Individual National Consultancy for child protection related communication and social behaviour change activities with UNICEF in Uzbekistan

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, visibility!

Background

The long-term vision for change in UNICEF’s child protection programme is that, by 2025, the most vulnerable children (including children from disadvantaged and low-income families, very young children and those with disabilities) benefit from a protective environment that prevents separation of children from families and deprivation of liberty, and effectively responds to violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect.

To achieve this, UNICEF supports the Government of Uzbekistan to: (a) ensure intersectoral coordination to prevent unnecessary family separation and to shift from large institutional care to family and community-based care (by supporting systems strengthening, data collection, modelling family support and alternative care services, and the transformation of institutions); (b) strengthen a dedicated social service workforce that applies a case management approach by supporting development of specialized services and social service workforce training, strengthening identification and referral of high-risk cases related to violence and other vulnerabilities and addressing harmful gender norms and practices (including child marriage) that exacerbate violence; and (c) apply child-friendly and gender-sensitive procedures, diversion and alternatives to deprivation of liberty (by strengthening the current justice for children system and ensuring that children in contact with the law are better served and protected by introducing practices of alternatives to detention, such as diversion and probation, as well as a restorative justice approach).

Preventing violence, abuse and exploitation of children is a priority, and social and behaviour change key in addressing discriminatory and unequal gender dynamics as well as harmful norms that put children at risk and condone violence and exploitation of children.

Purpose

The Consultant for child protection related communication and social behaviour change activities is expected to support the Child Protection Section in ensuring adequate visibility of UNICEF and its donors in the implementation of all programme activities, as well as support a variety of communication and social behaviour change activities.

Timeline & Deliverables

The consultancy is expected to start on 23 January 2023 and to be completed by 31 December 2023. It is expected that the consultant will perform the following tasks and provide the following deliverables:

Tasks and Deliverables and Timeframe

1. Support communication and visibility elements related to the EU & UNICEF supported project “Ensuring enhanced access to inclusive education, social services and legal aid in Surkhandarya region”:

- Ensure communication and visibility support for key events, including drafting of press releases, inviting media, adequate visibility throughout events, sharing media coverage list with the donor. - Documenting of project activities, including in the field, i.e., through photos, human interest stories. - Creating visibility/recognition articles/photos/videos for social media. - Attaching donor logo on all supplies and equipment procured for partners. - Store all communication and visibility materials on a specific folder in the UNICEF shared drive and support donor reporting as relevant to communication and visibility.

1. Quality communication and visibility support provided in line with relevant communication and visibility guidelines, including press releases, social media coverage, human interest stories, photos, and donor reporting.

Specifically: - 1 human interest story related to legal aid drafted (January 2023) - 1 article on legal aid related project activities drafted (February 2023) - 1 social media post covering implementation of project activities drafted (February 2023) - 1 social media post with a quote of a child drafted (May 2023) - 1 social media post covering implementation of project activities drafted (June 2023) - 1 human interest story related to other child protection support drafted (July 2023) - 1 social media post with a quote of a child drafted (August 2023) - Script for 1 TV show on child protection drafted (August 2023) - 1 human interest story related to other child protection support drafted (September 2023) - Script drafted for 1 life story video of a child/family that benefited from child protection support and guidance in the development of the video (October 2023) - 1 article on child protection related project activities drafted (November 2023) - 1 social media post on the closing of the project drafted (December 2023) - C&V report for the entire project developed (December 2023)

2. Provide overall support to the Child Protection section for communication and visibility activities:

- Support language editing, design and printing of C&V materials. - Support planning and organization of events, including drafting of press releases, inviting media. - Undertake field trips to cover relevant events and ensure adequate C&V, including photos, human interest stories. - Upload/store all finalized C&V products (including photos, human interest stories, web stories, press releases, fact sheets, posters, etc.), videos, media reports, links to other publications/reposts, on the UNICEF shared drive

2. Quality C&V support provided in line with relevant C&V guidelines, including press releases, social media coverage, human interest stories, photos, donor reporting etc.

