[Hiring] National Consultant @AGORA

Role Description

The consultant will document promising practices from ASWA III, build the system to generate evidence on WASH impacts across health and education outcomes, support the states to advance on their sustainability response plans, and support the federal government on the HOSI. Key activities that will include:

• Development of 4 knowledge products documenting progress on climate resilience, sustainability and gender transformative WASH.
• Establishment of indicators and collection of baseline (2024), 2025 and 2026 data of key health and education outcomes from routing government monitoring systems related to WASH, in the ASWA III targeted local government areas (LGA) and communities (Lere and Kagarko LGA in Kaduna, and Shelleng and Ganye LGAs in Adamawa).
• Support state governments to advance and institutionalize priority actions in the state sustainability plans, and the federal government to develop concrete activities to be implemented from January 2026 – 2027 in response to the 2021 SWSC.
• Support the federal government with engagement and initiatives related to HOSI, including: preparations for the UN Water Conference (December 2026), implementation and documentation of 2-3 priority actions from the Nigerian Youth - Government Collaborative Work Plan following the Kigali symposium, and finalization and implementation of the Nigeria Water Compact.
• The consultancy will also serve a learning and adaptive management function, providing actionable recommendations to strengthen implementation, improve programme effectiveness, and enhance sustainability of ASWA III for the remaining programme period and beyond.

Qualifications

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in one or more of the following fields: Public Health, Community Health, Public Administration, Social Sciences, WASH Engineering, Monitoring and Evaluation, or other closely related disciplines relevant to the assignment.
• At least 7 years of progressively responsible professional experience in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and public health.
• Demonstrated experience in supporting high-level government engagements for international conferences and meetings.
• Proven expertise in Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL), including design and implementation of data management and data collection tools.
• Strong track record in applying evidence and analysis to inform programme design, strategy development, and policy recommendations.
• Experience in knowledge management, and quantitative and qualitative research methodologies.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience of supporting sustainability initiatives for WASH services.
• Experience working with government institutions, UN agencies, NGOs, and community stakeholders, particularly in low-resource or development contexts.
• Excellent facilitation, stakeholder engagement, and communication skills, including ability to interact effectively with diverse audiences at national and local levels.
• Strong analytical, synthesis, and report writing skills, with ability to produce high-quality, evidence-based outputs within tight deadlines.

Requirements

• Strong understanding of WASH systems strengthening, including institutional arrangements, governance, financing, planning and monitoring.
• Familiarity with WASH service sustainability assessments and approaches.
• Experience in gender-sensitive and inclusive data collection and analysis, including addressing ethical considerations and safeguarding.
• Proficiency in data analysis tools (qualitative and/or quantitative) is desirable.
• Strong understanding of climate resilient WASH, and WASH and gender equality.
• Fluency in English (written and spoken) is required.
• Working knowledge of Hausa or other relevant local languages in Kaduna and Adamawa is a strong asset.

Benefits

• UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does.
• UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence.
• UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities throughout the recruitment process.