Individual consultant to prepare qualitative/design research to understand the refugee youth information seeking ways, UNICEF Prague, Czech Republic

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, Protection!

The Czech Republic currently hosts over 400 thousand refugees from Ukraine, with an estimated 26,000 refugees between the ages of 15-17. (This study should cover ages 15-25, but currently data disaggregation for this age group is not available.) In the aftermath of such emergencies, access to high quality, actionable information is critical to ensuring people are able to access services and make decisions to survive and thrive in displacement. UNICEF seeks to support strengthening the ability of national partners and UNICEF to target youth with actionable information, including information about available services, changes in policy or programming that may impact them, and messaging around relevant issues, such as public health advice. UNICEF therefore seeks to understand what youth are currently doing to find information they need, including both on-line and off-line sources. The goal is to build on the current practice of youth to strengthen how UNICEF provides information and programming that informs and empowers youth.

UNICEF seeks to use a qualitative/ design research approach to answering the following questions:

• Where do youth (ages 15-24) look for information/ what information do they look for? This should include on-line (e.g. Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.) and off-line (e.g. community centers, health clinics, etc.) sources.
• Where do youth receive information/ what information do they receive? This should include on-line (e.g. Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.) and off-line (e.g. community centers, health clinics, etc.) sources.
• Where do youth share information/ what information do they share? This should include on-line (e.g. Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.) and off-line (e.g. community centers, health clinics, etc.) sources.
• What tools do youth use to access information (this could include smart phones and televisions; it could also potentially include required transportation to a community center, etc.)?
• What type and format of information would be most useful to youth?
• Are there key sources of information that are particularly influential for youth (i.e. trusted orgs, influencers, etc.?
• What influences how youth perceive/ trust information?
• How are youth currently parsing misinformation?
• What are some differences across demographics (gender, geography, etc.)? Who is systematically excluded from the current information ecosystem?
• Other questions may arise as the research is conducted.

How can you make a difference?

Under the supervision of the Adolescent Development Manager, the individual consultant will contribute on the implementation of the following activities:

1. Conduct a rapid literature review to identify complementary studies which can inform research questions and design.
2. Develop research inception plan and tools, iterating with UNICEF staff and relevant national partners.
   1. Research should include qualitative/ design research methodology and ensure focus across the Czech Republic, including representation from urban and rural areas, areas with high and low densities of displaced persons, and including marginalized and vulnerable displaced persons such as Roma.
3. Implement research plan and data synthesis
4. Develop graphic outputs for use in decision making, for example user journeys, archetypes, etc.
5. Present findings to UNICEF and potentially other partners for feedback. With support from UNICEF, conduct ideation exercise with UNICEF and partners to generate recommendations to inform relevant interventions.
6. Synthesis all findings from design research and ideation workshop into final report.

Specific deliverables and tasks are:

Deliverable 1: Finalized research plan, survey instruments and design research tools for adaptation/ potential replication of the study in different countries or different age groups.

Tasks:

• Iterate with UNICEF staff to design research tools and research plan
• Integrate fundings from literature review into the research plan
• Compile research plan and final research tools in a user friendly, shareable format
• Obtain official ethical clearance for research with children

Timeline: November 2022, 3 working days

Deliverable 2: Bibliography of complementary studies

Task: Literature review

Timeline: November 2022, 1 working day

Deliverable 3: Conduct qualitative design research across Czech Republic in line with the research plan

Task:

• Implement qualitative design research plan according to the agree upon research plan
• Data analyses

Timeline: end of November: 10 working days

Deliverable 4: Ideation workshop + PowerPoint presentation summarizing key findings from desk review and qualitative/ design research

Tasks: Presentation to UNICEF staff and potentially other partners for feedback on findings and co-creation of recommendations based on findings

Timeline: 8 December 2022, 2 working days

Deliverable 5: Archetypes of different typologies of information seekers, and other design artifacts as relevant

Tasks: Use synthesized data to create user-friendly graphics that can support decision making and program planning

Timeline: 8 December, 1 working day

Deliverable 6: Final report synthesizing all research findings, including but not limited to the following details:

• Overview of existing studies
• Archetypes of different information seekers among refugee youth
• Qualities of information that makes it useful and actionable
• Description of main online and offline sources of information for refugee youth incl a description of the information source, what is used for, who is using it and who does not have access on it
• Synthesis of all research data
• Other information and design artifacts as needed

Tasks:

• All qualitative and literature review information synthesized.
• Summary of key recommendations from co-creation workshop.
• Draft of key findings shared with UNICEF staff for feedback.
• Finalization of report

Timeline: 31 December 2022, 10 working days

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

• An advanced University degree on design thinking or other design discipline prefered or social science degree - anthropology, sociology, political science etc.
• At least 5 years experience in qualitative or design research among vulnerable populations
• At least 5 years experience working with a social impact organization, preferably a UN organization
• Fluency in Ukraininan, russian and/or czech is prefered

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.