Individual Consultant to Develop a practical toolkit on Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) services and Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) in South Asia

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, a Future

How can you make a difference?

Rationale:

UNICEF ROSA has supported countries to undertake a WASH bottleneck analysis and have sought to implement the WASH FIT in health facilities, developing strategies as well as operational plans to effect change on the status of WASH in health facilities.

WASH FIT is a risk-based, continuous improvement framework with a set of tools for undertaking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) improvements as part of wider quality improvements in health care facilities. It is aimed at small primary, and in some instances secondary, health care facilities in low and middle income countries and is an adaptation of the water safety plan (WSP) approach, and is considered the most effective way of ensuring continuous provision of safe drinking-water. WASH FIT extends beyond water quality to address sanitation, hygiene, health care waste and other aspects of environmental health and health care facility management and staff empowerment. It also draws upon Sanitation Safety Planning and infection prevention and control. This guide is detailed and contains a number of ready to use tools to help implement WASH FIT.

With UNICEFs engagement in supporting the implementation of interventions aimed at enhancing WASH and IPC, it was observed that the bulk of tools available in the area, though comprehensive, are too-detailed to be suitable to guide day-to-day activities of health workers and program managers and availing a simplified toolkit that helps provide a systematic step-by-step guide to front line workers on their task for IPC, divided by operational level at the health care facilities and also serve for capacity building exercises for use by countries will be instrumental in standardizing and streamlining the IPC and WASH practice in health facilities and assist in facilitating the change envisioned to institutionalize IPC in health care provision. This product is to directly contribute to ROSA MNCH output 2.1: Programming excellence for at-scale results for children-Support countries to provide quality health care for women, newborns, children and adolescents at scale.

The task requires specific knowledge and experience in WASH and Infection Prevention and Control in health facility settings and is expected to require a dedicated time allocation to deliver it within a specified timeline (30 working days within 2 months). Hence cannot be undertaken by a staff member as part of regular duty.

Purpose:

The purpose of the assignment is to create a practical toolkit for the countries in South Asia Region in support of health care facilities to improve their WASH services and IPC practices. This includes outlining what needs to be in place/availed, knowledge/skill requirements to be met and responsibilities detailed for different levels of staff (program managers, health facility management, health care providers, cleaners), aiming to guide practice and build the capacity of the health workers on IPC and WASH in health facilities as a component of the Continuous Quality Improvement system in the most cost-effective and scalable way.

Key Assignments and Tasks:

1. Review existing global IPC and WASH guidelines and training packages, including the latest documents relating to the evolving status with the COVID 19 pandemic:

• Collect, review and analyze global and local guidelines, standards and training materials on WASH and IPC and sufficient to inform the toolkit to be produced
• Identify and list resource materials to develop the toolkit and its orientation package
• Working with RO experts, liaise with CO colleagues to access available documents as well as have a remote/online discussion to take stock of existing practices and inform the process with practical knowledge and local expertise
• Document clear and concise requirements for developing toolkit and identify levels of care and key categories of frontline workers/managers to target based on standards and analysis and develop an outline (submit the outline in an inception report)

2. Develop a practical toolkit for improving IPC and WASH in health facilities and a PP that can be used to introduce target audiences on the use of the tool:

• Outline WASH/IPC considerations for levels of care and synthesize roles and responsibilities different cadres based on guidelines and standards

• Develop a concrete, short-enough, checklist and a toolkit, combining IPC and WASH requirements/inputs and selected indicators (from existing global indicators) as relevant for Continuous Quality Improvement by considering the conduct of on the job training as well.

• The tool should be divided by level of user (e.g. program manager, admin, doctor, nurse, cleaner) and by timeframe when various checks should to be done (e.g. quarterly, monthly, weekly etc.)

• The tool can also include various sized health-facilities (i.e. health outpost, primary care centre or major hospital) or optional sections, which can be chosen to use as appropriate on the local level

• Draft a power point presentation, on the use of the toolkit directed to the end-users (each level)

Outline approaches to be used in making use of the toolkit for institutionalizing IPC and WASH programs in health facilities

iii. Finalize the WASH/IPC toolkit:

• Facilitate the country consultation of the toolkit and receive feedbacks
• Finalize and submit the toolkit and the PP package

Duration: 30 days between 1 March 2021 – 30 April 2021

Note: Please submit your application with financial proposal including travel cost. Applications without the financial proposal will not be considered.

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

1. 1. Education:

• Advanced degree in public health or related discipline.
• A University degree with equal years of relevant work experience in lieu of a Master degree is acceptable.

2. Work Experience:

• A minimum of 8 years’ experience in IPC/ WASH sector, related with quality management of health system related work in developing countries.
• Experience in working in the region.
• Demonstrated record of high-quality publications on IPC/WASH, and development issues.

3. Language Proficiency:

• The consultant should be proficient in English, with proven ability to communicate effectively.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are...

• Ability to work effectively with multi-faceted stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and writing skills

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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.