Consultant for adolescent participation and development (National, Belarus) - Req

Contract

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For every child, chance

Consultancy Title: Consultant for adolescent participation and development (National, Belarus)

Section/Division/Duty Station: Adolescents Development and Participation (ADAP), Programme, UNICEF Belarus CO

Duration: October 2, 2023 to September 30, 2024

Home/ office Based: Remote/Home-based (with office visits upon request/needs)

About UNICEF

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. Over 75 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

Under the supervision of the YAD and HIV/AIDS Specialist, and Adolescent Development Officer, the consultant will manage adolescent participation and development and contribute to the strengthening and implementation of adolescent participation component of the Adolescent Development and Participation Section and the Office’s Programming overall.

Scope of Work:

The VE Consultant will perform the following key tasks under the direct supervision of HIV/AIDS and YAD Specialist.

• provide support and coordination to the functioning of the Adolescent Advisory Group (hereinafter – AAG), including communication with its members, preparation of regular working meetings, development of workplans and follow-up to the implementation thereof, as well as coordination and communication of its involvement in the activities of other program sections
• coordinate the organization of UNICEF and UN activities with the involvement of AAG members (sharing information on events, drafting letters and consent forms, collecting, and analyzing feedback, preparing reports, action plans etc.)
• liaise and support the network of adolescent parliaments/councils within the CAFC Platform and ensure their participation in relevant online and offline activities supported by UNICEF (e.g. development and testing of courses for u-platform.by, advocacy activities on SDGs, climate change advocacy, etc.)
• coordinate the use of U-platform.by resources by adolescents, coordinate the co-creation of content for u-platform.by with adolescents, adolescent parliaments/councils, including but not limited to updates of pages of parliaments/councils/resource centers (sections on activities, composition, team members), writing and posting articles on organized events, announcements of future events, etc.
• support the network of peer support volunteers of the YFHCs.

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables / Delivery Dedline:

1. Support the coordination of the Adolescent Advisory Group (hereinafter – AAG):

• 2 monthly working meetings with AAG members held with follow up actions documented (total of 12 activities completed), with the completion by 30 September 2024
• Capacity building exercises organized (total of 12), topics for training activities to be developed by AAG and discussed with UNICEF staff for action, with the completion by 30 September 2024
• Organizing the involvement of AAG within the activities and projects of sections supported, (total of 12), with the completion by 30 September 2024
• The implementation of the AAG work plan monitored and regular updates provided to the supervisor (total of 12). Last working day of each month progress report of AAG work plan activities implementation, lessons learned and recommendation of course correction actions if needed

2. Support the coordination of the Youth Parliaments/Councils

• News and announcements shared through a created Telegram chat (total of 36 activities), with review and clearance from UNICEF staff. At least 3 news posts/month, with the completion by 30 September 2024
• Organization of participation of the members of Youth Parliaments/Councils in online and offline activities at the request of UNICEF, total of 12 activities, with the completion by 30 September 2024

3. Support to the functioning of the educational and youth-engagement resource u-platform.by

• At least 3 news reports/announcements prepared per month and placed at u-platform in collaboration with adolescents, total of 36 activities, with the completion by 30 September 2024
• Feedback to the functioning of the platform (functionalities, enhancements, etc.) provided, total of 24 activities, with the by 30 September 2024;

4. Coordinate the work with peer support volunteers of YFHCs

• Telegram chat with peer support heath volunteers created and maintained with timely coordination, information dissemination and feedback (at least 3 interactions per month), total of 36 activities, with the completion by 30 September 2024
• At least 1 activity organized with peer support health volunteers per month, total of 12 activities, with the completion by 30 September 2024

5. Participate in the Youth Advocates Climate Change Training Program organized by the HQ

• Advocacy activities on climate organized with organization of the involvement of AAG and volunteers, total of 12 activities, with the completion by 30 September 2024
• 4 meetings with Youth Advocates from other countries, total of 4, with the completion by 30 May 2024
• Progress review calls with the participation of the HQs and the Adolescent Development Officer with the submission of reports, total of 6, Calls – at least 1 every 2 months, Monthly progress reports
• Case study report on participating youth’s actions in policy change or a media product (videoreel, TikTok, etc.), by Sep 2024

Travel (if required as per TOR):

Local travels in Belarus, based on the scheduled activities

Qualifications

Education:

• University degree or in the 4th-5th year of university with a focus in International Relations, Public Relations, Social/Human/Language Sciences or other related fields

Language Proficiency:

• Fluency in English, Russian and Belarusian is essential, both writing and speaking

Work experience:

• At least 1 year of experience of working with volunteers or serving as a volunteer
• Experience in coordination of adolescent’s groups/activities in the development and implementation of the socially oriented initiatives/projects.
• Experience with UNICEF activities (e.g. UPSHIFT, CAFC, UNICEF volunteer) will be an asset.

Skills:

• Ability to express clearly and concisely ideas and concepts in written and oral form and to produce reports in a timely manner.
• Strong commitment and collaboration with peers/adolescents/young people to ensure their meaningful participation and engagement in decision making.
• Ability to work independently as well as with a team in an international, multicultural and interdisciplinary environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships both within and outside the organization.

Competencies:

• Accountable
• Has a sense of purpose
• Displays proper ethical behavior
• Results-oriented
• Attentive to details

Requirements:

Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and

• Upload copy of academic credentials
• Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :
  • the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability
• Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.
• At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.
• Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory 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.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: Here

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:

Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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. Consultants 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.