Consultant Programme & Policy Monitoring & Evaluation

Overview

Develop strategies to enhance UNICEF's evaluation communications and advocacy efforts.

You have:

• Master's Degree in development communications, journalism, marketing, public administration, or other relevant disciplines.
• At least 8 years of professional experience in the field of communications and journalism with proven experience in strategic communications, marketing, and advocacy, including in the digital environment.
• Familiarity with the role of evaluation in the public policy domain, including in organizational settings such as government, the United Nations or multilateral development banks.
• Ability to demonstrate prior professional experience in developing communication strategies in large, complex international organizations.
• Familiarity with communication structures within large organizations, as well as their oversight functions (audit, monitoring, evaluation) and understanding of these functions within a broader evidence ecosystem.
• Proven record of accomplishment in implementing strategic communication, including engaging with national and international partners and designing and executing advocacy campaigns.
• Good understanding of evidence-informed approaches to inform policy making. Previous work in communication of research or evaluations findings would be desirable.
• Ability to produce a wide range of communication support, including any of the above: media products, infographics, Prezi presentations, videos, and layouts for both web and print.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English for communication purposes. Command of other languages will be an asset.
• Prior experience of working for a UN agency would be an asset but is not essential.

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, evaluate:

Evaluation at UNICEF

Evaluation in UNICEF supports learning and decision-making which, in turn, support better results for children. Evaluation also helps to hold UNICEF accountable for contributing to results for children, or not doing so. Evaluations make an assessment, as systematically and impartially as possible, of an intervention (e.g. a project, programme component or the Country Programme); they analyse both expected and unexpected results by looking at the results chain, processes and contextual factors. Evaluations provide credible, useful evidence-based information to enable timely incorporation of findings and recommendations into UNICEF’s decision-making processes.

UNICEF’s 2018 Revised Evaluation Policy sets out the purpose and use of evaluation in UNICEF, provides definitions, norms and standards, and outlines governance arrangements and accountabilities for evaluation in UNICEF. It also guides staff and partners on the organisation’s requirements for the conduct and use of evaluations. The policy applies to all levels and parts of the organisation, including Country Offices. This is because the accountability for the Evaluation Function in UNICEF is decentralised – that is, the responsibility for implementing the Evaluation Policy applies at all levels of the organisation- Country Offices, Regional Offices and Headquarters. At each level of the organisation, there is an obligation to commission, manage and conduct evaluations according to the rules and standards set out in the Evaluation Policy, and to report regularly that this has been done.

2021 Establishment of UNICEF Evaluation Communications and Advocacy Task Force

The UNICEF Evaluation Office, together with key evaluation stakeholders across the organization, has identified several challenges that constrain UNICEF’s evaluation function. In response, task forces have been established to address such challenges, including the Communication and Advocacy Task Force (CATF). Broadly speaking, the Task Force’s purpose will be to better convey our image and identity, more clearly situate evaluation within the broader suite of knowledge and oversight functions, promote the uptake and use of evaluative evidence, encourage financial investments in evaluative work, nurture communities of practice and engage external audiences on child-focused SDG work. It will help us undertake better-targeted, clearer, and more consistent communications and advocacy efforts to do our part – alongside others in the organization who share responsibility for evaluations – to strengthen the culture of evaluation in UNICEF

The CATF is also expected to focus on a set of issues related to UNICEF’s ability (i) to adequately communicate evaluative lessons to both internal and external stakeholders with a view to facilitating utilization and strengthening results for children, and (ii) to ensure adequate ownership and understanding of UNICEF’s evaluation function by internal stakeholders as well as to clearly convey this understanding to external partners.

How can you make a difference?

The UNICEF Evaluation Office is seeking to engage a consultant to help CATF in developing a strategic roadmap, recommendations, and an action plan to strengthen evaluation-related communication and advocacy, both internally and externally. Building on relevant experience gained in comparable international organizations, it is expected that the Consultant will propose strategies and tactics, as well as, innovative ideas and tools with the aim to (i) increase both internal and external demand for evaluative evidence and (ii) strengthen ownership and understanding of UNICEF’s evaluation function by both internal and external stakeholders and partners and (iii) augment the uptake and utilization of evaluative evidence in decision making. In doing so, the Consultant will produce a communications and advocacy strategic roadmap, inclusive of an action plan with recommendations with the objective to help increase the utility of evaluative evidence among UNICEF staff, governments, and development partners. Within the framework of UNICEF’s Revised Evaluation Policy – and bearing in mind the expectation that the Evaluation Policy will undergo a further revision in 2023 – such recommendations should address both institutional/structural bottlenecks as well as individual capacity within and across each level of evaluation function.

