Consultant for Assessment of existing Urban / semi urban Strategy for development of Urban ODF sanitation approach in Oyo state, (Remote – 45 working days)

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In Nigeria, UNICEF works in a complex humanitarian and development setting to fulfill and protect children’s rights in partnership with government, civil society, children, and families.  UNICEF Nigeria is one of the largest UNICEF Country Offices globally – click the link to learn more about UNICEF in Nigeria: https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/.

Background/Rationale:

The government of Nigeria (GoN) has committed to accelerating towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6 – improving WASH services by 2030. GoN has been implementing the Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet campaign (CNC) since its launch in November 2019, with a vision to  make Nigeria open defecation free in alignment with the National Open Defecation Free (ODF) Roadmap and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6.2.The CNC and the ODF Roadmap have a strong focus on collective behavior change towards Local Government Area (LGA)-wide ODF with the aim of achieving state-wide ODF across the 36 states and FCT.

Oyo State is an inland state in south-western Nigeria, with its capital at Ibadan and is the sixth most populous state in the country. The state has 33 LGAs with a projected population of 7,976,100. The WASHNORM 2021 report indicate that 54% of the total population of Oyo State defecates in the open, 55% of people living in Oyo State drink water that is contaminated with E. coli from source or at the household level and 10% of schools, 0.4% of health care facilities and 0.4% of public places have access to basic WASH services. The Government of Oyo state has developed and is implementing ODF Roadmap in line with the Clean Nigeria Campaign (CNC) drive in Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Oyo State, including Ona Ara and Egbeda which are being supported by UNICEF to achieve LGA-wide status. Key strategies include LGA-wide inclusive ODF approach using Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) and Market-based sanitation (MBS), to achieve ODF. These strategies remain cost- effective and impactful measures to improve the sanitation, hygiene situation, general health, and wellbeing of the people. However, these strategies are known to be more impactful in rural areas, relying on the social cohesion, community ownership and leadership common among small communities to achieve collective behavior change. The sanitation issues in urban areas and cities in Oyo state differ in their complexity, hardware needs, heterogeneity, and transient nature of the communities. A one size fits all approach for CLTS and MBS in these areas, trailed since 2022, has proved ineffective. This has contributed to a delay in achieving LGA-wide ODF as these LGAs have a high proportion of communities located within urban and peri-urban areas and small towns.

Twenty-one out of the 33 (64%) LGAs, including Ona Ara and Egbeda are considered predominately urban Ona-Ara has triggered 867 out of 1423 communities and Egbeda has triggered 455 out of 838 communities, with the remaining communities located in urban and peri-urban areas. Out of the total number of communities triggered, 634 have been declared ODF and some of these triggered communities are within urban areas. Considering this statistic, there is urgent need to implement an LGA-wide Inclusive ODF strategy that takes into account communities in urban, peri-urban, urban slums and small towns.

Achieving an ODF state continues to be on the forefront of the agenda for the Government of Oyo with the State ODF Roadmap aiming for state-wide ODF by 2028. It has become clear that the ODF goals for Oyo, as well as the SDG 6.2 agenda will not be met without developing and implementing a strong  Urban ODF strategy.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

This consultancy aims at supporting the government of Oyo state to evaluate the existing status of sanitation in select urban LGAs (including safely managed sanitation: faecal waste containment, collection, transport, treatment, and final disposal or reuse) and climate risks to sanitation systems in Oyo state to identify challenges and to propose context-specific interventions for urban / semi urban areas in the State. The purpose of the assessment are (a) to understand the sanitation context of the urban areas in the target LGAs in line with City-Wide Inclusive Sanitation principles and the Sustainable Development Goals; (b) to recommend to the government counterparts cost effective instrument that would help to identify bottlenecks and suggest recommendations along the sanitation service chain that will help the government deal with the current urban / semi urban sanitation challenges including pit emptying, faecal Sludge Management (FSM), plastic / solid waste  management.

Scope of Work/ Key Responsibilities:

Based on the above, the following are the key assignments of the consultancy:

1. Develop an Inception Report detailing the approach to the assignment and associated timelines for completion, in consultation with the supervisor and other government authorities.
2. Conduct Rapid Situational Assessments: This assessment aims to swiftly gather data on sanitation facilities, their functionality, coverage, and inclusivity across the city, and climate risks that could affect sanitation services.
3. Objectives: The objective of the assessment are;
   1. Documenting the current situation including the enabling laws, regulations, and guideline on Urban / peri-urban sanitation in Oyo state
   2. assessing the adequacy of current sanitation provisions, identifying gaps in service delivery, understanding the specific needs of diverse communities, including marginalized groups, and understanding climate risks in the area of study.
   3. Developing key recommendations to achieve an inclusive urban and semi urban sanitation in Oyo state.

The assessment will utilize a participatory approach, engaging stakeholders from local communities, government agencies, and relevant organizations to ensure a holistic understanding of sanitation challenges and opportunities. Ultimately, the implementation of this rapid situational assessment seeks to inform evidence-based decision-making and facilitate the development of targeted interventions to enhance urban sanitation and promote inclusivity.

4. Analyze and present the outcome of the assessment.

1. Present the outcome of the Peri-urban / urban assessment including documentation of existing Institutional and Regulatory Framework, roles and responsibilities, legal framework (including required policies, byelaws, and enforcement processes), cross- functional accountabilities for ODF in urban areas, climate risks, and recommendations to stakeholder’s meeting for input.
2. Coordination, Review and finalize the report and facilitate advocacy workshop for the state to own the report.
3. Develop an action plan to implement the recommendations.

The assignment will require trips to the 5 LGAs within Oyo state which are Iparapa East, Atiba, Saki West, Ona Ara and Egbeda LGAs for research, studies, field visits and consultations.

Throughout the assignment, the National Consultant is expected to:

• Keep continuous contact, engage with UNICEF staff.
• Maintain communication and good working relations with stakeholders, serving as a liaison and facilitating consultations between the UNICEF staff and stakeholders.
• Maintain constant dialogue with the state Government as well as other WASH stakeholders to ensure that all necessary stakeholders are taken onboard at all stages of the assessment.
• Regularly have briefing with the UNICEF WASH Staff in Lagos Field Office and the National Country Office to provide status updates and reports.
• Consultant will be required to have and utilize their own IT and Communications equipment.
• Consultant will be required to be based in Ibadan Oyo state for the duration of the assignment and travel to other LGAs when necessary to the purpose of collecting the necessary information / data.

Task/Milestone

1. Initial consultation/engagement with stakeholders, UNICEF, and inception meetings with the stakeholders at the state level and to clarify the requirements of the consultancy.

Deliverables/ Outputs: Detailed workplan and Inception report submitted.

2. Produce and share the workplan that clearly outlines the objectives, key activities, and timeline for the consultancy and initiate the process.

 Deliverables/ Outputs: Detailed workplan and Inception report submitted.

3. Conduct a desk review of all relevant documents, surveys, reports; prepare the process and tools; and produce a synthesis of the background information and context for ODF in Oyo. This will include review of ODF policies, plans, protocols, strategies stakeholder (roles and responsibilities), services, technologies, climate risks and climate change related documents, markets to proffer appropriate strategies for ODF in Urban contexts in Oyo state.

 Deliverables/ Outputs: Summary synthesis of the available background information of Oyo.

4. Conduct Situational Assessment on the existing situation in 5 LGAs (Ona-Ara and Egbeda LGAs inclusive):      This will include research and other analysis such as stakeholder, institutional/regulatory analysis based on the  CWIS principles, and climate risks. Surveys, key informants’ interview (KII), Focus Group Discussions and consultative studies can be used to collect and document information at the state, LGAs and communities.

Deliverables/ Outputs:

• Sample of tools used for the survey, KII and data collection.
• Draft outline of assessment report (for review by UNICEF team
• Summary of the findings of the assessment.

5. Conduct a review Workshop with relevant stakeholders to validate the rapid assessment report.

Deliverables/ Outputs: Report of the stakeholders’ workshop

6.Finalize assessment report, including pictures of key activities, lessons learnt, and results of consultancy.

 Deliverables/ Outputs: Final assessment report.

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

Education:

• Advanced degree in Sanitation, Development Studies, Public Health, Community Health, Public Administration, WASH Engineering, Social and Behavior Change Communication and any other related field.
• A university degree in public health, social sciences, social and behavior change communication, sanitation and water supply engineering, M&E for WASH or other specialist field related to WASH is required. An advanced degree or other post graduate qualification will be an added advantage.

Experience:

The Consultant shall have a minimum of 8 years’ experience in national and sub-national work in the WASH sector with skills in urban sanitation programme planning, implementation and monitoring.

Proven expertise in and knowledge of diverse, innovative, and climate-resilient LGA-wide inclusive ODF strategies in urban contexts. Experience with City Wide Inclusive Sanitation approaches an asset.

He/she should also have a solid writing skill in English language, with experience in producing written analysis of WASH issues and evidence of having done similar kind of work at the sub-national level in the focus region.

Language Requirements:

 Fluency in English (verbal and written) is required. Fluency in Yoruba language is an asset, and an added advantage.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

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.

The selected candidate is solely responsible for ensuring that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

Please submit your all-inclusive financial and technical proposal along with the application. Application without these will not be entertained.