Job no: 561976
Contract type: Consultant
Duty Station: Harare
Level: Consultancy
Location: Zimbabwe
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, an opportunity
UNICEF has been operating in Zimbabwe since 1982. We are a team of passionate professionals committed to the protection and fulfillment of children’s rights.
Supporting the Government’s vision of a prosperous and empowered upper-middle-income society, the 2022 to 2026 UNICEF Zimbabwe country programme is aimed at contributing to sustainable socioeconomic development that provides all children, including adolescents, with opportunities to fulfil their potential, lead a healthy life, access quality learning and protection and meaningfully participate in society.
For more information about UNICEF Zimbabwe please click here
You can also access and explore all new UNICEF vacancies and create job alerts via the UNICEF Zimbabwe website link below:
https://www.unicef.org/zimbabwe/work-us
How can you make a difference?
UNICEF Zimbabwe is seeking to hire an enthusiastic individual consultant to support UNICEF in its core mandate as WASH Emergency Strategic Advisory Group (ESAG) co-chair as well as Sector Working Group co-chair by supporting the development, planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of UNICEF’s preparedness and response to acute watery diarrhea (AWD) and cholera. Activities undertaken will focus on results related to safeguarding and improving public health of the affected population by ensuring access to safe drinking water, proper excreta disposal and promoting safe hygiene practices; ensuring overall efficiency, effectiveness, and delivery of results in accordance with UNICEF’s Core Commitment for Children in Emergencies (CCCs) and national and international humanitarian standards.
BACKGROUND
The 2020 update of the Core Commitments for Children (CCCs) is the explicit commitment that appropriate and experienced staff and personnel with relevant deployment training are provided and rapidly deployed, that focus on action in the first eight critical weeks of humanitarian response and provide guidance for action beyond that, moving towards defined benchmarks.
As of May 1, Zimbabwe has reported cholera cases in 9 of the provinces with 598 suspected cholera cases reported. However, actual figures are likely higher as limitations in surveillance systems, underreporting, and stigma hampers monitoring. Eleven countries in eastern and southern Africa are experiencing a cholera outbreak, with approximately 67,822 cases and 1,788 estimated deaths, including Malawi and Mozambique have a combined total of more than 5.4 million people in need of support, which also increases the risk to Zimbabwe as cross-border travel is common.
PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
To support UNICEF in its core mandate as WASH Emergency Strategic Advisory Group (ESAG) co-chair as well as Sector Working Group co-chair by supporting the development, planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of UNICEF’s preparedness and response to acute watery diarrhea (AWD) and cholera. Activities undertaken will focus on results related to safeguarding and improving public health of the affected population by ensuring access to safe drinking water, proper excreta disposal and promoting safe hygiene practices; ensuring overall efficiency, effectiveness, and delivery of results in accordance with UNICEF’s Core Commitment for Children in Emergencies (CCCs) and national and international humanitarian standards.
ASSIGNMENTS:
- Under the framework of National Action Committee (NAC) structures at the national, provincial, and district levels and in conjunction with other WASH stakeholders, including disaster response mechanisms and on behalf of UNICEF, support the overall analysis of sectoral needs and priorities and the definition of strategies and standards to ensure the delivery of safe drinking water to affected population in accordance with national and international humanitarian standards.
- Attendance and participation in WASH sector Technical Working Groups and forums as and when required including dissemination of progress updates with stakeholders and ensuring alignment with other sectors.
- Provide overall technical guidance to UNICEF’s Implementing partners, RDCs, Local Authorities and NCU to carry out WASH emergency humanitarian programme delivery, formulate, implement, and monitor planned WASH activities while ensuring alignment with the country’s strategies and quality of rights-based approach.
- Conduct field visits to cholera-affected areas as required in coordination with the partners and other government counterparts and ensure dissemination of findings with the appropriate authorities for necessary action.
- Support donor missions to cholera-affected areas.
- Collaborate with the design and effective implementation of a monitoring plan to follow up the implementation of UNICEFs emergency humanitarian response in the WASH sector, incorporating required changes into WASH activities, with special attention to special needs of women, children, and people with disabilities and other cross-cutting areas.
- Provide emergency WASH situation reports, field reports and donor update reports as and when required with inputs from IPs and government ministries.
