Information Management Officer (WASH)

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Organizational Context:

Afghanistan is one of the most poorly served countries in the world in terms of WASH services, withmore than one-third of people without access to improved drinking water. Nearly 60 per cent of thesame population lacks access to improved latrines. Studies also show contamination of water servicesboth at source and household level is significantly high in both urban and rural areas. Safe hygienepractices, such as hand washing, are very low across the country, especially in rural areas. According toUNICEF’s Water Security for All report, 93% of children in Afghanistan (15.6 million children) live in areasof high, or extremely high, water vulnerability. Groundwater overextraction for agriculture and cash cropslike poppies is exacerbating water scarcity. Even before taking into consideration the escalating securitysituation, and rapid collapse of the government during August last year, the 2021 HRP estimated that atotal of about 8.8 million people would need safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities andservices. Meanwhile the drought has compelled people to temporarily move their families from theirplaces of origin to other nearby communities to seek access to water. Furthermore, the recent escalationin conflict with the resulting upheaval and seizing of power by the de facto authority has furtherexacerbated the high needs for critical WASH services in urban centres, where a significant number ofpeople moved to seek a safe haven and escape possible clashes. This has placed increased pressure onexisting WASH services and on the host communities as they accommodate new arrivals. There are earlysigns of a ‘brain drain’ occurring in the country, amongst trained WASH experts and officials followingthe takeover of power and this is already impacting the maintenance of existing WASH systems andservices which collapse soon as a result leaving millions in cities, towns and rural communities withoutwater and sanitation services.

The impact of these multifaceted issues is illustrated by the current outbreak of AWD/Cholera, whichbegan in September 2021, less than one month after the regime change. These early warnings thatexisting WASH systems and utilities may soon collapse particularly in urban areas serving large,overcrowded populations, require urgent action to stabilize the sector and ensure continuity of safeWASH services. Meanwhile hard to reach areas, which have already been underserved for many years,are now accessible and because of drought, returnees and malnutrition there is a significant potentialthat AWD/Cholera and other communicable disease outbreaks will occur. At the same time, it is criticalthat existing health facilities and schools do not become point sources of infection for communicablediseases given the high vulnerability of the population at this time and improving their WASHinfrastructure and providing IPC training and materials are critical to mitigate communicable diseaseoutbreaks.

Job organizational context:

The Information Management Officer reports to the Chief of WASH & Climate, P5 with matrixmanagement to the P4 WASH Cluster Coordinator for guidance and general supervision.

Purpose of the Job:

The Information Management Officer will lead in coordination with sector ministries and obtain latestWASH related sector data, analysis and quality checking before dissemination to the concernedprogramme units concerned and zonal WASH teams as well as partners and external widerstakeholders. Incumbent will provide clear and concise data visualization products (e.g. maps,dashboards, infographics and financial/resource analyses) to WASH Managers, zonal teams andpartners. Incumbent will also respond to data visualization requests, including delivery of products tosupport advocacy and resource mobilization efforts of the WASH programme and WASH cluster. TheIncumbent will also lead in exchanging and dissemination of data and supporting development ofeffective methods and platforms to standardize WASH data, products and maintain good catalogueincluding maps including where possible under the GIS system. Incumbent will provide guidance to theregional WASH team and IM focal points to promote effective use of IM products for evidence-basedplanning and reporting mechanism. Incumbent also works closely with UNICEF’s PME section forharmonization of officewide planning, data management and reporting system. As a major partner ofthe WASH cluster and responsible for at least 65% of the WASH Cluster Results, having a well-managedinformation management system will significantly enhance the overall information management capacityof UNICEF and the WASH Cluster.
Key functions,accountabilities andrelated duties/tasks:
Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Support to programme development and planning
2. Information Management for the WASH section
3. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results
4. Technical and operational support to programme implementation
5. Networking and partnership building
6. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

1. Support to programme development and planning
- Provide evidence and data to update the situation analysis for the development, design andmanagement of WASH related programmes/projects. Research and report on development trends (e.g.economic, social, health) and data for use in programme development, management, monitoring,evaluation and delivery of results.
- Contribute to the development and establishment of sectoral programme goals, objectives, strategies,and results-based planning through research, analysis and reporting of WASH and other relatedinformation for development planning and priority and goal setting.
- Provide technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes byexecuting and administering a variety of technical, programme, operational, and administrativetransactions, preparing related materials and documentations, and complying with organizationalprocesses and management systems, to support programme planning, results-based planning (RBM)and monitoring and evaluating of results.
- Prepare required programme documentation, materials and data to facilitate the programme reviewand approval process.
- Support the WASH programme to improve the reporting on the RWP indicators and the SMQs andensure the capacities of the team are improved on data collection, analysis and reporting.
- Support Implementing partners on monthly reporting of achievement, clean data and submit monthsverify data based on identified indicators.

