Individual Consultant to Support Water, Sanitation And Hygiene (WASH) & Climate Change And Environmental Sustainability (CCES) Programs For Tamil Nadu via DevNetJobsIndia

UNICEF Office for Tamil Nadu & Kerala

ONE POSITION: Individual Consultant to Support Water, Sanitation And Hygiene (WASH) & Climate Change And Environmental Sustainability (CCES) Programs For Tamil Nadu And Kerala

Closing date to submit the application:  11 May 2023

BACKGROUND:

1.1.           Sustainable Development Goal 6 aims to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Water and sanitation are critical to the health of people and the planet. Goal 6 not only addresses the issues relating to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), but also the quality and sustainability of water resources worldwide. Improvements in drinking water, sanitation and hygiene are essential for progress in other areas of development too, such as nutrition, education, health and gender equality.

1.2.           Millions of people die every year from diseases associated with unsafe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene. Young children are particularly vulnerable – WASH-related diseases remain among the leading causes of death in children under 5, and they contribute to malnutrition and stunting.

1.3.           UNICEF’s contribution towards reaching this goal centres on bringing safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services to homes, schools and health centres so that children can grow and learn in a safe environment. UNICEF is co-custodian for global monitoring of three indicators that measure progress towards Goal 6: Indicator 6.1.1 Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services; Indicator 6.2.1a Proportion of population using safely managed sanitation services; and Indicator 6.2.1b Proportion of population with a hand-washing facility with soap and water available at home.

1.4.           In addition, climate change and environmental sustainability are highly concerning to ensure the sustainability of the programs as well as for future generations living in a safe and secure environment. Therefore, understanding the climate change conditions, working towards climate resilient WASH parameters to contribute to the global climate agenda, and supporting other sectors through WASH interventions in protecting the climate and environment are highly essential.

1.5.           The Government of India is highly committed to achieving global targets related to water and sanitation as well as climate-resilient interventions. There has been significant progress towards sanitation since 2014, after the introduction of the Swachh Bharath Mission. Since 2019, the country has also committed to achieving Jal Jeevan Mission milestones for providing household-level tap connections with treated water supply and ensuring sustainability of sanitation services, solid and liquid waste management, and climate resilient interventions. In line with the government of India’s commitment and the states pro-active vision, there is a significant scope for supporting the states in achieving the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and climate change and environmental sustainability (CCES) priorities.

PURPOSE OF ASSIGNMENT:

2.1.UNICEF in Tamil Nadu and Kerala is supporting the roll-out of state specific initiatives that contribute to the national flagship objectives outlined by the Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen, Jal Jeevan Mission, Swachh Bharat Swachh Vidyalaya, and the Kayakalp effort in healthcare facilities as well as Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability (CCES) programs, focusing on UNICEF priorities.

2.2. The Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (Clean India Mission Rural) program sought to eliminate open defecation by October 2019. Subsequently the Government has launched SBM Phase II, which seeks to focus on improving the sustainability of the sanitation service chain, which includes liquid and solid waste management, handwashing with soap, and continuing to enable behaviour change. Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, another flagship program under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, the two state governments are committed to providing piped water supply to all households by 2024. For this, UNICEF is supporting with technical guideline development, capacity building efforts, improving community ownership and engagement, and implementing robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks at the state and national level.

2.3. Households with tapped water connection in Tamil Nadu is only about 62% and in Kerala is about 47%, below the national average of 59%. Around 81% sources are Bacteriological contaminated, and 9.3% water sources are Chemical contamination in Kerala. Under Sanitation, achievement of Liquid waste management key indicator is only 2% in Tamil Nadu and 44% in Kerala. There are only 20 Model villages and 41 raising villages as per ODF plus ranking in Tamil Nadu (Source : Data from GoI between Jan to Mar 2023). Population using improved sanitation facilities in rural is only around 63.3% in Tamil Nadu as per NFHS-5 Kerala state achieved 100% ODF prior to the SBM launch and the majority of the IHHLs were constructed by households themselves. Single pit toilets are constructed in both plain areas and high-water table areas. Toilets constructed without proper technical aspects become a major challenge. Strong evidence generation is one of the major requirements. UNICEF technical support through technical consultant is required in planning, implementation and monitoring of both SBM-G and JJM for implementation support.

2.4. With the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the line state governments will also be overseeing, with UNICEF support, the roll-out of WASH programming institutions such as schools, anganwadis and healthcare facilities, under the respective Swachh Bharat Swachh Vidyalaya and Kayakalp initiatives. These efforts seek to improve access to WASH services and practice of good and healthy WASH behaviours in key public entities with high foot traffic and impact. For instance, proper access to WASH services in schools is known to influence attendance and ability to focus on gaining an education, especially for girls who require support in practicing menstrual hygiene management while studying.

Given Tamil Nadu’s and Kerala’s precarious climactic context, the two states are prone to flooding, cyclones, and other climate-related disasters. In addition, the current COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating communities in its wake and requires concerted effort.

