Consultancy: WASH in Emergencies Surge Mechanisms Consultant

Dec 5, 2016 | UN Children's Fund
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The purpose of this consultancy is to support the WASH in Emergencies team in managing the transition to the new system hosting the global WASH roster and to ensure that relevant candidates can be identified quickly when surge needs are expressed. 

The consultant will work in close interaction with the WASH in Emergencies team, the HR department which manages the new system, and the emergency HR team which manages UNICEF's overall surge mechanisms. 

Safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are critical in a fragile and challenging world where over 65 million people were displaced at the end of 2015 (UNHCR 2016). Every day, WASH is at the forefront of emergency response worldwide, providing life-saving support to the affected people, especially vulnerable women and children. UNICEF emergency response helped 25.5 million people retain or regain access to water, 6 million gain access to sanitation and almost 14 million gain access to services and supplies for handwashing with soap in 2015. An additional 4 million children gained access to safe WASH in schools and temporary learning spaces. UNICEF delivered USD 436 million in 2015 on WASH in emergencies, which makes over half of the overall WASH programme spending. 

UNICEF responds to humanitarian needs coming from different types of emergencies, including sudden natural disasters, complex emergency situations where states are unstable or have failed, or protracted crises. To response to these humanitarian needs, it is critical that UNICEF identify the right staff with appropriate skills and competencies. 

The WASH in emergencies team in UNICEF manages different surge mechanisms to identify candidates before and during emergencies. A global WASH roster (GWR) was set up in 2012 and now has around 350 profiles. The GWR was managed through UNICEF's e-recruitment system. The e-recruitment system changed in 2016 and the new system offers interesting new functionalities to manage profiles and identify candidates for surge. To take full advantage of these new functionalities, UNICEF is looking for a consultant to support and manage the transition of the GWR to the new system. 

Expected results: 

  • An analysis of the WASH profiles in the new HR system is available
  • A guide on what criteria to use for surge searches in the new systems is prepared
  • Members of the WASH team are trained on the surge searches options
  • A list of new tags is available and has been applied to the global WASH roster members
  • New profiles with the required expertise have been included in the global WASH roster
  • TORs for each underrepresented technical competency are prepared 

Main Responsibilities and Tasks

  • Roster systems testing: test existing functionalities; carry out test surge searches, analyse results, compare results with the previous e-recruitment system.
  • Map key competencies needed for WASH emergency responses: competencies will need to be in line with the ones identified in the new 2016-2030 UNICEF WASH strategy.
  • Profile analysis: analyse internal and external profiles in GWR and more generally in the e-recruitment system; develop statistics on the type of profiles available in the system; identify underrepresented competencies
  • Guidance development: prepare a guide on how to best use the new system for team in charge of WASH surge management.
  • Training: Organize a training for the members of the team on surge search in the new system
  • GWR operations and maintenance: develop a standard operating procedure to keep the roster up to date in the future: how to identify new applicants on a regular basis; how to include people who are in talent groups; how to identify good applicants who came in second for other recruitments etc.
  • Verification: verify the profiles of the candidates in the roster according to their interest and availability 

Key competences, technical background, and experience required Deadline 

  • Master's Degree in Management, Human Resources or in a related field of study
  • A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in planning and implementing roster, surge or recruitment systems with the UN, IO, and/or NGO
  • Technical expertise or experience in the WASH sector is an asset
  • Previous experience with UNICEF is an asset
  • Project Management experience
  • Demonstrated experience in database management
  • Fluency in English (verbal and written). Good written and spoken skills in another UN language an asset.