Calls for Expression of Interest Consultancy: WaterAid Social Accountability Toolkit Review and Development 2025

WaterAid Zambia is committed to ensuring that communities have a strong voice in shaping, monitoring, and holding duty bearers accountable for equitable and sustainable WASH services. To strengthen this agenda, we are seeking a highly skilled and dynamic Social Accountability Consultant (individual or team) to provide strategic and technical support in advancing citizen engagement, transparency, and accountability mechanisms within the WASH sector. This is an exciting opportunity to work with a leading international NGO and contribute to systemic change that improves lives.

Scope of Work

The consultant will be expected to deliver the following key tasks:
Conduct a desk review of existing tools, reports, and WASH governance documentation.
Map social accountability practices in WaterAid Zambia’s implementation districts.
Engage WaterAid staff, CSO partners, local authorities, and community members through key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs).
Analyze the functionality, relevance, and user-friendliness of existing social accountability tools.
Design an integrated and user-friendly toolkit that includes:
Community Scorecards
Budget tracking tools
Citizen feedback and complaints mechanisms
Joint review meeting guides
Guidelines for interface meetings between duty bearers and rights holders
Gender and social inclusion considerations
Develop a training module and facilitation guide.
Present the final toolkit at a validation/training workshop.

Submission Requirements

Interested consultants/teams are invited to submit:

Curriculum Vitae (CV) for the lead consultant and key team members.
Technical Proposal detailing the proposed approach, methodology, work plan, and understanding of the assignment.
Financial Proposal clearly outlining the cost structure for delivering the assignment.

Evaluation Criteria

Submissions will be reviewed and scored based on the following criteria:
Technical skills of the consultant and team (as reviewed from the CV) – 20 points
Relevant experience of the consultant/team – 10 points
Technical proposal – 35 points
Financial proposal – 35 points

WaterAid Zambia will award the contract to the applicant that demonstrates the best overall value, balancing quality and cost.

The full Terms of Reference (ToR) can be accessed [provide link here].
Submissions must be sent to:
zambiarecruitment@wateraid.org
With the subject line: EOI – Social Accountability Toolkit Development 2025
Deadline: Tuesday 9th September at 11:59PM CAT

WaterAid Zambia
Terms of Reference (ToR)
Review and Comprehensive Development of Social Accountability Tools
Reference No.: WAZ/SA/2025/02
Date of Issuance: Tuesday 26th August 2025
Deadline for Applications: Tuesday 9th September 2025

1. Background

WaterAid Zambia works to make clean water, decent sanitation, and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere. As part of its sector strengthening and inclusive governance agenda, WaterAid supports citizen-led accountability to ensure equitable and sustainable WASH services, particularly for women, girls, and marginalized communities.
Over the years, WaterAid Zambia has implemented a range of social accountability approaches, including community dialogues, interface meetings, and budget tracking. However, a systematic review and enhancement of our social accountability tools is now necessary to enhance their effectiveness, adaptability, and alignment with evolving governance contexts, decentralization reforms, and community empowerment needs.
WaterAid Zambia is committed to strengthening inclusive and sustainable WASH systems that prioritize equity, transparency, and active citizen participation. Social accountability is a core pillar of this commitment, enabling communities and stakeholders to hold duty bearers accountable and ensure responsive, inclusive service delivery.
This assignment aims to review our existing social accountability tools and processes, document best practices and gaps, and develop a comprehensive, user-friendly toolkit adaptable across rural and peri-urban WaterAid WASH programming contexts.

2. Purpose of the Assignment
The purpose of this consultancy is to:
Review existing social accountability tools and practices used by WaterAid Zambia and its partners.
Identify gaps, overlaps, and best practices in current tools and methodologies.
Develop a harmonized, context-specific, and comprehensive social accountability toolkit that is gender-sensitive, locally adaptable, and aligned with national and global standards.
Build capacity of staff and partners to apply the tools effectively.

3. Objectives
Conduct a diagnostic review; assess the relevance, strengths, and limitations of existing social accountability tools and approaches used by WaterAid Zambia and its partners.
Benchmark against international good practices and relevant accountability frameworks (e.g., Open Government Partnership, Human Rights-Based Approach, etc.) context specific to WASH focussed social accountability and community engagement
Co-design a comprehensive social accountability toolkit including templates, facilitation guides, and digital/visual versions where applicable. The toolkit must address community specific needs related to WASH services, quality and sustainability.
Facilitate a validation and Trainer of Trainers workshop for WaterAid staff, CSO partners, and selected community representatives.
Provide guidance for institutionalization and integration of the tools within district and national systems (e.g., local planning, M&E, citizen engagement platforms).

4. Scope of Work
The consultant will undertake the following:
Conduct desk review of existing tools, reports, and WASH governance documentation.
Map social accountability practices in WaterAid Zambia’s implementation districts.
Engage WaterAid staff, CSO partners, local authorities, and community members through key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs).
Analyze the functionality, relevance, and user-friendliness of existing tools.
Design an integrated and user-friendly toolkit, incorporating:
Community Scorecards
Budget tracking tools
Citizen feedback and complaints mechanisms
Joint review meeting guides
Guidelines for interface meetings between duty bearers and rights holders
Gender and social inclusion considerations
Develop a training module and facilitation guide.
Present the final toolkit at a validation/training workshop.

5. Deliverables

Deliverable
Timeline
Inception Report with proposed methodology, risk assessment, tools work plan
2days after contract signing
Assessment Report summarising the review of existing tools, stakeholder  feedback and good practices
8-10 days after approval of inception report
Draft Toolkit (including visual and digital components, including scorecard templates, guidelines, facilitation manuals, feedback mechanisms, and monitoring frameworks)

10-12 days after approval of assessment report

Stakeholder Validation & Training Workshop
3days after approval of toolkit
Training Report and Recommendations
1 day after stakeholder validation
Final Toolkit in print and digital formats
4-5days after stakeholder validation

6. Duration

The consultancy is expected to be undertaken over a 25-30day period commencing within September 2025

7. Required Qualifications

WaterAid Zambia invites applications from qualified consultants (individual or firm) with:
Proven expertise in WASH governance, rights-based approaches, or social accountability frameworks.
Experience in participatory tool development, public sector engagement, and citizen voice mechanisms.
Strong understanding of Zambia’s decentralised governance and WASH service delivery context.
Demonstrated ability to engage diverse stakeholders and facilitate co-creation processes.
Excellent documentation and presentation skills; proficiency in local languages is an added advantage.

8. Management and Reporting
The consultant will report to the Governance and Public Policy Specialist with oversight from WaterAid Zambia’s Senior Management Team. A reference group will be formed to provide technical input throughout the process.

9. Application Process
Interested consultants/firms are invited to submit:
Technical proposal detailing methodology, team composition, and workplan (max 7 pages)
Financial proposal with detailed cost breakdown
CVs of consultancy team with references
Two samples of similar work conducted
Certificate of incorporation (for firms)

10. Application Assessment criteria
Submissions will be reviewed and scored based on the following criteria:
Technical skills of the consultant and team (as reviewed from the CV) – 20 points
Relevant experience of the consultant/team – 10 points
Technical proposal – 35 points
Financial proposal – 35 points

Submissions must be sent to: zambiarecruitment@wateraid.org with the subject line: EOI – Social Accountability Toolkit Development 2025
Deadline: Tuesday 9th September at 11:59PM CAT

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.