Consultancy services to develop a Sustainability strategy on water treatment for Commercial Utilities in Zambia (Cluster 3), 66 working days over 10 months period. Lusaka Zambia (Home based)

Contract

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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, clean water……

The UNICEF Programme of Cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) is designed to address and mitigate the threat of poverty the country's children face, while responding to the needs with interventions addressing the multiple causative factors.

To find out more about UNICEF's work in Zambia, please visit https://unicef.sharepoint.com/sites/ZMB/SitePages/About-us(1).aspx

How can you make a difference?

Join WASH team as consultant to develop a sustainability strategy for water treatment capacity, procurement of chemicals and storage management for Commercial Utilities (CUs) in Zambia. The consultant will report to the Chief of WASH (supported by WASH Specialist for Enabling Environment), or their designate who will monitor and issue instructions on the expected deliverables and timelines. The consultant will prepare a work plan covering the duration of the assignment and subsequently submit deliverables against the approved work plan. The Consultant will be contracted by, and report to UNICEF Zambia. Other partners, like Ministry of Water Development and Sanitation, and Ministry of Green Economy and Environment will also quality assure the expected deliverables

The key deliverables under this assignment are shown below. Please note, the number of days of work is indicative. The duration of the project is longer than the days required for work to allow time for feedback from UNICEF and government, and emergencies.

Scope of Work:

The main objective of the consultancy is to develop a MWDS sustainable water treatment chemical supply strategy for cluster 3 commercial utilities, provide TA support for implementing components of the strategy, and ensure effective monitoring of the use of water treatment chemicals and other critical supplies provided by UNICEF to cluster 3 commercial utilities and local authorities in response to COVID-19.

In order to meet the objectives listed in Section 2 the following specific tasks will be undertaken by the consultant:

• Carry out stakeholder consultations and investigation to inform the development of a MWDS sustainable water treatment chemical supply strategy for cluster 3 CUs and ensure all stakeholders (mainly commercial utilities) understand UNICEF will eventually no longer be supplying water treatment chemicals.
• Advocate for continued water treatment to be provided by the CU, and develop a sustainable water treatment chemical supply strategy to ensure sustainable financing, procurement, delivery, storage, distribution and usage of operating and consumable materials by the CU without support from cooperating partners (including procurement plan review, exploration of other sources of financing like private sector, supplier engagement) based on inputs at various stages received as state in point 1 above. Consideration should be made of the ongoing private sector situation analysis of the WASH sector in Zambia being undertaken by UNICEF, with an anticipated end date of December 2023.
• Provide estimates for procurement of test and laboratory material as well as only initial supply of laboratory reagents
• Carry out practical, accompanying training and support in the field and laboratory quality control (including raw water tests) as well as the efficient dosage of chemicals including occupational / health / environmental protection (for environmental protection also close interlinking with possible GIZ and other partner activities in the same CUs).
• Review the revised GRZ’s WASH response plan to COVID-19, requests for provision of chemicals and other critical supplies from commercial utilities and local authorities and other relevant reports/records;
• Undertake site visits to commercial water utilities and local authorities (including water treatment plants, warehouses etc), hold meetings with key staff and review relevant water production, chemicals consumption records, store records and other related data;
• Review critically the estimates/quantities for water treatment chemicals and other supplies provided by the commercial utilities and local authorities to UNICEF, based on water production/usage trends/seasonal variations/other available records;
• Provide revised/final estimates and technical specifications of water treatment chemicals and other supplies (such as dosers) needed by CUs on monthly basis, to UNICEF for use in one final procurement (date tba);
• Provide advice on specifications of the chemicals/ supplies and quality assurance/ testing requirements for future CU procurement; Consultant to suggest cheaper and alternative chemicals/ supplies/equipment where possible (quantities, specification, and possible vendors for CUs based on requirements at specific water treatment plants and distribution centres) to establish treatment efficiencies and cost effectiveness;
• Support pre-delivery inspections to check the quality/ conformity to the agreed specifications;
• Undertake monthly site visits to commercial utilities to monitor the usage of chemicals and other supplies, check warehousing conditions (to ensure safety of the stored chemicals and staff), identify related challenges, get feedback on the usage from beneficiaries, gather data on number of beneficiaries. Cross-check the usage against review of the water quality monitoring data;
• Provide advice to UNICEF on exit plan for KfW support to water treatment chemicals (on a degressive basis), based on review of water production/usage records, revenue data and financial statements etc;
• Provide advice to commercial utilities and local authorities on improving inventory management including record keeping (on receipts and distribution) warehousing and operational efficiencies regarding usage of chemicals and other supplies;
• Provide on-site advice on recognizing and avoiding environmental hazards (considering planned GIZ activities); and
• Undertake other related tasks to ensure that the objectives of this assignment are fully met.
• Where applicable, the CU-Platform is to be considered for implementing relevant tasks.

