Social Work, Development & NGO Sector
WASH Specialist
Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene — critical in Africa
What this life looks like
You work on water, sanitation, and hygiene — the trinity of survival. WASH Specialists design and manage programmes that provide communities with clean water, safe sanitation, and the hygiene knowledge and behaviours that prevent disease. Access to clean water and a toilet is not a luxury in Africa — it is a matter of life and death. WASH specialists are saving lives every day, in both development and humanitarian settings.
What she actually does
You assess community WASH needs and existing infrastructure, design water supply systems (boreholes, piped systems, water kiosks), sanitation programmes (latrine construction, open defecation free campaigns), and hygiene promotion, manage construction quality and community engagement, train community water committees and hygiene promoters, monitor water quality and sanitation coverage, manage programme budgets, and coordinate with government WASH departments and other sector partners.
Where you can work
| Sector | Places in Africa |
|---|---|
| UN Agencies | UNICEF WASH (the global WASH sector lead), WHO Africa Environmental Health, UNHCR WASH in refugee settings |
| International NGOs | IRC WASH, Oxfam WASH, World Vision WASH, Water Aid Africa, Plan International WASH — major WASH implementers |
| Government | Ministry of Water departments, rural water supply programmes, sanitation authorities across Africa |
| Research | Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP), SNV WASH — applied WASH research |
Why it matters in Africa
Over 400 million Africans lack access to basic drinking water and over 700 million lack access to basic sanitation — making WASH one of the continent's most pressing development challenges. Diarrhoeal disease caused by contaminated water and poor sanitation kills hundreds of thousands of African children every year — yet it is almost entirely preventable with adequate WASH infrastructure and behaviour change. WASH specialists who can deliver reliable, community-managed systems are doing work with immediate and measurable impact on lives.
Your pathway in
- Study Civil Engineering, Environmental Health, Public Health, or Environmental Science
- Develop technical WASH competencies: borehole drilling, water quality testing, latrine design, and handwashing station construction
- Build behaviour change communication skills: hygiene promotion is as important as infrastructure in WASH programming
- Learn WASH information management tools: mWater, AKVO Flow, and DHIS2 WASH module are widely used
- Connect with WASH sector networks: RWSN (Rural Water Supply Network), WASHwatch, and IRC WASH
Skills you will need
- Water system design and construction
- Sanitation technology (latrines, WASH blocks)
- Water quality testing
- Hygiene behaviour change communication
- Community management of WASH infrastructure
- Budget management and donor reporting
A woman in this field
Farai Tunhuma
Zimbabwe
Farai is a brilliant Zimbabwean civil and water engineer who has dedicated over 20 years of international field practice to designing, managing, and executing large-scale water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure projects. Her extensive trajectory perfectly balances rigorous technical engineering with high-level multilateral humanitarian leadership. She serves as the Chief of WASH for UNICEF, operating on the frontlines of some of the world's most complex and crisis-affected environments.
Take your first step
- Research WaterAid Africa at wateraid.org — they are one of the most important WASH-focused NGOs in Africa and their publications explain the WASH challenge and their programme approaches in detail
- Study the SPHERE minimum standards for water, sanitation, and hygiene in humanitarian settings — they are the international benchmark and freely available at spherestandards.org
- Learn about the Open Defecation Free (ODF) approach: Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) is the most widely used behaviour change methodology for ending open defecation in Africa, and understanding it is foundational for WASH work
- Visit a borehole, water kiosk, or community water point in your area and speak with the community about how it is managed, what happens when it breaks down, and who decides about water — this practical community water management knowledge is essential for WASH specialists