Senior Urban WASH Utility and Engineering Expert (International Consultant)

Location: Home-based (international) · Closing: Sunday 13 September 2026

Consultancy · Project-based · Home-based · Fixed number of days

About Bodhi

Bodhi Global Analysis is a woman-led international development research consultancy established in London in 2017, with subsidiaries in Nairobi (2018), Singapore (2023), Dar es Salaam (2025), and The Hague (2026). We specialise in formative and evaluative research through participatory approaches, serving UN agencies, bilateral donors, INGOs, and regional organisations across fragile and conflict-affected contexts. We have delivered research and evaluation assignments in over 100 countries. As an ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 27001 certified organisation, Bodhi maintains rigorous quality control across all operations.

About the Role

Bodhi is recruiting a Senior Urban WASH Utility and Engineering Expert to join an international team delivering a multi-country evidence synthesis and landscape analysis in the urban water, sanitation and hygiene sector.

This is a technical role. You will map how urban WASH services are actually delivered across a spectrum of city contexts, from corporatised utilities and municipal departments to public-private arrangements, small-scale informal providers, and community-managed systems, and diagnose the engineering, operational and financial bottlenecks that constrain reliable service provision in informal settlements. Your analysis will underpin a series of standardised country case studies and feed into recommendations for senior technical and policy audiences.

The assignment is delivered remotely and home-based. Any travel would be limited and subject to prior approval. Engagement is by consultancy contract for a defined number of days and is contingent on contract award.

Key Responsibilities

  • Lead the technical mapping and categorisation of urban WASH service delivery models across diverse contexts, including fragile and humanitarian settings, rapidly urbanising low-income countries, and stable middle-income environments
  • Diagnose the technical and operational constraints on service provision in informal settlements, covering network extension and regularisation, non-revenue water, water quality and continuity of supply, and faecal sludge management across the full sanitation service chain
  • Assess the sustainability of infrastructure and service models, including asset management, operation and maintenance financing, tariff and subsidy design, and the climate resilience of urban water networks
  • Analyse how emergency WASH responses, for example cholera outbreak containment, are transitioned into durable utility and municipal capacity, and where that transition typically breaks down
  • Conduct key informant interviews with municipal utility managers, regulators, municipal government officials, private and small-scale operators, and technical staff in international agencies
  • Contribute technical analysis and drafting to country case studies, applying a standardised framework to ensure comparability across contexts
  • Contribute to the global synthesis of findings, strategic recommendations, and dissemination products, including data visualisations and summary tables for senior decision-makers
  • Participate in a virtual validation workshop with global, regional and country-level stakeholders

Qualifications and Experience

Essential

  • Advanced degree (Master's or above) in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Urban Planning, or a closely related technical discipline
  • A minimum of ten years' field-level experience working directly with municipal water utilities, municipal governments, or urban private operators
  • Demonstrated technical expertise across climate-resilient urban water networks, non-revenue water reduction, faecal sludge management, and pro-poor urban service delivery models
  • Direct experience in urban emergency contexts, for example cholera mitigation or sustaining fragile municipal systems under conflict
  • Proven experience conducting key informant interviews with utility, municipal and regulatory counterparts
  • Excellent analytical and drafting skills in English, including the ability to translate technical findings for senior non-technical audiences
  • Availability to work across multiple global time zones

Desirable

  • Experience with Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) programming, diagnostics, or service delivery assessments
  • Experience on multi-country sector reviews, landscape analyses, or global studies rather than single-site engineering assignments only
  • Experience working with UN agencies, international financial institutions (World Bank, ADB, AfDB), or bilateral donors
  • Familiarity with the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme and other global urban WASH datasets
  • Experience of urban service delivery in insecure or gang-affected environments

Languages

  • English: fluency, written and spoken, is mandatory
  • French or Spanish: professional working proficiency is a significant advantage

What We Offer

  • A consultancy engagement on a technically demanding global assignment, with inclusion on Bodhi's international consultant roster for consideration for future opportunities
  • Collaboration with an experienced, multidisciplinary international research team
  • Competitive daily rates commensurate with seniority and experience

How to Apply

Click the Apply button below and follow the instructions. You will be invited to submit:

  • A CV setting out your utility, municipal and urban WASH engineering experience, including named assignments, countries, and your specific technical role on each
  • A cover letter addressing your experience against the essential criteria, confirming your availability from October 2026, and stating your language proficiencies
  • An indication of your daily consultancy rate in USD

Applications close on Sunday 13 September 2026. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and early application is strongly encouraged, as we may close the vacancy before the deadline for exceptional candidates.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
Bodhi is a women-owned enterprise committed to gender parity at all levels of the organisation. We particularly welcome applications from women and from candidates who bring lived experience from the regions where we work. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religious belief, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, socioeconomic background, or disability.

For more information about our organisation, please visit www.bodhiglobalanalysis.com.

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