WASH and Infrastructure TA II, Ukraine

CRS Moldova and Ukraine

About CRS

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion, or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance, and peacebuilding.

CRS Moldova and Ukraine

Building on a modest pre-existing presence, the Moldova and Ukraine Country Office (CO) rapidly expanded its programming following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Between 2022 and 2025, CRS reached over 500,000 people through a comprehensive emergency, recovery and development strategy encompassing shelter and infrastructure, winterization, basic needs, education, livelihoods, protection, and care reform. The CO also prioritized strengthening partner capacity and fostering local leadership to amplify impact and reach millions more. Looking ahead, priorities include diversifying programming for the most vulnerable, integrating systemic outcomes for scale, and deepening partnerships across both countries. CRS’ portfolio is resourced by institutional donors and private emergency funding.

In Ukraine, CRS has provided technical support and accompaniment to Caritas Ukraine (CUA) in managing the . Government (USG) Department of State (DOS)-funded program Multi-Sector Assistance to War-Affected People in Ukraine since February 2024. The next phase of the project is expected to significantly broaden its scope and scale, delivering critical services to a larger number of war-affected communities. Through capacity sharing and accompaniment, CRS supports CUA on all aspects of implementation including program management, technical sectors, MEAL, grants management and reporting, operations, compliance and risk management. The support is led and coordinated by a Project Director, with active involvement from the Country Office senior management, programming and operations teams, as well as regional and global advisors, and strategic engagement of agency senior leadership.

This position is focused on and based in Ukraine.

Job Summary

As WASH and Infrastructure Technical Advisor II, you will lead the provision of technical support on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, energy and infrastructure for Caritas Ukraine for the USG DOS funded program, Multi-Sector Assistance to War-Affected People in Ukraine. You will provide technical advice, guidance, and support to a wide range of program design and implementation issues with a focus on WASH in line with program quality principles, technical standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices to CRS and CUA teams to advance the delivery of high-quality programming. Your technical knowledge, guidance, and strong relationship skills will help advance CRS and partners’ work to support the most vulnerable and conflict-affected people across Ukraine.

Roles and Key Responsibilities

• Provide technical solutions to CRS and CUA teams, remotely and on-site, for strategic planning and how to best apply program design and implementation standards, best practices, partnership principles, tools, and M&E, ensuring high-quality implementation of WASH activities.
• Lead technical design and review of technical specifications, BoQs, and drawings to ensure WASH infrastructure and water treatment solutions meet national and humanitarian standards and align with donor requirements.
• Provide on-site technical guidance, monitor works, and oversee commissioning to guarantee quality rehabilitation of water sources, energy systems, and heating points.
• Support partners in procurement, contracting, and construction monitoring to ensure timely, compliant, and high-quality implementation of WASH infrastructure activities.
• Support the development and implementation of strategies and tools for WASH programming, ensuring integration of gender, protection, and disaster risk reduction across interventions.
• Advise CRS and CUA teams on strategic planning, program design, and application of standards, best practices, and M&E for high-quality implementation.
• Contribute to business development, including technical design for large / complex proposals, defining monitoring systems and indicators, and aligning donor priorities with CRS approaches.
• Strengthen WASH capacity of staff and partners through training, mentoring, and development of learning strategies, curricula, and practical tools.
• Promote knowledge management and learning through collecting and analyzing program data, evaluating strategic projects, assisting with measuring program impact, capturing and sharing lessons learned and best practices, and research and internal reports.
• Establish and maintain relationships with donors, peer organizations, research and other institutions. Participate in coordination forums in WASH to collect and share best practices and promote CRS and partners’ work.
• Proficient in security protocols and management of emergency WASH programs in insecure environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Civil engineering, Mechanical / Electrical engineering, Water engineering or Environmental engineering or related field

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrated application of technical principles and concepts in WASH. General knowledge of other related disciplines to ensure proper cross-sectoral approach appreciated (especially energy, mechanical engineering).
• Experience working with partner organizations on project management and accompaniment, capacity strengthening and institutional development.
• Experience in business development, project design and proposal development in WASH including technical writing.
• Experience in mentoring, coaching, facilitation, and training applying adult learning principles and practices.
• Experience with program monitoring and evaluation, including applying data collection tools and methodologies, data analysis, and data presentation.
• Experience and skills in networking and relations with donors, peer organizations, and faith-based civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.
• Excellent relationship management skills with ability to influence and get buy-in from people not under direct supervision and to work with individuals in diverse geographical and cultural settings.
• Strong strategic, analytical, problem-solving and systems thinking skills with capacity to see the big picture and ability to make sound judgment
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Excellent facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills
• Proactive, resourceful and results-oriented
• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, knowledge-sharing networks.

Required Languages :  English fluency (written and verbal) is required, knowledge of Ukrainian or Russian is an advantage.

Travel :   up to 30% of field travel within Ukraine, primarily to partner offices.

Supervisory Responsibilities :  To be determined.

Key Working Relationships :

Internal :   Project Director, Program Team, Head of Programs, Country Representative, BD / Grants Management Coordinator, Head of Operations, Deputy Head of Operations, CRS Global / Regional staff, Humanitarian Response Department staff

External :   Caritas Ukraine national and local offices, institutional donors, local government, USG, United Nations and international NGOs, humanitarian clusters and working groups in Ukraine