WASH Consultant (Water Supply), Kenya Country Office, Nairobi

Title of Assignment

WASH Consultant (Water Supply)

Requesting Section 

WASH

Type of engagement 

Individual Contractor

Duty Station:  

Nairobi

Duration

5 months

Number of working days              

120

Planned Start and End Date 

From February 2023 to June 2023

Purpose of Assignment:

The consultant shall provide technical and management support to UNICEF Kenya Country Office (KCO) to facilitate finalization of proposal and implementation of the United Nations Joint Program on sustainable integrated water management in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) and other fragile ecosystems, to ensure a well-coordinated planning, implementation, monitoring, performance review and reporting of the project.  

Background and Justification

Since October 2020 the Northern, Eastern, and Coastal areas of Kenya have experienced four consecutive failed or depressed rainy seasons, making it the worst drought in the past 40 years and as a consequence, affected communities are facing severe hunger and malnutrition. Approximately 1.5 million livestock—which pastoralist families rely upon for sustenance and livelihoods—have died between 2020 and 2022. Consequently, malnutrition rates are rising, and more than 3 million people cannot access safe and clean water for domestic use, livestock and/ or farming. Water points are drying up or have deteriorated in quality which heightens multisectoral crisis including the risk of outbreaks of water-borne diseases.

Land degradation combined with the increasing effects of climate change causing rising temperatures, droughts and floods have led to widespread hunger and increased levels of acute malnutrition in the arid and semi-arid lands of Kenya. Increasing populations are using more and more resources with expanded agriculture farming and rangelands resulting in environmental and social challenges. This highlights the need for adaptation measures and transforming the existing food systems, to protect biodiversity and maintain fragile ecosystems and their services, while simultaneously securing people´s livelihoods. Leaving No One Behind (LNOB), the one UN programme for enhancing water access in Kenya will focus on 23 ASAL counties and informal settlements of Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and Nakuru to   document what is working well, what is not working well and come up with strategies to do things differently and to scale up promising initiatives.

The overall objective of the programme is to strengthen households and communities secured access to climate smart integrated water resources for sustainable, multiple use (for health, food, livelihoods, agro-industry, environment) through investment in adaptive and resilient management at all levels to contribute to reduced poverty and hunger in most deprived areas. The joint investment is designed and implemented, considering the effects of climate change, in close collaboration with local governments, building on the comparative advantages of each of the participating agencies and taking into account the LNOB groups for targeting, with the following four Specific objectives:

• Targeted communities in the risk prone areas of Kenya ASALs and informal urban settlements have increased per capita access to safe and sustainable water for domestic consumption in homes, schools, health care facilities, nutrition and feeding centres and public spaces in informal settlements.
• Pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in the risk prone areas of Kenya ASALs have improved access to climate-proofed water systems (gravity/solar/wind energy) for pasture production and accessible water points for livestock
• Agro-pastoral and farming households in the risk prone areas of Kenya ASALs have improved access to climate-smart agricultural practices and irrigation to enhance diversified production and productivity for improved access to healthy diets and livelihoods.
• County governments and local communities in target areas have improved enabling environment and capacity to professionally manage water resources in a sustainable way, including through ecosystem adaptation and innovative multi-sectoral business models, transboundary cooperation and reduced water resource users’ conflict, right policies, strategies, programmes, and projects.

The WASH consultant (Water Supply) will provide expert technical and management support to the joint UN program on water in Kenya led by UNICEF, taking forward the draft concept note of the initiative to full proposal and coordinate its implementation with the participating UN agencies for strengthened water security and contribution to reduced poverty and hunger in the most deprived areas in the country.  

Scope of work

1. Goal and Objective

The main objective of this consultancy is to support the WASH program KCO in leading the UN Joint Program on Sustainable Integrated Water Management in ASAL counties and other fragile areas in Kenya

Reference to RWP output areas/UNSDCF outcome covered.

