State Consultant for Consultant for Safely Managed Water, Climate, and Energy via DevNetJobsIndia

Title of consultancy: State Consultant for Consultant for Safely Managed Water, Climate, and Energy

Location: Raipur/Chattisgarh

Closing Date: 17 Jan 2023

BACKGROUND / RATIONALE

Department of drinking water and sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) GoI has prioritized achieving SDG 6.1 through its flagship programme Jal Jeevan Mission, which is focusing on providing functional household tap connections linked to piped water supply to all households. In the beginning, Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), Chhattisgarh had a steep target to enhance its coverage from 4.36% in 2019 to 100% by 2024. The critical challenge in the state is that of scattered tribal habitations, difficult terrain, availability of skilled vendors and service providers to address infrastructure at scale and in a mission mode. Progress in 2020 was constrained due to the COVID pandemic.   

With good leadership at state and district level, Government of Chhattisgarh has achieved 31% increase in coverage reaching out 1.49 million households through functional household tap connections and is planning to cover rest 3.19 million households with functional household tap connections in these two years. UNICEF’s technical assistance successfully supported this progress and was timely and strategic.

As part of UNICEF’s technical assistance to the water sector and government flagship (JJM) in 2023-24, State and districts would be extended support in strategy development for addressing acute depletion of water sources/ water table and rolling out of operation & maintenance measures, building systemic and community capacities combined with skilling and professionalisation of the water sector. It is critical to address these challenges through an Operation & Maintenance policy, source sustainability and solarisation measures supported with adequate systemic capacities. To support this, PRIs and VWSCs will need to be oriented and provided handholding support on O&M and financial management including tariff setting for regular operation and maintenance with special support to cadre of women (Jal Bahini) and young people (Jal Mitan), water quality monitoring and surveillance, renewable energy to address environmental protection and reduced energy tariffs, chlorination, source protection and community ownership.

Further, UNICEF will provide technical assistance to PHED and allied departments to facilitate and ensure that Climate, environment, and energy (CEE) are mainstreamed in the drinking water sector, and young people and institutions are engaged in professionalisation of the water sector through upscaling of skilling and related partnerships

PURPOSE OF ASSIGNMENT

Provide specialized technical assistance (TA) to Mission Directorate JJM, PHED, Government of Chhattisgarh, related departments (Energy, Panchayat and Rural Development) and select districts, for acceleration of FHTC coverage, operation and maintenance of drinking water systems and WQMS, focusing on system strengthening, capacity building, skilling and professionalisation of water services, knowledge management and evidence generation for adaptation of learning and scale up of best practices.

Another primary function of the consultant will be to provide technical support towards development of frameworks, financing models, convergent models and partnerships for integrating / mainstreaming source sustainability, climate, energy, and environment (CEE) components in rural drinking water sector in Chhattisgarh. The consultant will be responsible for supporting systemic capacities, building the capacity of stakeholders and partners, support them to implement CEE components in water programmes, as well as document and disseminate good practices and lessons learned on water and CEE. Furthermore, the consultant is also expected to support CEE and water policy related work and/or design new CEE and water programmes whenever there is an opportunity.

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OBJECTIVE/S

The objective of the consultancy is divided into the following four areas:

• Technical assistance to JJM Mission Directorate, PHED on the development and operationalization of the Operation and Maintenance policy/strategy for JJM in Chhattisgarh, including system strengthening, capacity building, financing, source sustainability, components along with a synthesis of key findings, learnings, and contribute to knowledge management and evidence generation
• Support convergence and mainstreaming of climate, energy and environment (CEE) in drinking water sector through facilitating systemic capacities, partnerships & collaborations and engaging with key government departments (energy, Panchayat and Rural Development and development partners/academic institutions
• Engage with JJM/ PHED teams, young people platforms and development partners to promote skilling and professionalisation of the drinking water sector and support PHED and key Government departments / missions (CG skill development authority, PRD) in implementing these in Chhattisgarh
• Technical assistance to JJM/PHED in continued strengthening of water quality management and surveillance (WQMS) including chlorination systems, district and subdivision lab performance benchmarking, establishing the feedback loop and building community capacities (VWSCs, Jal Bahini)

MAJOR TASKS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED

The total ToR is for a period of 24 months. First phase of the contract would be for 12 months and Phase two (12months) would start after satisfactory completion of phase 1 and availability of funds.

Note: Phase 2 of the contract will be subject to performance in Phase 1 deliverables, and availability of funds.

