Sanitation and Hygiene Market Specialist

Job Highlight
The Sanitation and Hygiene Fund (SHF) is a global financing mechanism dedicated to accelerating progress towards universal access to sanitation, hygiene, and menstrual health. SHF invests in catalytic and sustainable approaches that strengthen markets, mobilize domestic resources, and stimulate private sector engagement.

This position will be based in one of SHF's priority country markets (including but not limited to Kenya, Uganda or Nigeria)

About The Project Office
The Sanitation and Hygiene Fund.

The Sanitation and Hygiene Fund is a UNOPS Trust Fund committed to saving lives and improving the wellbeing of people by improving access to sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health hygiene. The Fund will invest in country led programmes to accelerate progress and sustainable impact toward the achievement of SDG 6.2.

The Fund will maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of international development assistance and national investment. Staff at the Fund manage grants, coordinate with partners, support countries, monitor and evaluate results, report on progress, manage donor relations and raise funds.

At the core of the new architecture is a country funding model designed to be an efficient and effective mechanism that can operate at scale and deliver impact and supported by a suite of policies that define how funding is to be invested. The SHF uses innovative finance mechanisms, including co-financing by recipient countries, to secure sustainable funding and the long term sustainability of its programs.

About The Group
As part of the Global Portfolio Office, UNOPS Geneva provides comprehensive solutions in secretariat hosting, operational support, and fund management. We manage global programmes, including the Water, Environment and Climate (WEC) Portfolio, offering project management, procurement, HR, and financial services. Geneva hosts the secretariats of eight global partnerships focused on health (RBM, Stop TB, ATscale), nutrition (SUN), water/sanitation (SHF), humanitarian leadership (GELI), urban development (Cities Alliance), and disaster displacement (PDD). We also provide fund management for EIF and UN Water, and operational support to Geneva-based partners like the Global Fund and UNHCR. The EU-UNOPS Lives in Dignity (LiD) Grant Facility is also based here.

Role Purpose

The Sanitation and Hygiene Market Specialist plays a critical technical role in shaping and delivering SHF's approach to sanitation and hygiene markets. Working within the Technical Team and reporting to the Global Lead, Sanitation and MH, the role focuses on market-shaping interventions, business model development, and innovative financing solutions to expand access to sanitation and hygiene in low- and middle-income countries.

Functions / Key Results Expected

• Strategic and Technical Contribution
• Contribute to the evolution of SHF's market-based approaches for sanitation, hygiene, and menstrual health.
• Identify opportunities and entry points to strengthen the sanitation economy, including City-Wide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS), waste-to-value and circular economy initiatives, incubation and acceleration platforms, and the interface between the toilet economy and menstrual hygiene marketplace.
• Promote gender-smart and climate-smart approaches and highlight women's economic role and empowerment across the sanitation and hygiene value chain.
• Identify root causes of sanitation and hygiene market shortcomings and propose viable pathways to overcome them.
• Market-Shaping and Business Model Implementation
• Provide technical inputs for market assessments, investment cases, and financing strategies.
• Contribute to the identification of investable propositions that can unlock sanitation and hygiene markets at scale.
• Support linkages between financing ecosystems and programmatic interventions, ensuring market-shaping actions are embedded in SHF-supported programmes.
• Provide technical inputs on catalytic financing and support to programmatic grants related to sanitation and hygiene markets.
• Evidence, Knowledge, and Innovation
• Capture and disseminate evidence, lessons learned, and good practices from SHF-supported sanitation and hygiene market interventions.
• Support monitoring and reporting on sanitation and hygiene economy-related indicators, benchmarks, and outcomes.
• Develop knowledge products, toolkits, and guidance on market-based sanitation and hygiene approaches.
• Contribute to SHF's communications and advocacy by providing data and insights on market impacts.
• Planning, Contract, and Risk Management
• Contribute to annual workplans, milestones and monitoring processes.
• Support procurement planning, drafting technical terms of reference, and managing resulting contracts.
• Identify and maintain sanitation and hygiene-related programmatic and financial risks, with risk registers and mitigation plans.
• Support audit activities as required.
• Outreach, Partnerships, and Representation
• Establish and maintain strong technical relationships with governments, private sector actors, implementing partners, and financing institutions.
• Represent SHF in technical fora, meetings, and events, positioning the Fund as a leader in sanitation and hygiene markets.
• Facilitate partnerships with private sector entities, financial institutions, and other stakeholders to unlock market opportunities.
• Undertake international travel and advisory missions as required.

Impact of Results:

The work of the Sanitation and Hygiene Market Specialist will position SHF as a global leader in developing the sanitation and hygiene economy. Through technical expertise, market-shaping interventions, and strategic partnerships, the role will expand opportunities for sustainable sanitation and hygiene services, enhance women's economic empowerment, and unlock investable propositions for scale-up in low- and middle-income countries.

Education Requirements

Required

• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in economics, business administration, public health, environmental engineering, international development, or related fields with 7 years of relevant experience OR
• Master's degree (or equivalent) in any of the above or related fields with 5 years of relevant experience is required

*Required*
Experience Requirements

• Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible professional experience in sanitation, hygiene, or related market-based approaches is required
• Experience in private sector engagement, financing strategies, or investment facilitation in development contexts is required.
• Track record of designing or implementing market-shaping interventions in low- and middle-income countries is required.

Desired

• Experience with menstrual health, gender empowerment, climate-smart or circular economy approaches is highly desirable.
• Familiarity with innovative financing mechanisms or global health/development funds is an asset.

Language Requirements

LanguageProficiency LevelRequirementEnglishFluentRequired