Individual Consultant (Remote) - Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) Digital approach, UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia, Kathmandu, Nepal, 307 Days (For International Candidates only)

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, Learning

UNICEF adopted its new Gender Action Plan 2022-2025 (GAP), which is an ambitious effort at catalyzing field-level programming and results that advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in key areas of UNICEF's work. The UNICEF Gender Action Plan 2022-2025 prioritizes a gender-equitable approach to promoting gender equality. Developed in tandem with UNICEF’s new Gender Policy and Gender Action Plan (GAP), The UNICEF Strategic Plan for 2022-25 emphasizes structural and norms change to transform the underlying drivers of gender inequality and reflects an intersectional approach to the compounding social exclusion and marginalization related to factors like poverty, racism, disability, and migration. With this new, transformative approach, UNICEF is strengthening the mainstreaming of gender equality throughout our programming and systems while increasing investment in the use of digital technologies as one pathway for achieving gender equality.

South Asia is the fastest-growing region in the world in terms of early adoption and innovation of digital culture and digital economy. Despite this growth, the gap between women's and girls’ access and use of digital platforms as compared with their male counterparts has widened from 36% in 2020 to 41% in 2022.

More than 200 million women in South Asia do not have access to mobile phones or the Internet; this means a future with fewer employment opportunities, a higher likelihood of being unemployed, and additional barriers to workforce participation. There are many obstacles preventing women and girls from sharing the benefits of digital innovation. These include barriers to connectivity (access to the internet and affordability of digital tools and technologies), lack of digital literacy and skills, ingrained gender norms, and internet safety concerns that limit girls’ access to digital platforms and know-how.

UNICEF’s South Asia Regional Office (ROSA) has prioritized addressing the gender digital divide as a key accelerator for the region. In its Digital Equity paper for South Asia, intentional investment in digital solutions for marginalized girls and the use of digital technologies as programming tools for girls have been identified as key to addressing the gender digital divide.

How can you make a difference?

Key Assignments/Tasks:

1. Lead the implementation of the Digital SBC Approach, keep the regional and country-specific digital mapping updated, and support the eight country offices with the implementation of the 8 country operational plans and M&E of the approach in the South Asia Region.
2. Scale up the South Asia Internet of Good Things (IoGT) platform and Pakistan IoGT platform and technically support the 8 country offices on IoGT and coordinate for capacity building, documentation, promotion, and utilization of IoGT.
3. Strengthen the Social Listening component: support ROSA sections and country offices with social listening needs using the newly established platform and explore opportunities to utilize the data/mechanism to guide their programming.
4. Coordinate the SBC capacity building program (SBC+): support with the implementation, development, and sharing of the resources across the region, coordinating the various components/sessions with facilitators and colleagues, using new tech to keep participants engaged (gamification), manage the knowledge management space, etc.
5. Support with the development and roll-out of the Regional Social Innovation LAB: support the SBC team (and integrate ongoing systems) for data management, community intelligence, and establishing forecasting mechanisms to empower Community Intelligence systems.
6. Explore and develop best practices, link available/new resources to the digital approach, and develop documentation to support the Digital SBC approach and for knowledge sharing with Country Offices.
7. Support the UNICEF Regional Office and Country Offices in technical activities on digital approaches/technologies linked to implementing the ROSA SBC work plan.

III. Child Safeguarding

Is this project/assignment considered as an “Elevated Risk Role” from a child safeguarding perspective?

☐ Yes ☒ No

IV. Key Deliverables

1. Implementation of the Digital SBC Approach

1. Update to the regional and country digital mapping as per the upcoming evidence/documentation
2. Implementation of the 8 Digital SBC country operational plans, including one activity/CO initiated

2. Scale-up of Internet of Good Things (IoGT): Regional and CO Pakistan platforms

1. Management and promotion of Regional and CO IoGT platforms
2. Support to key IoGT activities and capacity development on IoGT (including documentation, promotion, and utilization

3. Strengthening of I-Hear-U: Regional Social Listening platform

1. Social listening capacity development activities supported in 8 COs
2. Deep-dive social listening support (ad-hoc/semi-planned basis) to 4 COs

4. Coordination of the SBC capacity building program (SBC+)

1. Roll-out of 4 components with external & internal facilitators/staff (pre-session resources and documentation required):
2. Engagement: Implementation of gamification tool to keep participants engaged
3. Update of SBC+ knowledge management site

5. Assist in the development and roll-out of the Regional Social Innovation LAB

1. Support to integrate ongoing systems for data management and community intelligence
2. Support to establish forecasting mechanisms to empower Community Intelligence systems

6. Documentation to support the Digital Engagement component for SBC and for knowledge sharing:

7. Support the UNICEF Regional Office and Country Offices in activities on digital approaches/technologies linked to the SBC regional work plan.

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

• Master’s degree in Communications, Marketing, Business Administration, or a related technical field.
• At least 3 years of professional work experience in the Social and Behaviour Change sector, preferably with managing digital platforms, implementing/developing digital strategies, and social listening at the national and international levels.
• Fluency in English is required; another UN or regional (South Asia) language is an asset though not mandatory.

Please quote your all-inclusive daily rate (USD) and other cost estimates while applying. Application without daily rate, etc. will not be entertained.

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 afterward 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 for ensuring 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.