System strengthening and accelerating access of safely managed drinking water with equity and sustainability:  

• Technical support for development and effective roll out of Annual Action Plan and strategic saturation plan for FHTC coverage and Har Ghar Jal villages
• Note on PRI leadership in accelerating HH coverage
• development capacity building strategy and monitoring strategy
• Development and operationalization of Operation and Maintenance (O&M) policy & source sustainability measures under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) prioritising
• PRI leadership in O&M and source sustainability
• Development capacity building strategy and monitoring strategy for PHED, PRIs
• strengthened institutional set up for O&M focusing on equity based, gender responsive and climate resilient interventions through supportive supervision (special focus on tribal intensive conflict affected districts)

Strengthen capacities and institutional structures for decentralized governance and professionalization of drinking water services

• Technical support for rolling out capacity building & handholding plan for KRCs, ISAs, PRIs and VWSC members through cascading mode for effective operationalisation of O&M, climate resilient, gender transformative and equity based interventions and sustaining status of HGJ certified villages in identified UNICEF districts
• Support development of state framework for skilling, professionalisation of water services with special focus on women (Jal Bahini) and young people (eg Jal Mitan)
• Support capacity building plan for key stakeholders based on needs assessments, development of CB modules and learning
• Support state in advancing WQMS, lab strengthening and establishing feedback loop for communities
• Institutionalize / accelerate capacity building of PRIs, women Jal Bahini /other frontline workers on WQMS, Operation and maintenance, source sustainability, governance (including OPEX)

Support convergence and mainstreaming of climate, energy and environment(CEE) for safely managed drinking water through Partnerships & collaborations

• Support UNICEF and Government in developing a convergence strategy on integration of drinking water with climate, energy and environment (CEE)
• Develop a note on progress of solarization in JJM in consultation with CREDA and JJM
• Support Government on drafting action plan on source sustainability and track progress against the same (e.g Atal Bhujal Yojana)
• Identify potential CEE and water partnership opportunities with government counterparts and with development partners, to operationalize CEE within existing water flagships and programmes
• Develop and roll out advocacy and communication package focusing on conjunctive use of water, renewable energy(solarisation) and source sustainability

Support monitoring and knowledge management:

• State specific analysis of source sustainability measures of PWSS, gap identification, recommendations and inclusion in scheme planning process with equity & gender focus
• support monitoring apps and dashboard development including a monitoring architecture
• performance standards; monitoring indicators for output and process monitoring for various implementation agencies (ISAs, Jal Bahini, Jal Mitan, VWSCs, GPs),
• Support in scaling-up existing CEE and water initiatives and support documentation of the process and outcomes for cross-learning and scaling-up most effective approaches; support related cross-learning activities

DELIVERABLES AND DEADLINES

7. DUTY STATION

The consultant will be based in Raipur

8. SUPERVISOR

UNICEF WASH Specialist.

9.  OFFICIAL TRAVEL INVOLVED (ITINERARY AND DURATION)

The consultant will undertake field visits to UNICEF supported districts (Bastar division/ aspirational districts) to achieve completion of deliverables as per ToR. There may be need based travel to other districts of the State (other than UNICEF supported districts) for important joint missions with Government and at New Delhi/ outside Chhattisgarh for supporting system strengthening and monitoring of water security and safety and climate and environment related activities.

20 estimated trips at the rate of 4.5 days per trip which equals 90 travel days in 24 months.

During the contract, should exceptional outside Chhattisgarh travel be required (i.e. to attend a conference, etc., strategic meetings), this travel will be treated as “mission travel” in which case a Travel Authorization will be raised by UNICEF to cover travel costs, allowances and terminals. Outside the scope of the ToR, contract will be amended and payment will be released based on submission of invoices/claims by the consultant. 

It is essential to clarify that i) travel cost shall be calculated based on economy class travel, regardless of the length of travel. (ii) by most direct route only.

10. ESTIMATED DURATION OF CONTRACT (PART TIME / FULL TIME)

Estimated duration –1 February 2023 – 31 January 2025 (24 months) full time contract

The contract will be raised for an initial period of 12 months (1 Feb 2023 – 31 Jan 2024). After the completion of 12 months, the contract will be renewed for the consultant up to another 12 months, on basis of performance review and availability of funds.