BOTTLENECK ANALYSIS DIAGNOSTICS EXERCISE OF UNICEF’S EVALUATION COMMUNICATIONS AND ADVOCACY:

Conduct a detailed bottleneck and diagnostic analysis of the internal and external barriers and potential growth opportunities for communication and advocacy for both the evaluation function at all levels and its evaluative evidence products.

1. Review existing key documents, reports, and analyses from across UNICEF, the UN and other development organizations or even the private sector related to evidence-related communication and advocacy.
2. Assess current UNICEF evaluation-related communications means and approaches, identifying gaps and opportunities in the field of advocacy for evaluation uptake and use n at the central and decentralised levels.
3. Review trends in the communication and advocacy space, and within regions and countries including social media platforms, as well as utilisation and any potential added value of emerging technologies and approaches.
4. Benchmark communications strategies from other organizations to determine comparative advantages, particularly relating to both the evaluation and other evidence-related, advocacy functions as well as evaluation products.
5. Identify key areas to prioritize in evaluation-related advocacy and awareness-raising efforts, considering current targeted audiences and accessible channels/platforms.
6. Verify target audiences, as well as challenges and opportunities to communicate with them (UNICEF staff and offices, government officials, NGOs and other key programme stakeholders, general public, academia, evaluation global partners etc.).
7. Identify lessons learned and good practices in the evolving communication and advocacy digital space for the evaluation function in general including evaluations and related products.

COMMUNICATIONS AND ADVOCACY STRATEGY AND RATIONALE FOR IMPROVED ORGANIZATIONAL POSITIONING & COMMUNICATION OF EVALUATIVE EVIDENCE:

Develop a Communication and Advocacy strategy and rationale that will position both the UNICEF evaluation function, as well as its evaluative evidence more effectively within the organization and externally.

1. Apply the findings of the diagnostics analyses (Section A) to produce an organizational strategy and rationale (external communications and advocacy).
2. Based on the most relevant examples of other institutions’ communication and advocacy strategies highlighted in the previous stage, outline the main goals for better positioning and advocacy of the Evaluation Function.
3. Identify opportunities for the UNICEF Evaluation Function to optimize the strengths of the institutional communication infrastructure and mechanisms, including but not limited to a distinguishable evaluation identity within UNICEF institutional branding.
4. Propose a differentiated approach for external target audiences (governments, other UN agencies, civil society, etc.) and design a core narrative and key messages from evaluative evidence, recognising and specifically accounting for different advocacy and communication needs and priorities at different levels of the decentralised evaluation function.
5. Identify opportunities for leveraging internal and external partnerships to support the operationalization of the strategy.

OPERATIONALIZABLE ROADMAP, RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTION PLAN:

Based on the above Communications and Advocacy Strategy, develop a detailed roadmap inclusive of recommendations and, an Action Plan that will guide UNICEF staff in both supporting the organizational strategy, as well as, more effectively communicating evaluative evidence.

1. Develop a detailed action plan for 2023-2024, inclusive of recommendations and timelines for UNICEF’s Evaluation Function that can be used by UNICEF staff to implement the above strategy.
2. Develop a detailed action plan, inclusive of recommendations and timelines for UNICEF staff that can be used to inform the drafting of UNICEF Offices’ (at both Headquarters, regional and country levels) evidence-informed advocacy plans, incorporating donor’s segmentation, communication strategies, evaluation products, media products, targeting strategies, etc.
3. Based on the action plan, identify the financial and human resources required for implementing the proposed activities.
4. Map the targeted audiences at each level of the function and for UNICEF evaluation as a whole.
5. Based on the audience mapping, define differentiated communication objectives for each audience (internal and external).
6. Outline the financial and human resources (short and medium term) required to implement the strategy and action plan within the designated time period to achieve tangible results

COMMUNICATION TOOLKIT MATERIALS AND GUIDANCE:

Guide and create a UNICEF Evaluation communications and advocacy toolkit with communication materials, guidance, and media templates and tools for communicating evaluative products.

1. Develop new and creative ways to enhance the visibility and outreach of evaluation activities and products; not limited to leaflets, brochures, testimonials, slide decks, infographics, audio-visual materials, story maps, webinars, press releases, and other products identified in the communication strategy and plan and to assess the uptake and impact of such approaches.
2. Create guidance documents and other instructional documents for UNICEF staff use, with a suggested process to enhance uptake and use of evaluation findings, recognising different evaluability products, target audiences, communications tools, and channels.
3. Design high-quality innovative media templates for communication of evaluation data in Canva and Infogram (or any other licensed software program) for internal (Yammer, SharePoint) and external (LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter) social media platforms use.
4. Identify different technological platforms and advocacy tools as digital means to increase UNICEF’s visibility, success stories and lessons learned from evaluations.
5. Identify communication products relevant for final target audiences, as well as the most appropriate platforms for UNICEF to share evaluation data and UNICEF evaluation work more broadly.
6. Identify and develop themes for development of a range of communication materials – social media, human interest/feature stories, web stories, photographs and videos.

