Consultant to Write Stories of Change and Microsite on Programme on Women’s Empowerment in Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (SRMNCAH) rights in humanitari

Contract

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Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

UN Women East & Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) maintains a large presence in the East and Southern Africa region, covering 13 countries with a Programme Presence in Somalia. In accordance with the UN Women Strategic Note, which is in line with the Africa Strategy, UN Women works to advance social, economic, and political rights and protection of women and girls from violence, including harmful practices. The ESARO also focuses on those from marginalized, excluded, and under-represented groups, including rural women, women with disabilities, women living with or affected by HIV, women survivors of violence, women migrants, and elderly women among others. Additionally, women and girls are often greatly affected in both sudden and slow-onset emergencies and are at increased risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV, unplanned pregnancies, maternal deaths, and illnesses, and sexual and gender-based violence. UN Women’s Programme on Women’s Empowerment in Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child, and Adolescent Health (SRMNCAH) rights in humanitarian settings in the Horn of Africa Region (POWER), with generous funding from the Austrian Development Agency, seeks to address some of these challenges.

The Horn of Africa (HoA), which consists of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, and Uganda, currently has 20 million people affected by crises which has a negative impact on the most vulnerable population’s ability to access sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. The context leaves women and girls particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation and abuse, including defilement and rape. This is further compounded by the social distancing and restrictions imposed during COVID-19, making it difficult to make available and access the services in many countries specifically in humanitarian settings.

Several on-going crises in HoA have led to large movements of people within and between countries and significant local, national, and regional impacts. Wide geographical and socio-economic disparities impact access to health services, and coverage of priority SRMNCAH interventions is sub-optimal both in the development and humanitarian settings throughout. Discrimination against women and girls including gender-based violence, economic exclusion, and the disparity in access to quality and affordable SRMNCAH services is common across the region. In humanitarian settings, many women and girls are vulnerable due to the limited health care facilities, lack of information and some-times difficulties accessing or inability to access services due to their vulnerability. Their situation has become worse with COVID 19.

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 and the subsequent closure of schools, the number of unplanned pregnancies especially among adolescent girls has escalated. The pandemic risks the reversal of gains made in the access SRMNCAH services and protection of women and girls. Limited access to SRMNCAH services especially, menstrual hygiene products and sexual and reproductive health services, including services for survivors of violence and post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) kits exacerbate risks to girl’s reproductive health. There are instances where fear of infection, family and caregivers are reluctant to permit adolescent girls to access such services.

The importance of upholding sexual and reproductive rights, including access to quality services for women and girls are enshrined in a wide range of normative frameworks, including the Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action, the Programme of Action of International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially target 5.6 on sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights and related targets across Goal 3. Most recently, the Generation Equality Forum Blueprints for Action Coalitions on Gender-Based Violence and Bodily Autonomy and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights add new momentum to these commitments. These international frameworks are reinforced by various instruments and policies at the regional and national levels to promote SRMNCAH, such as the African Union Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Continental Policy Framework (2005) which is operationalized through the Maputo Plan of Action. However, discriminatory practices and the diverse barriers prevent women and girls from enjoying their rights and dismantling these barriers is a focus for the POWER. The POWER programme is implemented in select humanitarian settings in Ethiopia and Uganda and complemented by key activities at the regional level for the Horn of Africa (HoA).

Objectives of the Assignment:

The Consultancy for the POWER will support UN Women East and Southern Africa Regional Office to prepare text and stories to be published on UN Women’s website which documents the programme approach and results, as well as stories of individuals who have participated in the Programme. The content drafted will highlight the importance of addressing the barriers that prevent women, children, and adolescents from demanding and realizing their rights to SRMNCAH services in humanitarian settings.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work:

Reporting to the ESARO Policy Specialist for EVAW, the consultant-writer will develop content related to the UN Women Programme on Women’s Empowerment in Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child, and Adolescent Health (SRMNCAH) rights in humanitarian settings in the Horn of Africa Region (POWER) which will be featured online. The content will be presented as text and accompanying visuals (e.g. SmartArt graphics) to populate a microsite on the POWER and six online stories to show the changes resulting from the Programme. Both the microsite and stories will highlight the contributions and perspectives of UN Women and diverse partners and community members as leaders, advocates, and change-makers in the project sites in the Horn of Africa. It will show the different ways that project efforts have contributing to advancing women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights. The consultant will be responsible for proposing different story formats, conducting interviews with individuals (in-person and/or virtually) as agreed with UN Women, drafting and revising stories and content for publication on UN Women Africa’s website. The stories and content should be accessible in language for public audiences.

Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Development of six human interest stories for UN Women Africa’s website, this will entail:

• Review POWER reports and materials provided by UN Women as background information and propose different story formats for each of the stories. The stories should highlight a diversity of perspectives and include: two stories related to individuals involved in regional aspects of the POWER; two stories per country related to individuals engaged in the community efforts in Ethiopia and Uganda;
• Prepare a workplan, prepare information for individuals be interviewed to prepare for the story, ensure consent is obtained and conduct interviews with individuals (in-person and/or virtually) as agreed with UN Women;
• Drafting stories and submit for review by UN Women;
• Submit revised stories for publication on UN Women Africa’s website;

2. Development of text and related visual graphics (SmartArt, quotes, data points to be highlighted) for the Microsite on the POWER for review by UN Women:

Review the Microsite Outline, the POWER reports and materials provided by UN Women as background information and consult with POWER Focal Points as relevant throughout;

Draft text based on materials provided for each section of the Microsite as follows:

• Home/About (Introduction to the POWER);
• Programme Approach and Results (Overview of Theory of Change, Results);
• Ethiopia (Introduction to context, overview of efforts and results, links to communication materials and knowledge products);
• Uganda (Introduction to context, overview of efforts and results, links to communication materials and knowledge products);
• Resources (overview of regional activities and results achieves, as well as resource materials developed through the Programme);

3. Present the draft text/visuals to UN Women for feedback and revise as required.

UN Women will provide background documents, access to individuals to be interviewed, travel and related DSA costs for conducting on-site interviews as agreed. The Consultant is expected to work using their own equipment

Deliverables:

1. Total of six written stories approved by UN Women featuring individuals who have engaged or benefitted from POWER activities and results in Ethiopia, Uganda and at regional levels, developed through on-site or virtual interviews, observations, or background materials. Each story is to be between 1-2 pages, approximately 800 - 1,000 words.
2. Approved text/visuals for each of the Microsite pages, in line with guidance to be provided by UN Women.

Work Schedule:

Deliverables

Timelines

Allocated Percentage

Submission of workplan with proposed angles for the six human impact stories

15th April 2022

10%

Draft text based on materials provided for each section of the Microsite

22th April 2022

10%

Submission of six draft stories submitted for UN Women’s review, together with supporting documents (consent forms, interview details, etc.)

6th May 2022

50%

Submission of six finalized human-interest stories and final text/visuals for each of the Microsite pages

20th May 2022

30%

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Functional Competencies:

• Strong programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills;
• Ability to synthesize programme performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Strong Facilitation skills;
• Demonstrates excellent written and oral communication skills;
• Ability to review a variety of data, identify and adjust discrepancies, identify and resolve operational problems;
• Proven networking skills and ability to generate interest in UN Women’s mandate;
• Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside UN Women.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• A Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Public Health, Health, Sociology, Community Development, Human Rights, Gender and Development, Law, or similar field.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of experience in journalism or programmatic writing and documentation;
• Experience in reporting and communicating on development projects is highly desirable;
• Good understanding of and experience of working on women and girl’s empowerment, gender equality and women’s empowerment and SRMNCAH rights;
• Strong understanding of the context in the Horn of Africa;
• Proven experience in communicating and presenting technical content, particularly in online formats and using text and visual approaches to communicate information;
• Proven experience in documenting and communicating stories of change, particularly in online formats to reach diverse audiences with varying levels of connectivity and digital literacy;
• Working experience in humanitarian settings in the East and Southern Africa region is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in spoken and written English is required;
• Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset.

Application:

Please attach a completed P11 to your application. Kindly note that applications without a completed and signed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

UN Women Personal History form (P-11) can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment .

Note:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel 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.)