About UNICEF
If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines fordeveloping countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.
Consultancy: Impact Evaluation Consultant: Thematic WASH expert
Duty Station: Evaluation Office
Duration: February 1, 2026 – June 30, 2028
Home/ Office Based: Remote
BACKGROUND
Purpose of Activity/ Assignment: The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The UNICEF Evaluation Office (EO), as one of the core evidence functions, aims to help UNICEF to improve its performance and results, by supporting organizational learning and accountability. Working through the network of regional evaluation teams, the UNICEF EO supports the organization’s 135+ country offices in finding evidence-based solutions for the world’s most vulnerable children. The EO conducts strategic global, institutional effectiveness, humanitarian, and impact evaluations. It assures the quality and use of UNICEF evaluations by establishing norms, standards, guidelines as well as knowledge sharing and partnerships for evidence generation and use. This impact evaluation directly supports Impact Result 1 of UNICEF's Strategic Plan (2026-2029), specifically contributing to the sub-level result that \"100 million children gain access to safely managed drinking water and 200 million to safely managed sanitation and hygiene,\" by examining how climate-resilient WASH infrastructure in schools improves children's health outcomes, reduces disease burden from diarrhea and respiratory infections, and ensures continuous access to safe water and sanitation services even during climate shocks. The evaluation further contributes to Impact Result 2 (\"350 million more children and young people learning and skilled\") by generating evidence on how all-season WASH services impact school enrollment, attendance, retention and learning outcomes—particularly for girls who face barriers related to menstrual hygiene management. Additionally, this evaluation advances Impact Result 5 (\"500 million children better protected from disasters, climate and environmental risks\") by building critical evidence on the effectiveness of climate-resilient WASH infrastructure in water-scarce settings exposed to extreme weather events, directly supporting UNICEF's commitment to strengthen the resilience of social infrastructure and services to climate hazards. The purpose of this consultancy is to provide thematic evaluation support for the Impact Evaluation on “Accelerating Climate Resilient Water Sanitation and Hygiene Services for Schools and Healthcare Facilities in Karamoja.” The thematic expert will work as part of a multidisciplinary team including the UNICEF Impact Evaluation Specialist, data analyst, and program leads to advise and provide feedback on the technical thematic aspects of this evaluation including robust survey instruments, data analysis and preparation of reports and presentations of the findings. Scope of Work Primary Responsibilities: WASH-Health-Education Technical Advisory Support a) Theory of Change formulation and outcome refinement • Formulation and validation of the program’s theory of change with key stakeholders including conceptualization of outcomes and their pathways based on the existing literature. Advise on appropriate indicators for intermediate outcomes and impacts. • Provide expert input on the analytical framework as part of the inception report b) Survey Instrument Development and Technical Review Collaborate with evaluation team to finalize survey instruments for pupils, teachers, school administrators, and caregivers with particular focus on WASH-health-education outcome pathways and climate resilience indicators validated in international surveys. • Review and provide technical input on WASH service delivery implementation indicators health, climate adaptation outcome measures, attendance and learning attainment indicators, following international best practice. • Review and provide technical input on measuring intermediate outcomes including hygiene knowledge, behaviors, WASH beliefs and practices, menstrual hygiene management, student time use, and student wellbeing. c) Thematic Analysis and Interpretation of the baseline • Provide feedback on thematic interpretation of findings at the baseline, related to WASH-health-education outcomes and group characteristics ensuring alignment with current literature and evidence base. • Provide technical input and validate outputs from WASH, health, and education perspectives in Evaluation Reference Group and Steering group inception and baseline meetings (remotely) d) Define the scope of process evaluation in consultation with all stakeholders • Propose, draft, and finalize the processes evaluation methodology section of the inception report. • Moderate discussions on the scope and goals of the process evaluation • Develop the evaluation questions, methodology, and key instruments for the process evaluation on WASH service delivery in schools e) Thematic Analysis and Interpretation of the midline data • Provide expert input and guidance to data analysis team on the analysis of WASH service delivery, health outcomes, menstrual health outcomes and education outcomes following international best practices. • Provide feedback on thematic interpretation of findings at the midline, related to WASH-health-education outcomes and group characteristics ensuring alignment with current literature and evidence base. • Collaborate with the data analysis team in suggesting recommendations for program improvements in phase two of implementation. • Provide technical input and validate outputs from WASH, health, and education perspectives in Evaluation Reference Group and Steering group midline meetings (remotely) • Conduct dissemination activities (midline report) and stakeholder engagement related to WASH-health-education data
Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:
Work Assignment Overview/Deliverables and Outputs/Delivery deadline
1.Inception phase (a, b)
- Theory of Change schematics with pathways and key outcome measures justified by existing literature.
- Draft student, caregiver and school survey instruments with measurement strategies structured according to international best practice.
- Review note on the inception report analytical framework section - Final process evaluation summary section for the inception report 9 March 2026 2. Baseline (c) - Baseline report review note, providing feedback on balance of the randomized allocation and the health, WASH, menstrual health, and education descriptive statistic presentation. 30 Sept 2026 3. Process evaluation (d) - Final process evaluation methodology document. - Survey instruments and interview guides for the key informant and focus groups interviews for the process evaluation. 20 Oct 2027 4. Midline (e) - Draft analysis plan for midline coordinated with data analysis team, outlining analysis approach, intended interpretation of results, and guidance on analyzing differential effects. - Review notes & feedback on analysis of WASH, health, education, and menstrual health outcomes. - Review notes & feedback on midline report 30 June 2028Qualifications
Education:
Doctoral degree (PhD) in public health, environmental engineering, education, development economics, or related field with demonstrated research focus on WASH, health, and/or education programming
Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *:
Minimum 10 years of professional research experience in WASH programming, with expertise demonstrated in school WASH or WASH-health-education linkages through peer-reviewed publications Proven track record of conducting or supporting impact evaluations or randomized controlled trials in WASH, health, and/or education sectors with published results Experience of implementation research or process evaluation in WASH programming Demonstrated understanding of health outcome measurement and/or education quality assessment approaches with experience in instrument development and validation Research experience in East Africa with proven record of publications Basic ethics certificates to facilitate primary studies on Human Subjects (i.e. CITI certificates or similar) Additional competences Knowledge of climate resilience and adaptation approaches in WASH, health, and education sectors supported by academic work Familiarity with menstrual hygiene management programming and measurement with published findings Language requirements Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English requiredRequirements:
Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and
- Upload copy of academic credentials
- Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :
the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference. travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR. Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable. Indicate your availability- Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.
- At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.
- Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory 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.
U.S. Visa information:
With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process
For every Child, you demonstrate…
UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: Here
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:
Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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. Consultants 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.