Consultancy - WASH Writer, LACRO, Panama

Consultant Programme & Policy Medical & Health

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, health

How can you make a difference?

Background

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 Caribbean Regional Office is based in in Panama, operating in 36 countries and territories, including 24 UNICEF country offices (COs).

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 and with our partners in government, civil society and the private sector to support shifts in public policy, fuel social engagement, and increase investment for children.

In the frame of UNICEF’s work in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), knowledge management (KM) activities represent one of the strategic tools to support the achievements of sectoral output results for children. KM underpins the effectiveness and efficacy of the WASH programme to maximize its impact with the available resources. KM should be used to generate, capture, use and share UNICEF and sector WASH knowledge and to improve the quality, equity and sustainability of WASH services.

UNICEF aims to ensure that programmes are designed are based on the best available information and knowledge and that advocacy is based on rigorously analysed evidence. As WASH sector leader, UNICEF aims at sharing and applying knowledge and innovative practice with global partners, international institutions and across the wider development community, to support global decision making and advocacy and help building best practice. UNICEF WASH programme’s KM actions are based on the WASH KM strategic framework, that focuses on the 4 pillars of KM:

1. Generating Knowledge: all activities aimed at generating knowledge, i.e.: reports, studies, research, evaluations, etc. This includes in-house research and analysis, the know-how based on programmatic experience, and externally generated research and experience.
2. Elaborating Knowledge products: the knowledge generated within the WASH programmes should be re-packaged (summarized, main concepts distilled and highlighted, etc.) in function of the audience, to make it more effective and easier to use;
3. Disseminating Knowledge and communication: the Knowledge products should be disseminated internally and externally through different channels, with UNICEF’s sectoral partners - including Governments - to make sure they are effectively used for different purposes (programming, monitoring, advocacy, policy definitions, capacity building, monitoring, etc.);
4. Building, maintaining and updating staff capacity: based on the existing knowledge, the training is intended to improve the skills and personal capacity of staff and partners, for ensuring that knowledge is routinely managed and used to scale up evidence-based and locally adapted solutions.

The UNICEF Regional Office (RO) in LAC WASH section is supporting the Country Offices (COs) in the region to strengthen their KM activities, based on the above-mentioned concepts and global framework and its regional KM strategy. The aim is particularly to strengthen the capacity of the country offices for the elaboration of high quality knowledge products and short publications to be done in collaboration and jointly with RO-COs, in form of outreach and advocacy materials, based on existing knowledge initiatives (studies, research, evaluation, reports, etc.) and make sure that these knowledge products can be easily disseminated and used, internally and by different sectoral stakeholders, to demonstrate results and for different purposes (advocacy, programming, capacity building, monitoring, etc.).

UNICEF country offices’ WASH sections are very active in Knowledge generation – both at the national and local or decentralized level – and they normally produce several “knowledge pieces” every year, in the frame of the implementation of their WASH programmes, both internally and in coordination with the sector partners, and often in collaboration with Academy or with other external support. Examples of these knowledge management initiatives are: studies, researches, evaluations, reports, field notes, etc.

Knowledge generation is not perceived as an issue, the challenge is often represented by the effective use of these knowledge, meaning its utilization in different activities at different stages of the programmes implementation, including internally (i.e. planning, monitoring, evaluation, staff training, etc.) and with the sector partners (i.e. advocacy, technical assistance, capacity building, policy development, etc.). One of the reasons that may limit the effective use of the mentioned knowledge is related to its format and size: typically a heavy document (i.e a study of 50 to 100 pages) will face certain challenges for its effective use by key stakeholders, despite its high quality and relevance.

The first step to facilitate a better and effective use of the existing WASH knowledge, is the “re-packaging” and customization of the knowledge management initiatives through the elaboration of high quality knowledge products or short publications (i.e. field notes, factsheets, human interest stories, etc.) as summaries of studies, research, evaluations, reports, etc., based on existing UNICEF standard templates and containing the most important and distilled information, key concepts and messages. The result should consist of some short and high-quality publications that can be easily disseminated and effectively used, both by UNICEF colleagues in other countries and by the sectoral partners, at country or regional/global level. The format and content of these publications will depend also on the audience to whom they are addressed, and the same document could have different shapes according to its final users.

