WASH Specialist( Strategic & Technical Support)Retainer Contract

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) aims to make significant strides in promoting sustainable development, aiding the federal and provincial government in SDGs attainment, and establishing itself as a reliable provider of efficient services for development programming around Climate Adaptation, Basic Service Delivery and Energy Efficiency. Operational since 1999, UNOPS Pakistan (Project Office) is part of the Sri Lanka Multi-Country Office in the Asia Pacific Region.

The project “Improved Access to Water and Sanitation Services in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh” was initiated in September 2021. The project aims at improving access to clean and safe water, hygiene, and sanitatio,n and increasing the resilience of communities affected by floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh provinces. It is expected to last 5 years, until December 2026. 

The project is articulated around three main components: 

• Improve the quality and reach of water supply services and increase access to community and household sanitation (Infrastructure);

• Provide more effective, gender-responsive, and transparent WASH services through enhanced capacity of government and communities (Capacity Building);

• Reduce waterborne diseases and improve the resilience of communities through improved community and household hygiene practices (Behavioral Change).

The project started with a participatory needs assessment phase in coordination with all its stakeholders in view of identifying priorities and precising the specific outputs under each of the three components of the project. The project is now in its implementation stage. 

Under the overall supervision of the WASH Project Manager, the WASH Retainer will provide technical leadership and donor engagement support to UNOPS Pakistan’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme.

The retainer will contribute to ensuring the technical quality and strategic alignment of ongoing and upcoming WASH projects, especially in supporting soft component development (e.g. capacity-building and trainings) for government counterparts. The consultant will also play a key role in strengthening UNOPS positioning in the WASH sector and supporting partnership development and resource mobilization.

• Ensure strategic and technical quality of WASH programming in Pakistan, aligned with national priorities and donor expectations.

• Identify, design, and support implementation of WASH soft activities (e.g. trainings, capacity-building, stakeholder engagement) for government counterparts and communities.

• Enhance UNOPS visibility and positioning within the WASH sector at provincial and national levels.

• Support resource mobilization, proposal development, and donor engagement aligned with sectoral priorities

• Provide high-level technical guidance to ensure quality, relevance, and sustainability of WASH programming.
• Develop or refine WASH strategy and technical frameworks in alignment with UNOPS policies and regional/global strategies.
• Support the implementation of WASH activities to ensure quality, timeliness, budget compliance, and alignment with donor requirements, while providing guidance on implementation and quality standards
• Identify and plan soft WASH activities in Sindh and KPK (e.g. trainings, capacity development workshops, technical exchanges) in coordination with government stakeholders and sector actors.
• Ensure designs and methodologies are culturally appropriate, environmentally sound, and cost-effective.
• Provide on-demand technical advice to field teams and review technical documents, assessments, and deliverables.

• Analyse global and regional donor landscapes, identify emerging opportunities and trends.
• Prepare donor engagement briefs (including objectives, eligibility criteria, decision-making timelines, and contact mapping).
• Draft high-quality concept notes, proposals, theories of change, logframes, budgets, ESG risk screens, and gender plans aligned with donor templates and UNOPS standards.
• Support UNOPS partnerships team in identifying programme development opportunities, new funding sources, and strategic partnerships.
• Be available for donor meetings and sectoral forums, as delegated, and develop talking points, pitch decks, and meeting briefs.

• Engage with relevant stakeholders including government bodies, UN agencies, and WASH partners to promote collaboration and coherence.
• Identify opportunities for cross-sectoral integration of WASH with protection, health, education, and environment.
• Update and maintain a mapping of WASH actors, resources, and interventions in project areas.
• Support coordination efforts through active participation in relevant inter-agency WASH sector meetings and working groups.
• Facilitate the alignment of partner activities with national WASH priorities and community needs.

• Detailed workplan with timelines aligned with UNOPS priorities.
• Soft activity implementation plans (Sindh and KPK) with stakeholder consultation records.
• Concept notes/proposals submitted to donors with all required documentation.
• Updated WASH actor mapping and engagement tracker.
• Training or capacity-building materials developed or reviewed.
• Technical review notes on project deliverables as required.

• Master’s degree in civil/environmental engineering, water resources, public health, development studies, or a related field.
• A Bachelor’s degree with 2 additional years of relevant experience may substitute for the masters degree requirement

Contract type: ICA

• This is a retainer-based assignment, with deliverables and timelines agreed upon during the contract period.

• The consultant must be available for periodic field travel based on agreed workplans.

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:

Individual Contractor Agreement (ICA) Retainer - 

A retainer contract is issued for a period of time during which the services of the individual contractor are required intermittently. The individual contractor agreement on retainer basis will specify a “unit price” per day worked. For budgetary purposes, a monetary cap will be determined when the contract is awarded and issued. Please note that the retainer contract will not provide for a minimum, and payment will be made only after completion of work

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions 

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 

• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. For more information on a retainer contract here.

• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.