Detailed TOR: ToR Cluster 3.pdf

The consultant will carry out the works based on consultations and meetings with MWDS, UNICEF, commercial utilities/ local authorities, sector cooperating partners, line government agencies at the provincial and district level, and other key partners/stakeholders; review of relevant documents and reports; field visits, site assessments, and regular monitoring. Following the development of the sustainable chemical supply strategy, the consultant will provide TA support directly into targeted CUs, prioritized, in consultation with MWDS and based on the recommendations in the strategy.

The focus of this work will be on cluster 3 CUs: North-Western, Eastern, Western and Luapula Water Supply and Sanitation Companies (https://www.nwasco.org.zm/index.php/media-center/publications/water-supply-and-sanitation-sector-reports?task=download.send&id=94&catid=12&m=0).

Note: The cluster 3 consultant is expected to liaise and exchange with the individual consultants that will be responsible for cluster 1 and 2 work. The cluster 1 and 2 work is in essence similar so strategy format to be standardised by UNICEF.

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

• Masters’ Degree in Civil or Chemical Engineering, Water and Sanitation, or in a related field.
• At least 10 years of professional experience in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector.
• At least 5 years field experience working in or very closely with a commercial utility in Zambia. Work experience in a CU is an advantage.
• To have performed at least 3 similar consultancies – strategy development, procurement, and monitoring of water treatment chemicals. Examples to be included in the proposal.
• Good reputation in the WASH sector
• Proven leadership experience with Project Management and ability to achieve quality results, on time, and within budget.
• Ability to coordinate a range of diverse actors (including senior government officials) and activities to achieve a common objective
• Should be resident in Zambia

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.

Costs indicated are estimated. Final rate shall follow the “best value for money” principle, i.e., achieving the desired outcome at the lowest possible fee. Consultants will be asked to stipulate all-inclusive fees, including lump sum travel and subsistence costs, as applicable.

The Financial bid should comprise an indication of the full cost of delivering the task. The Financial Bid should include breakdown of professional fees/remuneration, other administrative and travel costs, and miscellaneous expense etc. for each phase (phase 1 sustainable chemical strategy and phase 2 capacity support and monitoring) and each of the target locations. It should be noted that this assignment is need-based and hence the inputs to be provided by the expert and sites to be visited may vary. This aspect should, therefore, be given due consideration. All-inclusive proposal must include a daily rate for professional fee that includes subsistence allowance, and unit rates for vehicle hire, and mileage charge per kilometer.

All proposals must be in United States Dollar (US$) or Local currency (ZMW). Travel and accommodation costs need to be built into total budget. Costs for accommodation, meals and incidentals shall not exceed applicable daily subsistence allowance (DSA) rates, as promulgated by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC).

Consultant will include cost of travel and accommodation for field trips.

Other general conditions to apply are as follows:

• The consultant shall arrange his/her own workspace, office equipment, supplies, etc.
• Expected expenses should be part of the submitted quotation/estimates
• Except for the costs included in the financial proposal, UNICEF will not pay for any other expenses incurred when implementing this assignment.