11. QUALIFICATIONS / SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE / EXPERIENCE/ COMPETENCIES LANGUAGE SKILLS REQUIRED

Specifies the professional requirements of the individual for the assignment including required experience, skills and qualifications; Profile required (education, experience and working language(s))

Education

• Bachelor’s in Engineering/ Technology (BE/B.Tech) in one of these areas or related to this: Civil /Public Health/ environmental sciences/ Energy and
• An advanced university degree / Masters in one of these fields of water and climate/ environmental policy/ Management/ Business Administration /Public Health/ Planning/ energy or related to these areas

Work experience

• A minimum of five years of professional experience in water, sanitation, and hygiene sector at state/national level, with at least two years of experience on water supply systems strengthening related but not limited to infrastructure, community ownership, water quality monitoring and surveillance
• At least 2 years of experience of working at national or state level with key ministries/ departments / in providing technical support and facilitating collaboration among relevant agencies on water/ infrastructure/energy, climate, or related technical area
• Experience working in Chhattisgarh and understanding of the development and sector context in the state is an advantage
• Working experience with reputed organisations (UNICEF/ other UN /international and national agencies)
• Proficiency in Computer skills at least of MS-Office application software (MS Word, Excel, Power Point) with working knowledge of web-based software or monitoring platforms
• Excellent communication skills, including proficient use of social media platforms and good writing skills with publications will have an advantage

Language proficiency:

Fluency in English (oral and written) and proficiency in Hindi (oral, written) is required

12. SELECTION PROCESS

QCBS (Technical Evaluation Criteria – with weights for each criterion)

Weightage of Technical & Financial – 80/20 (Technical / Financial)

Technical Evaluation Criteria: The CVs selected from the open advertisement shall be reviewed along the first 3 points of the table provided below. This would be treated as the Technical Desk Review (TDR) for 30 marks. A Personal Interview (PI) of 50 marks shall be conducted for all the candidates shortlisted based on the TDR. TDR and PI together will form the Technical Evaluation of 80 percentage out of the total 100 percent (56 marks/ 80 marks). Financial bid shall be opened for those candidates only who would be acquiring a minimum of 70% marks (56 Marks) out of the total 80 marks in the Technical Evaluation. 20 marks shall be used for the Financial Evaluation.

Financial Evaluation Criterion: The price/cost of each of the technically compliant proposals shall be considered only after evaluation of the above technical criteria. A maximum 20 point assigned to the financial proposal will be allocated to the lowest financial proposal. All other price proposals will receive scores in inverse proportion according to the following formula:

Score for price proposal A = (Maximum score for price proposal * Price of lowest priced proposal)/Price of proposal A.

As a result of the financial evaluation, the points of each proposal will be taken into further consideration in the final evaluation.

13. PAYMENT SCHEDULE

Payment will be linked to deliverables as outlined in the attached financial template.

14. IMPORTANT NOTES (TO BE INCLUDED IN THE FINAL TOR TO BE ADVERTISED):

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 health insurance (and visa if applicable) 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.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants 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.

15. FINANCIAL TEMPLATE -ATTACHED AS ANNEX-1:

16. APPLICATION PROCESS

• Qualified candidates are requested to please indicate their ability and availability to undertake the terms of reference above.
• Your application should be sent to raipur.consultants@unicef.org by 17 January 2023 with subject line “State Consultant for Consultant for Safely Managed Water, Climate, and Energy” in separate files consisting of:

1. An application/cover letter
2. Up-to-date Curriculum Vitae (CV)
3. Up-to-date P-11 form (Annexure-I)
4. A financial proposal/bid (Annexure-II), duly signed, in PDF format only indicating all- deliverable based fee and related travel, DSA/per diem as per template attached below. Please mention your name in the file name while saving.
5. 3 samples of previous works relevant to the ToR (e.g. articles, publications, technical reports, analytical reports, etc. In form of word documents, pdf, excel sheets, power point presentation, etc.); if heavy files, kindly share the links to access

• Any attempt to unduly influence UNICEF’s selection process will lead to automatic disqualification of the applicant.
• Joint applications of two or more individuals are not accepted.
• Incomplete applications, submissions without all required documents or submissions after the deadline will be invalidated.
• Please note, UNICEF does not charge any fee during any stage of the process.

UNICEF reserves the right to invalidate applications for reasons mentioned above.

For any clarifications, please contact: Supply Focal Point, UNICEF, 503, Civil Lines, Raipur-492001. Chhattisgarh. Landline 0771-4245750 (Monday to Friday – 10:00 am to 05:00 pm) raipur.consultants@unicef.org.