice and other innovation working groups to facilitate dialogue on
research and innovation needs and priorities, and to identify further opportunities for strategic
engagement.

• Take a lead role in coordinating efforts to ensure major innovations are inclusive, responsible,

and built on previous lessons from the sector.

• Contribute innovation and research indicators to the Global WASH Monitoring and Evaluation

Framework and encourage them to be utilized for innovation projects to ensure adaptive
programming and continuous learning.

• Act as Project Manager for HQ-led WASH innovation projects including stakeholder

engagement, partnership management, donor reporting, budget management and resource
allocation, and advocate for internal policy and process changes that support innovation
findings. 7. Any other duties: Perform such other duties that may be assigned.
Required Qualifications and Experience:
Education

• Master’s degree in Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Environmental Engineering,

Geology, Public Health or a related field from an accredited academic institution with five years
of relevant professional experience; or,

• University degree in the above fields with seven years of relevant professional experience.

Experience

• Experience at an international level with specialized international agencies leading WASH

programmes in humanitarian, transitional and developing contexts;

• Experience working with different international organizations specialized in humanitarian

assistance (e.g. UN agencies, INGOs, IOs, Donors, IFRC or ICRC);

• Experience in the design and implementation of WASH infrastructure, including proposal

development and project management including budget, resource and contract management;

• Experience with technical facilitation and capacity building;
• Experience with programme monitoring and evaluation, compilation and dissemination of

lessons learned and best practices;

• Experience in liaising with governmental authorities, national and international institutions and

in partnership building;

• Field experience in a conflict, disasters, or other humanitarian setting;
• Experience in conducting assessments, analysis and research studies;
• Substantial experience in a humanitarian innovation research, advisory and project

management, with proven ability of providing advice to projects from pilot to scale;

• Substantial experience of working with or for different sectors and partners: public and private

sector, civil society, academia, multilateral agencies, and donors;

• Policy and/or programme experience of operational / field innovation in humanitarian settings.
• Experience working in/with WASH projects in Asia Pacific region, with strong understanding of

Skills

• Strong track record of driving cross-organizational collaborations and networks involving

humanitarian innovation;

• A good understanding of research ethics;
• Understanding of integration of cross-cutting themes into WASH programming such as gender

equality, diversity, and inclusion and GBV mainstreaming, durable solutions, human rights, and
climate change and environment;

• Demonstrated expertise in navigating and optimizing organizational internal systems and

processes, particularly in the areas of innovation, research, human resources, innovative
procurement, and project management;

• Computer literate (Microsoft);
• Proven ability to manage a large and complex workload and produce quality work accurately

according to set deadlines in a fast-moving environment;

• Strong organizational and coordination skills;
• The ability to work independently and effectively and harmoniously in a team of colleagues

from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds;

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills;
• Proven capacity in problem-solving and creative thinking;
• Excellent project management skills including program design, implementation, budget and

resource management and forecasting and reporting;

• Excellent monitoring and evaluation skills;
• Strong WASH technical understanding with ability to build capacity of global missions through

advice, training, technical guidelines or other;

• Works effectively with donors, partners, local authorities, stakeholders, beneficiaries, and the

broader community to advance HQ WASH and mission objectives; and,

• Strong understanding of research and innovation in the humanitarian sector.

Languages
IOM’s official languages are English, French, and Spanish. All staff members are required to be
fluent in one of the three languages.
For this position, fluency in English is required (oral and written). Working knowledge of another
official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish) is an advantage.
Proficiency of language(s) required will be specifically evaluated during the selection process,
which may include written and/or oral assessments.
Notes
1 Accredited Universities are the ones listed in the UNESCO World Higher Education Database
(https://whed.net/home.php).
Required Competencies:
Values - all IOM staff members must abide by and demonstrate these five values:

• Inclusion and respect for diversity: Respects and promotes individual and cultural

differences. Encourages diversity and inclusion.

• Integrity and transparency: Maintains high ethical standards and acts in a manner

consistent with organizational principles/rules and standards of conduct.

• Professionalism: Demonstrates ability to work in a composed, competent and committed

manner and exercises careful judgment in meeting day-to-day challenges.

• Courage: Demonstrates willingness to take a stand on issues of importance.
• Empathy: Shows compassion for others, makes people feel safe, respected and fairly

treated. Core Competencies – behavioural indicators level 2

• Teamwork: Develops and promotes effective collaboration within and across units to achieve

shared goals and optimize results.

• Delivering results: Produces and delivers quality results in a service-oriented and timely

manner. Is action oriented and committed to achieving agreed outcomes.

• Managing and sharing knowledge: Continuously seeks to learn, share knowledge and

innovate.

• Accountability: Takes ownership for achieving the Organization’s priorities and assumes

responsibility for own actions and delegated work.

• Communication: Encourages and contributes to clear and open communication. Explains

complex matters in an informative, inspiring and motivational way.IOM’s competency framework can be found at this link.
https://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/about-iom/iom_revised_competency_framework_external.p
df
Competencies will be assessed during a competency-based interview.
Other:
Internationally recruited professional staff are required to be mobile.
Any offer made to the candidate in relation to this vacancy notice is subject to funding
confirmation.
This selection process may be used to staff similar positions in various duty stations.
Recommended candidates endorsed by the Appointments and Postings Board will remain
eligible to be appointed in a similar position for a period of 24 months.
The list of NMS countries above includes all IOM Member States which are non-represented in
the Professional Category of staff members.
Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment,
accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and background verification and security
clearances. Subject to certain exemptions, vaccination against COVID-19 will in principle be
required for individuals hired on or after 15 November 2021. This will be verified as part of the
medical clearance process.
Vacancies close at 23:59 local time Geneva, Switzerland on the respective closing date. No
late applications will be accepted.
How to apply:
Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications via PRISM, IOM e-Recruitment
system, by 22 October 2024 at the latest, referring to this advertisement.
IOM only accepts duly completed applications submitted through the IOM e-Recruitment
system. The online tool also allows candidates to track the status of their application.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
For further information please refer to: www.iom.int/recruitment
Posting period:
From 09.10.2024 to 22.10.2024
No Fees:
IOM does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview,
processing, training or other fee). IOM does not request any information related to bank
accounts.
Requisition: VN 2024 592 Programme Officer (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)) (Research and
Innovation Lead) (P3) Geneva, Switzerland (59186260) Released
Posting: Posting NC59186261 (59186261) Released