Research and Data Monitoring Consultant

Research and Data Monitoring Consultant (Short-Term Consultant)

Contracting organisation : WaterAid UK

Department / Team: Global Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns (GPAC) – Global Policy Team

Assignment type: Short-term consultancy (cover assignment)

Duration: 4 months

Location: Remote / hybrid; attendance at WaterAid UK offices (20 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London) as agreed

Reports to: Research and Evidence Lead, Global Policy Team

Anticipated start date: 3rd August 2026 – 18th December 2026

Closing date for applications: 21st July 2026

1.  Background

WaterAid is an international non-governmental organisation working to transform lives by improving access to clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene in some of the world's poorest communities. WaterAid's Global Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns Department (GPAC) leads the organisation's efforts to influence global and national policy, grounding its advocacy in high-quality evidence and data.

The Global Policy Team within GPAC hosts the Policy Advisor – Research and Data Monitoring role, which is responsible for maintaining WaterAid's internal research and data infrastructure, providing analytical support across the federation, and convening internal knowledge-sharing processes. This function is critical to ensuring that WaterAid's policy influencing and advocacy remain credible, evidence-based and consistently aligned with the most current global WASH data.

WaterAid is seeking to commission a short-term consultant for a period of four (4) months to cover key responsibilities of the Policy Advisor – Research and Data Monitoring during a planned absence. The consultant will be expected to maintain continuity of ongoing workstreams and ensure that no critical data infrastructure, reporting or coordination commitments fall behind during the assignment period.

2.  Objective

The primary objective of this consultancy is to ensure continuity of WaterAid's research and data monitoring functions during the assignment period. Specifically, the consultant will:

Manage and maintain WaterAid's internal data infrastructure (i.e. the Knowledge Research and Statistics Portal (KRSP)) by reviewing, integrating and updating key data sources and key point of contact for all KRSP related matters;

Support the operationalisation and expansion of the newly launched statistics bank in collaboration with the IT team;

Update internal systems with the most current JMP WASH data for schools and healthcare facilities and other key datasets as instructed;

Deliver regular reporting on the performance and usage of the KRSP;

Convene and facilitate WaterAid's internal quarterly research clinics to support knowledge exchange across the federation; and

Provide research support to the Policy and Research Team and other teams across the organization, as needed.

3.  Scope of Work

The consultant will be responsible for the following areas of work during the four-month assignment:

3.1 Managing and maintaining the Knowledge Research and Statistics Portal

The consultant will be the main point of contact for all KRSP related matters and enquiries. This will include:

Providing necessary training on the KRSP across the federation as per the training schedule, including ad-hoc capacity building requests

Managing the KRSP in conjunction with the Knowledge Officer and SharePoint Manager to ensure the KRSP is up to date and functional

Attend the regular KRSP check-ins and update the Research and Evidence Lead on ongoing technical discussions

3.2 Integration of new databases into the Statistics Bank platform

Working closely with WaterAid's IT team, the consultant will support the incorporation of reviewed and approved databases into WaterAid's newly update Statistics Bank. This will include:

Liaising with the Research and Evidence Lead on what additional datasets are to be included in the Bank;

Working with IT team to understand technical requirements and data ingestion processes; using the documentation manual to guide implementation and ensure consistency.

Preparing and formatting data sources for upload into Power BI platform ensuring alignment with WaterAid’s Statistics Bank standards; and

Testing integrated data layers to ensure accuracy and usability and documenting any issues or limitations to escalate to the internal IT support team.

Expanding the Statistics bank database to include newly identified WASH finance data

Maintain a record of updates and/or changes to the database and platform

3.3 Update of JMP WASH Data for Schools and Healthcare Facilities

The consultant will update WaterAid's internal data systems with the latest available JMP (Joint Monitoring Programme) WASH data for schools and healthcare facilities set to release in August 2026 and GLAAS in December 2026. This will involve:

Accessing and extracting the most current JMP datasets for WASH in schools and healthcare facilities;

Updating the relevant modules or data layers within WaterAid's internal systems and platforms; and

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