Technical and coordination expert to support WASH Cluster Ukraine’s Sub-National Clusters, Dnipro, Ukraine, 12 months (office based)

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UNICEF Ukraine

Full text of TOR is attached:  TOR International WASH Cluster Lead - East.pdf

How can you make a difference? 

Background: 

As per the Government’s report figures in 2024, approximately 10 million people in Ukraine lacked access to centralized piped water supply, and 20 million people lacked access to centralized wastewater collection and treatment facilities (GoU, 2021). The water and sanitation facilities are overall old and decaying, and both drinking water supply and wastewater treatment depend on this heavily degraded infrastructure, mostly built during the Soviet times. By 2021, around 40% of existing networks were in critical condition and almost 35% of sewage treatment facilities needed upgrades (GoU 2021). The scale of this vulnerability has been significantly exacerbated with the war, as expected. As per the Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, between February 2022 and February 2023, the estimated physical damage for the water supply and sanitation sector stands at US$2.2 billion. Most of the damage has been observed in larger physical infrastructure like wastewater treatment plants, water supply and wastewater collection networks, district heating plants and warm water networks, and drinking water treatment plants and facilities. Losses have been estimated at approximately US$7.5 billion, more than 40% of which are from lost revenues, with the next biggest losses incurred due to increased energy costs, and then increased fuel consumption, increased prices of materials and equipment, tariff deficits, etc.  

In addition to the programmatic work being helmed by UNICEF for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) efforts in Ukraine, UNICEF is also the designated lead agency for the WASH Cluster in Ukraine. The WASH Cluster’s WASH response focuses on conflict-affected areas, primarily in the East of the country. The response includes coordinating responses to acute WASH emergencies and supporting national water and district heating service providers with established infrastructure, maintenance and repair of pump stations, water treatment plants, centralized heating systems and distribution networks. An important component of advocacy is driven by strong information management, analysis and reporting. The recent escalation in many parts of Ukraine (frequently East, but also South and North) has had an impact on WASH service delivery, resulting in significant displacement of the population and the need to expand the WASH response nationwide. Due to the dispersal of the response across Ukraine, the Humanitarian Needs Response Plan (HNRP), the national WASH cluster needs additional support to ensure that coordination functions are carried out effectively and efficiently.  

Purpose of assignment:  

The objective of this roving position is to ensure a proper handover to the sub-national WASH Cluster colleagues for the delivery of the 6+1 cluster core functions – as per the IASC Reference Module for Cluster Coordination – in the East, South and North Sub-national WASH Clusters  to create a system which may be institutionalized by stakeholders, as the war and humanitarian needs in the region continue. The Sub-national Cluster mechanism depends on the prioritization of the national WASH Cluster’s core functions, including service delivery, HC/HCT strategic decision-making for humanitarian response, planning and strategy development and advocacy in Ukraine. The Sub-national Cluster expert will require to undertake a diverse function and set of tasks, with a focus on tracking of needs and responses to inform operations and performing a mixed role with the management of data collection, analysis and reporting of the Cluster-led mechanism for monitoring and reporting of WASH incidents. The Sub-national Cluster expert will also provide inputs to the National Cluster Coordinator in the HNRP cycle for 2025. Overarching the role’s responsibilities will be capacitating national WASH Cluster stakeholders (UNICEF and other Cluster co-lead colleagues) to maintain effective WASH Cluster coordination as the needs of the humanitarian response continue

Work assignment overview:

Deliverable 

Deadline  

# of w/days 

Deliverable 1:  Sub-national coordination platforms quality insurance – to integrate WASH actors (private sector, local, national and international organizations and authorities, etc.) in close collaboration with the Field Offices’ cluster colleagues and maintain an appropriate humanitarian coordination and mechanism at subnational levels for timely, effective and efficient WASH activities, which also complements inter-cluster and national level processes.  

15 April 2025 

20 

Deliverable 2: Exchange of information and exchange of activities in the geographical areas covered. 

20 May 2025 

25 

Deliverable 3: Operations – to support the effectiveness of the response in the geographical areas covered, through the coordination of activities, technical exchanges, and the promotion of guidelines of the national response strategy, humanitarian principles, intersectoral integration and cross-cutting themes. 

01 July 2025 

25 

Deliverable 4: Situation monitoring – to ensure that the response is responsive to needs in the geographic areas covered, and to highlight gaps and issues and report back to the national level. 

15 Aug 2025 

25 

Deliverable 5: Monitoring the quality of interventions – to ensure that the response in the geographical areas covered meets established standards and technical guidelines, and the identification of contextualized lessons and best practices in a collaborative and collective manner. 

01 Oct 2025 

25 

Deliverable 6: Contingency plans at the local level – to ensure rapid response protocols to the risks identified in the geographical areas covered, and support the advocacy to increase existing capacities, if necessary. 

15 Nov 2025 

25 

Deliverable 7: Capacity building and mentorship of the sub-national cluster colleagues (coordinators and information managers) to strengthen technical response capacities at the local level – to identify technical weaknesses among the actors in the geographical areas covered and identify solutions in collaboration with the national level. 

31 Dec 2025 

25 

Deliverable 8: Contribute to national processes – to facilitate the implementation of national level strategies and initiatives, and ensure that the contributions, priorities and perceptions of sub-national clusters, stakeholders in the geographical areas covered are represented at the national level. 

1 Feb 2026 

20 

Deliverable 9: Monitoring and reporting.

18 Mar 2026 

30 

Total: 

220 

Travel plan: 

Round trips to Dnipro, Ukraine (up to 4 round trips).

Within Ukraine: 60 days (12 trips) *.

* Before any field mission, Safe and Secure Approaches in Field Environments (SSAFE) and Individual First Aid Kit (IFAK) trainings must be completed. The 4-day training schedule must be agreed upon with the security team (Kyiv / Lviv / Dnipro).

Please provide an all-inclusive financial proposal including travels to carry out the deliverables listed above.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

Education: Master’s degree from a recognized institution in public health in emergencies, relevant social sciences, environmental science, water resources engineering or sanitation engineering or a related field.

Professional experience:

Languages: 

Core competencies:

Strong understanding of the humanitarian approach, humanitarian reform, transformative agenda and roles of each humanitarian actor (Government, UNOCHA, Clusters, organizations, communities) and the coordination and information requirements within a Cluster. 

Strong understanding of Clusters in emergencies regarding engagement with Cluster participants and their various Cluster-specific needs. 

Ability to establish and maintain working relations with Cluster participants and Government counterparts, to identify synergies and efficiencies in workflows. 

Diplomatic skills and ability to establish excellent working relations with partners to collect and share information. 

Facilitation and capacity development skills. 

Ability to perform several tasks in a timely manner with a focus on quality. 

Communicate key messages to different audiences. 

 Technical competencies:  

Understanding of key WASH and related technical issues to engage with cluster participants and local authorities, as well as ability to identify their cluster-specific coordination and/or information management needs.