Based on this situation, UNICEF LACRO is seeking the support of an experienced WASH writer to support UNICEF countries and regional offices in LAC in the elaboration of high quality knowledge products (field notes, factsheets, human interest stories, etc.) extracting from existing drafts knowledge products or from knowledge initiatives (i.e. studies, research, evaluations, reports, etc.) and using existing UNICEF templates, for their use and dissemination in the region and beyond.

Many global WASH documents, guidance and tools are produced in English which is a major constraint for their use by Spanish speaking country office colleagues and specially the national counterparts. To support the evidence generation and knowledge management, the WASH writer is expected to read fluently English and/or Spanish and use UNICEF’s template and write in English and/or Spanish. Portuguese and French are advantages.

For more information about UNICEF and its work. (www.unicef.org/lac)..)

Purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of this consultancy is to support UNICEF country offices in Latin America and the Caribbean and the regional office (LACRO) in their joint WASH knowledge management activities, particularly to produce high quality knowledge products to be used for advocacy and other purposes.

The objective of this consultancy is to apply writing expertise for the elaboration of high quality WASH knowledge products (field notes, factsheets, human interest stories or similar) using UNICEF WASH templates on a demand-based approach by extracting from existing draft knowledge products or from knowledge initiatives developed by the country and regional offices (i.e. studies, research, evaluations, reports). Other WASH publications types like Discussion Papers, WASH Results, video scripts, etc. may be needed too.

The knowledge products elaborated by the consultancy will go through UNICEF WASH review process until they are ready for their dissemination and use by UNICEF and partners in the region and beyond.

The different types of knowledge products to be elaborated are detailed in the below table:

WASH COVID-19

Response

These knowledge products compile lessons learned on UNICEF’s COVID-19 response and how to ensure continuity of WASH services and supplies during and after the pandemic. You can follow the audience guidance, length and purpose from any of the 8 regular WASH publication types for these COVID-19 knowledge products.

Factsheet

2 - 4 pages - Summarize the most important knowledge on a topic in less than four pages in the form of graphics, tables and bullet points.

Written for WASH professionals but can be used by wider audiences.

Human interest story “WASH Diaries”

2 - 6 pages - Explore the personal dimensions of WASH, and remind us why a good standard of water, sanitation and hygiene is important for all to enjoy.

Written for non-WASH professionals.

Field Note

6 - 10 pages - Share innovations in UNICEF’s WASH programming, detailing its experiences implementing these innovations in the field.

Written for WASH professionals, but amenable for a wider audience.

Discussion Papers

10 -20 pages - explore the significance of new and emerging topics with limited evidence or understanding, and the options for action and further exploration.

Written for WASH professionals including NGO and government partners, cross-sectoral and resource partners,

senior managers

Guidelines

10-20 pages - describe a specific methodology to WASH programming, research or evaluation - drawing on substantive evidence, and based on UNICEF’s and other partners experiences in the field.

Written for experts using technical language.

Reference guide

10-20 pages - present systematic reviews on topics with a developed evidence base or compile different case studies to indicate the range of experience associated with a specific topic.

Written for WASH professionals including NGO and government partners, cross-sectoral and resource partners, senior managers.

WASH Results

10-20 pages - show solid evidence of how UNICEF is achieving the goals outlined in Country Programme Documents, Regional Organizational Management Plans, and the Global Strategic Plan or WASH Strategy, and contributes to our understanding of the WASH theory of change or theory of action.

Written for WASH professionals including NGO and government partners, cross-sectoral and resource partners, senior managers

Technical papers

10-30 pages - present the result of more in-depth research and evaluations, advancing WASH knowledge in a key topic.

Written for WASH professionals including NGO and government partners, cross-sectoral and resource partners, senior managers.

