Consultancy: Advocacy - Mental Health (9 months, remote-based) - Advocacy Section, 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, an Advocacy Specialist

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 stated 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 leveraging the full strength of the organization.

How can you make a difference?

The Advocacy Section in the Division of Global Communication and Advocacy (GCA) requires the services of an Advocacy Specialist to deliver critical and time-bound products for the implementation of 2023-2024 activities under the Mental Health thematic area.

This includes:

1. Ensuring strategic and aligned roll-out of our mental health advocacy efforts;
2. Develop critical advocacy strategic planning documents, resources and materials as key deliverables under a number of external partnerships.

Expected results: (measurable results)

• A planning suite of documents for the Global Parenting Forum 2024.
• A published Global Mental Health Child, Adolescent, and Caregiver Accountability Tracker.
• Documented engagement with Member States, COs and NCs whose governments made commitments and ensure visibility for relevant commitments at global moments (eg Global Parenting Forum 2024, GMHS 2024).
• Advocacy tools and resources on mental health.
• Case studies and reports on Mental Health and Parenting advocacy from Country Office, Regional Office and National Committee colleagues.
• Document detailing proposed partnership with Z Zurich Foundation (ZZF) on adolescent mental health.

Description of the assignment

• Support plans for the Global Parenting Forum 2024, under UNICEF’s partnership with LEGO Foundation and in collaboration with the World Health Organization.

• Establish and manage a Global Mental Health Child, Adolescent, and Caregiver Accountability Tracker.

• Support follow-up engagement with Member States, COs and NCs whose governments made commitments and ensure visibility for relevant commitments at global moments (eg Global Parenting Forum 2024, GMHS 2024).

• Support development of advocacy tools and resources on mental health.
• Collate feedback, reports and case studies on Mental Health advocacy from Country Office, Regional Office and National Committee colleagues.
• Assist with the development of document detailing proposed partnership with Z Zurich Foundation (ZZF) on adolescent mental health.

Working in close coordination with the Advocacy Specialist and MH Project Lead plus other internal and external stakeholders, the advocacy consultant will deliver the following;

Timeframe

Start date: 15 November 2023

End date: 14 August 2024

Travel (If Applicable) Travel to NYHQ is not necessary. However, travel for events might be required.

The Consultant will not be entitled to any separate travel entitlements under the Contract. All expenditure related to the travel plans set out in the Contract are deemed to be covered as per financial proposal. If UNICEF determines that the Consultant unexpectedly needs to travel in addition to the travel already included in the Contract in order to perform the Deliverables, such travel shall be further added through an amendment setting out the additional fee in consideration of the additional travel requirements on the following basis: (a) UNICEF will pay for travel in economy class via the most direct and economical route; provided however that in exceptional circumstances, such as for medical reasons, travel in business class may be approved by UNICEF on a case-by-case basis. (b) UNICEF will reimburse the Consultant for out-of-pocket expenses associated with such travel by paying an amount not exceeding the daily subsistence

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

• Minimum academic requirement and field of expertise: Advanced University Degree in the field of advocacy, communications, or related field.
• Proven experience in advocacy and communications in low- and middle- income countries.
• At least 5 years of relevant work experience.
• English language required.

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.

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

1. Fully completed FINANCIAL PROPOSAL FORM Financial Proposal Form - Updated 10 April 2023.xlsx

2. Fully completed TECHNICAL PROPOSAL FORM Technical Proposal Form - Updated 10 April 2023.xlsx

3. Fully completed applicant online applicant profile

4. Cover letter

5. Resume

Assessment Criteria (applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria):

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.

When submitting their bid, the consultant is also advised to take into consideration as part of their bid for the assignment the cost of health insurance and/or photographic, video-graphic equipment if such equipment is needed to complete the deliverables of the assignment.

Health Insurance

The Consultant is fully responsible for arranging, at their own expense, such life, health, and other forms of insurance covering the term of the Contract as he or she considers appropriate. The Consultant is not eligible to participate in the life or health insurance schemes available to UNICEF and United Nations staff members.

VISA REQUIREMENTS

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.

IMPORTANT – G4 Visa is only valid if the consultant will reside within the tri-state area during the duration of the assignment. It is illegal to apply and obtain a visa for consultants who do not intend to reside within the tri-state area during the duration of the consultancy assignment.

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.