Sanitation Finance Consultant, National or International, Abuja, Nigeria (remote with travel) 12 months

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 health

Nigeria’s sanitation challenge is large and growing: only 18% of people have safely managed sanitation, 48% still practice open defecation, and fast urbanization (over 4% a year) is expanding a urban sanitation market valued at about US$7.8 billion in 2025 and projected to pass US$12.5 billion by 2030. Climate vulnerability raises the cost of resilient services, while the sector itself emits roughly 12 million tons of CO₂e a year. The financing gap needed to reach universal safely managed sanitation by 2030, reflects systemic market failure rather than a simple lack of capital. Households are expected to fund most sanitation investment but face affordability limits, since toilets and emptying services cost more than people are willing to pay. Enterprises are mostly micro, small and informal, with under 2% able to access formal loans. Policy and institutions are fragmented public budgets are low, with equally low execution rates. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) have failed to mobilize private capital because of weak capacity, low tariffs and poor bankability. Even so, population growth and latent demand make Nigeria a major untapped investment opportunity. Realizing it will require a city-wide inclusive sanitation approach that blends public, development and climate finance with concessional finance, guarantees and private capital, backed by stronger policy and coordination, more bankable projects and viable business models, so that public money addresses market failures and crowds in private investment, especially in underserved, climate-vulnerable urban and peri-urban areas.

How can you make a difference?

A consultant is required to support the mobilization of catalytic finance for the WASH sector and the preparation of the Sanitation Programme Facility (SPF) in Nigeria. The SPF combines donor-backed guarantees with grant-funded technical assistance to unlock commercial financing for household sanitation and for enterprises across the sanitation value chain.

The consultant will work with the UNICEF Nigeria Country Office and collaborate with other UNICEF offices as relevant, including the WASH Innovation Hub and the Global WASH practice, to ensure the catalytic finance mechanisms are unlocked for sanitation.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here:  ToR_ext TMC0007660.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

Education:

• At least a Master’s Degree in finance, accounting, economics, business, international development or a related field. A first university degree in a relevant field combined with 5 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

Work Experience:

• At least 10 years of relevant experience in finance, with a strong understanding of impact investing and/or sustainable and blended finance, ideally within the public sector, international organizations or the private sector.

• Minimum 2 years of professional experience working with or supporting international development organizations or international financial institutions (IFIs).

• Minimum 2 years of relevant experience working in Nigeria; experience in other countries in sub-Saharan Africa desirable.

• Demonstrated experience supporting project concept note or proposal development for large scale financing essential.

• Experience working in or supporting climate finance is an asset.

• Experience supporting finance in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector is desirable.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required; knowledge of a local language in Nigeria is an asset.

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills:

• Proficiency in financial analysis and project management, and demonstrated ability to design and implement financial models that support development goals.
• Knowledge and/or experience of the working modalities of regional and international development banks and other IFIs.
• Proven ability to translate complex financial concepts into accessible language for diverse audiences, including UNICEF staff and partners.
• Knowledge of the WASH sector and of the challenges related to water and sanitation funding and financing (tariffs, cost recovery, WASH accounts, WASH marketing, PPPs, water and sanitation service business models, etc.).
• Knowledge and expertise on public private partnerships for service delivery, including market assessments and development of bankable models for private investment 
• Demonstrated skills in knowledge management and report writing for external audiences.
• UNICEF core values (Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, Sustainability) and competencies: self-awareness and ethical awareness; works collaboratively; builds and maintains partnerships; innovates and embraces change; thinks and acts strategically; drives to achieve impactful results; manages ambiguity and complexity.

Desirables:

•     Five years of working experience in sub-Saharan Africa, especially Nigeria; previous experience with the UN, national and regional entities, and donors.

•     Experience working in innovation-focused environments or scaling new financing models.

•  Experience working with development banks and IFIs.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children.  The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone , irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF . Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

• An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV) 

• Cover letter

• A separate financial proposal (only acceptable in the format of the linked template)  Financial proposal template TMC0007660.docx

• A detailed technical proposal on how the work is to be conducted (those without a technical proposal will not be considered). Please provide samples of documents written or developed in the past for financing proposals or knowledge management.

Remarks: If the TOR or financial proposal documents are not downloadable on certain recruitment platforms, please visit our official page Vacancies | UNICEF Careers .

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here .