This consultancy aligns with the UNICEF (2022-2026) Outcome 1 (Survive and Thrive) By 2026, more newborns, children, adolescents and women, particularly in deprived areas, survive and thrive, live in a safe environment with better access to and improved utilization of high-quality preventive, promotive, curative, responsive and affordable high-quality health (including HIV), nutrition and WASH services and Output 1.9 The Ministry of Water, county water departments, their partners, and water service providers are better able to provide inclusive, climate change-adaptive and gender-responsive safely managed drinking water in urban and rural communities in priority counties, including in emergencies

The consultancy also aligns with UNSCDF  (2022 – 2026) Strategic priority 2 (SP 2):Prosperity and Planet Outcome 2.1: By 2026, people in Kenya at risk of being left behind - particularly all women and girls, all children and youth, all people in the ASAL counties and in informal urban settlements - derive benefit from inclusive, sustainable, diversified and environmentally/climate-sensitive quality livelihoods with decent work in the sector economies and realise growth that is resilient, green, and equitable.

1. Activities and Tasks
   • Finalization of concept note for sustainable integrated water management for enhanced Health, Food security and Climate-resilient livelihoods in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) and other fragile ecosystems to full proposal with clear results framework and performance monitoring indicators. This would be done in consultation with, collection and collation of data and inputs from participating UN agencies including IFAD, FAO, UNESCO, UNEP, WFP, UN-Habitat and UNDRR
   • Establish Terms of Reference for project steering committee from participating UN agencies and conduct regular coordination, share minutes of meetings, and follow up of action points. 
   • Establish Term of reference for project coordination with beneficiary county leadership and conduct regular coordination and reviews on implementation progress including preparation and sharing minutes and communication materials on regular basis
   • Draft Terms of References (TOR) for technical, assessment, studies, plans, frameworks, and guidelines proposed under the programme including Water security assessment, basin and sub basin water allocation guidelines, Water quality suitability maps, County climate risk profiles, Community-based participatory (Land/Water use) action plans and Cross-County water security plans
   • Review the County Integrated Development plans (CIDP) and National Water Sector Investment Program (NAWASIP) to identify priority water supply projects for climate resilient multiple use systems including bulk water supply projects that can be implemented by the private sector through Water Purchase Agreement modality by the water utilities and water user enterprises. 
   • Provide technical support to UNICEF and participating UN agencies in the appraisal, design and implementation of priority climate resilient multiple use water supply intervention including prioritization of investment options, Climate proofed water solutions, Water as an enabler approach for sustainable livelihoods and food systems, Non-conventional Water Resources (NCWRs), Nature Based Solutions and City-scale flood modelling. This includes industry analysis of renewable energy options and resilient technologies for climate proofing of the existing and new multiple water systems to build the humanitarian- development nexus and sharing of best practices to project steering committee for review and consideration.
   • Provide technical support to Water Service Providers to optimize and improve efficiency of service delivery through improved engineering design and protection of water catchment areas, abstraction, treatment and reticulation, storage, and distribution for last mile connectivity.
   • Facilitate skills development on integrated water resources management to county governments, utilities and water resource user groups and enterprises on efficient and effective climate smart multiple uses and practices 
   • Facilitate the articulation of lessons learned from coordinating and implementing sustainable integrated water management and propose mechanisms to ensure that these lessons are used to strengthen programme planning and implementation in the future and for sharing with development partner group.
   • Contribute to UNICEF and inter-agency reporting on output 1.9 on water and on UNSDCF outcome 2.1 components of annual reports, consolidated humanitarian donor reports etc) as required. 
   • Maintain active liaison with key development partners and assist in the identification and development of durable partnerships to support robust integrated water management to build community resilience    including feedback on the impact of the project on children
   • Contribute to the national water sector reforms in the country by articulating the sector needs, gaps, trends and proposing development pathways to accelerate attainment of the key relevant sustainable development goals and contributing to the national conversations and debate for enhanced sector performance.
   • Supervise/monitor Partnerships for timely project implementation and progress reviews including joint progress with partners
   • Undertake Programme Monitoring visits or organize remote monitoring of projects if physical visits are not feasible with partners to ensure activities are implemented as planned and achieve intended results
   • Organize national and zonal consultation, dissemination, and review forums with beneficiary counties to share progress and lessons learned to document what works, what does not work and how implementation can be improved to achieve greater transformation in the communities and stakeholders.
2. Work relationships