- Support collation of data from the field including making inputs for donor proposals
- Promote effective Knowledge management and communication through sharing good practices, and lessons learned, including providing inputs/liaising with Communications on Human interest stories for reporting and advocacy purposes.
- Ensure UNICEFs engagement and contribution and participation in cross-sectoral assessment, analysis and evaluations of the emergency response and post-distribution monitoring of supplies.
- Provide technical support to the WASH section in emergency preparedness and response plans based on cholera emergency programmatic requirements.
- Support convergence and joint implementation with other UNICEF sections
Major tasks and deliverables:
| Tasks/Milestone: | Indicative Deliverables/Outputs: | Timeline |
| Provide technical support to the WASH section in emergency preparedness and development of response plans, based on WASH emergency programmatic requirementsDraft/revise the Cholera emergency preparedness and response plan.Support the prepositioning of WASH contingency stock in cholera hotspot and affected areas.Update and keep an inventory of WASH Emergency Supplies. | Cholera Preparedness and Response plan updated and shared with UNICEF and Government stakeholders. WASH contingency stocks are prepositioned in 8 Provinces. WASH emergency supplies tracking matrix developed, updated, and shared. | 5 days 5 days 10 days |
| Provide overall technical guidance to Implementing partners, local councils and NAC to carry out programme delivery, and formulate, implement and monitor planned WASH Cholera response activities while ensuring alignment with the country’s strategies and quality of rights-based approach. The consultant will specifically be required to;Monitor and provide technical support to implementation of hardware activities that include but not limed to borehole repairs, boreholedrilling and rehabilitation of solar powered piped water schemes.Monitor and provide technical support to the dissemination of key hygiene messages and pre and post-distribution monitoring of hygiene kits and items.Monitor and provide technical support to the implementation of Case Area Targeted Interventions (CATIS) and Cluster Case Targeted Interventions (CLUSTI)Monitor and provide technical support on water quality monitoring, bucket chlorination, and water vendors’ water quality monitoring. | At least 8 consolidated field monitoring reports with key follow-up actions and recommendations | 29 days |
| In collaboration with line Ministries, coordinate and provide technical support to the WASH sector emergency response, including ESAG and other national levels WASH and Health sector Technical Working groups and forums as and when required.Present UNICEF’s position and activities and dissemination/follow up of progress updates with stakeholders. | Eight (8) updates/presentations to ESAG monthly meetingsAt least (8) ESAG monthly minutes produced and shared with WASH sector partners. | 5 days |
| Obtain WASH response data from local authorities and relevant Ministries (MoHCC, MoLAWCRR)Collate and analyze data to identify trends in implementation and bottlenecks to implementation response.Undertake WASH assessments in collaboration with UNICEF Health, government, and IPS in areas affected by cholera.Collate lessons learned and take inputs for donor reporting.Identify opportunities and ensure collaboration with other sectors (including but not limited to Health, Nutrition, and Education) for implementation of an integrated approach to WASH emergency response. | At least five (5) monthly situation reports for UNICEF (format of the report to be approved by the supervisor and to include any multi-sectoral interventions undertaken).Draft inputs for donor reports and to any potential donor proposals or visits as needed. | 20 days |
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Education:
A Masters Degree in Environmental Public Health, Civil Engineering, Programme Communication, Sanitation Engineering, or other field related to or other field related to behavior change communication.
Experience:
At least 5 years of extensive experience in Cholera Preparedness and Response planning, management, and coordination with UNICEF, other UN agencies, or INGOs.
Knowledge/ Expertise/Skills required:
Knowledge and experience in the Zimbabwe WASH sector, preferably WASH emergencies
Knowledge of public health and one or more other relevant areas (e.g behavior change, health promotion, community development, education, etc.)
Knowledge of Implementation of the cholera Case-Area Targeted Intervention (CATI) and Cluster Case Targeted Interventions (CLUSTI)
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.
Work experience and knowledge of development, implementation, and management of climate-smart approaches to disaster risk management and reduction, resilience building, education, health, nutrition, social protection, and WASH
Languages: English
If interested and available to undertake the individual consultancy, please submit your application online and attach the required documents including the technical proposal and an all-inclusive financial proposal incorporating the approximate 40 days of travel
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.
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: 12 May 2023 South Africa Standard Time
Deadline: 17 May 2023 South Africa Standard Time
