Consultant: Support to Strengthen Government Coordination, Implementation, and WASH Service Delivery in Kenya

Consultant Support to Strengthen Government Coordination, Implementation, and WASH Service Delivery in Kenya

Location: Kenya

LOE: Up to 25 consultant days
Duration: 6 weeks

Application Deadline: July 8, 2026

Background & Objective:

Across Kenya, the delivery of WASH services depends not only on the availability of financing but on the ability of national and county government actors to coordinate, plan, execute, and account for implementation together. Significant World Bank and multilateral resources can support this agenda, but their impact is constrained when government systems are fragmented, roles are unclear, and implementation bottlenecks slow the translation of plans into improved services.

PSI is advancing a WASH Systems Implementation Accelerator to help governments professionalize and improve delivery of WASH services by strengthening intra-government coordination, execution capacity, accountability, and the practical mechanisms needed to carry out agreed activities. Unlocking and accelerating the use of World Bank funds is one important outcome of this broader systems-strengthening effort.

Objective of this consultancy:
Design and facilitate a high-impact, action-oriented co‑creation workshop in Kenya that:

• Aligns government stakeholders around priority coordination, execution, and service-delivery bottlenecks
• Identifies practical, immediately deployable solutions that enable ministries, counties, utilities, and partners to work together to carry out activities, improve service delivery, and meet financing requirements
• Produces a clear roadmap for coordinated implementation, improved service delivery, and accelerated use of available financing

Scope of Work & Key Tasks:

The consultant will structure the engagement across three accelerated phases, ensuring direct linkage to improved intra-government coordination, practical implementation pathways, professionalized service delivery, and the effective use of available World Bank and other financing resources.

Phase 1: Rapid System Diagnostic & Stakeholder Alignment (Week 1)

Objective: Identify the binding constraints that prevent government actors from coordinating effectively, carrying out agreed activities, improving WASH service delivery, and translating available financing into implementation.

Key Activities:

• Stakeholder Mapping & Engagement
  • Map key actors across:
    • Ministry of Water, Sanitation & Irrigation
    • Ministry of Health
    • Ministry of Cooperatives & MSMEs
    • National Treasury / WB coordination units
    • County governments (priority: Western Kenya)
    • Utilities
• Targeted Consultations - PSI and the consultant will decide on the connections to be made.
  • Consultant with PSI support will conduct rapid discussions with key stakeholders to identify:
    • Coordination, execution, and service-delivery bottlenecks, including DLI and disbursement constraints where relevant
    • Planning, procurement, accountability, and implementation delays that limit delivery of services
    • Coordination failures across ministries, agencies, counties, utilities, and partners
• Problem Framing
  • Translate findings into clear problem statements tied to coordination, execution, service delivery, and effective use of financing
  • Identify 3–5 priority “use cases” (e.g., procurement acceleration, delivery unit strengthening, county-national coordination, or service-delivery improvement)

Outputs feeding next phase:

• Structured problem statements
• Stakeholder alignment map
• Priority coordination, implementation, service-delivery, and financing bottlenecks

Phase 2: Co‑Creation Workshop Design & Facilitation (Weeks 2–3)

Objective: Drive a highly practical, solution-oriented workshop that produces actionable outputs to strengthen intra-government coordination, professionalize WASH service delivery, accelerate implementation, and enable more effective use of available financing.

Key Activities:

A. Workshop Design

1. Develop workshop architecture focused on:
   • Strengthening coordination and execution across government actors responsible for WASH service delivery
   • Solving specific implementation, accountability, DLI, or financing barriers that slow delivery of services
2. Prepare:
   • Facilitation guides
   • Participant briefs grounded in government service-delivery priorities, implementation realities, and financing requirements
   • Templates for solution design, such as delivery unit models, coordination routines, procurement fixes, accountability tools, and service-delivery improvement plans
3. Logistics:
   • Support to develop invitation list and PSI will distribute
   • Make recommendations on venue for PSI to coordinate

B. Workshop Delivery (2 days)

Facilitate a structured co‑creation session that includes:

1. Problem Validation
   • Align stakeholders on the most critical coordination, execution, service-delivery, and financing bottlenecks
2. Solution Co‑Design
   • Working groups focused on:
     • Procurement and contract structuring to accelerate implementation
     • Delivery unit strengthening and accountability
     • County–national coordination mechanisms
     • Private sector engagement/market activation
     • Service-delivery monitoring, DLI tracking, and verification systems
3. Prioritisation & Feasibility Screening
   • Identify “quick wins” vs. medium-term reforms
   • Ensure alignment with government implementation priorities, service-delivery timelines, and World Bank program requirements
4. Commitment Building
   • Secure ownership from government actors
   • Define roles, responsibilities, and next steps

Phase 3: Synthesis and Roadmap for Coordinated Implementation and Service Delivery (Weeks 4–5)

Objective: Translate workshop outputs into a clear, actionable roadmap for coordinated implementation, professionalized service delivery, and effective use of available financing.

Key Activities:

• Synthesis of Outputs
  • Consolidate results of the workshop into a structured framework articulated in a concise report linked to:
    • Priority service-delivery outcomes and implementation pathways
    • Roles, coordination routines, and accountability mechanisms across responsible institutions
    • Financing requirements, including World Bank DLIs and performance indicators where relevant
• Roadmap Development
  • Develop a Kenya WASH Coordinated Implementation and Service Delivery Roadmap including:
    • Priority service-delivery and systems-strengthening interventions
    • Sequenced actions (0–3 months, 3–12 months)
    • Responsible institutions
    • Milestones tied to implementation progress, service-delivery improvements, and financing or disbursement triggers where relevant
    • KPIs and monitoring approach
    • Mechanisms for ongoing intra-government and partner coordination

Timeline & Deliverables:

LOE and Payment Terms:

Immediate start. The anticipated level of effort is up to 25 consultant days over approximately 6 weeks. Proposals should include a detailed budget based on proposed daily rates, estimated LOE by task, and any travel or reimbursable costs. The final contract value will be negotiated based on the agreed scope, LOE, and deliverables.

Payment terms:

• Upfront / Mobilization: 33% due upon contract signing to begin work.
• Milestone: 33% due after workshop completion and submission of workshop report.
• Final: 34% due upon final project completion and final deliverable sign-off.

Consultant Profile:

Required experience and qualifications

• Kenyan National or permitted to work in Kenya
• 8–10+ years of experience in public sector reform, government delivery, systems strengthening, WASH or essential service delivery, infrastructure implementation, development finance, or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience working directly with government institutions to improve coordination, execution, accountability, and delivery of services across ministries, agencies, county governments, utilities, regulators, and partners.
• Proven ability to design and facilitate senior-level, politically sensitive problem-solving workshops that result in agreed actions, institutional roles, timelines, escalation pathways, and commitments.
• Experience translating consultations, diagnostics, and workshop outputs into concise, action-oriented roadmaps with clear responsibilities, milestones, KPIs, monitoring routines, and follow-up mechanisms.
• Strong understanding of Kenya’s devolved governance system, including national-county coordination, county implementation realities, and the role of utilities or service providers in delivering WASH outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to identify and address practical implementation bottlenecks, including procurement, contract management, planning, reporting, verification, accountability, performance monitoring, and inter-institutional coordination.
• Excellent analytical, synthesis, writing, and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to produce practical outputs under tight timelines.

Preferred experience

• Prior work in WASH, sanitation, water services, public health systems, market systems, infrastructure delivery, or another essential service-delivery sector in Kenya or comparable contexts.
• Familiarity with World Bank or MDB-funded operations, including Program-for-Results, DLIs, results-based financing, performance indicators, verification processes, or disbursement requirements.
• Experience supporting delivery units, task forces, coordination platforms, reform secretariats, or other government mechanisms designed to improve execution and accountability.
• Experience engaging development partners, private sector actors, civil society, or utilities in support of government-led implementation and service-delivery improvement.
• Fluency in English required; knowledge of Kiswahili or relevant Kenyan county contexts is an advantage.

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