Consultancy: Reporting, Writing and Resource Mobilization, UNICEF Iraq (International consultancy)

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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.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment: The Iraq Country Office (ICO) is seeking the services of an international consultant to provide support to the Social Policy Portfolio, in the areas of reporting, writing/editing and resource mobilization.

The Social Policy portfolio of UNICEF Iraq Country Office has been established around key areas of work to achieve the following outcome: "By 2024, children and adolescents, especially the most vulnerable, have improved access to equitable, integrated and adequately financed basic services and social protection, and contribute to a cohesive, peaceful and resilient Iraqi society". More specifically, the section identified four interrelated streams of work for the duration of the CPD, which includes: 1. Strengthening social protection coverage and child-focused: to respond to gaps facing children in accessing social protection, UNICEF supports the government of Iraq to make social protection responsive to the needs of poor and vulnerable children. This includes high-level advocacy and support to the reform of social protection policy framework and technical assistance to strengthen the social protection system (MIS, social workforce capacity, child grants). Further, UNICEF supports the integration of social protection and social services to ensure that poor families are supported to invest in their children. Within this vision UNICEF is working at both the federal and the Kurdistan Region level. 2. Advocacy, and support to the planning processes to address multidimensional child poverty: UNICEF has positioned itself as government's partner of choice to develop multidimensional poverty analysis for the population and children. UNICEF works to support the government to institutionalize the capacities needed to sustain regular monitoring and supports the development of tools to mainstream the use of child multidimensional poverty analysis in planning and budgeting processes. 3. Public Financing for Children (PF4C) for effective and adequate investments in children: PF4C is an integral part of UNICEF's work on system strengthening cutting across all programs. Social Policy is the custodian of the PF4C work offering technical support to UNICEF programs and leading analytical work, advocacy, and training to ensure sustainable investment for children. 4. Disabilities: One key objective of UNICEF is to champion the rights of children with disabilities and promote their inclusion in all critical programming areas. In collaboration with the government of Iraq, the social policy section is leading the development of a robust system for persons with disabilities. Through the disabilities portfolio, UNICEF is implementing comprehensive programs, fostering collaborations, and advocating for inclusive policies and practices to ensure the full inclusion of children with disabilities. 5. Cross-sectoral engagement: In addition, and due to the cross-sectoral nature of the portfolio, social policy engage work in collaboration with all the sectors.

These programmes and activities have been mainly supported by the German cooperation (KfW) and the European Union (EU). Considering the number of high-quality donor reports and internal reports to submit in the coming months, including end of year reporting, the Social Policy team is seeking the service of a skilled and motivated consultant to support various donor reports.

The purpose of this consultancy is to support the UNICEF Iraq Country Office in drafting and providing quality assurance to internal annual report processes as per end-year global timelines and guidance and donor reports, in line with the donors’ guideline as well as support with writing/editing communication pieces.

Scope of Work: Under the supervision of the Resource Mobilization (RM) Manager and the Social Policy Manager, the Reports Consultant will 1. End Year Reporting: draft, edit and provide quality assurance for the RAM outcome and output analytical statements, the End-of-Year Summary Narrative. The Consultant will gather and analyse information ensuring quality of results-based reporting, strength of analysis, link to results and attention to UNICEF reporting priorities (e.g., gender, disability, evidence, partnerships, attribution of results, etc.) and submitting relevant deliverables.

2. Donor Reporting: The Consultant will also provide donor reporting, providing support in drafting and providing quality assurance to donor reports, in line with the donors’ guideline as well as support with writing/editing communication pieces. The consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks: - Works with programme staff to ensure quality and results-based donor reports including background situation, overall UNICEF experience in relevant sector, objectives of specific donor contribution, target groups, results, constraints, appropriate financial statements, including relevant human-interest stories, and photography to illustrate UNICEF supported activities; - Ensure that donor reports are in line with donor conditions and original proposals; - Ensure timely submission of high-quality donor reports and follow up in case of donors’ feedbacks on the reports sent;

3. Writing and editing of external communication/advocacy content: including contribution to newsletters; development of communication material, summary and editing of documents for donor purposes - Compile UNICEF staff inputs and other materials and draft, copy-edit and fact-check reports; - Contributes to the quality of documents; - Participates in report writing functions such as supporting the drafting of key internal and external documents for the Social Policy section (communication material, advocacy papers), - Reviewing key reports and prepare planning documents;

4. Support to resource Mobilization - Support ICO in preparing call for proposal and mobilize resources, by contributing to writing, reviewing submission package, including EU proposal for phase II, and any new opportunity.

Key points of contacts will include but not limited to: - Resource Mobilization Manager and Social Policy Manager, - Social Policy Specialists overseeing the grants (Social Protection, Disability, PF4C), - Focal points from participating agencies, as needed and relevant

The consultancy is for a duration of 95 working days ending on 1 June 2024

Work Assignment Overview (Tasks/Milestone, Deliverables/Outputs, Timeline)

Donor reporting package is produced - Reporting Package for KfW grant (all pieces consolidated, incl. report, budget, and all relevant annexes) - Sept-Oct, 2023, 10 days - Reporting Package for EU grant phase I (all pieces consolidated, incl. report, budget, and all relevant annexes) - Sept-Nov 2023, 20 days

COAR narrative reporting components are drafted and submitted - Draft RAM narrative components based on materials provided (RAM outcome and output analytical statements are drafted. Attention to cross-sectoral elements (e.g., gender, disability, partnerships) is assured) - November-December 2023, 15 days - Draft End of Year Summary Narrative (End-of-Year Summary Narrative is drafted and submitted as per EY global and regional timelines and guidance) - December 2023 – January 2024, 15 days

General Resource mobilization - Draft contents for Donor Proposals (EU phase II package – proposal, budget and log frame, based on needs) - September 2023 – June 2024, as required, 15 days

Writing and editing external communication documents - Draft content for external looking reports (prepare pagers, summary, content for communication pieces such as newsletters, presentations) (4-pager PPT on investment case on gender for donor Draft content for EU newsletter) - Based on needs - September 2023 – June 2024, as required, 20 days

Minimum Qualifications required: - Master’s degree in international relations, political science, communications, international development/development studies, or another relevant technical field. - A minimum of five years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: public affairs, programme management, resource mobilization, external/donor relations, corporate reporting or other relevant area. - Relevant experience in a UN system, especially UNICEF, other international development agency or organization is considered as an asset. - Experience in donor relations and donor reporting is a strong asset. Knowledge of EU reporting requirements and KFW Reporting requirements is a strong advantage - English fluency and strong oral and written communication skills.

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

Remarks:

Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant. Candidates must submit an all-inclusive fee for the assignment. UNICEF will provide travel for the assignment and in-country travel if required.

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 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.

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.