New Jobs at The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

Purpose of the Consultancy

• FGN/UNICEF WASH programme has consistently been the flagship for rural water supply, sanitation and hygiene interventions in the country over the years with generous funding from EU and UK Aid.
• The programme which is being implemented at national and in all the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory has generated a lot of experiences which are presently being used by all sector players in scaling up WASH delivery in the country.
• The main purpose of this assignment is to support UNICEF WASH Section to identify and document experiences on WASH programme implementation in the country.
• This includes documenting successful approaches/ processes, innovations & best practices, failures and lessons from the field.
• The WASH experiences to be documented will add to the existing knowledge base in the sector which will be disseminated within the country to all relevant stakeholders both at national and sub-national levels and also shared during international sector events such as AfricaSan, Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) meeting, etc. thereby contributing to global experience.

Major Tasks to be Accomplished
Under the overall supervision of Chief of WASH and in close coordination with UNICEF National office and Field office colleagues, the key assignments for this consultancy include the following:

• Desk review of all relevant WASH documents including annual reports, donor reports, and existing case studies to have an overview of WASH programme implementation and achievements in the country.
• Review/Finalize the draft case studies (3 nos.) already developed by the WASH section in 2015.
• Based on the desk review and in consultation with UNICEF WASH team and government partners, identify programmatic thematic areas for documentation. This would cover some of the key areas of WASH programme implementation such as; Community management of WASH programme; Water Supply, CLTS, Handwashing, Monitoring and Reporting system, Accountability in WASH, School WASH, Gender and Equity.
• Conduct field visit to at least 4 States among the states of Katsina, Osun, Anambra, Cross River, Jigawa, Bauchi and Akwa Ibom for documentation of experiences and innovations in WASH programme implementation.
• Based on the outcome of the field visits, prepare at least 4 new case studies on different thematic areas of WASH programme implementation to be published. The case studies will be as per the template included in Annex-1
• All the 7 case studies should be edited and made ready for publication.
• The consultant is also expected to advice on additional areas for further documentation based on the findings from field visits and interaction with WASH sector staff and government partners; and understanding of WASH programme delivery in the country.

Minimum Qualifications

• Advanced University degree in Mass Communication, Social Sciences, Public health, Sanitary Engineering, Environmental Engineering or related technical field.
• Ten years of relevant experience in documentation, publication of journals/newsletter and media communication. Presentation of previous documentation work will be required.
• Good communications, analytical and writing skills.
• Excellent presentation skills, both in terms of written and oral communication.
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment
• Passion and commitment to UNICEF's mission and professional values.
• Previous work experience with UNICEF and in Africa would be an added advantage.

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Purpose of the Consultancy

• The purpose of this assignment is to document existing and potential rural sanitation financing landscape and provide technical support in development and operationalization of a sanitation financing basket fund in support of the FGN/UNICEF WASH programme in the country.
• More specifically the consultant will work towards defining the contours and developing the strategy for Sanitation Financing in Nigeria, also considering, key elements from the FGN-UNICEF Sanitation Marketing approach.
• The consultant will scope the available and potential options for sanitation financing and suggest pathways to engage with Government institutions, programs and private financial institutions to establish easier to access specialized rural financing mechanisms in support of promoting uptake of sanitation in rural Nigeria.
• In doing so, the consultant will review existing financing institutions, their mandates, products and portfolios in WASH and other similar sectors (e.g. Agriculture) and identify possible collaboration areas.
• The consultant will provide technical leadership to conduct the assignment including leading discussions with Government partners, financial institutions and stakeholders for engagement and also to identify possibilities, modalities of partnership and share the learnings with the key players through a national workshop.

Major Tasks to be Accomplished

• Mapping and stocktaking of the financial institutions, organizations and partners in Nigeria and the UNICEF operation areas, involved in provision of credit to rural customers and financing rural development in general (e.g. Agriculture) and rural sanitation in particular;
• Conduct field visits to UNICEF operations in the six states to meet with Community Groups/WASH Committees (WASHCOMs) /Sanitation entrepreneurs/suppliers to understand their credit requirements/perceptions/limitations etc.(On average three days per state)
• Develop a business case for encouraging and channeling investments in the sanitation sector based on the available sanitation marketing study, data gathered during field visits, and estimated rural sanitation market size
• Engage at country level/ states with:
  • Financial institutions such as the Central Bank Of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing system for Agricultural lending (NIRSAL), commercial banks (such as Zenith Bank), cooperatives, industry (such as DANGOTE-largest Cement Producer in Nigeria), NGOs, other MFIs, Microcredit banks and other small scale institutions to identify potential collaborators and possible areas of collaboration;
  • Government partners (Ministry of planning and finance, water resources, etc.) for scoping the options for integrating sanitation financing solutions into the existing government programs and vision;
  • International development partners (UN System, World Bank, African Development Bank, DFID, EU, etc.) to scope their outlook on financing options for sanitation sector;
• Develop draft feasible financing options for promoting sanitation entrepreneurs, and supporting households' toilet construction and share them along with key findings through a national level workshop to create a buy-in to support sanitation financing.
• Assist UNICEF, through one on one or group consultations/mini workshops (two at the national level) in advocating with and liaising with key players, facilitating partnerships with key collaborators (e.g. government, International Development Partners and Banks, Cooperatives, commercial banks, Private Sector CSR etc.) in order to operationalize rural sanitation financing portfolio in Nigeria.
• Final report on way forward for improving access to financing for rural sanitation promotion in Nigeria.

Minimum Qualifications

• Advanced degree in business studies, marketing, economics, civil engineering, social sciences and or related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience and expertise working in the area of financing, supply chain investments, water, sanitation and hygiene issues with multi country experience
• At least 5 years' progressive professional experience in development financing and working with financial institutions at both large scale and small scale
• Experience of conducting qualitative and quantitative studies in development financing. Experience in financing approaches and result based management would be an added advantage.
• Experience working across multiple sectors related to the design and implementation of development and social protection policies as well as in conditional cash transfer programs.
• Proven and excellent analytical skills, writing ability, and written and oral communications skills in English)
• Experience in leading/working with a technical team in similar assignments and capturing their suggested recommendations.
• Willingness to be a part of, and closely work with a government personnel/staff and institutions.
• Diplomacy and negotiating skills.