Nepal nationals: Sanitation Specialist

Expertise: Sanitation, wastewater, sewerage, institutional strengthening
Expertise Group: Engineering

Consultant Source: National
TOR Keywords:

Objective and Purpose of the Assignment

In Nepal, although 90% of the urban population has access to water supplies that meet basic service
standards, only 25% have access to a safely managed service. 83% of Nepal’s households are dependent on
on-site sanitation systems, and only 11% households are connected to sewers. Critical gaps in the
sanitation service chain persist, with untreated wastewater often seeping into the ground or being
discharged into watercourses. The Fifteenth Plan (2020-2024) describes the government’s objectives in
the water and sanitation sector as (i) improving the status of public health by providing sufficient,
safe, equitable, and easily-accessible drinking-water and sanitation services; (ii) Keeping the
environment clean by expanding the reach of the basic level of sanitation facilities to the entire
population and managing human wastes and sewage properly; (iii) ensuring climate change-resilient and
disaster management-friendly drinking-water and sanitation services; and (iv) bolstering the
capabilities of the federal, provincial, and local levels by increasing their roles in sustainable
drinking-water and sanitation service delivery.

ADB is supporting several initiatives related to sanitation, including the following:

1. The proposed Integrated Water Supply and Sewerage Management Project (IWSSMP), for approval in 2023,
   will leverage from ADB’s ongoing support to Nepal to realize its goals as outlined in the Fifteenth
   Plan. The government has requested ADB support to improve urban services in 5 municipalities as well as
   several small towns, the final list of which will be confirmed through further due diligence activities.
   The implementing agency for the proposed project, the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage Management
   (DWSSM), has recruited 2 consulting firms that will undertake detailed engineering design (DED) and due
   diligence for selected municipal towns. For its sanitation activities, the firms are expected to prepare
   shit flow diagrams for sub-project towns, and identify which type of sanitation interventions (sewerage,
   on-site sanitation, fecal sludge management etc.) will be pursued in each town. Due diligence for
   selected small towns is being prepared under the ongoing Urban Water Supply and Sanitation (Sector)
   Project (UWSSP).
2. An entity has been recruited by ADB to prepare various outputs including (i) Efficiency Audit Report
   on sanitation investments; (ii) CWIS roadmap; and (iii) GESI-responsive WASH Guidelines for Schools,
   with a focus on selected towns;
3. Support is planned to conduct a technical audit on fecal sludge treatment works in Kararvitta and
   Charali, and undertake improvement works in Kakarvitta FSTP and further capacitate FSTP operators in
   fecal sludge treatment operations & maintenance (O&M); and
4. Further support to WASH, involving surveys and support to design a WASH program under IWSSMP, is
   planned.

The IA has specifically requested for ADB to support the recruitment of a national consultant to work
alongside DWSSM to enhance in-house institutional, technical and management capacity in the design,
implementation and monitoring of wastewater projects and to explore integrated management of wastewater
services, including consideration of City-Wide Inclusive Sanitation, in the proposed project and other
initiatives

Scope of Work

The scope of work shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

1. Provide on-the-ground coordination and local support for ongoing and planned ADB initiatives in Nepal
   in wastewater and sanitation sector with a focus on the proposed IWSSMP;
2. Work closely with DWSSM and its consultants to assess baseline sanitation conditions in each sub-
   project town under IWSSMP;
3. Provide support to review designs of sewerage and sanitation systems prepared by DWSSM’s consultants;
4. Explore the integration of CWIS elements in the project design, ensuring the final outputs are
   aligned with CWIS principles;
5. Provide support to other ad-hoc training, awareness raising and capacity building initiatives
   (related to integrated wastewater management and CWIS);
6. Provide support to early project implementation, including (for example) wastewater and sanitation
   procurement activities and quality control;
7. Explore the use of smart systems, high level technology and digital technology and tools in
   wastewater management, for example for guiding decision making on sanitation; and
8. Ensure gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) aspects are considered in all approaches and
   interventions.

The national Sanitation Specialist will report to DWSSM Project Director and Focal Person of ADB.

Detailed Tasks and/or Expected Output

See deliverables.

Minimum Qualification Requirements

• (Required) Bachelor degree in engineering or a related discipline;
• At least 5 years’ experience in sewer network design and sewage treatment design.
• At least 5 years’ experience in non-networked sanitation
• Experience in capacity development and institutional strengthening
• Experience working in development partner funded projects in Nepal

Minimum General Experience: 5 Years
Minimum Specific Experience (relevant to assignment): 5 Years