Individual Contractor to support WASH Cluster

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, hope

How can you make a difference?

Background:

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

UNICEF is the Cluster Lead Agency for the WASH Cluster, the Nutrition Cluster, Child Protection Area of Responsibility, and co-lead for the Education Cluster. Until now, the WASH response focused on conflict-affected areas in the East of the country. The response included supporting national water service providers with established infrastructure, maintenance and repair of pump stations, treatment plants and distribution networks. An important component of advocacy was driven by strong information management, analysis and reporting.

The recent escalation in many parts of Ukraine (mostly East, South and also North) has had an impact on WASH service delivery, resulting in significant displacement of the population and the need to expand the WASH response nationwide.

Due to the dispersal of the response across Ukraine, the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) and the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), the national WASH cluster needs additional support to ensure that coordination functions are carried out effectively and efficiently.

Purpose of assignment:

The objective of this position is to support the National Cluster Coordinator in the execution of the Cluster's core functions, including service delivery, HC/HCT strategic decision-making for humanitarian response, planning and strategy development and advocacy in Ukraine. As such, the WASH contractor will support a diverse function and set of tasks, with a focus on supporting the tracking of needs and responses to inform operational coordination. perform a mixed role will manage the data collection, analysis and reporting of the Cluster-led mechanism for monitoring and reporting on WASH incidents. The WASH contractor will support the national cluster coordinator in the HNO and HRP cycle for 2023.

Minimum requirements:

Education

Master's degree

• Master’s degree, or relevant combination of qualifications and experience, in public health in emergencies, social sciences, institutional development, water or sanitation engineering or related field.
• Extensive work experience relevant to this post may be considered as a replacement for formal qualifications.
• Formal training in cluster information management an advantage.

Professional experience [number of years, relevant to the assignment, other specifics]

At least 3 years of progressively responsible humanitarian work experience within the UN and/or NGOs, including information management in the first phase of a major emergency response relevant to the cluster. Extensive work experience outside the humanitarian sector relevant to this post may be considered as a substitute for humanitarian experience.

Language

English

Upper-intermediate [B2]

Ukrainian

Proficient/Native [C2]

Russian

is an advantage

Skills and competencies

Core competencies:

• Strong understanding of the logical framework approach and the different types of indicators, basic understanding of the project cycle management (especially monitoring and evaluation steps)
• Good understanding of the humanitarian approach, humanitarian reform, transformative agenda and roles of each humanitarian actor (Government, UNOCHA, Clusters, organizations), and the information requirements within a cluster.
• Basic understanding of Clusters in emergencies to be able to engage with cluster participants; understand their cluster-specific information management needs and respond to those needs in a timely manner
• Proactively establish and maintain working relations with cluster participants and government counterparts, to identify synergies, and efficiencies in workflows.
• Diplomatic skills and able to establish excellent working relations with partners to collect information. Understanding of the data and information virtuous cycle
• Facilitation and capacity-building skills
• Ability to perform several tasks in a timely manner with a focus on quality
• Communicate key messages to different audiences

Technical competencies:

• Understands key technical issues for the cluster sufficiently well enough to be able to engage with cluster participants and local authorities, and understand their cluster-specific information needs.
• Excellent knowledge of MS Excel (e.g. pivot tables and functions); proven technical expertise for managing data capture and storage, for analyzing diverse datasets, and presenting information in understandable tables, charts, graphs and reports; knowledge of establishing and managing basic information sharing platforms.
• The ability to lead assessment processes and/or technical working groups is an asset

Functional competencies:

• Formulating Strategies and Concepts [ I]
• Analyzing [ II]
• Applying Technical Expertise [ II]
• Learning and Researching [ II]
• Planning and Organizing [ II]

Work assignment overview:

Tasks/Milestone

Deliverables/ Outputs

Date

RESPONSIBILITIES

Within the delegated authority and under the given organizational set-up, WASH contractor will support national or subnational cluster coordinators for delivery of primarily, shared, or contributory results for all or part of the following areas of major duties and key end-results:

• Establish and maintain an appropriate humanitarian coordination mechanism at national and subnational levels;
• Strengthen pre-existing sectoral coordination mecanisms through increased predictability and accountability;
• Support subnational coordinators in building complementarity of partner actions: avoiding duplication and gaps;
• Support the national cluster coordinator in effectively managing and guiding joint fund mobilization exercises to ensure the most effective use of resources for the cluster’s response;
• Where relevant, support the integration of relevant cross-cutting issues, including age, gender, environment and HIV/AIDs, and promote principles of AAP and protection mainstreaming wherever feasible;
• Maintain flexibility to respond to changes in the operating environment, evolving cluster requirements, capacities and participation;
• Support the effective use and transfer of information and feedback to, from and between cluster participants, other stakeholders, and between technical and subnational groups;
• Interact with other clusters (including through inter-cluster coordination fora), humanitarian actors, government counterparts, and relevant authorities for operational planning, engagement and active contribution of operational partners;
• Contribute to and support the monitoring of key performance indicators of the core cluster functions.
• Any relevant task assigned by the supervisor / managers and other partners, to contribute to the success of cluster coordination.

Core cluster functions:

Supporting service delivery

• Provide a platform to ensure that service delivery is driven by the agreed strategic priorities
• Develop mechanisms to eliminate duplication of service delivery

Informing strategic decision-making of the HC/HCT for the humanitarian response

• Needs assessment and gap analysis (across other sectors and within the sector)
• Analysis to identify and address (emerging) gaps, obstacles, duplication, and cross-cutting issues.
• Prioritization, grounded in response analysis

Planning and strategy development

• Develop sectoral plans, objectives and indicators directly support realization of the HC/HCT strategic priorities
• Application and adherence to existing standards and guidelines
• Clarify funding requirements, prioritization, and cluster contributions to HC’s overall humanitarian funding considerations (Flash Appeal, CAP, ERF/CHF, CERF)

Advocacy

• Identify advocacy concerns to contribute to sectoral, HC and HCT messaging and action
• Undertaking advocacy activities on behalf of cluster participants and the affected population
• Monitoring and reporting the implementation of the cluster strategy and results; recommending corrective action where necessary
• Contingency planning/preparedness for recurrent disasters whenever feasible and relevant
• Support and promotion of accountability to affected populations.

Satisfactory monthly reports, reflecting all achievements during reporting period against the plan, approved by National WASH cluster Coordinator.

30th of each month

Number of working days

321 calendar days (231 working days)

Start/End date

15-Dec-2022

31-Oct-2023

Please provide an all-inclusive financial proposal to carry out the deliverables listed above.

i 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.

Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

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.