Methodology:

The consultant will be able to detail the methodological approach to deriving the findings from the bottleneck and diagnostics exercise as detailed in Section A. This process can include but, is not limited to: 1) Reviewing the current and previous practices in communication and advocacy within the evaluation function at UNICEF and elsewhere 2) Reviewing UNICEF’s Global Communication Strategy and associated materials, 3) Examining regional/country-level efforts in communication and advocacy, 4) Conducting document review of internal and external communication and advocacy efforts and materials, 5) Examining the digital assets and analytics for communication and advocacy and 6) Key informant interviews with evaluation staff, communications staff at UNICEF, both at HQ and the decentralized level.

Deliverables:

Start date: Dec 15, 2022

End date: June 15 2023

Deliverables

Deadlines

1. Conduct a detailed bottleneck and diagnostics analysis report of the internal and external barriers for communication and advocacy for the Evaluation Function.

Jan-Feb 2023

2a. Develop a Communication and Advocacy Strategy that will position both the UNICEF evaluation function, as well as its evaluative evidence more effectively within the organization and externally (Documentation, PPT, Reference List, etc.).

March/April 2023

b. Upon completion of the Strategy document, develop a detailed roadmap inclusive of recommendations and an Action Plan, financial and human requirements that will guide UNICEF staff in both supporting and implementing the organizational strategy.

(Action Plan with roles and responsibilities, timelines, recommended resource requirements, PPT, Reference List with active links)

*Presentation to Task Force of the Strategy and Action Plan and to the Director of Evaluation (TBD)

*Revisions to Strategy and Action Plan and Timelines (TBD)

April 2023

3. Create an evaluation communications toolkit with communication materials and media tools for effective data visualization (inclusive of multi-media templates, checklists, press releases guidance, one page guidance documents, etc.)

June 2023

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

• A Master’s Degree in development communications, journalism, marketing, public administration, or other relevant disciplines.
• At least 8 years of professional experience in the field of communications and journalism with proven experience in strategic communications, marketing and advocacy, including in the digital environment.
• Familiarity with the role of evaluation in the public policy domain, including in organizational settings such as government, the United Nations or multilateral development banks.
• An ability to demonstrate prior professional experience in developing communication strategies in large, complex international organizations.
• Familiarity with communication structures within large organizations, as well as their oversight functions (audit, monitoring, evaluation); Understanding of these functions within a broader evidence ecosystem.
• A proven record of accomplishment in implementing strategic communication, including engaging with national and international partners and designing and executing advocacy campaigns for effective data visualization.
• A good understanding of evidence-informed approaches to inform policy making. Previous work in communication of research or evaluations findings would be desirable.
• An ability to produce a wide range of communication support, including any of the above: media products, infographics, Prezi presentations, videos, and layouts for both web and print.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English for communication purposes. Command of other languages will be an asset.
• Prior experience of working for a UN agency would be an asset but is not essential.

The consultant will be directly supervised by the Communications Task Force Co-chairs. His/her engagement with the Task Force will be conducted through regular meetings with the TF, as well as, through regular exchange of information on progress and activities.

All deliverables will be discussed among the Task Force participants and where appropriate, a wider consultation will provide further feedback and final validation. The Director of Evaluation or designate will provide final sign-off of deliverables.

Payment Schedule:

The consultancy is to take place over a 6-month period but is not necessarily envisaged as full-time. Payments will be made with the following payment method:

20% will be paid upon submission of the:

• Working plan outlining details of activities with proposed methodology and timeline/ delivery dates. The plan should also include the outline for the communications and advocacy strategy.
• Final draft bottleneck and diagnostics analysis report for feedback and comments.

60% will be paid upon the submission of the:

• Submission of the final situation analysis report.
• Draft Communications and Advocacy Strategy
• Draft Operationalizable Road Map, Action Plan and Recommendations for feedback and comment.
• Draft evaluation communications toolkit materials and guidance for feedback and comments.

20% will be paid upon the submission of the:

• Final and clean copies of all products delivered and approved.

Payments of deliverables as enumerated above are subjected to the satisfaction of UNICEF.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates must submit the following documents:

• CV and cover letter.
• The daily rate should indicate expected total budget with a breakdown cost for each stage of the work.
• The application should be accompanied by short examples (through links provided or attached documents) of analyses that show experience and competence to undertake this consultancy in line with the required qualifications described above.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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.

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Potential interview questions

Added 3 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org