National Consultancy : Support the development of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) In School (WinS) Standards (Open to Malawian Nationals Only)

This opening expired 1 year ago. Do not try to apply for this job.

UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund

Open positions at UNICEF
Logo of UNICEF

Application deadline 1 year ago: Saturday 20 Aug 2022 at 21:55 UTC

Open application form

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

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, Care...

Provision of safe water and appropriate sanitation facilities within the schools has been proven to improve health, enhance girls’ attendance and retention, boost education achievement, promote gender equity and provide inclusiveness. While schools have played a primary role in providing formal education, they have also played a key role in promoting good practices on various aspects of daily living with habits and practices established in schools, tending to stay with learners throughout their lives. Schools therefore play a key role in developing a culture of good water, sanitation, and hygiene practices. The JMP report for WASH in Schools, 20202 estimates that even though the water supply service is at 93%, 15% of these are always not available and 8% do not have safe water supply or do not have it at all which coincides with the EMIS report 2021 where about 10% of schools either have unsafe sources or do not have water at all. Even though safe water is available in most school, functionality of these facilities is a problem especially for boreholes with hand pumps. UNICEF estimates that 23% of water points are not functioning at any given time. For sanitation 65% of schools have basic sanitation facilities which are improved single sex and usable, while the 35% are schools with limited sanitation service or no sanitation at all.

Keeping school water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities operational, with few breakdowns and downtime, and with proper, hygienic use, remains a huge challenge in Malawi. There are several factors that have created this situation. The number of schools in Malawi has increased exponentially in recent years since the introduction of free Primary education in 1994. Primary school enrollment increased drastically putting pressure to the already suppressed school infrastructure. This growth in the number of schools and enrollments of school children has put huge pressure on existing school WASH facilities that are already in poor repair. Investment in school WASH infrastructure has not kept pace with the growth in schools and school enrollments. In addition, the failure to give due consideration to the operation and maintenance of WASH facilities during planning, design and implementation of these facilities has resulted in a high level of non-functionality. Other cross cutting challenges include water supply disruptions, lack of child friendly WASH facilities especially for persons with disability and very young children, inadequate facilities for staff; lack of disposal facilities also for used sanitary pads, and challenges of sustainability of WASH intervention.

A number of these challenges directly relate to the design, construction, operation and maintenance of WASH facilities. This problem is further compounded by the fact that various WASH interventions introduce different types of sanitation and water facilities some which do not meet basic design requirements and standards. The provision of adequate, reliable, affordable, inclusive and safe water and sanitation services is, therefore, key to effective teaching and learning processes and creating a healthy school environment.

How can you make a difference?

The main objective of the assignment is to support the process of finalizing WASH in School standards with Ministry of Education, Ministry of Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Transport and Public Works, UNICEF and other relevant stakeholders.

Specific objectives:

  1. Work with the established WinS task team to refine the draft standard which will include:

a. Consultations with grassroots including the users (children) level -Get technical input from other WASH service providers as well as policy holders and development partners.

b. Provide technical inputs for different options as agreed by the task team

  1. To build a consensus and compile all inputs to the standard document.

  2. Finalize the national WinS standards Submit a final satisfactory print ready National Wins standard document

Scope of work

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

Academic qualification:

Holder of at least a master’s degree or equivalent in civil engineering, water resource engineering, water resource management, public health or other related technical field. Those with an advance degree in statistics, education and early childhood development can apply.

Work experience:

• At least 8 years’ experience in designing and managing/ implementing WASH programs.

• Experience in water schemes, sanitation facilities will be an added advantage.

• Extensive knowledge and experience in child friendly construction designs.

• Hands on experience in sanitation and hygiene promotion projects.

• Practice in special needs education and assessment is an added advantage.

Technical skills, knowledge and strength areas:

• Extensive knowledge in water, sanitation, and hygiene; menstrual health and hygiene, social behavior changes communication and community engagement.

• Practical experience in infrastructure (buildings) designing skills

• Strong skills in collaboration, negotiating and persuading

• Good analytical skills

• Excellent writing skills

• Knowledge of social cultural context in Malawi

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

• Should have basic working equipment such as computers and stationery

Languages:

• Must be fluent in English both oral and written and a local language.

Please refer to the attached full Terms of Reference Terms of Reference WASH in School Consultant .pdf for more details on the consultancy and requirements.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

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 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.

HOW TO APPLY...

Interested consultants should provide the following:

  1. Curriculum Vitae
  2. Brief technical proposal (no longer than five pages) demonstrating the consultant’s understanding of the assignment and approach/methodology to the assignment
  3. Financial proposal including a breakdown of their all-inclusive fees (including professional fees, travel, living cost, visa and other costs). Financial Proposal for Consultancy.xlsx Complete the attached form.
  4. References details

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.

Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org

Recent jobs in Teaching & Training in Lilongwe

Recent jobs in Programme & Policy in Lilongwe

Recent jobs in Medical & Health in Lilongwe