Consultant - Staff Retreat Facilitator, Pyongyang, DPRK out posted in Bangkok, Thailand

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, care

The UNICEF DPRK Country Office has undergone significant change in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The introduction of related prevention measures by the Government of the DPRK has effectively restricted access to the country for international staff since February 2020. By December 2020, all international staff had temporarily vacated the country and by February 2021, were relocated to Bangkok. As of present, the Country Office operates on a hybrid basis with international staff working remotely from Bangkok and national seconded staff working from the office in Pyongyang. While the commitment of seconded staff has enabled key functions to continue, direct meetings with Government counterparts including through online telecommunication platforms have not been possible thus limiting the scope and frequency of engagement with the Government. These circumstances have also had a big impact on programming which has largely been constricted to provision of supplies with progress constrained in other areas of the country programme such as capacity development and training, evidence and data collection and policy level technical support. The Country Programme has been twice extended, currently up until end of 2023 given programmatic constraints and the absence of international staff in country to engage directly with the Government around designing the next Country Programme. In 2022, a Country Programme Evaluation was finalized which has provided a set of concrete conclusions and recommendations for future programming. The Country Office retreat will be a key opportunity to reflect on the current situation and needs inside the DPRK, considering the impact of the last two years and with a forward-looking lens to brainstorm priority areas and appropriate programme modalities and approaches in the medium to long term.

There has also been a significant staff turn-over of staff. New staff members have not had the possibility to travel to the DPRK nor meet in person with the national seconded staff. By now, the large majority of international staff have never been on the ground inside the DPRK. Interactions between national and international staff are limited to weekly programme and management conference calls. This remote hybrid configuration has presented the team with unique challenges around effective collaboration, coordination and team cohesion. For the most part of 2021, the team was even more fragmented with international staff working from home in accordance with national guidelines on mitigating and prevention of COVID-19. From beginning of February 2022, international staff working in Bangkok returned to a regular office routine keeping while maintaining the option to work from home two days a week as part of the flexible working arrangements policy. Pyongyang based staff have continued to work from the UNICEF office through the entire period. The last all staff retreat took place in June 2021 and was conducted entirely virtually over one afternoon. Nonetheless, the retreat allowed for international and national colleagues to get to know each other better and the informal exchange and interaction was positively perceived by all participants. The upcoming 2022 Country Office will be the first in-person retreat organized since 2019 and presents a unique opportunity to foster and strengthen team building and cohesion.

How can you make a difference?

The DPRK Country Office retreat will be conducted through a hybrid modality both in-person for the international team based in Thailand and remotely for Pyongyang based national seconded staff from 9-11 November 2022.

We are looking for an energetic facilitator to assist in the organization of the country office retreat and support in facilitating both planned team building and strategic discussions. The office retreat aims to meet the following objectives:

1. Promote collaboration and strengthen team spirit, foster closeness among staff and escalate level of staff morale and collegial working relationships.
2. Promote open and informal brainstorming on programmatic approaches and modalities to accelerate the implementation of the Country Programme.
3. Support future planning on direction of current and future Country Programmes based on our understanding of needs on the ground, constraints and opportunities.
4. Improve collaboration and coordination between staff working remotely.
5. Rejuvenate and energize the team across sections.
6. Allow for staff to get to know each other better, particularly Bangkok and Pyongyang based staff.
7. Unpack and explore one key finding from the 2022 ‘Pulse Survey’ (staff survey)
8. Allow staff to appreciate organization’s mandate, ethics, goal and expected output towards lives of children

Description of the assignment

A three day in person retreat being planned 9-11 November 2022 in Rayong outside of Bangkok.

In consultation with the DPRK CO Staff retreat committee, the contractor will:

Preparatory tasks:

1. Meet with retreat committee members to understand objectives and key points
2. Support finalization of the agenda including the flow of the sessions to meet the objectives specified in section 2.
3. Prepare and provide all materials necessary for the proper conduct of the retreat.

Facilitation of the retreat:

1. Facilitation of both team building and strategic discussions in accordance with the agenda.
2. Adjustment of the agenda/ sessions if necessary, depending on atmosphere, feedback, timing, etc.
3. Ensure the appropriate conclusion of each session according to the objective of the retreat.
4. Help distill the discussions into action points and keep track of main outcomes.
5. Conduct post-retreat survey to collect staff feedback on each session and on retreat overall.

Follow up from the retreat:

• Write up highlights from each session, key action points and other follow ups from the overall retreat.
• Submit a final report summarizing key points, observations, feedback, recommendations from staff and actions for further action after the retreat.

Administrative issues and response to be submitted

• Bidders are requested to provide a detailed cost proposal, factoring in all cost implications for the required services.
• Local travel is foreseen for in-person retreat (planned outside Bangkok - not more than 2-hour drive). UNICEF will arrange and pay the accommodation for facilitator

Payment Schedule

• 50% payment of total contract upon the deliverable of in-person retreat.
• 50% payment of total contract upon submission of final reports at the end of contract.
• Payment terms 30 days net upon receipt of approved invoice

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

• At least 5 years of proven experience in preparing high quality workshop, meeting, or retreat.
• Highly experienced in leading and facilitating effective team building exercise.
• Highly experienced in leading strategic discussions, helping to guide discussion and thinking into outcomes and action points.
• Proven good track records of having successfully facilitated team building.
• Demonstrated capacity for on-time delivery / achievement of deadlines, within budget.
• Experienced and familiar in working with international development context especially UN system desirable.
• Has highest-level communication skills
• Able to work effectively in a multi-cultural environment with understanding of cultural and political sensitivities.
• Sets high standards for quality of work and consistently achieves project goals.
• Experienced in international development, preferably in the East Asia and Pacific region is a plus.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

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 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.