Consultant – Development of Sustainable WASH Innovation Hub Strategic Plan, Copenhagen, Denmark, OoI, 5 months (Remote)

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture., coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to innovate

For more than 70 years, UNICEF has championed innovation to advance the rights and wellbeing of every child. This commitment continues through the Sustainable WASH Innovation Hub, based in Copenhagen, where we bring new approaches, bold partnerships, and impactful technologies to the forefront of the global WASH agenda. Emerging from UNICEF’s Office of Innovation and now proudly part of the Global WASH Practice within the UNICEF Center of Excellence for WASH, the Hub is uniquely positioned to accelerate promising solutions across UNICEF’s extensive global network and that of our partners.
At the intersection of cutting‑edge thinking and large‑scale development challenges, the WASH Innovation Hub serves as a bridge—connecting UNICEF’s deep field experience with the agility of start‑ups, the creativity of researchers, the vision of entrepreneurs, and the lived expertise of communities. This convergence of perspectives drives our mission: to transform how WASH challenges are understood, tackled, and ultimately solved.

We are cultivating a vibrant global community that includes children and young people, academic institutions, private sector innovators, public policy leaders, social development practitioners, humanitarian actors, and WASH and innovation colleagues across more than 150 countries. Together, we are co‑creating, testing, scaling, and advocating for new ways to overcome long‑standing barriers to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.

Through collaboration, convening power, and a relentless focus on impact, the Hub is enabling a future where sustainable, climate‑resilient WASH solutions become the norm—not the exception. By energizing and empowering the ecosystem, we aim to ensure that every child can grow up in a world where their right to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene is realized.

How can you make a difference? 

The Consultant will contribute to the objectives of the WASH Hub by developing a strategic plan for the Hub, analysing the current WASH challenges, innovation ecosystem and the role of the Hub and progress to date. This will be done through consultations with WASH Hub colleagues and other key players, including academia, development partners, INGOs, UN, private sector and government.

The Hub is transitioning at multiple levels, from the initial funding grant to a more established entity, with growing credibility and influence. At the same time the Hub is being incorporated into the new Center of Excellence for WASH in Nairobi, with capacity to more directly leverage WASH programmatic outcomes through closer links to the WASH network. It is important to understand how to navigate the Hub’s evolution through these changes, including potential geographical shifts of some of the team to Nairobi. The potential for the Hub to contribute to dramatic improvements in WASH access is exciting, but it is a critical time with a range of challenging decisions going forward, which could stifle growth and momentum.

Into this context, the consultant is expected to deliver a Strategic Plan for the Hub through the following steps:

1. Analytical & Diagnostic Deliverables
2. Strategic Visioning Deliverables
3. Strategic Plan Deliverables
4. Organisation & Operational Model including:
5. Financing and Enabling Environment (High‑Level) Requirements
6. Knowledge, Data & Learning
7. Final Outputs

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  Hub Strategy ToR .pdf

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

Minimum requirements: