Project Manager – WASH

• PositionProject Manager – WASH
• CompanyAction Against Hunger
• LocationIsingiro, Uganda
• CategoryNGO, Engineering, Management Jobs in Uganda
• IndustryHumanitarian aid and international development
• DepartmentPrograms
• DeadlineMonday, 16 November 2026
• Not in the advertJob type, pay and benefits

Action Against Hunger is an international humanitarian organisation working to end hunger. It says it reaches about 24 million people each year through hunger prevention and treatment programmes, with around 8,300 staff working across some 50 countries.

Action Against Hunger USA, part of the Action Against Hunger International network, manages operations in eight countries, including Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, Somalia, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zambia and Haiti. Its work addresses root causes of hunger such as climate change, conflict, inequity and emergencies.

In Uganda, the organisation runs nutrition, health, water, sanitation and hygiene, protection and cash programmes with refugees, host communities and crisis-affected districts, including Karamoja and the south-west refugee settlements.

The WASH Project Manager translates approved strategies, designs and budgets into field delivery across four south-western districts. The role plans activities and procurement, reviews designs and bills of quantities, supervises construction and desludging services, leads hygiene promotion and supports outbreak and influx preparedness, all in line with national WASH standards, Sphere and the Core Humanitarian Standard.

The manager reports to the Head of Program with a matrix line to the Sector Lead for WASH. Internally the post works with MEAL, Finance, Procurement and Logistics, HR and the PDQ department; externally with district local governments, the Office of the Prime Minister, UNHCR, UNICEF, settlement commandants, donors and partners. DHIS2 reporting, risk management, safeguarding and accountability to affected populations are central to the job.

In plain terms, this job splits into 5 areas of work. Each list below restates the employer’s duties in shorter words; the advert linked under How To Apply is the final word.

Programme design and planning

The manager plans WASH work, assesses needs, prioritises communities and prepares technical approaches and specifications before delivery.

• Prepare WASH activity, procurement and delivery plans within approved proposals.
• Contribute to humanitarian proposals, concept notes, technical drawings, BoQs, budgets and programme strategies.
• Arrange community consultations alongside WASH technical, needs and vulnerability studies.
• Identify priority WASH gaps affecting refugee arrivals, disabled people and host communities.
• Develop household and emergency sanitation, bathing, sludge, solid waste and hygiene-promotion approaches.
• Review designs, specifications, BoQs and work methods before construction or service delivery.

Service delivery and sanitation

The role manages district and settlement activities, coordinates sanitation works and responds to emergencies and sludge-management needs.

• Integrate WASH with Nutrition, Health Facilities, Protection and climate-resilient programming.
• Manage timely, quality implementation across districts and refugee settlements.
• Oversee household latrine works, giving priority to new arrivals, disabled people and highly vulnerable homes.
• Oversee shared emergency latrines and bathing shelters for capacity, access, safety and privacy.
• Plan sanitation responses for arrivals, outbreaks, flooding and other emergencies.
• Oversee latrine emptying and desludging, ensuring faecal sludge is collected, moved, treated and disposed of safely.

Hygiene, inclusion and field supervision

The manager leads hygiene behaviour work, ensures inclusive participation and checks contractors and field delivery for quality and safety.

• Lead public guidance on handwashing, safe water, improved sanitation practices and menstrual hygiene.
• Make services accessible to women, men, children, older people and persons with disabilities.
• Involve affected people and local leaders throughout project stages.
• Visit sites and technically supervise construction, sanitation services and hygiene activities.
• Check contractors, suppliers, partners and providers against agreements, designs and quality requirements.
• Address programme bottlenecks and risks with corrective measures.

Technical standards and monitoring

The role coordinates procurement, quality assurance, inspections, standards and monitoring records with technical and MEAL colleagues.

• Coordinate requests for WASH goods and services with Procurement, Logistics and Finance using ACF processes.
• Assure technical quality using approved designs, specifications and relevant national or international benchmarks.
• Adapt sanitation facilities to local soil, groundwater, flood exposure, settlement patterns and materials.
• Inspect completed facilities before acceptance and handover, keeping construction and handover records.
• Use Sphere and CHS, follow WASH Cluster guidance and observe Ministry of Water and Environment requirements.
• Work with MEAL to track delivery, outcomes, quality and spending; verify and report data through DHIS2.

Reporting, partnerships and accountability

The manager reports and coordinates externally, builds WASH teams and partner capacity, manages programme risks, upholds inclusion and safeguarding, follows ACF systems and undertakes assigned work.

• Organise recurring programme reviews, needs studies, post-delivery checks and learning sessions.
• Prepare donor, district local-government, OPM and UN agency reports; serve as ACF representative at regional, district and refugee-sector WASH forums.
• Contact local partners, NGOs, district governments, District Water and Health Offices, UNICEF, UNHCR and OPM; seek private-sector links in sanitation and waste.
• Manage WASH team hiring, deployment, induction, appraisal, supervision and technical development; strengthen partner skills in emergency sanitation, hygiene and inclusive WASH.
• Manage programme, security, financial, environmental and operational risks with mitigation plans; uphold accountability, protection, gender and disability inclusion, child safeguarding and PSEA.
• Follow ACF rules; use DHIS2, Procurement Link System and Travel Application; report incidents, complaints, irregularities and safeguarding concerns; complete assigned work.

Required Education

• A minimum of a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering, Water Resources Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Public Health, Environmental Health or another relevant WASH or humanitarian discipline.
• A postgraduate qualification in Water and Sanitation Engineering, Public Health, Environmental Health, Project Planning and Management, M&E or a related field is an added advantage.

Work Experience

• At least five years of relevant experience in WASH programming, humanitarian response or WASH project management, preferably with an international NGO.
• Experience managing WASH projects in refugee settlements, host communities or other humanitarian settings.
• Practical experience planning and supervising household latrines, emergency communal latrines and bathing shelters.
• Experience designing and monitoring hygiene promotion and behaviour change interventions.
• Experience managing service providers, preparing and reviewing BoQs and specifications, and quality assurance of WASH infrastructure.
• Experience managing projects across multiple districts, including budgeting, monitoring, reporting and resource management.
• Experience in donor reporting and compliance and in reporting to district governments, OPM and ministries.
• Experience in humanitarian coordination, partnership management and representation in WASH platforms.
• Experience in budget monitoring, procurement planning and logistics coordination.
• Practical experience in programme monitoring and reporting using digital MEAL systems such as DHIS2.

Additional Requirements

• Regular travel across assigned districts and refugee settlements.
• Availability to work outside normal hours or at weekends when required.

Technical Skills

• WASH engineering: Latrine, bathing shelter, desludging and faecal sludge management design and supervision.
• BoQs and specifications: Preparing and reviewing BoQs, technical specifications and quality assurance.
• DHIS2 and MEAL: Data quality assurance, analysis and reporting in digital MEAL systems.
• Budget and procurement: Budget monitoring, procurement planning and requisition processes.

Soft Skills

• Leadership: Line management and performance management of multidisciplinary field teams.
• Coordination: Stakeholder engagement and representation in coordination platforms.
• Community engagement: Participatory programming with affected persons and local leaders.

Pay and benefits are not listed for this WASH Project Manager post, so raise them only after an offer. To judge an offer, check a gross figure with the Uganda take-home pay calculator (PAYE and NSSF) and compare it with our guide to NGO salaries in Uganda.

• Lead WASH in refugee settlements across Isingiro, Kyegegwa, Kamwenge and Kikuube.
• Run emergency sanitation, desludging and hygiene promotion at scale.
• Work with UNHCR, UNICEF and the Office of the Prime Minister.
• Manage teams, contractors and an implementing partner.
• Shape designs, BoQs and quality standards from the start.
• Senior role with an international humanitarian organisation.

Apply online through the Action Against Hunger application page, which holds the full job description and application form. Applications close on Monday, 16 November 2026.

• Checked on 12 November 2026 against Action Against Hunger's official advert.
• Closing date confirmed as 16 November 2026. NextRoleHub closes the listing at 23:59 Kampala time that day.
• The application link goes to the employer's own page or email. Applying is free; report anyone who asks for money.
• Before you apply, read our guide: How to find NGO jobs in Uganda. Work out your pay with the take-home pay calculator.