Individual Consultant: Environmental Laboratory Support Consultant (Only for Nepalese Nationals)

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For every child, result

The Pandemic fund will support a partnership between the Government of Nepal and three Implementing Entities (IEs), UNICEF, FAO and WHO to strengthen the country’s pandemic prevention, preparedness and response efforts. UNICEF is part of the Nepal Pandemic Fund in the areas of WASH and Health together with Social Behavior Change Communication (SBCC). The Nepal proposal was jointly proposed by Ministry of Health and Population, Ministry of Water Supply and Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. The project has been initiated from January 1, 2024 and will continue for 3 years.

The Strengthening Pandemic Preparedness for Early Detection in Nepal (SPEED) project aims to strengthen the country’s laboratory systems, surveillance and human resources for a strong, resilient and sustainable health security system. The WASH component of the proposal has been prioritized under all three areas of work which is needed for early detection specially from the perspective of water and wastewater surveillance, management and facility readiness support. More specifically the WASH component includes the following areas: a) Undertaking assessments and strengthening of laboratories under WASH that could come very instrumental in context of early detection from water quality and wastewater contamination. b) Improving basic WASH services in Health Care Facilities (HCF) including laboratories and protocols as part of early detection and response planning. c) Building capacity of Federal, Provincial and selected local governments for information management systems for triggers and responses linked with laboratory testing and analysis. d) Supporting development of surge team nationwide for water and wastewater surveillance, early detection and response.

While the overall Pandemic Fund coordination will be led by Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) and supported by WHO, the WASH component will be led by Ministry of Water Supply (MOWS) with support from UNICEF. The WASH team will be closely working with Department of Water Supply and Sewerage Management (DWSSM)/MOWS and Department of Health Services (DOHS) for coordinated and synergistic effort. Similarly at implementation level it will work closely with the UNICEF Field offices, WHO field offices and provincial WASH and Health Directorate offices of the government, designated Point of Entries (POEs) identified during COVID-19 and selected municipalities to the out the intended activities.

How can you make a difference? 

The purpose of this consultancy is to provide technical assistance in implementation of Laboratory assessment and support under SPEED project. The consultant will provide support to WASH section of UNICEF and government on setting up the early detection mechanism under national laboratory system support

Under the role of this consultancy work, the Environmental Laboratory Support Consultant will focus on the following key areas of work:

• Provide technical support to the institution undertaking assessment of provincial and national laboratory capacity on water and wastewater monitoring and surveillance. For this the consultant will liaise with relevant authorities of the Government, national and international experts and UNICEF partners for the technical capacity assessment and mapping of water and wastewater quality laboratories.

• Based on the above stated provincial and national laboratory capacity assessment, provide technical support to the government/ institution on strengthening the laboratory capacity for early detection from water quality and wastewater contamination at provincial and national level.

• Provide technical support to the government/ institution in the development of national laboratory strategy for water quality and wastewater testing.

• Provide technical support to the government/ institution in the development of SOPs for laboratory sample collection and testing including various analytical methods and the use of instruments.

• Support the development of guidelines process to upgrade/ enhance the capacity of laboratories (including the ones in HCFs) and other relevant facilities at Federal, Provincial, and selected local governments for water quality and wastewater monitoring and testing, surveillance and information management systems for triggers and responses.

• Provide technical support in developing WASH related risk assessment and outbreak response plan related to laboratory services

• Work closely with NWASH and Surveillance Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System (SORMAS) teams for Laboratory’s WASH information management system linkages for early detection and response mechanisms.

• Provide technical support in assessment and development of laboratory surge team nationwide for water and wastewater quality testing and early detection. 

Duration of Contract: The total duration of the contract is for 155 days within a period of 17 months starting from 01 March 2024.

Deliverables for this Assignment:

Tasks/Milestone	Deliverables/Outputs	Timeline	Proposed Fee ( In Nepalese Currency)
National Laboratory System Strengthening
1. Facilitate in Capacity assessment/mapping of water quality and wastewater laboratories together with technical institutions assigned for the assessment	Submission of inception report of Capacity Assessment work	End July 2024 (20 days)
	Submission of capacity assessment report
2. Facilitate in development of National Laboratory Strategy for water quality and wastewater testing and surveillance in consultation with multi-sector stakeholders specially from WASH, Health, and Environment in collaboration with global and national experts	Submission of draft National Laboratory Strategy for water quality and wastewater	By end Oct 2024  (20 days)
3. Support review and development of SOP of Laboratory sample collection, testing and dissemination and trials of SOPs in coordination with authorized Government entities, institutions and with various laboratories in collaboration with UNICEF partner	Submission of SOP for laboratory sample collection to dissemination of water and wastewater	By end Nov 2024  ( 10 days)
4. Provide technical support for procurement of Laboratory equipment and related services with an objective to strengthen the Laboratory’s capacity on water quality and waste water testing	Submission of Procurement process report	By end Dec 2024  ( 30 days)
5. Provide technical support for installation of equipment and facilities to relevant Laboratories of Federal, Provincial and local level including of those in Health Care Facilities ( at 7 Govt and 7 non Govt)	Submission of equipment installation and orientation report	March – July 2025 (30 days)
6.  Provide technical support in development of Guideline/protocols for orientation on equipment and services related to water and wastewater monitoring and surveillance	Submission of guidelines/Protocol on orientation for services related to water and wastewater monitoring and surveillance	By 30 March 2025 ( 12 days)
7. Facilitate orientation sessions to laboratories and its team on operation and maintenance of the equipment provided (7 Govt and & 7 non Govt laboratories)	Submission of orientation completion report	By 30 May 2025 (20 days)
8. Support NWASH/DWSSM and SORMAS/EDCD team to identify and develop platform for information sharing and early detection/warning mechanisms in close coordination with system developer	Submission of platform development completion report	By 30 Oct 2025  (5 days)
HR Development
Support and facilitate the development of workforces/surge strategy under laboratory support and services to WASH linking with Health sector	Submission of workforce/surge strategy for WASH	By 31 July 2025 (5 days)
Documentaries
1.  Develop case studies (at least 2) and best practices from various implementations and processes and lessons learned during laboratory assessment and support	Submission of 2 case studies/best practice documents	July 2025 (3 days)
2.  Support the UNICEF team in donor reports and related documentation requirements of the pandemic fund contributing to the work related to laboratory support	Submission of donor reports
	Total Fee

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

• Advanced university degree in one of the disciplines relevant to the following areas: Environmental Chemistry, Environment Science, Environmental/Sanitary/Wastewater engineering, Public Health or epidemiology relevant to WASH and environment.
• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in environmental engineering, water quality surveillance and/or wastewater monitoring, Environmental laboratory management/ assistance, research and development
• A good working knowledge of recent developments and approaches on water and wastewater testing using field test kits and laboratory methods and possible epidemiological linkages
• Demonstrated experience working or supporting water/wastewater laboratories,
• Experience in working in public health outbreak situation
• Experience of working with Government system is an asset
• Proven skills in analysis, synthesis, and ability to communicate complex issues clearly and succinctly both orally and in writing.
• Strong communication skills (written and oral) in English are required.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated experience working in a multicultural environment.
• Passion and demonstrated commitment to UNICEF’s mission and core values
• Background/familiarity with WASH programme will be an asset

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:  

Request to submit financial proposal as per deliverables in Nepalese currency. 

Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.  Candidates from under-represented ethnic groups are strongly encouraged to apply. 

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 to ensure 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.