3. OBJECTIVE(S):  The basic objective of the consultancy would be to:

• Assist states, priority districts and other partners on strengthening policy and enabling environment for effective implementation of SBM-G and JJM in Tamil Nadu and Kerala states, including WASH in Institutions and CCES.
• Advocacy with the states for planning, implementing, and monitoring the programs.
•  Provide technical support to the states and partners by strengthening their skills and motivating through capacity building programs, workshops, and training.
•  Provide organizational support to UNICEF supported programs in states, ensuring effective implementation and timely liquidation of the funds and support to the priority districts for effective planning and implementation of programs.

5. MAJOR TASKS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED:

Scope of work will include the following:

• Provide key technical assistance to the following flagship initiatives led by state departments, as per the activities under the UNICEF WASH Multiyear workplan (MWP) for the Chennai office: Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (Phase II), Jal Jeevan Mission, Swachh Bharat Swachh Vidyalaya, Kayakalp, WASH in anganwadis, and any other key initiatives that arise.
• In alignment with the rolling workplan for 2023-2024, implement programming that will achieve the outlined key objectives under four outputs: community sanitation, water supply, WASH in institutions (schools, healthcare facilities, anganwadi centres), and social and behaviour change communication (SBCC); this also includes supporting climate resilient WASH activities.
• In alignment with the existing MWP, provide key technical assistance to state departments in Tamil Nadu and Kerala for: informing policies, shaping campaigns and interventions, supporting evidence generation activities, building capacities of key stakeholders, piloting new projects, documenting best practices and lessons learned, developing or informing robust and comprehensive monitoring frameworks, providing inputs on international and donor reports, etc.
• Support state-level advocacy and training efforts under the key WASH flagship programmes through workshops for master trainers, government officials, frontline workers, etc.
• Foster state-level WASH networks and be an active coordinator/member of ongoing networks that help implement state-led initiatives, policies, and campaigns.
• Regular review of allocation and expenditure as per state/districts plan to reach out to most marginalized vulnerable and deprived communities.
• Facilitating with implementing partners in organizing state-level and district-specific workshops, training programs, and orientations related to WASH and CCES. 
• Tamil Nadu and Kerala are both prone to experiencing natural disasters, especially in the form of flooding, sea level rise, cyclones, etc. UNICEF is a key partner to the state governments in leading and coordinating emergency response efforts in line with the global Sphere humanitarian standards and national disaster management protocols. The contractor will be responsible for supporting these efforts if the need arises.

7. DUTY STATION: Chennai, Tamil Nadu

8. OFFICIAL TRAVEL INVOLVED: Travel to duty station if located off-site and within Tamil Nadu and Kerala as per the project requirement, with the approval of supervisor. The consultant would be required to make her/his own arrangement for travel and stay. The cost of the travel on actual basis would reimburse on submission of the invoices, and the DSA would be paid as per UNICEF established rates, on the basis of the actual number of days travelled. DSA is applicable only for travel involving overnight stay. For travel to duty station from off-site location and if the consultant has to use the air travel option, he/she will book her/his own ticket, via, most direct route, economy class, which would be reimbursed by UNICEF on submission of invoices. 

9.   ESTIMATED DURATION OF CONTRACT: 21 months from start date of the contract. Contract renewal is dependent on satisfactory performance appraisal of the consultant and the funding availability in the programme.

10. Qualifications / specialized knowledge / experience/ competencies, language skills required for the consultancy:

Education

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: Climate /Environmental science, International Studies, Water Resources Engineering or Social Sciences.        
• Master’s degree in social work/ Social Sciences/ Environmental Science from Government recognized University

Technical Knowledge and Experience

• At least five years’ experience working in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene with at least three years in rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and community-based programming with particular reference to rural sanitation / SBM (G). Understanding of programming in Tamil Nadu and Kerala is desirable.
• Experience in working with NGOs/CBOs; well-versed in rural development in the context of Panchayati Raj systems and functioning of district administration.
• Good communication skills. Adept at negotiation and advocacy, particularly with Government administrators, engineers at State and District level and communities at field level.
• Fully computer literate and able to use word processing, spreadsheet, database, power point and internet/ e-mail.
• Proficient in developing strategy, conduct State/District level workshop, writing communication plan based on various consultation and incorporate inputs provided by various stakeholders.
• Good analytical skills and ability for evidence-based planning and monitoring would be and desirable.
• Good knowledge of the Climate Resilient WASH, Disaster Risk Reduction and Adolescent programs in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and India.
• Excellent participatory training and capacity building skills.
• Excellent documentation and reporting skills.
• Excellent knowledge of computer MS office and data management skills.

Project Management and Interpersonal Skills

• Proven project management capability handling government/public sector client
• Ability to manage multiple tasks within tight deadlines and prioritize effectively, while delivering high quality work
• Solution oriented with a high sense of quality, attention to detail, accuracy, efficiency, and meeting tight deadlines
• Team player who is also able to work independently and handle conflicting priorities while maintaining consistent, quality performance standards
• Ability to engage with a wide range of people, including government partners, academic centres, formal and in-formal networks and collectives, frontline workers, NGOs/CSOs and technical experts if required to collate all relevant information
• Proven excellent analytical, report writing and organizational skills
• Institutional knowledge of the UN including UNICEF is desirable
• Excellent written and presentation communication skills in English
• Working knowledge of spoken and written Tamil language will be an advantage
• Excellent interpersonal communication and advocacy skills.

For detailed information, please check the complete version of the advert attached below.