International Consultant for Establishing WASH Electronic-monitoring Systems for Primary Health Care Facilities and Schools in Georgia

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, health

The purpose of the consultancy is to provide technical support to UNICEF Georgia Country Office in developing and testing WASH electronic-monitoring systems for primary health care facilities and general education institutions aligned with SDG goals, JMP reporting requirements and the national targets.

Scope of Work:

Background – Basic WASH services in school settings and health care facilities are critical to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets on education and health. WASH services are fundamental to providing quality health care and education. Without such services, health, and education goals, especially those for reducing maternal and neonatal mortality, reducing the spread of antimicrobial infections, and preventing disease outbreaks, learning safety and quality of education will not be met. The availability of safe and secure water, sanitation and hygiene services, and the quality of physical environment in which children live and study, are important determinants of their health, learning, safety, and ability to take advantage of opportunities to reach their full potential.

The WASH situation in health and education institutions in Georgia is not favorable and does not meet the required standards. Unfortunately, Georgia does not have valid, updated information of the WASH situation in hospitals and primary health care facilities, although occasional monitoring visits show dilapidated WASH infrastructure in a considerable number of health facilities, especially in rural areas.

The WASH situation in schools is also not safe according to UNICEF’s nationwide study conducted in 2013: 9% of schools use unimproved water supply facilities; there was no water supply facility in 4% of schools; 70% of schools did not have water facilities in the school building; the source of water was not functional in every 10^th school; there were no sanitation facilities in 2% of schools; 8% of schools use buckets; and only 50% of schools have functional drainage system. The JMP report 2019 provides the same data, as no nationwide WASH survey has been done in general education institutions since 2013.

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered an unprecedented global health and economic crisis, which also underlined the importance of WASH, especially hygiene in schools and health care facilities for reducing the transmission of infectious diseases and protecting children’s health. Strengthening the capacity and resiliency of government systems to maintain a safe and clean environment including WASH systems, is critical to ensure children’ health.

The Government of Georgia accelerated its work towards improving the WASH situation. It initiated primary health care (PHC) reform including improvement of WASH infrastructure in rural PHCs. Work is underway in the country to develop a national strategy for antimicrobial resistance, which outlines the development of the supervisory system for WASH services. Among the measures planned by the mentioned strategy, strengthening of WASH services in medical institutions and introduction of modern approaches are envisaged, including the use of the WHO-recommended WASH FIT in facility-based planning and management of WASH operation and maintenance. At present the existing Health Management Information System (HMIS) does not collect WASH data for health care facilities.

Infrastructure improvement activities are also ongoing in general education institutions. The Ministry of Education and Science (MoES) established a WASH for Schools technical working group to support improvements in WASH conditions. UNICEF provided technical support to the Government and developed the guidelines for WASH in Schools approved through the Decree N 01-40/o of the Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from Occupied Territories, Labor, Health, and Social Affairs (MoIDPLHSA) on 6 February 2020. In 2014, UNICEF supported MoES in developing and testing of the routine monitoring framework for WASH in Schools, although its’ implementation did not take place. MoES is in the process of approving the Technical Regulations for Schools Operations and Maintenance (O&M), an integral part of which will be the WASH standards for schools, its O&M and rules and norms of surveillance and monitoring.

To routinely mobilize WASH data from health care facilities and general education institutions across the country, UNICEF is supporting the Government of Georgia (namely, MoIPDOTLHSA and MoES) in:

1. strengthening the capacities to monitor WASH infrastructure/services in primary healthcare facilities and to establish the respective accountability mechanism. It is planned to strengthen WASH data collection to regularly inform national health authorities, improve the regulatory environment for infection prevention and control (IPC) and environmental cleaning and increase the capacity of the relevant personnel.
2. developing WASH electronic monitoring system to allow MoES and other stakeholders to monitor WASH situation in schools across Georgia in a real time.

