UNICEF Zimbabwe is inviting applications for an individual consultant to provide technical support for the Development of a WASH Sector Financing Strategy

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.

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For every child, quality WASH

UNICEF has been operating in Zimbabwe since 1982. We are a team of passionate professionals committed to the protection and fulfillment of children’s rights.

Supporting the Government’s vision of a prosperous and empowered upper-middle-income society, the country programme is aimed at contributing to sustainable socioeconomic development that provides all children, including adolescents, with opportunities to fulfil their potential, lead a healthy life, access quality learning and protection and meaningfully participate in society.

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How can you make a difference?

UNICEF Zimbabwe is seeking to hire an enthusiastic individual consultant to support the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ), primarily the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development (MoLAFWRD), to develop a 5 year WASH Sector Financing Strategy for the period 2022 to 2027, focused on financing required to achieve the WASH-related SDGs.

The WASH Sector Financing Strategy will be used to:

• Influence sector level planning
• Serve as an advocacy tool to government, development partners, civil society, the private sector, research and learning institutions and utilities constituencies
• Identify types and sources of finance, financing options, quality and equity of financing, and
• Facilitate private sector and community investment in WASH.

The Consultant will work with a Technical Committee made up of representatives of the Planning and Budgeting Subcommittee and the SWA in-country Steering Team.

Background:

Zimbabwe’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector is managed and coordinated by an inter-ministerial committee, the National Action Committee (NAC) which allows for an integrated approach to service delivery. The National Action Committee chaired by the designated sector lead, the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development (MoLAFWRD) and has its secretariat the Department of National Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Coordination (DWASHC). The NAC is responsible for the overall coordination and management of the WASH sector with the core business of providing holistic, national WASH policy direction and guidance, and is a one-stop-entry into and a monitoring, supervisory and resource mobilization hub for the WASH sector in Zimbabwe.

The sector does not have a financing strategy for WASH services and is alive to the fact that adequate funding and effective financing for water, sanitation and hygiene are essential to deliver and sustain services, and to allow countries to make progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 and other related SDG targets.

The sector reeling under punitively low access levels to WASH services has not been spared by diarrhoeal diseases including isolated cholera cases since the 2008-2009 cholera implosion. Open defaecation is at a high of 21.7% nationally, access to improved water by households stands at 78% whilst households with access to improved sanitation is at 68.8% (MICS, 2019). The rural-urban divide remains glaring with open defaecation being at a high of 31.7% in rural areas against 0.7% in urban settlements and access to improved water by households is at 68% in rural as compared to 98% in urban areas (MICS, 2019). The vagaries of climate change and variability, increasingly variable rainfall patterns in terms of intensity and frequency; recurrent droughts and floods, including the devastating effects of Cyclone Idai have all made Zimbabwe WASH service delivery systems falter and continuity of WASH service has been derailed.

To arrest this deterioration in WASH service delivery, Zimbabwe will require $87m to build and maintain universal basic coverage and $80m to build and maintain safely managed services each year up to 2030 (SDG Costing, 2017). This therefore puts the sector in a precarious position which must be addressed. It is with this in mind that the sector seeks consultancy to develop the sector financing strategy to meet the SDGs.

ASSIGNMENT:

It is expected that the tasks under this consultancy will be conducted approximately 15-25 days spread over a three-month period. The specific tasks (to be further elaborated during implementation) are as follows:

1. Facilitate stakeholder engagement processes across seven sector constituencies of government, private sector, research and learning institutions, utilities, development partners, civil society and rights holders to systematically achieve specific objectives of the assignment;
2. Produce a comprehensive stakeholder engagement process report, and
3. Develop a climate change sensitive National WASH Sector Financing Strategy focused at achievement of SDGs 6 and sustaining services;

It is anticipated that the main body of the Strategy will be 10-20 pages and draw on available evidence (sector undertakings and national plans, costing, budgets, expenditures, etc.). While review of the available documents will be required, no primary evidence generation will be required for this short assignment.

The consultant is expected to work closely with the WASH Sector’s Planning and Budgeting Sub-Committee constituting the Sanitation and Hygiene for All’s (SWA) in-country Systems Finance Working Group.

This assignment will be home-based and consultations will be done remotely/online.

Major tasks and deliverables:

Tasks/Milestone:****Deliverables/Outputs:****Timeline

Review the landscape and hold initial meeting with the Government and UNICEF and provide a list of documents to be reviewed/utilized and interviews to be held, with a detailed three-month workplanInception report, detailing an updated work plan for the assignment. This should include a more complete assessment of the appropriate references and information sources to be utilized. (5%)By week 1Facilitate stakeholder consultations

Stakeholder engagement process report, including a summary of key issues raised

(15%)By week 5Outline of the Financing StrategyInitial outline of the anticipated Financing Strategy (5%)By week 5Draft Financing Strategy and presentation to stakeholdersDraft document and presentation to stakeholder group (25%)By week 9

Payment - 50%

Revisions on stakeholder engagement process report and WASH Sector Financing Strategy, based on feedback

Final Stakeholder engagement process report

Final WASH Sector Financing Strategy document (25%)

(These deliverables have to be endorsed by the National Action Committee through the Planning and Budgeting Subcommittee)By Week 14

Payment - 50%

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

• Advanced degree (Masters or PhD) in science or social science.
• A minimum of ten years of professional experience gained with Government, or international organizations working in in WASH and considerable time spent working in developing countries.
• Experience in undertaking similar analytical work e.g., public sector finance/budgeting, expenditure analysis and investment management in a relevant discipline or sector;
• Experience of facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogue focused on government-based (both central and local government), public sector finance/budgeting, expenditure analysis and investment management;
• International and Zimbabwe experience will be an added advantage;
• Proven skills in preparing and communicating high quality documents and reports for policy advocacy and lobby; and
• Demonstrated experience supporting government-led approaches
• Highly proficient in use of English with the ability to write in a clear and practical manner.
• Familiarity with UNICEF mission, mandate and WASH programme is desirable

If interested and available to undertake the individual consultancy, please submit your application online and attach the required documents including the technical proposal and an all-inclusive financial proposal. The detailed consultancy terms of reference is downloadable via this link; ToR - WASH Financing Strategy Development.pdf

The technical proposal should be 4-5 page long giving the proposed methodology and approach for carrying out the assignment; detailing specific experience with similar assignments in size, complexity and context. The number of days per deliverable and number of days/general schedule should also be proposed. (The number of days reflected in the TOR are indicative only). The consultant will propose the level of effort and will be responsible for delivering the results within the final agreed cost. Days are only intended to guide the common understanding of the assignment and likely time required.

Financial proposal should be based on the proposed number of days per deliverable.

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 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.