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: Consultancy support on the AU State of Africa Children Report   

Duty Station: Programme Group, WASH   

Duration: 27 October 2025 – 31 October 2025  

Home/ Office Based: Remote

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

Consultancy support on the AU State of Africa children report on WASH and preparations for the UN 2026 Water Conference & Interactive Dialogue report on Water for People

Scope of Work:

The purpose of this consultancy is to support UNICEF on two high profile WASH outputs and processes happening in 2026. The first is the planned African Union (AU) meeting launch of The State of Africa’s Children 2026 report building on the AU theme for 2026 ‘Assuring sustainable water availability and safe sanitation systems to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063.’ The second is support for the UN 2026 Water conference which will build on the UN 2023 Water conference outcomes.   The 2026 United Nations Water Conference, co-hosted by the United Arab Emirates and Senegal, and convened in UAE 2-4 December 2026, aims to surge investment, innovation, political will and a spirit of solidarity into SDG 6.  At the UN 2026 Water Conference, UNICEF will be a co-lead on the Water and People dialogue which will examine the human rights to water and sanitation, including those in vulnerable situations, for healthy societies and economies

This consultancy will support UNICEF’s role as the global thought leader in WASH via assisting to prepare high-quality written technical content for UNICEF to contribute to the UN 2026 Water Conference and the African Union (AU) State of Children WASH report and associated background papers.  In specifics, the consultant will support UNICEF internal preparatory processes and session content for the AU meeting and the UN 2026 Water Conference through development and review of technical content, session plans, talking points for meeting with Ministers, briefing notes for UNICEF senior management and UNICEF’s policy asks to different stakeholders (governments, private sector, donors, etc.) drawing from recent UNICEF flagship reports and sector documents for both the AU and UN meetings.  They will also support consultations with other interested Stakeholders and parties to inform the thematic dialogue to ensure the process is open and participatory. Where appropriate, the consultant will provide strategic advice and insights for potential political positioning of UNICEF WASH in the UN 2026 Water Conference.

The key deliverables will be:

• draft narrative report and supporting recommendations (~6,000 words required) by January 2026 for the AU/UNICEF State of Africa Children’s report 2026 focusing on WASH including policy recommendations for the WASH sector. 
• For the UN 2026 Water Conference & Interactive Dialogue report on Water for People, development of an outline of the draft concept paper by Nov. 2025.  In 2026 the full narrative paper (~8,000 words required) will be developed with subsequent revisions and a full and final version finalized over the course of 2026 following the timeline and process to be outlined by UN Water

Content for these will draw from relevant, up-to-date data, analysis, and good practices related to advancing the implementation of SDG 6 and its targets, as well as interlinkages with other SDGs and the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework (financing, data and information, capacity development, innovation, and governance). An experienced consultant with strong writing and communications skills, preferably with some WASH sector background and knowledge, especially at strategic level, is required to support the WASH team in these high-profile deliverables.

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

Work Assignment Overview/Deliverables and Outputs/Delivery deadline

1. Prepare high-quality written technical content for UNICEF contribution to the AU State of Africa children WASH report  including case studies and recommendations

- Draft outline

30 October 2025

- Draft report

1 December 2025

- Final draft report

30 January 2026

2.  Prepare high-quality written technical content for UNICEF contribution to the UN 2026 Water Conference Interactive Dialogue paper and associated background papers

- Draft priorities outline 

19 Nov 2025

- Draft report

15 June 2026

- Final report

30 Sept 2026

3. Consultations support 

- Stakeholder Webinar 1,2

31 March 2026

- Stakeholder Webinar 3

30 June 2026

Stakeholder Webinar 4

30 September 2026

4. Support UNICEF internal preparatory processes including strategic insights to the UN 2026 Water conference 

- Comprehensive package developed including technical content, session plans, talking points for meeting with Ministers, briefing notes for UNICEF senior management and strategic UNICEF’s policy asks

15 October 2026

Travel: 2 trips to Nairobi of 5 days each 

Qualifications

Education:

Advanced University degree, preferably in a WASH related field. Bachelor degree and additional 5 years of experience may be accepted in lieu of Masters

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *:

• A minimum of 15 years of high-level professional experience in a development context, preferably with in-depth experience of the WASH sector
• Knowledge of SDG 6 accelerator framework, Water Action Decade, JMP, GLAAS and other on-going sector acceleration initiatives
• Familiarity with UNICEF programming and reporting systems, especially in WASH and its strategic positioning in terms of recent high-level reports is highly desirable
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Proven ability to work under tight deadlines and high drive for results
• Previous working experience with the United Nations and/or an international organization is desirable

Requirements:

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.