Communication and advocacy for the Every Woman Every Child mechanism Consultant, Panama, LACRO, 3.5 months, Home based

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, an opportunity

Health equity refers to the idea that everyone should have a fair opportunity to attain their full health potential and that no one should be disadvantaged from achieving this potential. In reaching health equity, avoidable, unfair and unjust differences in health that stem from broader social and economic inequalities are eliminated.

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is a region marked by vast health inequalities between individuals of varying economic and educational backgrounds, urban/rural settings, and ethnicities. Throughout the Region, women, children and adolescents who are poor, lower educated, living in rural areas or of indigenous or other minority ethnic groups, are particularly vulnerable to have poorer health outcomes. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has made inequities and vulnerabilities even more visible, including those related to access to quality health services for all.

The regional inter-agency movement Every Woman Every Child Latin America and the Caribbean (EWEC-LAC) advocates for the use of equity and evidence-based interventions to accelerate health progress for women, children and adolescents in the Region.

UNICEF LACRO, as chair of the Communication and Advocacy working group of the EWEC LAC mechanism, is seeking an individual consultant who coordinates the Communication and Advocacy working group, keeps the institutional comuication channels up-to-date, and leads and supports the promotion and dissemination of activities and products produced/ organized by EWEC-LAC.

Purpose of the Assignment

Under the supervision of the Regional Adviser, Survive and Thrive and in collaboration with the Regional Adviser, Communication & Advocacy and the EWEC-LAC Technical Secretariat, the consultant will coordinate the EWEC-LAC Communication and Advocacy working group, keep the institutional comuication channels up-to-date, and leads and supports the promotion and dissemination of activities and products produced/ organized by EWEC-LAC

How can you make a difference?

The consultant is expected to implement the following activities:

1. Coordinate (virtual) meetings with the communications focal points from all the EWEC LAC agencies, including liaison with UN EWEC, PMNCH and other key partners to position EWEC LAC as a key actor in health equity advocacy efforts for the Region.
2. Participate in (virtual) strategic meetings of the regional mechanism. The consultant will need to meet (on line) with the Executive Management Committe, the Technical Secretariat and co-chairs of the Policies, Strategies and Instruments Working Group (PSIWG) and Metrics and Monitoring Working Group (MMWG), where needed
3. Generate content with key information to share in EWEC LAC institutional channels: website, social media and newsletter.
4. Support the Regional Task Force to reduce maternal death (GTR) campaign “Zero Maternal Deaths”.
5. Maintain the EWEC LAC website (English and Spanish versions) up-to-date.
6. Prepare lay out for didactic kits and branded materials to share during MMWG’s training activities in the Caribbean and South America.
7. Accompaniment and support during the translation, design and layout process of the PSIWG’s case studies on Good practices to promote health equity in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Compendium of Tools, Instruments and Methodologies to identify and address social inequities affecting the health and wellbeing of women, children and adolescents in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Expected Results and Deliverables

Description

Estimated working days*

Expected deadline **

Technical maintenance of the website

12

30-Sep-23

Update country profiles dashboard on website

10

30-Sep-23

Two social media packages: 1) Adolescents’ health report, 2) Good practices

20

30-Aug-23

Social media posts in support of the GTR Zero Maternal Deaths campaigns (include quality assurance).

3

30-Jul-23

Coodinate two CAWG meetings; participate in Executive Committee Meetings one per month); organize meetings with other WGs as needed (number of days to be paid on actual number of meetings held)

5

30-Sep-23

Prepare and send branded materials and printed publications for MMWG’s workshop in South America.

15

15-Jul-23

Prepare and send branded materials and printed publications for MMWG’s workshop in the Caribbean.

10

30-Jul-23

Total

75 working days*

*Contract will be based on lump sums per deliverable and on actuals. # Days is used to help calculate lump sum.

** Important note: dates can be adjusted depending on the starting date of the contract.

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

• Graduate degree (BA / BS) in Mass Communications, Journalism, Public relationships, Health Comunications, and/or other relevant to the objective of the ToR.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in journalism, content generation, health communication, or science journalism.
• At least 5 years experience in accessible writing, including for advocacy purposes.
• Fluency in Spanish and English is required. *Please note language levels used in UNICEF are fluent, proficient, intermediate, and basic.

Technical Knowledge:

• Professional technical knowledge and expertise in global health diplomacy or similar
• Basic knowledge of: design softwares (Photoshop, InDesign, Canva); content administrators (Wordpress) and social media platforms.
• Basic understanding of quantitative data analysis and qualitative analysis.

Other skills and attributes:

• Demonstrated ability to work efficiently under tight deadlines.
• Able to work independently, with low levels of supervision.
• Ability to analyze and synthesize documents and transfer the information in an accessible format with a relevant use of graphs and images.
• Ability to write an engaging, convincing and accessible report technically in Spanish and English.
• Familiarity with the public health context in LAC region is key.
• Previous experience on multi stakeholder projects is highly valued.
• Experience working with governments or UN agencies is an asset.

Administrative details

Supervision:The contractor will work under the direct supervision of the Regional Survive and Thrive Adviser and in close collaboration with the EWEC LAC Technical Secretariat.

Workplace: The consultancy is home based. No travel is involved.

Duration: Estimated duration of the contract is 3.5 months.

Insurance: The selected contractor must demonstrate proof of medical insurance prior to the beginning of the consultancy and must be valid for the entire duration of the contract. In duty stations where UNICEF provides medical evacuation, the medical insurance that the contractor holds should include provisions for medical evacuation.

How to Apply: Application should be submitted online and should include: resume, cover letter and financial proposal as per the deliverables mentioned Qualified candidates are requested to submit daily, monthly, and total fees in their financial proposal.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

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. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.