2. Information Management for the WASH section
- Develop and implement standard tools and mechanisms to enhance data management for UNICEFimplementing partners in Afghanistan.
- Consolidate all information, periodic or ad-hoc, received from the different partners and generatecomprehensive documents (including maps, dashboards, infographics and resource analyses), andpresent information in a way that is easily understood by various decision makers, ensuring the dataconfidentiality aspect.
- Support HNO, HRP process by developing Secondary Data Review (SDR), Needs severity analysis, PINand Planned reach calculation etc.
- Coordinate closely with other IMOs within UNICEF and other clusters to ensure complementarity,
harmonization and compatibility in terms of IM.
- Lead implementation of the WASH Cluster MIS in the context of Afghanistan and ensure partnerscapacity and quality improved.
- Data Collection, Compilation and Analysis.
- Participate in Inter-agency discussions including data collection, quality assurance and clearance priorto dissemination as necessary. Prepare the draft inputs reports based on collected data.
- Provide technical guidance to WASH Cluster partners on the deployment of digital innovationsincluding use of MIS and other real time data collection platforms.
- Develop the data collection tools using latest technologies to streamline the data collection process ina consistent, timely manner from partners to UNICEF and WASH Cluster.
- Build the capacity of IM/ data focal persons of partners on use of various data collection tools,reporting, analysis and IM tools.
- Contribute in generating Cross Sectoral Assessment Needs, Service Mapping, Rapid Assessments,Sitreps and Situation Analysis.

3. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results
- Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues and partners to discuss implementation issues,provide solutions, recommendations and/or to alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level interventions and/or decisions. Keep records of reports and assessments for easy reference and/orto capture and institutionalize lessons learned.
- Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual sectoral reviewswith government and other counterparts to assess programmes/projects, and to report on requiredaction/interventions at the higher level of programme management.
- Monitor and report on the use of sectoral programme resources (financial, administrative and otherassets), verifying compliance with approved allocations, organizational rules, regulations, procedures anddonor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity. Report on critical issues and findings toensure timely resolution by management and stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensureresolution.
- Prepare regular and mandated sectoral programme/project reports for management, donors andpartners to keep them informed of programme progress.

4. Technical and operational support to programme implementation
- Conduct regular programme field visits and surveys and exchange information withpartners/stakeholders to assess progress and provide technical support. Take appropriate action toresolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks andpotential problems for timely action to achieve results.
- Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN systempartners and other country office partners/donors on the application and understanding of UNICEFpolicies, strategies, processes and best practices in WASH, to support programme implementation.

5. Networking and partnership building
- Build and sustain close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholdersthrough active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate programme implementation and buildcapacity of stakeholders to achieve and sustain results on WASH.
- Participate in inter-agency meetings/events on programming to collaborate with inter-agencypartners/colleagues on UNDAF operational planning and preparation of WASH programmes/projects,and to integrate and harmonize UNICEF’s position and strategies with UNDAF development andplanning processes.
- Research information on potential donors and prepare resource mobilization materials and briefs forfund raising and partnership development purposes.
- Draft communication and information materials for CO programme advocacy to promote awareness,establish partnership/alliances and support fund raising for WASH programmes.

6. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
- Identify, capture, synthesize, and share lessons learned for knowledge development and to build thecapacity of stakeholders.
- Apply innovative approaches and promote good practices to support the implementation and deliveryof concrete and sustainable programme results.
- Research and report on best and cutting edge practices for development planning of knowledgeproducts and systems.
- Participate as a resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clientsand stakeholders.

Impact of Results:

The Information Management Officer will enhance data accuracy, support strategic planning, strengthenadvocacy, and aid resource mobilization for WASH and support climate action through data andevidence generation. This will assure standardized data, effective visualization, and harmonization withUNICEF’s PME section, regional and zonal teams, cluster functions and the overall WASH programme,improving WASH evidence-based decision-making (including with donors and partners), acceleratingdelivery of impactful WASH interventions, strengthening WASH systems and governance, and long-termresilience for children, the communities they live in and the most vulnerable.

Education requirement: A university degree in one of the following fields is required: in GeographicSciences, Information Sciences, Information Technology, Information Systems, Information Management,Computer Science, Statistics Engineering, or Communications, and/or another relevant technical field isrequired.
Any additional diplomas and certifications related to water and sanitation including civil engineering,water resource management, environmental sciences, water/ sanitary engineering WASH in emergencytraining and public health would be considered an asset.

Experience required: A minimum of two years of professional experience in Information Management,social development planning and WASH experience and information management in WASH relatedareas is required.
Knowledge and experience of data collection , processing, data analysis and visualization programmessuch as Excel, SPSS, ArGIS, QGIS, Power BI, Python, R, SQL is required.
Familiarity with development of emergency responses assessments, humanitarian programming targetssetting and data reporting requirements for donors including CERF will be an asset.
Skilled in designing and implementing data collection tools tailored to WASH and Climate relatedindicators as an asset.
Proven skills to analyze statistical information as an asset.
Proficient in data processing, management and visualization tools (e.g., Excel, Power BI, KoboToolbox,ActivityInfo) as an asset.
Relevant experience in programme development in WASH related areas in a UN system agency ororganization is considered as an asset.
Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage.

Language requirements: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language(Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

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. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates are encouraged to apply.

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