WASH Coordinator

About the Organization

Oxfam is a global confederation dedicated to combating poverty and injustice through empowerment, accountability, and inclusiveness. Working alongside vulnerable communities, Oxfam implements innovative solutions to enable people to lift themselves out of poverty. Its Southern Africa program strives to create a region free of extreme inequality by promoting women's rights, good governance, resilient livelihoods, disaster preparedness, and effective humanitarian response.

Role Summary

The WASH Coordinator position provides high-level technical leadership and strategic coordination for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene programs across humanitarian, resilience, preparedness, and recovery contexts within the Southern Africa cluster. Reporting to the Humanitarian Action Programme Manager, this role ensures WASH interventions are technically sound, contextually appropriate, gender- and protection-sensitive, and aligned with humanitarian standards and organizational objectives. The coordinator collaborates extensively with partners, country teams, and program leadership to enhance design, implementation, compliance, and innovation of WASH initiatives, linking operational execution with evidence-based learning to improve both immediate and long-term WASH outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide advanced technical expertise and leadership for WASH programming in multi-country humanitarian settings.
• Coordinate partner relationships and engage with stakeholders to support program delivery and compliance.
• Ensure WASH interventions meet humanitarian standards and organizational priorities for quality and accountability.
• Integrate WASH programming with broader systems-change strategies to enhance community resilience and public health.
• Support emergency preparedness and adaptive learning to improve response effectiveness.

Qualifications and Experience

• Master's degree in Civil Engineering, Environmental Health, Water Resources Management, Public Health, or equivalent.
• Minimum five years of relevant experience in WASH programming including humanitarian or emergency contexts.
• Proven track record working with national or regional partners in a multi-country environment.
• Strong technical skills with ability to align program design to influencing and policy objectives.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with capacity to influence and build relationships.
• High levels of self-motivation, flexibility, stamina, and teamwork capability.
• Commitment to safeguarding and ethical conduct consistent with organizational values.

Desirable Skills

• Fluency in Portuguese.
• Experience working across Southern Africa.
• Background in humanitarian surge and preparedness operations.
• Expertise with climate-resilient WASH systems and policy integration.
• Dedication to gender equity, diversity, and the rights of marginalized groups.
• Willingness to travel frequently, including on short notice.

Contract and Location

This is a fixed-term contract for one year, renewable based on fund availability. The role is based in Southern Africa countries where the candidate has a right to work, including Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Salary is competitive and negotiable depending on experience and competencies.

Additional Information

Oxfam is committed to equal opportunity employment and strictly enforces safeguarding policies to prevent abuse, harassment, and misconduct. Employment offers are contingent on satisfactory references and may include screening such as criminal record and terrorism finance checks.

Application Deadline

Applications close by Thursday 13th August 2026. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.