Consultancy: Advocacy Capacity Building Consultant (10.5 months, remote based) - GCA, NYHQ

Contract

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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, opportunities

UNICEF is mandated to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, and the Strategic Plan recognizes the importance of advocacy to deliver against UNICEF’s mission and secure programmatic results for children. Advocacy plays an essential role in supporting and pressing governments and other influential actors to ensure measurable, sustainable change for children, whether through private influencing, mobilizing public support, policy advice, or a holistic blended approach. As highlighted in the Global Communication and Advocacy Strategy, truly global or ‘glocal’ advocacy requires identifying strategic advocacy opportunities at the national, regional, and global levels, and working together to capitalize on these opportunities to advance advocacy goals. We accelerate our impact for children by building, strengthening and leveraging the full advocacy strength of the organization.

The Advocacy Capacity Building Initiative (ACBI) within the Advocacy Section, Division of Global Communications and Advocacy, requires consultancy services to support the strengthening of UNICEF advocacy skills, capacity and knowledge at a global, regional, and country level.

How can you make a difference?

Purpose

The purpose of the consultancy is to support the Advocacy Capacity Building Initiative (ACBI) to continue to strengthen global advocacy skills, including supporting Country Offices, Regional Offices and National Committees through bespoke advocacy capacity, strategy development and monitoring. The consultant will also be responsible for supporting the design and development of workshops, tools, and templates to strengthen strategic advocacy capacity and advocacy monitoring across various operating contexts.

Expected results: (measurable results)

The ACBI is supported in effectively building advocacy skills, knowledge, and confidence of UNICEF staff across HQ, COs, ROs, and NatComs, through:

1. National level advocacy Capacity Building towards Immunization and Child Survival advocacy for Brazil and Nigeria Country Offices
2. National level advocacy Capacity Building towards Parenting and Mental Health for Mexico, United Arab Emirates and Jamaica Country Offices
3. Creating critical pool of regional advocacy trainers with the skills and competencies necessary to provide advocacy capacity building, technical support, and guidance to country offices and national offices.
4. Coordinating and providing technical backstopping towards the documentation, packaging, dissemination, and promotion of advocacy good practices across UNICEF

Description of the assignment

The purpose of the consultancy is to support the Advocacy Section in:

1. National level advocacy Capacity Building towards Immunization and Child Survival advocacy for Brazil and Nigeria Country Offices

• Conceptualize and finalize workshop content and design sessions (workshop outcomes and participant agenda) towards Brazil and Nigeria CO colleagues’ capacity and skills on advocacy strategy and implementation and advocacy monitoring, specific to immunization and child survival.
• Develop and finalize workshop design, session outline, detailed annotated agenda, facilitator guidance and presentation material –including slides, templates, case studies, talking points, group exercises etc. for immunization and child survival advocacy workshops.
• Design pre-surveys to map and analyze capacity building needs for targeted Brazil and Nigeria CO colleagues.
• Organize preliminary calls and analyze pre-workshop surveys, problem statements from Brazil and Nigeria CO advocacy priorities - to map policy and legislative context and workshop method.
• Develop post-workshop reports and evaluations, including post-surveys, and incorporate feedback and lessons learned into the design and delivery of future immunization and child survival workshops.
• New BMGF Polio Grant Inception Phase Workshop early 2024 - Working with the BMGF Grant Manager, support the design and preparations for an inception phase workshop for the seven countries who are part of the new BMGF polio advocacy and communications grant. (Travel to the workshop TBC).

2. National level advocacy Capacity Building towards Parenting and Mental Health for Mexico, United Arab Emirates, Jamaica Country Offices and ECARO Regional Office

• Conceptualize and finalize workshop content and design sessions (workshop outcomes and participant agenda) towards Mexico, United Arab Emirates, Jamaica CO and ECARO colleagues’ capacity and skills on advocacy strategy and implementation and advocacy monitoring, specific to parenting and mental health.
• Develop and finalize workshop design, session outline, detailed annotated agenda, facilitator guidance and presentation material –including slides, case studies, talking points, group exercises etc. for parenting and mental health advocacy workshops.
• Design pre-surveys to map and analyze capacity building needs for targeted Mexico, United Arab Emirates and Jamaica CO colleagues.
• Organize preliminary calls and analyze pre-workshop surveys, problem statements from Mexico, United Arab Emirates and Jamaica CO advocacy priorities - to map policy and legislative context and workshop method.
• Develop post-workshop reports and evaluations, including post-surveys, and incorporate feedback and lessons learned into the design and delivery of future parenting and mental health workshops.

