Senior Consultant (Mid Term Analysis of Strategic Framework 2020-2030), Sanitation and Water for All (SWA), 50 Days (Jan-Sept 2024), REMOTE, Req: 566865

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

Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) is a global UNICEF hosted partnership of over 400 partners, including governments, private sector and civil society organizations, external support agencies, research and learning institutions, utilities and regulators working together to catalyse political leadership and action, improve accountability and use scarce resources more effectively. Partners work towards a common vision of sanitation, hygiene and water for all, always and everywhere.

The Secretariat of the SWA global partnership is hosted by UNICEF at its Headquarters in New York and Geneva. The SWA Secretariat, as the operational arm of the Partnership and of the Steering Committee, is responsible for supporting the implementation of the partnership’s strategy.

In 2020, SWA adopted its ten-year Strategic Framework 2020-2030, whose ultimate vision is sanitation, water and hygiene for all, always and everywhere. The Strategic Framework has three objectives:

• Objective 1: Build and sustain political will to eliminate inequalities in water, sanitation and hygiene
• Objective 2: Champion multi-stakeholder approaches toward achieving universal access to services
• Objective 3: Rally stakeholders to strengthen system performance and attract new investments

Since 2020, there have been considerable changes both in the global context and in SWA’s work. In terms of the global environment, the COVID pandemic, economic insecurity, and the continuing war in Ukraine have all impacted priorities of countries, and available resources to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 6 on universal access to water and sanitation. Also, in 2023 the UN convened a Water Conference (UNWC) and the PGA issued Conclusions from the meeting. The GA also adopted a resolution to follow up on the UNWC.

Within SWA, the new Strategic Framework has led to significant changes in our priorities and ways of working – for example:

• It added a stronger national level support component to SWA’s work. It has led the Secretariat to further focus its efforts on work with priority countries, which are selected based on existing data and demand from governments. The SWA Country Profiles also help the Secretariat to identify the main gaps and contributes to the selection of priority countries.
• SWA has also dedicated considerable attention to ensure that water and sanitation reach beyond its own “echo chamber” through focused efforts to reach OUT and UP. Reaching out to other sectors and making connections across key issues has been critical for SWA to form new alliances and harness interlinkages for collective progress. This work been especially focused on health, climate, gender, and crises. Regarding reaching up to the highest-level decision makers, after almost 15 years of existence SWA has extensive experience in organizing high-level meetings (in particular the Sector Ministers’ Meeting and the Finance Ministers’ Meeting), whose form and content has evolved to be more intersectoral and its format designed for maximum impact (e.g., regional finance ministers’ meetings). SWA, together with UNICEF, the Netherlands, and IRC-WASH, has also recently launch the Heads of State Initiatives, in recognition of the fact that securing political buy-in at the highest executive level is a critical enabling factor to sustainably increasing access to water and sanitation.
• The SWA Mutual Accountability Mechanism (MAM), established in 2018, now is home to over 400 commitments, and SWA consistently works with partners to report progress on these commitments as well as make new commitments. The Water Action Agenda at the UN Water Conference was an occasion to highlight the utility of the MAM, and its potential as a concrete tool for commitments that actually lead to progress in country. In 2024, the second MAM global report will be released, reflecting on progress and lessons learned.
• The partnership has also grown significantly over the past few years and SWA has learned a lot on how to best manage its relationship with partners and to ensure that they are fully committed to the SWA mission and vision. Also after the adoption of the Strategic Framework a new constituency was created (Utilities and Regulators).

How can you make a difference?

PURPOSE OF THE CONSULTANCY

In light of this context, in 2025 SWA intends to develop an analysis of its 2020-2030 Strategic Framework at its mid-point of implementation.

The consultant is expected to deliver a report which includes the following results:

• A short, top-line assessment of the current global context, including trends and indicators, which contribute towards the achievement of SDG 6 on universal access to water and sanitation
• SWA’s contribution towards progress in achieving SDG 6
• A review of progress and lessons learned in the first five years of the strategy
• Assessment of whether SWA’s focus and areas of work, as well as the evolution of its work, are fit for delivering the Strategy’s vision in its final five years.

DELIVERABLES

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in International Development, Law, Political Science, or related area. A minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience in international development with proven relevant experience in the WASH sector.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize complex inputs into a clear strategy
• Solid experience working with partnerships
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset. particularly French and/or Spanish is desirable.

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.