The Sanitation and Hygiene Fund (SHF)
Operational since 2021, The Sanitation and Hygiene Fund (SHF) is dedicated to improving access to sanitation, hygiene, and menstrual health (MH) through market-based approaches. SHF works with Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) to build robust and climate-resilient sanitation economies and MH markets through catalytic financing. We do this by working in partnership with governments, development partners, development financing institutions, civil society organizations, and the private sector to tackle barriers to inclusive growth and accelerate sustainable markets. We put women and girls - their choice and agency - at the center of our approach, with gender responsiveness being integrated into the design and delivery of sanitation, hygiene, and menstrual health products and services, thereby contributing to human, social, and economic development outcomes. By promoting circular and sustainable sanitation, hygiene, and menstrual health value chains, we support climate mitigation and adaptation and minimize environmental impact.
The Sanitation and Hygiene Fund (SHF) is a project of UNOPS.
SHF aims to structurally increase access to sanitation and hygiene by strengthening markets in LMICs. Through the framework of rules, regulations, policies, and taxes, governments play a pivotal and leading role in building sustainable and well-functioning markets. SHF works side-by-side with national governments and public institutions through the provision of Technical Assistance (TA) to develop an in-depth understanding of the state of these national markets, identify market failures, gaps, opportunities, and sector potential, highlight how government rules and regulations interact with the market, what the status of private sector engagement and financing is at country level, and develop a range of recommendations for regulatory reforms, policies and interventions designed to strengthen these markets and improve delivery of sanitation and hygiene services at scale. While the context in each country may differ, the approach to understanding how these markets operate and which interventions are required has to be the same in its design and execution. As a global fund, a consistent approach is crucial to ensure the comparability of findings and to identify market trends over time and across country contexts.
Reporting to the Technical Services Unit Manager and being briefed by the SHF Deputy Executive Director, and on a day-to-day basis working closely with the Sanitation and Hygiene Markets Specialist, and wider SHF country and technical team, this role will undertake the operationalization and implementation of SHF’s government technical assistance work stream. This will require collaboration with external stakeholders, partners, and third-party service providers.
The assignment will:
Oversee operationalization of the framework and provide guidelines on how to most effectively leverage the tools and frameworks in SHF’s engagement countries
Advise SHF on country-related sanitation policy development and reform, institutional and governance analysis, and regulatory framework design and enforcement mechanisms in alignment with SDG targets and climate adaptation
Provide guidance to SHF regarding public sector capacity building and inter-agency coordination mechanisms.
The role may require occasional official travel during the implementation of the technical assistance tools and frameworks in SHF engagement countries
Through this work, the role will support SHF’s mission to catalyze the sanitation economy in a tailored and sustainable way.
1. The role will
Advise and undertake the development of the deliverables as per SHF government technical assistance offering.
Fully discuss expectations and agree with the SHF on a work plan and timeframe to execute the implementation of SHF government technical assistance frameworks and methodologies in the implementation countries.
Interview relevant experts and professionals to source information and insights that will assist the process; where other stakeholders are doing complementary work, agree with SHF on how to proceed with alignment, avoidance of any duplication of effort, and ensure complementarity.
Consider a range of factors that are needed for government technical assistance tools.
Leverage SHF’s and other development partners’ existing work in the area of government TA, market maturity, and sanitation market sizing.
2. Deliverables
Provide technical expertise and advisory in the implementation of the following interventions, as required in selected countries, including by providing guidance or quality control:
Policy and Regulatory Development: Development of national sanitation policies, sanitation PPP development, strengthen legal frameworks for private sector participation, and create inclusive strategies that enable market-based sanitation solutions.
Assessments: Conduct market assessments, cost-of-inaction studies, and sanitation demand analyses.
Capacity Building: Strengthen governance and capacity at municipal/regional and sub-national levels for policy implementation and adaptation.
Coordination and Financing: Improve coordination between different ministries and agencies. Establish national sanitation financing mechanisms, such as pool funding and carbon credits, and identify sub-national market segments and investment gaps.
Compliance and Enforcement: Enhance local regulatory compliance and enforcement to ensure effective implementation of sanitation policies and frameworks.
Refine SHF’s existing government technical assistance frameworks and tools, tailor existing frameworks from other secto
