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For every child, the right to quality Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
Mozambique continues to face recurring humanitarian crises, including cyclones, floods, droughts, cholera outbreaks, and conflict-related displacement. These emergencies place significant pressure on water, sanitation, and hygiene services and increase public health risks, particularly for children and women. To strengthen preparedness and ensure rapid surge capacity during emergencies, UNICEF Mozambique is establishing a roster of qualified WASH consultants who may be called upon to support emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and resilience-building interventions.
For more information about UNICEF Mozambique's work please follow this link
How can you make a difference?
UNICEF Mozambique is establishing a WASH Emergency Response Consultant Roster to ensure timely access to qualified experts who can be rapidly deployed during emergencies. Inclusion in the roster does not constitute a contract or guarantee employment. Consultants will only be contacted if and when specific needs arise. For each assignment, shortlisted roster members will be invited to submit availability and a financial offer aligned with the specific Terms of Reference.
Eligibility
- The roster is open to Mozambican nationals only.
- The roster is open to individual consultants only.
- Roster members will be engaged, when needed, under individual consultancy contracts in accordance with UNICEF policies and procedures.
- Applicants may apply for one or more of the technical areas of expertise listed in this Terms of Reference.
Roster Validity and Management
The roster will remain valid for 3 years from the date of its establishment and may be updated or reopened to new applicants during that period. Roster members will be selected for individual assignments on the basis of their technical area of expertise, relevant experience, availability, and, where applicable, geographic location. UNICEF Mozambique may remove a consultant from the roster in the event of repeated unavailability, unsatisfactory performance, or a breach of UNICEF standards of conduct. Personal data submitted by applicants will be handled confidentially and used solely for roster and recruitment purposes.
Purpose of Assignment
To provide technical leadership and support for WASH emergency preparedness, response, and recovery, ensuring alignment with UNICEF Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action (CCCs) and national standards.
Objectives
- Strengthen WASH emergency preparedness and response capacity.
- Ensure timely and quality delivery of WASH interventions in affected areas.
- Support monitoring, reporting, and knowledge management for WASH emergency actions.
Scope of Work
Depending on the specific assignment, the consultant will undertake some or all of the following tasks, as detailed in the assignment-specific Terms of Reference:
- Update WASH emergency response plans and contingency stocks.
- Conduct rapid assessments within 48–72 hours of an emergency onset.
- Undertake detailed gap analyses on water supply systems, sanitation infrastructure, and hygiene practices in affected areas.
- Map priority communities, displacement sites, schools, and health facilities requiring immediate intervention.
- Identify high-risk cholera transmission hotspots and propose urgent mitigation measures.
- Support or lead implementation of WASH interventions, including: deployment of water trucking, temporary water systems, mobile treatment units, chlorination points; rehabilitation of boreholes, handpumps, solar systems, small piped systems; construction or desludging of emergency latrines; distribution of WASH NFIs (hygiene kits, buckets, aqua-tabs, soap, jerrycans); establishment of handwashing stations in community sites, schools, health facilities.
- Coordinate with government, cluster partners, and NGOs for effective response.
- Track progress against indicators and prepare weekly situation reports.
- Participate in or facilitate WASH Cluster meetings at provincial or national level.
- Provide technical guidance to NGOs, service providers, and community committees.
- Train local authorities and partners on emergency WASH standards and protocols.
- Document lessons learned and best practices.
Methodology
The consultant will work under the supervision of the UNICEF WASH Specialist and in close coordination with the Emergency Team. Field missions to affected provinces will be required, following UNICEF security protocols. Consultants must be available for deployment at short notice anywhere in Mozambique, as required by the assignment.
Deliverables, Timeframe and Payment Schedule
Deliverables, timelines, duty stations, duration, and remuneration will be defined in the specific Terms of Reference issued for each assignment under the roster.
Technical Areas of Expertise
- Emergency Water Supply
- Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance
- Cholera Preparedness and Response
- WASH in Health Facilities/ Infection Prevention and Control (IPC)
- Emergency Sanitation
- Hygiene Behaviour Change
- Emergency Assessments
- Information Management and Reporting
- WASH Cluster Coordination
- Climate Resilience and Anticipatory Action
Required Qualifications
- Mozambican nationality is required. Applicants must apply as individual consultants, not as institutions or companies.
- Advanced university degree in Environmental Engineering, Public Health, Water and Sanitation, or related field is required. A first-level university degree combined with two additional relevant years of experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.
- Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible experience in WASH emergency programming is required.
- Demonstrated experience in humanitarian contexts, preferably in Mozambique or similar settings is required.
- Strong analytical, coordination, and reporting skills are an asset.
- Familiarity with Sphere Minimum Standards, UNICEF Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action (CCCs), WASH Cluster standards, and national emergency protocols is an asset.
- Strong technical skills in emergency water supply, water quality monitoring and surveillance, cholera preparedness and response, WASH in Health Facilities, Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), emergency sanitation, hygiene behaviour change; supply and logistics management, rapid emergency Assessments, information management and reporting; WASH cluster coordination and climate resilience and anticipatory action are an asset.
- Fluency in English and Portuguese required.
Evaluation Criteria
- Relevant WASH Emergency Experience (50 points).
- Technical Expertise (30 points).
- Educational qualifications (10 points).
- Language and quality of cover letter (10 points).
Candidates who score 70 points and above (out of a maximum of 100) in the technical evaluation will qualify for inclusion on the consultant roster. When a task that requires a particular expertise arises, UNICEF Mozambique will approach two or more consultant candidates in the pertinent workstream(s) of the roster with a specific Terms of Reference requesting them to submit financial proposals and to confirm availability and interest, as well as further assess expertise and experience vis-à-vis the specific terms of reference. Based on the outcome of the selection process, the contract shall be awarded to the successful candidate.
HOW TO APPLY:
Apply through the UNICEF online portal link for this advert and attach the following documents by 29 November 2026:
- A copy of your highest level of education/degree certificate
- Cover letter indicating the technical area(s) of expertise for which you wish to be considered
- CV/Resume which should include three (3) professional references (at least one should be a recent supervisor).
- Financial offer indicating the proposed daily fee. This is an indicative rate for roster inclusion; a detailed financial proposal will be requested and negotiated only when a specific assignment arises.
Only Mozambican national individual candidates who meet the minimum requirements will be evaluated. Successful candidates who pass the technical assessment will be included in the UNICEF Mozambique WASH Emergency Response Consultant Roster. Inclusion in the roster does not guarantee a contract.
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all qualified Mozambican candidates, irrespective of gender, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.
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.
Remarks:
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
The selected candidates are solely responsible for ensuring that the health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract is valid for the entire period of the contract.
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.
Please note that 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.
UNICEF Values and Competencies
The consultant is expected to uphold UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS) and demonstrate core competencies including partnership building, ethical awareness, results orientation, innovation, and collaboration.
Disclaimer:
- The screening of your application will be conducted based on the information in your profile. We strongly suggest that you review your profile to ensure accuracy and completeness.
- Payment of professional fees will be based on 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.
- Please note that being on the roster does not guarantee consultant assignments with UNICEF.
Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.
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, discrimination, fraud, corruption and other forms of misconduct.
UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles.
