WASH Specialist (Mid to Senior Level) Formative Evaluation of Climate and Disaster-resilient WASH Programming in UNICEF Pacific

Background

UNICEF Pacific recently adopted its climate and disaster-resilient WASH programme to deliver sustainable and climate and disaster-resilient water and sanitation services, and to ensure that children and their families have the knowledge, skills, and resources to practice safe WASH. Its core strategy is to support government and partners in the development of climate-resilient, affordable and safe water and sanitation service delivery models, to engage women in planning and overseeing the operations and management of WASH services in their communities, and to ensure that children and their families have the knowledge, skills and resources to practice safe water conservation, sanitation, and hygiene. UNICEF will also support the work of building multisectoral capacities for delivery of WASH programmes in five target countries of Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.

As the programme enters its third year of implementation, UNICEF is seeking a readiness assessment and formative evaluation to understand whether the WASH programme has begun to make the necessary inputs and adjustments from traditional WASH programming to the climate and disaster-resilient approach. The findings and recommendations will be used to strengthen the design and approach of the programme and inform future programming in the region.

We are seeking a highly qualified and experienced Mid to Senior Level water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) Specialist to be a core member of the evaluation team. The Specialist will provide expert technical input and evaluation support throughout the evaluation lifecycle, ensuring that WASH-specific aspects, particularly concerning climate resilience and disaster preparedness, are robustly assessed. This role is critical for understanding the programme’s impact on children and communities and for providing actionable recommendations to strengthen UNICEF’s WASH interventions in the Pacific.

Key Responsibilities

Methodological Contribution:

• Contribute significantly to the refinement of the evaluation methodology, including the evaluation matrix, data collection tools (surveys, key informant interview guides, focus group discussion protocols), and the overall inception report.
• Ensure that WASH-specific technical considerations, climate resilience indicators, and disaster preparedness aspects are appropriately integrated into the evaluation framework and tools.

Data Collection and Fieldwork:

• Actively participate in all stages of data collection, including comprehensive desk reviews of programme documents, secondary data, and relevant literature.
• Support the execution of online readiness assessments.
• Conduct key informant interviews (KIIs) with government officials, UNICEF staff, implementing partners, donor representatives, and other relevant stakeholders in the WASH sector.
• Facilitate focus group discussions (FGDs) with community members, including young people, women, and representatives of marginalized groups, ensuring ethical engagement and child safeguarding principles are upheld.
• Undertake field visits to project sites in the designated Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) (Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu) for primary data collection.

Technical Analysis and Reporting:

• Support in-depth technical analysis of WASH-related quantitative and qualitative data, focusing on service delivery models, system strengthening efforts, integration of climate resilience, hygiene and behavior change strategies (including CLTS), WASH in Schools (WinS), and WASH in Healthcare Facilities (WinHCF).
• Provide expert assessment of the WASH programme’s alignment with national priorities, community needs, and SDG targets (particularly SDG 6.1 and 6.2).
• Critically analyze the effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of climate and disaster-resilient WASH interventions.
• Contribute to the drafting of high-quality evaluation deliverables, including specific sections and country-specific chapters of the main evaluation report, policy briefs, and presentations, ensuring clarity, rigor, and an evidence-based approach.

Stakeholder Engagement and Dissemination:

• Participate in workshops and meetings with UNICEF, government counterparts, and other stakeholders to present emerging findings, validate conclusions, and contribute to the co-creation of practical and actionable recommendations.
• Support the Team Leader in communicating technical WASH findings effectively to diverse audiences.

Quality Assurance and Ethical Conduct

• Ensure that all WASH-related components of the evaluation adhere to high methodological rigor and quality standards (e.g., UNEG Norms and Standards, GEROS).
• Uphold the highest ethical standards throughout the evaluation process, with particular attention to the “do no harm” principle, child safeguarding, gender sensitivity, and disability inclusion.

Qualifications and Experience

Required:

Education: An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or higher) in a field directly related to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH). Relevant academic qualifications include, but are not limited to: Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Sanitary Engineering, Public Health (with a strong WASH focus), or Social Sciences (with a specialization in WASH development).

Professional Experience:

• A minimum of eight (8) years of post-Master’s degree professional experience in the planning, implementation, management, monitoring, and evaluation of integrated WASH programmes in developing countries.
• Credible international expertise as a WASH practitioner or specialist.

WASH Subject Matter Expertise:

• Demonstrated subject matter expertise and practical experience in various fields of WASH, including:
• Rural and urban water supply systems, including climate-resilient technologies and management.
• Sanitation approaches, including Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS).
• Hygiene promotion and behavior change communication strategies.
• WASH in Schools (WinS) and WASH in Healthcare Facilities (WinHCF).
• Water quality monitoring and surveillance.
• Integration of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in WASH.

Evaluation Experience:

• Strong qualifications and proven experience in conducting and/or significantly contributing to programme evaluations, preferably in the WASH or related sectors.
• Proficiency in both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods (e.g., survey design and analysis, KIIs, FGDs, case studies, thematic analysis).

Language and Reporting Skills:

• Excellent command of the English language (both oral and written).
• Proven ability to prepare high-quality, clear, and concise technical reports, evaluation reports, and other analytical documents.

Travel: Readiness and ability to travel extensively to the stipulated PICTs for primary data collection, including domestic travel within these countries as required. Five consecutive weeks of travel is expected sometime between August and October 2025.

Desired:

• Demonstrable experience working in the Pacific Island Countries and Territories is strongly desired. Specific field experience in one or more of the target countries for this evaluation (Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu) is highly advantageous.
• Familiarity with UNICEF’s programming strategies, operational procedures, and organizational culture, particularly within the WASH sector and its focus on climate resilience.
• Experience with rights-based approaches to development, including child rights, gender equality, and disability inclusion in WASH programming.
• Knowledge of the specific socio-economic, cultural, and environmental contexts of the Pacific region.
• Experience working effectively within multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary evaluation teams.
• Experience in facilitating participatory workshops and stakeholder consultations.
• Track record of working on evaluations for UN agencies or similar international organizations.

Location

Pacific Region (with travel to Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu)

Contract Type: Consultancy

Level: Mid to Senior Specialist

Duration: Approximately 5 months (July – December 2025)

Reports to: Team Leader