Consultancy: Technical Advisor for WASH Data Integration Solutions, Copenhagen, Denmark, Office of Innovation, 6 months (Remote) Entry level Individual Consultant International Position Short term contract

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture., coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to innovate

UNICEF has a 70‑year legacy of innovation for children. From its base in Copenhagen, the Sustainable WASH Innovation Hub (the Hub) identifies, demonstrates and scales climate‑resilient water and sanitation solutions that can accelerate progress toward a water‑secure future for children and young people. Working with partners and UNICEF country and regional teams, the Hub selects high‑impact, cutting‑edge innovations, adapts them to context, and expands proven solutions from helping thousands in one country to reaching millions across multiple regions through an annually reviewed WASH portfolio focused on the greatest challenges and opportunities for impact.

One of the key global challenges that the Hub aims to address through scaling innovative solutions is tackling climate change impacts on WASH services. The identified solution this consultancy will support consists of two complementary components that are conceptually linked but deliberately split to allow flexibility in implementation:

• A data integrator tool to connect with existing global and national databases, online web mapping services, in-situ sensors, and localized WASH infrastructure data, ensuring near real-time data is integrated, transformed, and visualized for direct use in WASH programming; and
• a drought prediction/monitoring tool that will assist with analysis and modelling of datasets to provide insights for early warning, water management, and climate-resilient WASH planning.

How can you make a difference?

The consultant will drive the approach to data integration designing effective demonstrations and collaborating with country offices, such as those in Angola and Madagascar, to define fit-for-purpose solutions. Through the integration work they will outline the approach for the drought prediction tool that builds on the integrated data, by defining the necessary global, national, in-situ, and WASH related datasets required for a functional drought monitoring and modelling workflow. This will require strategic leadership – aligning interdisciplinary teams and convening the Solution Advisory Group (SAG) to ensure coherent, cross-sector collaboration and shared ownership.

Additionally, the consultant will ensure strong alignment with ICTD and digital standards through close collaboration on system architecture, security, interoperability, and compliance with the Digital Principles and Digital Public Goods requirements (https://digitalprinciples.org/). The consultant will also focus on enabling learning, evidence generation, and knowledge sharing across UNICEF and its partners to support informed decision making and foster the scaling of the solutions across countries.

Your main responsibilities will be:

1. Support the design and implementation of demonstration sites for data integration and drought data
2. Develop the integrated approach for the drought prediction tool (building on the data integrator)
3. Ensure technical coherence with UNICEF systems (ICTD, DPAM, OOI) for both tools
4. Provide strategic leadership and coordination for the integrated solution
5. Coordinate externally to ensure alignment of the full solution with sector partners
6. Knowledge Management, Documentation, and Learning

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  TOR Solution Lead_ Data Integrator FINAL.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

Education: An advanced degree in modelling, ICTD, Service design, Systems thinking, Communication design, or other relevant fields.
*A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.

Work Experience:

• Advanced technical expertise in digital systems for climate/drought monitoring, including experience with system architecture, opensource platforms, and data governance.
• Strong service design and systems thinking background, with at least 3+ years as a service designer/systems thinker and 8+ years overall in relevant digital or design-led disciplines.
• Proven experience scaling digital innovations in development contexts, including stakeholder engagement, and managing cross-sector digital projects.
• Experience handling, integrating, and interpreting climate, groundwater, or environmental datasets, plus familiarity with WASH sector digital tools and data systems.
• Experience working in developing, fragile, or emergency contexts, and comfort engaging both government and private sector innovation actors.

Skills:

• Strong coordination and facilitation abilities, including working with diverse technical teams and leading complex, multi stakeholder processes.
• Excellent communication and analytical skills, with the ability to translate technical insights into guidance, documentation, and scaling strategies

Language Requirements: Fluency in English, plus familiarity with tools like MS Office, PowerPoint, and Power BI.

Desirables:

• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

Travel

In the financial proposal, include travel costs for:

• 2 trips from your home to Copenhagen for five working days at a time, including Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) rate
• 1 trip to Angola for five working days, including DSA rate
• 1 trip to Madagascar for five working days, including DSA rate.

All travel (in case of any) will be by most economical fare and reimbursement will be as per UNICEF policy, “As per UNICEF DFAM policy, payment is made against approved deliverables. No advance payment is allowed unless in exceptional circumstances against bank guarantee, subject to a maximum of 30 per cent of the total contract value in cases where advance purchases, for example for supplies or travel, may be necessary”.

Payment details and further considerations

Payment of professional fees will be based on the submission of agreed deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

How to apply:

• Interested applicant is required to submit a technical and financial proposal with all-inclusive fee. Please see the financial proposal template.  Consultancy Financial Offer template.docx
• Technical proposals should be no more than 10 pages (not including Annexes) and should outline how the consultant intends to approach the assignment.
• Financial proposals must include travel costs (economy class) and daily subsistence allowance, if travel is required as per TOR and any other estimated costs: visa, travel/health insurance
• Applications without a financial and technical proposal will not be considered.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks: 

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.