UNICEF contracted a consortium of local partners for accomplishing the following concrete tasks through national WASH experts:

Component I: WASH Monitoring electronic System at Primary Health Care (PHC) Facilities  

• Develop the Technical Specification Document for WASH in Health Care Facilities
• Develop WASH in HCFs electronic system
• Test and modify the WASH e- system in PHC settings
• Integrate public health guidelines/SOPs for environmental cleaning and IPC within the WASH e- system at the rural PHC level and train the master trainers on the use of the system

Component II: WASH Monitoring electronic System at the general education institutions

• Develop the Technical Specification Document for WASH in schools
• Develop WASH in HCFs electronic system
• Test and modify the WASH e- system in the selected schools

In order to harmonize WASH indicators with international standards, tools and instruments, an international WASH expert is to be commissioned, that will work in coordination with the national WASH experts and various stakeholders to execute the tasks as stipulated in this ToR.

Objective and scope of work

The anticipated result of this consultancy is the provision of technical guidance in developing the electronic WASH monitoring system for health care facilities and education institutions that will allow WASH situation analyses at all levels in compliance with the SDG and Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) requirements.

The assignment is for 25 days stretched across 4 months (starting from March 2024) and is expected to meet the following specific objectives:

• Review technical specification documents of WASH for the Primary Health Facilities and Schools developed by the national WASH and IT experts:
• Ensure that the required variables are reflected in the electronic system and hence, the needed indicators can be easily derived
• Ensure correctness of indicators’ passport
• Ensure full compliance of the indicators with the international WASH related policies, SoPs, tools etc.
• Remain in a standby position throughout the piloting phase to respond to the inquiries/questions/problems raised by the implementing partners
• Provide recommendations re the analytical dashboards of WASH electronic systems
• Participate in the process to workshop JMP indicators with the Ministry and get consensus if required.
• Develop and provide consultancy report and recommendations for the maintenance and administration of the e-WASH monitoring systems.

Process of the consultancy – UNICEF will recruit an international expert with strong expertise in the field of WASH data collection and reporting according to SDG and JMP indicators. The consultant will work in close collaboration with the national expert(s) and national stakeholders. The international consultant will participate in workshops and round table meetings to discuss the findings of the review process.

The international consultant will meet with UNICEF responsible officers during the assignment, to agree on working methods, responsibilities and discuss progress. The meetings may take place via teleworking.

The final consultancy report will be developed and submitted to UNICEF upon completion of the deliverables.

Duration: 1 March 2024- 30 June 2024 (25 working days)

Location : Home-based

Work Assignment Overview
Tasks/Milestone:	Deliverables/Outputs:	Timeline:
Review technical specification documents of WASH for the Primary Health Facilities and Schools developed by the national WASH and IT experts: Ensure that the required variables are reflected in the electronic system and hence, the needed indicators can be easily derived Ensure correctness of indicators’ passport Ensure full compliance of the indicators with the international WASH related policies, SoPs, tools etc.	The technical specification documents for HCFs and schools reviewed and the relevant recommendations on compliance of the indicators with global requirement provided.	20 days Deadline: 30 March 2024
Provide recommendations re the analytical dashboards of WASH electronic systems	Analytical dashboard of the WASH electronic systems is reviewed, and recommendations provided	4 days Deadline: 20 May 2024
Develop and provide consultancy report and recommendations for the maintenance and administration of the e-WASH monitoring systems.	The consultancy report prepared and submitted to UNICEF	1 days Deadline: 30 June 2024

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

Minimum Qualifications required:

Advanced (Mater’s degree)  degree in Civil Engineering, Water Supply and Sanitation Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Water Resources Management, Public Health or qualifications that demonstrate relevance to the assignment.

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

• Minimum of MSc/Master’s in Civil Engineering, Water Supply and Sanitation Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Water Resources Management, Public Health or qualifications that demonstrate relevance to the assignment.
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience in working in the field of water, sanitation and hygiene with focus on data collection/analyses according to global reporting standards, indicators, tools and instruments.
• Advanced skills in programme monitoring and evaluation (M&E) including development and undertaking/coordinating development of the monitoring systems for WASH
• Experience in providing consultancy services for national and/or local governments in WASH.
• Excellent knowledge of SDG, JMP and other global programmes and instruments focusing on monitoring of WASH situation in health facilities and education institutions.
• Excellent writing and communication skills in English
• Previous working experience with UN and/or in international agencies will be 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 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.