Consultant for Facilitating Staff and CMT Retreat for UNICEF Rwanda Country Office

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

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, Care

How can you make a difference?

Consultancy Type: National & International

Consultancy level: Middle Level

Duration: 28 Working Days

Location: Kigali and Rubavu

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

The UNICEF Rwanda office considers staff retreats as important moments to focus on the most important resources for UNICEF- staff members. Hence staff retreats are designed to facilitate team building activities, including activities for individual positioning and recommitment to the corporate responsibility of delivering results for children.

The previous staff retreat was held in October 2018. Ever since, many new staff members have joined the office, others have unfortunately departed, been retired or moved on to other roles. It is the intention of the Office to have bi-annual staff retreats to give staff members moments to reflect, reconnect and realign with UNICEF values that bind every staff member. The staff retreat this year will particularly be an occasion to welcome staff members who have joined since March 2020.

Also, the period since March 2020 to date has been particularly very difficult for staff and their families as they battled the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. Many staff either contracted the virus or had family/extended family members affected by it. For staff and their families, the pandemic resulted in a complete lockdown, affecting their lives in a manner never experienced before. It is fair to say that all staff went through extreme measures to protect themselves and their families against this deadly virus. It is also fair to say that not a single staff member, their family or extended families remained unaffected by COVID-19. At an organizational level the office premises remained shut for most of this period and staff did not have the opportunity to meet each other nor could they travel to the field and monitor programmes. The staff retreat will be an opportunity for staff to reconnect and reflect on the challenges and opportunities that they may have encountered since the outbreak of COVID-19 and to renew their bond as one professional family.

Keeping this exceptional and challenging environment in mind and acknowledging that staff and their families have experienced unimaginable difficulties in their personal and professional lives, the UNICEF Rwanda Country Office is organizing a staff retreat with the aim of bringing staff together in one place for a few days where they will renew their professional bonds in reflection of how each can reposition themselves to contribute to results for children, to the best of their abilities. Through activity interactions, staff members will get to know each other more, through understanding each other’s personalities and preferences, and acknowledging each other’s strengths and weaknesses, to understand how to support each other for personal and professional wellbeing. Lastly it will be a time for staff to unwind, relax and have some fun.

The 2021 retreat will take place during 16th – 19th November at the lake Kivu Serena Hotel, in the Western district of Rubavu two phases: Phase 1 is for all staff (approximately 80 people), including senior management, middle management, and admin/support staff. Phase 1 takes place on 16, 17, and the morning of 18 November. Phase 2 is for the Country Management Team (CMT), composed of senior management, programme section heads and operations unit heads, and staff association/staff representatives. Phase 2 takes place on 18 November afternoon and 19 November morning.

• Phase 1: 16th – 18th November afternoon - Retreat for all staff members
• Phase 2: 18th- 19th November afternoon- CMT retreat

Scope of Work:

The Consultant will be expected to carry out the following tasks:

Output 1: Inception consultation held

Task: At the beginning of the consultancy, hold meetings with the UNICEF Rwanda Senior Management Team, CMT, Staff Retreat Facilitation Team and Staff Association’s executive committee to have full understanding of the expectations and issues to be covered during the retreat. This will include review of existing documentation, e.g. previous staff retreat reports, programme and other related documents, human resource-related survey documents, as well as the global UNICEF staff development framework.

Key results:

Scope of work for:

• All staff retreat with methodology to understand staff personality types, pre- and post- assessment strategies, activities and tools (to gauge staff expectations and achievement from the retreat).
• Recommendations for objectives of CMT retreat and ideas for methodology.

Output 2: Retreat agendas developed

Through team building, fun activities, the consultant will facilitate personality type assessment activities which will involve staff members in engaging, interactive and reflective activities aimed at establishing respectful, equitable grounds upon which staff members can more effectively collaborate.

Key results

1. Agenda for all staff retreat: 16th – 18th November afternoon. This will be an annotated agenda with rationale and methodology for each activity.
2. Agenda for CMT retreat: 18th- 19th November afternoon (To be determined with Senior Management Team)

Output 3: Retreat facilitated, and reports compiled

Task: Having facilitated both phases of the retreat, the consultant will develop two reports:

Key results

1. Report on the all staff retreat:

Among other aspects, this will include a summary of staff personalities within the UNICEF Rwanda Country office and how they can complementarily work together, more efficiently.

2. Report on the CMT retreat

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

• Master’s degree in Social Sciences.
• At least 5 years of working experience in:
  • Designing and facilitating team building workshops; proven experience in facilitating training in international context with specific experience in developing team spirits and team cohesion in a multi-cultural environment.
  • Expertise in designing and implementing a wide range of interactive methods to strengthen teams and improve efficiencies in the workplace.
  • Excellent analytical, research, writing and communication skills
  • Computer literacy and fluency in English as the working language of the retreat (written and spoken) is essential. Fluency in French desirable.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and Competencies of Demonstrates Self Awareness, Ethical Awareness, Works Collaboratively with others, Builds and Maintains Partnerships, Innovates and Embraces Change, Thinks and Acts Strategically, Drive to achieve impactful results, Manages ambiguity and complexity, Nurtures, Leads and Manages People.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should send their cover letter explaining what makes them suitable for this consultancy.

Only successful candidates from the technical evaluation exercise will be contacted and requested to submit their most competitive Financial Proposal.

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:

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.