Consultant_Technical Assistant (TA) to DWSSM

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is looking for a national individual consultant to provide technical assistance in supporting the work of the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage Management (DWSSM). 

Interested candidates are requested to submit their Expression of Interest (EOI), along with technical and financial proposals, no later than 11 August 2026 to Ms. Aliza Baidya, e-mail: aliza.baidya@ifrc.org

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Technical Assistant (TA) to DWSSM

WASH MIS & Data Management Expert

Technical Assistance for Strengthening Water Quality Monitoring Systems – Department of Water Supply and Sewerage Management (DWSSM)

1. Position Summary

2. Background

The Department of Water Supply and Sewerage Management (DWSSM) itself and with support from its development partner, is implementing a Technical Assistance (TA) initiative for strengthening water quality monitoring systems and the functionality and sustainability of local water quality mini-laboratories. The initiative is grounded in an assessment of decentralized water quality mini-laboratories, which found a physically present but systemically paralyzed laboratory network: only a small number of laboratories are fully functional, while most are dormant and unable to generate reliable routine testing data.

The assessment identified cascading failures across the Nine WASH Building Blocks institutional anchoring, finance, regulation and accountability, infrastructure maintenance, monitoring, water resource management, planning, learning, and policy. A central consequence is a monitoring blind spot: municipalities cannot detect fecal contamination, chlorine failure, arsenic risk, or source deterioration before these hazards become public health emergencies, as illustrated by the 2025 cholera outbreak in Birgunj and nearby Madhesh municipalities.

A central targeting framework for this assistance is the identification of Priority Areas for Multisectoral Interventions (PAMIs), as defined by the Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) under the Global Roadmap to End Cholera. PAMIs are the geographic units identified through a standardized, evidence-based methodology for cholera control in settings with moderate to high transmission, or for cholera elimination in settings with limited transmission where cholera burden or vulnerability is concentrated and where multisectoral WASH, health, and surveillance interventions must be prioritized under a National Cholera Plan (NCP). In the Madhesh context, PAMI-designated and other high-risk municipalities are precisely where non-functional laboratories, dense settlements, poor service reach, arsenic or microbiological risk, and recent or potential outbreak pathways overlap. The technical assistance therefore uses PAMI classification as a primary lens for sequencing laboratory reactivation, monitoring, and health-WASH coordination.

Restoring the laboratories as reliable data-generating nodes requires that laboratory results flow into the National WASH Management Information System (NWASH-MIS) and that GIS-based evidence including laboratory functionality maps, testing deserts, sustainability-risk layers, and PaMI/health-risk overlays is used to prioritize interventions

To support DWSSM in leading this work, a Technical Assistant (TA) with expertise in NWASH MIS and data management will be engaged for a period of five (5) months. The TA will serve as the principal technical resource for NWASH-MIS integration, GIS-based decision support, and data-driven monitoring under the technical assistance package.

3. Objective of the Assignment

The overall objective of the assignment is to support DWSSM to advocate for the establish a functioning, real-time, decision-oriented water quality monitoring and reporting system integrated with NWASH-MIS, so that laboratory testing data drives municipal planning, regulatory oversight, and outbreak preparedness and response.

Specific objectives are to:

• Build the capacity of municipal WASH Focal Persons, Lab Persons. ICT Officer and DWSSM/provincial staff on NWASH-MIS data entry, validation, reporting, and use of data for decision-making.
• Operationalize the Priority Areas for Multisectoral Interventions (PAMI) framework, so that laboratory reactivation, routine testing, and outbreak preparedness are sequenced first in PAMI-designated and other high-risk municipalities.
• Build the capacity of municipal Water Quality Lab Focal Persons and DWSSM/provincial staff on NWASH-MIS data entry, validation, reporting, and use of data for decision-making.
• Support the establishment of a data linkage between laboratory results and health authorities for waterborne disease outbreak preparedness and response.
• Institutionalize monitoring, reporting, and audit routines within DWSSM and Local Governments to prevent recurrence of laboratory dormancy.

4. Scope of Work and Key Responsibilities

Working under the direct supervision of Chief of Service Regulation and Management of Information Section at DWSSM and in coordination with provincial authorities, Local Governments, and the development partner, the TA will perform the following tasks, structured around the components of the technical assistance package:

4.1 NWASH-MIS Data Management and Digital Reporting

• Assess the current status of water quality data in NWASH-MIS, identify data gaps and reporting bottlenecks, and prepare a data management improvement plan;
• Consolidate, clean, validate, and enter/update the laboratory functionality dataset of mini-laboratories into NWASH-MIS;
• Support municipalities to prepare municipal WASH plans using NWASH-MIS;
• Provide technical support for real-time reporting of laboratory results and establish routine data quality checks and validation mechanisms.

4.2 GIS-Based Planning, and Visual Decision Support

• Integrate the assessment’s GIS outputs into planning: laboratory point locations, functionality status, 20 km service-reach buffers, testing deserts, sustainability-risk scores, and health-risk overlays;
• Support to develop municipality-level visual profiles showing laboratory status, surrounding high-risk settlements, water sources, outbreak-prone areas, and recommended intervention sequencing;
• Prepare visual products for municipal sensitization workshops so that elected representatives and technical staff can see the relationship between non-functional laboratories, unmonitored water sources, and public health exposure.