The Consultant will be required to collaborate closely and ensure regular communication with the participating UN agencies, national and county line departments (Water, irrigation, environment/climate change and natural resources, agriculture, and livestock), water utilities and water user enterprises /groups for effective and timely implementation of the integrated water management program. The water supply Consultant will also monitor and provide technical backstopping to counterparts in national and county government, water utilities, NGO partners, institutional contractors, and private water operators. In addition, the water supply Consultant will interact with community leaders and local resource user groups on a regular basis.  The consultant will prepare training materials and facilitate training events. The assignment requires regular travel to project areas for project appraisal, assessment and monitoring of the ongoing projects.

The water supply Consultant will be supervised by the chief of WASH and with technical support from the water component output lead. In addition, the consultant will work closely with the other members of the WASH Section.

1. Outputs/Deliverables

• Formulation of full proposal for the UN Joint Program on Water with clear result matrix showing the objectives, outcomes, outputs and activities with measurable indicators and baseline values
• Detailed workplan of the project implementation developed in consultation with participating agencies
• Detailed procurement plan for services and goods developed and updated on regular basis
• Financial Utilization and expenditure plan developed and updated on weekly basis
• TORs for technical assessments, studies, guidelines, and frameworks developed to the right quality and standard to inform the development pathways for the project
• CIDPs and NAWASIP priorities for 23 ASAL counties reviewed to identify viable projects for the program and at least one project for Public Private Partnership under Water Purchase Agreement identified
• Technical efficiency of low performing Utilities progressively improved as per bottleneck Analysis findings in consultation with WASH Specialist responsible for water governance
• UN project steering Committee established, and bi-weekly coordination organized, and minutes shared
• Zonal inter-county coordination group established, and monthly coordination organized, and minutes shared
• County project committee established, and monthly coordination organized, and minutes shared
• At least one monthly Knowledge management products (human interest stories, project briefs, papers, videos) prepared for advocacy, donors, and other forums.
• Field appraisal and monitoring missions’ reports including lessons learned, recommendations and proposed mitigation measures done.
• Donor and inter agency humanitarian reports of high quality and timely done.
• Monthly report showing the cumulative project progress as per format agreed with the supervisor.
• Final report inclusive of lessons learned, best practices and recommendations for further improvement.

6.           Reporting and payment modalities

The consultant will be paid a monthly fee after submission of a detailed monthly report (10 pages maximum) summarising deliverables and key activities undertaken in support of the UN Joint Program on Sustainable Integrated Water Management to the Chief of WASH.

7. Required qualifications, desired competencies, technical background, and experience

Education: Academic qualifications and required level of education.

An advanced university degree (Master or higher) in one of the following fields is required: Water Engineering, Civil Engineering, Water Resources management or another relevant technical field. A minimum of ten years of professional work experience in WASH-related programmes for developing countries is required. Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language or local language of the duty station is considered as an asset.

 The candidate should have a good technical knowledge of WASH development and climate resilience programmes and a basic technical knowledge in at least 7 thematic areas from the following:

• • • Rural water supply for low- and middle-income countries - including water safety, energization, sustainability
    • Rural sanitation for low- and middle-income countries, incl sustainability; applying CATS principles
    • Urban water supply for low- and middle-income countries – including water safety and sustainability
    • Urban sanitation for low- and middle-income countries, incl sustainability
    • Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) / Watershed management for Climate resilience
    • WASH-in-Schools and Health Centres
    • National and County government WASH policies, strategies, institutional arrangements, and plans
    • Analysis of national and county budgets and expenditure for basic WASH, and related advocacy
    • WASH sector financing modalities including Public Private Partnerships to close the financing gaps
    • Capacity building of communities and water service providers on sustainable water supply management

 Competencies:

• High standard of written and verbal English language skills
• Familiarity with the local social and cultural context is highly recommended