Emergency WASH Consultant (Cholera and Flood Response)

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

Lilongwe, Malawi 🇲🇼

Job no: 561095
Contract type: Consultant
Duty Station: Lilongwe
Level: Consultancy
Location: Malawi
Categories: WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene)

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, Safety… 

Tropical Cyclone Freddy hit Malawi on 13 March 2023, causing 563,602 internally displaced people residing in 576 camps, according to Malawi’s Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) on 22 March 2023. In recent days, some sites hosting displaced people have begun to see a reduction in the number of people sheltering in them. However, many people remain fearful of returning home or unable to do so as their homes have been destroyed. Many people also remain stranded in areas where access via road is currently impossible. An estimated 178,000 people are currently sheltering in camps that are not accessible by road.

Health facilities have been destroyed or flooded, leaving communities without adequate access to health services. Despite cholera case continued to decline, with 1,424 cases recorded in the week ending 20 March 2023, compared with 1,956 the previous week, public health risk remains high within communities. However, the case fatality rate remains over 3 per cent, above the acceptable threshold of 1 per cent.

The factors contributing to the spread of cholera include limited human and financial resources, low safe water coverage, and low latrine coverage aggravated by poor hygiene and open defecation. The floods due to Cyclone Freddy caused a rapid deterioration of the already fragile hygienic and sanitary conditions in many communities, with many drinking water sources contaminated.

UNICEF, as highlighted in the Core Commitments for Children (CCC) in Humanitarian Action, is fully committed to interagency humanitarian reform and supports this through provision of leadership and participation in assigned clusters and sectors. UNICEF plays a crucial role in ensuring a strategic, coordinated and effective humanitarian response and it is co-leading the Water and Sanitation (WASH) Cluster in collaboration with the Ministry of WASH and other WASH partners. Data and maps are accessible: Water Sanitation & Hygiene | Humanitarian Response.

The Cluster approach ensures clear leadership, predictability, and accountability in international responses to humanitarian emergencies by clarifying the division of labour among organizations and better defining their roles and responsibilities within the different sectors of the response. It aims to make the international humanitarian community better organized, more accountable, and professional and be a better partner for the affected people, host governments, local authorities, local civil society, and resource partners.

Improving access to WASH infrastructures by rehabilitating and upgrading WASH infrastructure destroyed by the Cyclone Freddy and the subsequent flooding can significantly help reduce pathogen load in the environment and overcome the causes of infectious, preventable diseases. It is against this background that UNICEF is proposing an integrated approach and response covering WASH across prioritized districts with the highest number of cases.

How can you make a difference? 

The Emergency WASH Consultant will be based in the district office of the Ministry of Water and Sanitation in Blantyre with frequent monitoring visits to cholera and flood affected districts in Malawi. Duties will include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Implementation of the cholera case-area targeted intervention (CATI) and cluster case targeted intervention (CLUSTI) supporting district health authorities to deploy the rapid response teams or cholera outbreak response teams (CORT) and support to implementing partners’ WASH training needs and orientation to field response teams, including reviewing of monitoring tools for cholera response.
  2. Conduct site assessments and regular updates on the cholera situation and flood to identify the needs for the response, including updates for the 5W matrix (the matrix plots Who is working Where on What activities; When and with What resources) and partner coverage maps.
  3. Safeguard and improve the public health of the affected population by ensuring access to safe drinking water and excreta disposal and promoting safe hygiene practices, ensuring overall efficiency, effectiveness and delivery of results following UNICEF’s Core Commitment for Children in Emergencies (CCCs) and national and international humanitarian standards. 
  4. Dissemination of cholera behaviour change activities through various media in consultation with the Social and Bevahiour Change (SBC) manager; and the health education unit of the Ministry of Health (MoH).
  5. Ensure cholera supplies are identified, procured, distributed, and used effectively.
  6. Support the implementation of all WASH related activities for flood response.
  7. Support Monitoring and evaluation of all WASH implementing partners (United Purpose, Malawian Red Cross, hygiene village, Oxfam and other).  
  8. Coordinate the response with local WASH authorities, as well as sub-national and national including attending coordination meetings on cholera response.
  9. Support the WASH cluster coordination and provide periodic updates (including daily / weekly updates), situation reports (Sitreps) and final reports on the cholera response.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

Education and training:

  • Advanced university degree or equivalent experience in Environmental Public Health, Civil Engineering, Programme Communication, Sanitation Engineering, or other field related to or other field related to behaviour change communication.
  • Additional training in health education, project management and emergency response or Social and behavioural change communication is considered as an asset.

Work Experience:

  • A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible professional work experience in the UN or other international development organization, national government or the private sector is required.
  • Solid experience in cholera and flood response programmes is required. 
  • Background/familiarity with emergency (preparedness and response) is required and familiarity with the IASC cluster approach is an asset.
  • Experience on case-area targeted intervention (CATI) and cluster case targeted intervention (CLUSTI) is an asset
  • Experience working with government agencies, local authorities, international organizations, NGOs, and communities in the field of water, sanitation and participatory approaches in health and hygiene promotion is required.

Skills required:

  • Excellent communication skills.
  • Excellent analytical, planning and organizational skills.
  • Ability to work in a team with limited supervision.
  • Ability to work under pressure.

Language:

Fluency in spoken and written English is essential.

Please refer to the attached full Terms of Reference  Download File Terms of Reference Emergency WASH Consultant-Cholera and Flood Response.pdf for more details on the consultancy and requirements.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

 To view our competency framework, please visit  here

 UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check. 

HOW TO APPLY…

Interested Individual Consultant should provide the following:

  1. Curriculum Vitae
  2. Application letter
  3. Academic certificates
  4. Brief technical proposal (no longer than five pages) demonstrating the Individual Consultant’s understanding of the assignment and approach/methodology to the assignment
  5. Financial proposal including a breakdown of their all-inclusive fees (including professional fees, stationery, communication,  and other miscellaneous costs).Download File Financial Proposal for Consultancy.xlsx Complete the attached form.
  6. References details

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts. 

Advertised: 13 Apr 2023 South Africa Standard Time
Deadline: 28 Apr 2023 South Africa Standard Time


POSITION TYPE

ORGANIZATION TYPE

EXPERIENCE-LEVEL

DEGREE REQUIRED

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