4.3 PAMI Analysis and Multisectoral Targeting (GTFCC Framework)

In line with the GTFCC guidance on Priority Areas for Multisectoral Interventions, the TA will serve as DWSSM’s technical resource for evidence-based, PAMI-informed targeting:

• Compile and manage the epidemiological, WASH, and vulnerability datasets required for PAMI analysis, including cholera and acute watery diarrhea incidence, water quality testing results, laboratory functionality, service coverage, sanitation conditions, and population/settlement density
• Apply and adapt the GTFCC PAMI identification approach (cholera control and/or cholera elimination method, as appropriate to the transmission context) to classify and periodically update the list of PAMI and high-risk municipalities in Madhesh Province, in coordination with health authorities

4.4 Capacity Building and Institutional Support

• Develop training materials and deliver orientation/refresher training to municipal Water Quality Lab Focal Persons and municipal WASH staff on NWASH-MIS data entry, validation, and reporting;
• Support DWSSM in institutional orientation events for Mayors, Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs), and Ward Chairs by preparing evidence briefs, data presentations, and GIS visualizations;
• Support the design and roll-out of the rapid quarterly laboratory performance audit format, and compile audit results in NWASH-MIS for use in regulatory oversight and sector performance evaluation;
• Provide data and analytical inputs for laboratory business plans and municipal O&M budget advocacy where required.

4.5 Health-WASH Data Integration and Outbreak Preparedness

• Design data flows and reporting templates for outbreak-period sample prioritization data (E. coli, Free Residual Chlorine, turbidity, pH, arsenic where relevant, and sanitary inspection findings);
• Contribute the data and mapping elements of the joint Health-WASH response checklist (water testing, emergency chlorination, household messaging, source protection, and escalation to provincial authorities).

4.6 Reporting, Coordination and Knowledge Management

Coordinate with DWSSM sections, provincial authorities, Local Governments, Water Supply and Sanitation User Committees, health authorities, and the development partner;

Document all datasets, GIS layers, SOPs, and training materials, and hand these over to DWSSM in an organized, reusable format at the end of the assignment;

Perform other related tasks as reasonably assigned by DWSSM within the scope of the technical assistance.

5. Deliverables and Payment Schedule

The TA will produce the following deliverables. Payments will be made upon acceptance of each deliverable by DWSSM and the development partner.

6. Duration, Duty Station and Working Arrangements

• Duration: Five (5) months, from the date of contract signature.
• Duty station: DWSSM, Kathmandu, with frequent field to local government, prioritizing support to LG where wash plan not prepared yet and other high-risk municipalities.
• Facilities: DWSSM will provide working space, access to NWASH-MIS, relevant reports and datasets, and official facilitation letters for field missions. 
• Travel: Field travel will be undertaken as per the request by DWSSM and Municipalities where support needed; travel costs will be covered as per the provisions of the contract.

7. Reporting and Supervision

The TA will report to Chief of Service Regulation and Management of Information Section at DWSSM. The TA will submit monthly progress updates. All deliverables will be reviewed and approved by DWSSM. 

8. Required Qualifications and Experience

8.1 Education

• Master’s degree in Information Management, Computer Science, GIS/Geomatics, Environmental/Civil Engineering, Public Health, Statistics, or a related field. A Bachelor’s degree with at least two additional years of directly relevant experience may be considered.

8.2 Experience

• At least 5 years of professional experience in MIS/data management in the WASH sector in Nepal.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience with NWASH-MIS (data entry, validation, reporting, and analysis) is strongly preferred.
• Experience working with federal, provincial, and local governments in Nepal, preferably with DWSSM, water supply divisions, or municipal WASH units.
• Experience designing and delivering training on data systems for government staff, ideally at the municipal level.
• Familiarity with water quality monitoring parameters (E. coli, Free Residual Chlorine, turbidity, pH, arsenic) and water safety planning is an advantage.

8.3 Skills and Competencies

• Strong data management and analysis skills (Excel; database tools; statistical or scripting tools such as R/Python are an asset).
• Operational knowledge of NWASH MIS.
• Ability to translate data into clear visual products (maps, dashboards, infographics) for non-technical audiences.
• Excellent facilitation, coordination, and communication skills with government counterparts;
• Fluency in Nepali and English (written and spoken).
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently to field locations across Nepal.

9. Evaluation and Selection

Candidates will be evaluated on the basis of qualifications, relevant experience, and demonstrated technical capacity in NWASH-MIS, and GIS-based data management, through desk review of applications and interviews.

10. Institutional Context

The TA operates within a coordinated institutional arrangement: DWSSM leads and steers the technical assistance; Local Governments own and operate the laboratories, appoint focal persons, allocate O&M budgets, and enter NWASH-MIS data; provincial authorities provide oversight; health authorities use the data for outbreak prevention and response; and development partners provide technical assistance resources, training support, templates, and facilitation without replacing municipal responsibility. The TA is expected to strengthen not substitute for government systems and municipal ownership.

Interested candidates are requested to submit their Expression of Interest (EOI), along with technical and financial proposals, no later than 11 August 2026 to Ms. Aliza Baidya, e-mail: aliza.baidya@ifrc.org.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

We thank you in advance for understanding that only short-listed candidates will be contacted for the next step in the application process.