Others

To be agreed with country and regional offices

To be agreed upon

Specific Tasks

• Participate in an introductory webinar organized by the regional office for the UNICEF country offices to present you and the support that you will bring to the offices.
• Engage with each country as per their needs and record with regional office all support requests.
• Review the documents that are provided by the UNICEF office that wants to produce a knowledge product.
• Based on the general context around the product provided by the requesting office, based on your review and based on UNICEF WASH established templates, participate in discussions with CO, RO and HQ on the final type of product(s) that can be written.
• Have a conversation with the requesting office to understand the detailed needs, receive pending information by the office in order to estimate the workload and prepare and share a timeline for the different stages of the writing of the product (including the review process). Provide with the phased timeline a forecasted budget for each product (# of hours for each phase) and also mention the extra information/support that you need from the office in order to fulfill your activity. This time frame serves as a logbook (to be shared online to reduce email traffic) to ensure clear communication and accountability between the consultant and the country, regional and HQ offices.
• The writing of a product cannot start until the time frame is agreed by the requesting office. The time frame will also explicit when partial and final payments will be made. No upfront payment for the first 2 products and for the other ones, upfront payment cannot be more than 20% of the estimated total cost of the product. Intermediate and final payments to be agreed between the consultant, the requesting office and the regional office as the later one is part of the review process and processes payments.
• For each product, record on the initial time frame/logbook the hours spent on the writing of the product and share it online (Google Doc) with the UNICEF office so that the time spent and adjustments of the final cost along the writing process are known by all parties involved and approved by UNICEF CO and RO.
• Once the product has passed UNICEF internal review process (WASH Chief/focal point at country level, then regional Knowledge Management focal point then HQ) and is considered final, provide your final timeline and final hours spent on each phase of the timeline as well as the related final bill for the product.
• Considering the little predictability of the writing support requests and engagement of the consultant on other contracts, it is expected that the consultant would start any writing product within 25 working days from the date of the agreed initial time frame.

Expected Results

Because this contract is based on demand from the countries and the regional offices, because the time spent to write knowledge products varies a lot depending on the type of product requested, the availability of data and documents provided by the requesting office, the time in receiving the comments on the draft versions from the office and the time spent in the final regional and headquarter review, it is not possible to fix either the number of products that will be finalized during this contract neither the cost of each type of product.

Therefore, the contract remains open with no minimum amount of work guaranteed and the costing will be done based on the amount of time spent on each product and the hourly rate provided by the consultant.

Deliverables

Description*

Duration [in days]

Expected deadline

As explained in the above section, UNICEF is not committed to provide a minimum amount of products to be written as it is demand-based.

Each product payment will be agreed upon between the consultant and the UNICEF office as per the initial time frame/logbook/scope of work presented by the consultant and agreed by UNICEF and the agreed updates (time and cost) during the entire process.

N/A

N/A

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

• A Master University degree in social science, economics is preferred
• Training in Communications for Development or in journalism, communication with a focus on the development sector
• A University degree with equal years of relevant work experience in lieu of a master’s degree is acceptable.
• A minimum of 8 years’ experience in editing and writing on WASH, children’s and women’s rights, and development. Different topics related to social science, children or development issues;
• Excellent writing skills and demonstrated record of high-quality publications on WASH, social science, children or development issues;
• Experience in the WASH / public health and/or child related issues
• Excellent communication skills
• Previous experience editing and writing for UNICEF and familiarity with UNICEF’s style guidelines would be an asset.
• The consultant should be proficient in English and/or Spanish, with proven ability to write high level papers for different types of audiences. French and Portuguese an asset.
• Proven professional experience in write up of different types of documents in the languages required
• Demonstrated ability to use Microsoft Word including templates produced in Word, statistical packages and online meeting platforms
• Ability to work efficiently under tight deadlines
• Must be detail-oriented

Supervision

The consultant / individual contractor will work under the direct supervision of the Regional WASH Specialist.

Workplace

This consultancy is Home based. The consultant will be home-based. No travels are expected. The consultant will work independently using its/their personal premises and using their material and equipment’s.

Duration

This contract is expected to start on 1 August, 2021 with an estimated duration of 11.5 months.

How to apply

Application should be submitted online and should include CV, cover letter and financial proposal. Qualified candidates are requested to submit daily fees in their financial proposal.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

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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 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:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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.

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Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: unicef.org