International Consultant (WASH Monitoring & Evaluation/Technical Assistance to Ministry, Accra, Ghana

UNICEF Ghana seeks the services of a committed and experienced professional who will be engaged as an international consultant to provide M&E support to the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources Technical Working Group to finalise golden indicators, associated data requirements and ensure data collection, analysis and timely reporting. This arrangement is in partnership with the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, Ghana. This assignment is expected to be for 6 months spread over 11.5 months period. Fees will be paid on the basis of deliverables. Only NON-Ghanaians are eligible to apply.

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you.

For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

Purpose of the Assignment

There have been a variety of efforts for improving information systems for the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector in Ghana, these include the District Monitoring and Evaluation System (DiMES) which focuses on rural water supply, the Basic Sanitation Information System (BASIS) which focuses on rural sanitation, Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) have their monitoring system for urban water supply, and the Sector Information System (SIS) aims to collate all information into one central location. At time of writing there is not a national level initiative on collection of data on urban sanitation. Meanwhile, the Education Management Information System (EMIS) collects some information on WASH in Schools coverage, and discussions are on-going about including WASH indicators within the District Health Information Management System (DHIMS) to measure WASH coverage in health facilities across Ghana.

Whilst the basic structure and data collection modalities are established with most systems, the challenge remains with the lack of regular data updates. Estimates of coverage in the country are limited to periodic national level surveys that only disaggregate data to regional level and do not expose local level equity issues. The last such survey was completed in 2014, but typically they occur every 1-2 years. The lack of data within information systems might be attributable to the scale and technical detail that the systems request and there are limited resources at a national level to replicate this across all districts, particularly on a periodic basis. Capacity issues have also emerged, with many districts having insufficient IT skills to use the systems developed, and limited resources are available at a regional level for technical support.

It essential that some key golden indicators are able to measure the progress across the country on fundamental measurements of progress, such information can then be augmented from periodic national surveys, small scale targeted surveys/studies, and more detailed information emerging from sub-sector information systems. These golden indicators should be rationalised to limit the amount of associated data collection required and ensure the data can be gathered at scale across the country at a minimal cost.

The MSWR has formed a Technical Working Group (TWG) to explore these issues, but the group has not convened for some time.

The consultant will work the MSWR M&E TWG and other relevant sector stakeholders on the formulation of golden indicators for the WASH sector. This will include a critical assessment of the data collection requirements associated with the indicators to ensure that the data can be collected, collated, analysed and processed within suitable timeframes to provide a report to the sector on the rate of progress.

Assignment Tasks

The consultant will provide guidance, oversight and facilitation to the technical working group itself and provide input to the development of the 2017 Sector Performance Report and its format. The International consultant will work closely with a national consultant working on the WASH Sector Performance Report for 2017.

In the completion of the specific tasks below the consultant will hold periodic meetings within sector stakeholders, both within the TWG and via bi-lateral discussions. The consultant shall also make contact with other country programme contexts where sector information systems have become fully functional. Via these discussions the consultant will consolidate stakeholder comments, and apply personal experience, to draft the specific deliverables below. These will then be shared with relevant stakeholders for comment. Following incorporation of such comments the reports will be finalised.

The consultant is expected to complete the following tasks over the course of the contract:

• With assistance of the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR) convene monthly meetings of the M&E TWG
• In consultation with the TWG develop a terms of reference for use during the period of the contract
• Identify golden indicators for the sector to ensure population within the Sector Information System
• Provide distinction between indicators that can be realistically collected by a national level information system (taking into account likely financial, logistical and human resource constraints), and those indicators that can be assessed via periodic surveys and studies
• Develop a detailed plan for each golden indicator that is to be updated via the information system
• Compile sufficient base data on all communities within the country by district, including GPS coordinates, population, and number of households (and houses where possible) – to be sourced from other stakeholders as relevant
• With support from the MSWR ensure that updates identified are received by the Ministry and data entered into the SIS in a timely fashion
• Liaise with National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) and Office of the Head of Local Government Services (OHLGS) where applicable
• Provide a data submission and quality report (at a periodic basis to be agreed with TWG) and finalise report format for future use
• Draft a final report of results from data on golden indicators, data submission status, data quality review and recommendations for continued improvement

Specific tasks will be further refined during the inception period when detailed discussion will be held with the selected consultant prior to contract signatures, to ensure that the overall purpose of the work can be suitably achieved.

Expected Deliverables

• Submit concise monthly progress reports (max 2 pages, or other format agreed during the assignment).
• Terms of Reference (TOR) for MSWR M&E TWG
• Document defining which golden indicators will be gathered by sector information system and which come from surveys/studies
• Document outlining list of golden indicators (for sector information system), data requirements, sources of data, reporting mechanisms and frequency of reporting – validated by MSWR M&E TWG
• Technical input into the finalisation of the 2017 WASH Sector Performance Report (2017)
• Data being provided to the SIS on golden indicators, analysed and updated by the end of the contract (with updates provided as per agreements made on frequency of data)
• Finalisation of data submission and quality report (including a format for easy replication in future) (not exceeding 20 pages)
• Final report as outlined in tasks above (not exceeding 30 pages)

The consultant will report to the WASH Specialist (Knowledge Management).

Qualifications of Successful Candidate

Education

• Advanced university degree in one of the disciplines relevant to the following areas: Public Health, Civil Engineering, Statistics, Mechanical Engineering, Geology, Hydrology, Sanitation Engineering, or a relevant field.
• Qualifications and experience in areas of monitoring and evaluation, specifically monitoring and evaluation of WASH

Years of relevant experience

• Five  years of progressively responsible professional work experience within the WASH sector; with a solid understanding of the status of WASH implementation within Ghana is highly desirable
• Experience in development of national WASH information systems is highly desirable

Competencies of Successful Candidate

• Fluency in English required.
• A solid understanding of the latest developments and innovations within the WASH sector, particularly on WASH M&E
• Strong writing and communication skills, with proven ability to develop concise, informative and accessible pieces of literature
• Strong computer skills, particularly any relevant statistical and GIS software packages
• Initiative and resourcefulness. Proven ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with other team members and partners
• Gender equity and diversity awareness 

To view our competency framework, please click here. 

Candidates should submit their CVs and cover letter via the online form. They should also submit a 2 page brief on how they intend to approach the assignment, and a 2 page briefing on similar WASH sector information system assignments they have completed previously (links/documents to more substantial background literature on past work is also appreciated).  Candidates should also submit a financial proposal including their daily rate, and number of days assigned to the contract, international travel costs and requested DSA.

Please indicate your ability, availability and dailyrate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above (including travel and daily subsistence allowance, if applicable).  Applications submitted without a daily/monthly rate will not be considered.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.