Consultancy, Biennial Thematic Report on Overweight and Obesity Prevention in Latin America and the Caribbean (4 months)

Contract

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UNICEF promotes the rights and welfare of all children and adolescents in everything we do. Together with our allies, we work in 190 countries and territories to transform this commitment into practical actions that benefit all children, especially focusing our efforts on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded, worldwide.

The UNICEF Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Office (LACRO) is based in Panama, and operates in 36 countries and territories, covered by 24 country offices. UNICEF works to put the rights and well-being of the most disadvantaged children at the heart of the social, political, and economic agenda, in line with our equity focus, working across our organization. For more information about UNICEF and its work, see the link www.unicef.org/lac.

For every child, health

The prevalence of overweight, including obesity among children and adolescents, is increasing almost everywhere; and is increasing most rapidly in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) face some of the highest rates of childhood overweight in the world and is one of the regions where UNICEF and partners are working most actively on the prevention agenda. Compared to the world average of 5.6 per cent, 7.5 per cent of children under five in the region have overweight; this represents 4 million children of preschool age. The situation is worse among older children. Around 30 per cent of 5-19-year-olds living in the LAC region are now estimated to be affected by overweight and obesity, far higher than the world average of 18 per cent.

Childhood overweight impacts children ́s immediate physical and emotional well-being; increases the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) later in life; and carries heavy societal and economic consequences for the individual, families and their communities.

Countries in the LAC region have begun to respond to this challenge through strategy development, policy approaches, and the implementation of specific interventions. In 2021, UNICEF LACRO published a first thematic report (see link: https://www.unicef.org/lac/media/29386/file/Overweight-report-2021.pdf) describing the general situation of childhood overweight in LAC and UNICEF’s approach and vision for preventing it.

In order to ensure that UNICEF adequately updates and showcases the problem of child overweight in the region and the knowledge and experiences generated at national and regional levels, UNICEF is seeking an individual consultant who elaborates a second edition of the thematic report on overweight prevention, updating the information on childhood overweight based on the data provided by the Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), updating on the progress of UNICEF's priority actions, and highlighting the progress made in the LAC region in terms of policies for the prevention of overweight and obesity. The envisaged audience includes governments, UNICEF country office in LAC and other regions as well as current and prospective donors.

How can you make a difference?

Purpose of the Assignment Under the supervision of the Regional Nutrition Specialist and in close collaboration with the Corporate Alliances Specialist, the consultant will develop a thematic report, aiming to present the most up-to-date data on childhood overweight, review the progress made in the region in relation to policies for the prevention of childhood overweight and highlight examples of actions promoted by UNICEF in this area.

Specific Tasks The Individual contractor will be expected to prepare a thematic report, a summary report and a presentation in PowerPoint on overweight and obesity and its prevention in Latin America and the Caribbean. The elaboration of these products will have the following activities:

1. Preparation of an outline and a timeline 2. Desk review of key facts and figures from the JME, as well as relevant documents, such as gray literature, press releases, journalistic articles, policy papers and other recent (2021-2022) key documents related to the topic. 3. Coordinate with the country offices to collect information 4. Liaise with key informants to obtain additional information 5. Generate a content mapping with key information from country offices 6. Prepare first draft of the thematic report 7. Incorporate feedback and prepare second draft of the thematic report 8. Incorporate feedback and submit final version of the thematic report 9. Prepare a summary report 10. Prepare a presentation in PowerPoint 11. Participate in (virtual) meetings that contribute to consolidating the objectives of the thematic report. The consultant will need to meet (on line) with the Regional Office, the Country Offices and others to achieve the deliverables. 12. Accompaniment and support during the translation, design and layout process of the thematic report and the summary report 13. Support to activities related to the thematic report’s launch and dissemination 14. Other required activities to pursue the objective of the consultancy

Expected Results The individual consultant is expected to deliver: - Report´s outline note including a timeline - Desk based data collection with key facts and figures on overweight and obesity in the region, including recent (2021-2022) prevention policies, strategies and achievements (implemented by UNICEF and governments) as well as key findings from prioritized/strategic studies. This includes content mapping with key information from LAC countires and JME - A thematic report on childhood overweight and obesity and its prevention in LAC (max 30 pags) - A summary report and a presentation in PowerPoint - Support to the activities related to planning and launch of the report

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

Education: Masters degree in Nutrition, Public Health, Public Policy, Communications, and/or other relevant to the objective of the TOR. Work Experience: A minimum of seven [7] years of experience in research, a good understanding of quantitative data analysis and qualitative analysis of nutrition and public policy information. A minimum of five [5] years experience in accessible writing, including for advocacy purposes. Professional technical knowledge and expertise in the field of nutrition, public health, prevention of overweight and obesity or similar. Languages: Fluency in Spanish and English is required.

Other skills and attributes Demonstrated ability to work efficiently under tight deadlines.. Able to work independently, with low levels of supervision. Ability 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 nutrition programming and policy context in LAC region is key. Previous research on prevention of childhood overweight and obesity is highly valued. Experience working with governments or UN agencies is an asset.

Supervision: The contractor will work under the direct supervision of the Regional Nutrition Specialist and in close collaboration with the Corporate Alliances Specialist. Workplace: This is a remote home-based consultancy. No travel is involved. Duration: This consultancy is expected to start on 20 March 2023, with an estimated duration of 4 months. For every Child, you demonstrate... UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this assignment are… Builds and maintains partnerships, Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness, Drive to achieve results for impact, Innovates and embraces change, Manages ambiguity and complexity, Thinks and acts strategically, Works collaboratively with others.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework 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.