National consultant – expert in the preparation of information and analytical materials on the Calculation of Health Harm, Kyiv, Ukraine, 2 months (Remote/Work from home)

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UNICEF Ukraine

Background:

In the context of the ongoing military conflict and its devastating impact on critical infrastructure across Ukraine, access to clean and safe drinking water has become a pressing issue for many communities. The degradation of water systems, coupled with contamination risks, has exacerbated concerns over public health, particularly in relation to waterborne diseases and the long-term effects of consuming unsafe water. The destruction of essential water infrastructure, such as the Kakhovka dam, has significantly diminished the quality and availability of drinking water, heightening the risk of serious health impacts, especially for vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, and internally displaced persons (IDPs). 

The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) plays a critical role in ensuring the protection and realization of fundamental human rights, including the right to clean, safe, and affordable water. In this capacity, the Ombudsman has been at the forefront of monitoring and advocating for the protection of human rights, especially under the challenging conditions of martial law. The Ombudsman’s Secretariat is responsible for assessing compliance with citizens' rights to water and sanitation services and understanding the broader health implications of water pollution and damaged infrastructure. 

The Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector has emerged as a critical area requiring urgent intervention, particularly in assessing and mitigating the harm caused by the consumption of substandard water. The compounded effects of the conflict, including the destruction of key water systems, have created an urgent need to evaluate the legislative and health-related consequences of compromised water quality.  

In response to these challenges, the Ombudsman’s office is preparing a Special Report on citizens' access to clean and safe water. This report underscores the necessity of accurately measuring and assessing the harm caused by unsafe drinking water. This information is essential for the development of effective compensation mechanisms, public health policies, and sustainable water resource management practices. 

Within this framework, the Terms of Reference outlines the need for an expert to review and analyze the relevant legislation. The expert will provide recommendations on public involvement in environmentally significant decision-making processes and offer an analysis of the health-related harm resulting from poor water quality. The consultant will support the Ombudsman’s efforts to safeguard human rights and public health by delivering informed assessments and legal analyses that guide the response to Ukraine's ongoing WASH challenges. 

Purpose of assignment:  

The purpose of this assignment is to support the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) in safeguarding citizens' right to access clean and safe drinking water, particularly under the challenging conditions posed by the ongoing military conflict. The expert will play a critical role in assessing the legal frameworks governing water access and public health, as well as calculating the health-related harm caused by the consumption of unsafe water. 

The expert’s work will contribute to the development of comprehensive recommendations for legislative improvements, compensation mechanisms for affected populations, and the enhancement of public participation in environmentally significant decision-making processes. Through this assignment, the expert will support the Ombudsman’s efforts to protect human rights, mitigate public health risks, and strengthen the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector's resilience in Ukraine. 

How can you make a difference? 

Key aspects of the assignment include: 

Objective: 

The Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights (hereinafter referred to as the Commissioner's Secretariat) is preparing a Special Report on the state of compliance with citizens' rights to clean and accessible water under the conditions of martial law. 

For the preparation of the section 'Implementation of citizens' rights to equal access to quality and safe drinking water,' the Commissioner's Secretariat intends to engage an Expert to analyze the current legislation regulating public participation in environmentally significant decision-making, as well as the calculation of harm caused to health due to the consumption of poor-quality drinking water and its potential compensation

 Expert’s Tasks:

Work assignment overview:

Deliverable 

Deadline 

# of w/days 

Inception report with state of play 

5 Dec 2024 

5 

1 report with identified legislative gaps that prevent effective public participation and compensation for health damage caused by poor-quality drinking water. 

16 Dec 2024 

5 

1 report on problematic issues in the areas of public involvement in making environmentally significant decisions, as well as calculating the health damage caused by the consumption of poor-quality drinking water, its impact, and the possibility of compensation. 

23 Dec 2024 

5 

1 final report - Developed recommendations for government bodies and local authorities to eliminate identified violations with a proposal for legislative amendments to ensure public rights in environmentally significant decision-making and compensation. 

30 Dec 2024 

10 

Sub-total: 

25 

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 or higher in one of the following fields is required: in law, international relations, public administration, economics, public health, or any other related technical field.

Professional experience:

Languages: 

Skills and competencies: 

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

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:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

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. 

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.