3. Creating critical pool of regional advocacy trainers with the skills and competencies necessary to provide advocacy capacity building, technical support, and guidance to country offices and national offices

• Design pre-surveys to map and analyze capacity building needs and mechanisms for delivering training of trainers’ advocacy workshop for targeted participants from different regional offices, with a focus on ECARO.
• Conceptualize comprehensive module and design sessions (workshop outcomes and participant agenda) for regional advocacy training of trainers’ workshop.
• Develop workshop design, session outline, detailed annotated agenda, facilitator guidance and presentation material –including slides, case studies, talking points, group exercises etc. for regional advocacy training of trainers’ workshop
• Facilitate testing of regional advocacy training of trainers’ workshop module, with a select few colleagues from HQ, CO/RO, - including incorporating any feedback in the workshop design

4. Providing technical advocacy monitoring support so that COs and NatComs integrate advocacy effectively in their CPD/JSP and programme planning process, together with measurable monitoring frameworks.

• Support the design, implementation, and documentation of the Advocacy Capacity Building Initiative Workstream on programme planning processes – including engaging with at least 5 (five) countries making CPD/CPMP submission.
• Support the user-led updates of the Advocacy Portal including identifying and leading the write up of at least 3 (three) case studies linked to integrating advocacy in the CPD
• Support the development of whole-office advocacy monitoring frameworks and skills building through the preparation, facilitation, and coordination support with at least 5 (five) COs and Ros

5. Coordinating, documenting, packaging, dissemination, and promotion of advocacy good practices across UNICEF, including through the Advocacy Portal

• Develop at least 2 (two) comprehensive case studies and a dissemination plan from BMGF advocacy grant countries which can form part of discussions about future grant applications.
• Develop at least 1 (one) case study and a dissemination plan from an immunization priority ‘catch-up’ country by end of 2023.
• Prepare at least 3 (three) comprehensive case studies related to advocacy tactics and ethical practices, and advocacy in politically challenging environments.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

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

• Bachelor’s degree in public policy, Political Science, International Relations, International Development, Public Administration, Business Administration, Economics, or another related field.
• At least five years’ experience in advocacy strategy development and execution, preferably on both a global and national level.
• Experience in presenting and facilitating virtual workshops is essential, ideally with diverse, multi-country participation.
• Experience in developing clear theories of change, with specific, measurable and timebound.
• objectives and performance indicators.
• Experience in developing/designing advocacy tools and templates to be easily adapted at the national and regional levels, across varying contexts.
• Demonstrated experience in design and management of projects.
• Experience in operating independently at a senior level and in providing expert advice and support on advocacy.
• Knowledge of international development, humanitarian issues and children’s rights.
• Experience working for an advocacy or campaigning organization e.g., international or national NGO, UN or other multilateral organization.
• Experience in delivering capacity building, training, monitoring, and evaluation is a strong asset.
• Experience working in a developing and emergency environment is an asset.

Skills and attributes

• Demonstrated strong communication, presentation and writing skills are essential – a clear, concise, compelling writing style, which is adaptable for difference audiences, including mainstream public.
• Excellent facilitation skills and engaging oral communication style.
• Strategic thinking and critical analysis.
• Commitment and drive, with a clear focus on results.
• Self-starter, independent worker, proactive, ‘can-do’ approach.
• Ability to juggle competing priorities, whilst maintaining attention to detail and meeting deadlines.
• Creative and innovative.

Languages

• Fluency in English (both written and verbal) is required. Working level of French and/or Spanish is considered a strong asset.

Timeframe

Start date: 6 November 2023

End date: 15 October 2024

Working under the supervision of and close collaboration with the ACBI Manager or their designate, the consultant (advocacy specialist) will deliver the following:

Application Guidance All applications must contain the following (incomplete applications will not be taken into consideration)

1. Fully completed Technical Proposal Form - Updated 10 July 2023.xlsx

2. Fully completed Financial Proposal Form - Updated 10 July 2023.xlsx

3. Fully completed applicant online applicant profile

4. Cover letter

5. Resume

Each Proposal will be evaluated against a weight allocation of 70% for the technical proposals and 30% for the financial proposal. The total maximum obtainable is 100 points. The minimum acceptable technical score is 49.

Candidates are requested to submit their Financial Proposal form and it will be evaluated based on the overall financial offer.

FEE

Requests for services under an individual contract requires that the consultant indicates their all-inclusive fees (including lump sum travel and subsistence costs, as applicable) for the services to be provided.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Child data role (YES or NO – please select accordingly)

More information is available in the Child Safeguarding SharePoint and Child Safeguarding FAQs and Updates

If yes, please indicate the number of hours/months of manipulating or transmitting personal-identifiable information of children (name, national ID, location data, photos):

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.