WASH Partnership Consultant – WASH partnership landscape assessment, with a focus on innovation as an entry point – anchored in the global WASH practice , OOI, 5 months (remote) Individual Consultant International Position Mid-level 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

For more than 70 years, UNICEF has championed innovation to advance the rights and wellbeing of every child. This commitment continues through the Sustainable WASH Innovation Hub, based in Copenhagen, where we bring new approaches, bold partnerships, and impactful technologies to the forefront of the global WASH agenda. Emerging from UNICEF’s Office of Innovation and now proudly part of the Global WASH Practice within the UNICEF Center of Excellence for WASH, the Hub is uniquely positioned to accelerate promising solutions across UNICEF’s extensive global network and that of our partners.

At the intersection of cutting‑edge thinking and large‑scale development challenges, the WASH Innovation Hub serves as a bridge—connecting UNICEF’s deep field experience with the agility of start‑ups, the creativity of researchers, the vision of entrepreneurs, and the lived expertise of communities. This convergence of perspectives drives our mission: to transform how WASH challenges are understood, tackled, and ultimately solved.

We are cultivating a vibrant global community that includes children and young people, academic institutions, private sector innovators, public policy leaders, social development practitioners, humanitarian actors, and WASH and innovation colleagues across more than 150 countries. Together, we are co‑creating, testing, scaling, and advocating for new ways to overcome long‑standing barriers to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.

Through collaboration, convening power, and a relentless focus on impact, the Hub is enabling a future where sustainable, climate‑resilient WASH solutions become the norm—not the exception. By energizing and empowering the ecosystem, we aim to ensure that every child can grow up in a world where their right to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene is realized.

How can you make a difference?

Building on existing partnership intelligence from UNICEF’s Private Fundraising & Partnerships Division (PFP), Public Partnerships Division (PPD), and the WASH team, UNICEF seeks a consultant to conduct a comprehensive WASH partnership mapping, including a specific review on innovation as an entry point. This will include actors across public and private sectors, foundations and development finance institutions – to create a refined, targeted pipeline of viable prospects for UNICEF WASH. Further, this analysis will highlight prospects with innovation as an entry point. It is important that the landscape assessment explores beyond the traditional WASH sector donors, to unpack potential new prospects. In addition, we seek to understand which prospects and/or existing partners should be prioritized to explore potential synergies for combining both flexible funding and earmarked for innovation and where these are parallel streams of work. This will include developing an engagement strategy for pursuing prospects.

The consultant must explicitly investigate foundations and corporates already funding UNICEF country offices and recommend which ones could be elevated to global partnerships. This ensures continuity and maximizes UNICEF’s convening power at global level.

The goal is to have a set of identified partnerships opportunities for UNICEF WASH, with a focus on innovation prospects will be ranked according to appropriate mission alignment and their capacity to financially and strategically champion UNICEF WASH This includes their willingness to support large scale initiatives, convene relevant actors and ecosystems, and leverage core skills and knowledge to support UNICEF in enabling rapid uptake of solutions and sustaining and scaling regional initiatives.

Specifically, the global partnership financial support will be defined as including both grants and blended finance support. Prospects need to be aligned with the WASH goals of UNICEF’s Strategic Plan, UNICEF’s Africa Strategy and different phases of WASH innovation from ideation to scaling. This should be framed in relation to the different areas of UNICEF WASH work in water, sanitation and hygiene, clarifying the point of opportunity from humanitarian to development and UNICEF’s work from system strengthening, technical assistance, products and services, and public financing flexible funding

Identify key public partner prospects globally with a strong interest in water/ sanitation/ hygiene/ and innovation, WASH in institutions and those with strategic priorities in climate, to explore entry points for WASH climate resilient solutions.

Map and analyse the stakeholder landscape of public financing institutions, foundations, and private sector partnership prospects for UNICEF WASH, with a focus on innovations, to develop a stakeholder matrix.

Develop a global priority partnership pipeline (long-list and short-list) of the most viable prospects for Climate-Resilient WASH including scaling innovative approaches, including funding and public financing, capacity building and leveraging networks

A high-level engagement strategy with recommended engagement strategies tailored to each partnership type and context.

While this consultancy is intended for an individual to carry out, it will be informed by the WASH partnership and technical teams and insights from key divisions can be used to support the consultant if outlined in the inception report and agreed by the contract manager.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  ToR Partnership Funding and Public Financing Landscape Analysis.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

Education: An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Innovation, Business Management, International Relations or other relevant field.
*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:

• A minimum of 8 years of relevant professional experience in stakeholder management / fundraising and/or public financing for the development and/or humanitarian sector. Specific experience in WASH and/or climate would be an advantage
• Demonstrable experience of stakeholder analysis for partnership prospect development and strategic alignment to support funding/public financing for development programmes. Particular experience tying this to programme innovation is considered an asset.
• Experience of new business development, including shared value partnerships that goes beyond funding/public financing, with an awareness of due diligence and risk aware considerations

Skills: Demonstrable strong research, analysis and concise report writing skills.

Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required

Desirables:

• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.
• Experience with private sector / public sector / development public financing sector actors considered an asset
• Experience in developing contexts and/or familiarity with fragile contexts is considered an asset
• Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

Travel:

2 x visit from home location to Copenhagen for a total of 8 working days to meet UNICEF partnership focal points for key inputs and for review and/or presentation of key deliverables

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.

“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”.

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.

How to apply:

• Interested applicant is required to submit both a financial and a technical proposal with all-inclusive fee. Please see the financial proposal template.  Consultancy Financial Offer template.docx
• The Financial proposal 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.
• The technical proposal, according to instructions in the ToR

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.