Specifically: - Review and update communication plans for ending violence against children and the deinstitutionalization of children (January 2023) - Script for a TV show on the ongoing childcare reform updated and preparations for the TV show supported (January 2023) - 1 social media post with photos covering implementation of project activities drafted (February 2023) - 1 social media post and 1 factsheet highlighting the results of a EU supported project on reintegration of women and children from conflict zones (March 2023) - 1 human interest story on children’s access to justice drafted (April 2023) - 1 article on children’s access to justice covering activities supported by UNICEF (June 2023) - 1 social media post on child protection relevant topic drafted (July 2023) - 1 human interest story with a child protection professional on addressing violence against children (August 2023) - 1 social media post on child protection relevant topic drafted (September 2023) - 1 social media post on child protection relevant topic drafted (December 2023)

3. Provide support to the Child Protection section in researching, planning, monitoring and evaluating Communication for Development (C4D) and social behaviour change interventions to addressing violence against children and promoting family-based care for children.

3. Quality C4D and social behaviour change support provided in line with relevant UNICEF guidelines and research, specifically the Technical Guidance for Communication for Development Programmes Addressing Violence Against Children (2019), and the Technical Guidance on Social and Behaviour Change to Address Violence Against Children. Technical Guidance: Schools Edition (2020).

Specifically: - Develop two Public Service Announcements on the benefits of family-type care on children’s development and wellbeing (February 2023) - Support the design of the content for a leaflet and poster for maternity hospitals targeting underage girls and mothers at risk child relinquishment (April 2023) - Support the development of an evidence based C4D and social behaviour change plan to addressing violence against children in the home and in and around the school environment, specifically provide inputs to communication goals and objectives, communication approaches and activities (February to November 2023)

Timeframe: From 23 January to 31 December 2023 (~11 months)

Payment of Consultancy Fee: According to UNICEF policy, the final fees will be set up based on the “best value for money” principle. The assignment is expected to be 11+ months. Payment will be made upon satisfactory completion of the assignment on monthly basis and provision of monthly reports of accomplished tasks and deliverables approved by the supervisor.

The candidates are requested to submit their financial offer consisting of fee for the services to be provided. The Consultant will receive direct payment to his/her indicated bank account in Uzbek Sums based on the UN currency exchange rate.

Payment for travel will be made based on estimated travel cost. No Travel Authorization will be raised.

Management: The National Consultant will work under the direct supervision of the UNICEF Chief of Child Protection.

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

• University degree in communication, journalism, mass-media, advertisement, public relations, or related field. • At least 2 years of progressively responsible experience in communication, journalism, advertisement, creative writing or external relations. • Experienced with communicating using social media platforms, to be assessed by CV review. • Experienced with planning and executing work-plans, to be assessed during interview and background check. • Strong writing and analytical skills in English, Russian and Uzbek, to be assessed by review of work. • Knowledge of child protection, in particular issues related to violence against children and deinstitutionalization of children, a strong asset. • Previous experience in working with UN and/or EU and/or international development organizations in a similar role is an asset.

Procedures and working conditions:

This consultancy is home-based with frequent visits/meetings to the UNICEF Office. The consultant is expected to make use of his/her own facilities as may be required by the consultancy (phone, internet connection, etc.). The consultant will need to travel within Uzbekistan as required for the monitoring of project activities. The travel expenses will be paid in accordance with UNICEF’s ‘Duty Travel’ rules and regulations as follows: If UNICEF determines that the Contractor needs to travel in order to perform his or her assignment, that travel shall be specified in the contract and the Contractor’s travel costs shall be set out in the contract. In cases where travel costs have not been set out in the contract, provisions of UNICEF Procedures on Travel apply (see DFAM Policy 5). Travel paid for by UNICEF shall be based on economy class travel, regardless of the length of travel, subject to exceptional approval of business class travel by the Approving Authority (such approval may be granted normally for certified medical reasons).

Reservations:

UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if deliverable(s) incomplete, not finalized or for failure to meet deadlines. UNICEF will reserve copyright of all developed materials and own primary data collected through this assignment. The materials cannot be published or disseminated without prior written permission of UNICEF. UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future. The contractor must respect the confidentiality of the information handled during the assignment. Documents and information provided must be used only for the tasks related to these terms of reference. The United Nations and UNICEF undertake no liability for taxes, duty or other contribution payable by the consultant on payments made under this contract. No statement of earnings will be issued by the United Nations or UNICEF to the consultant. The national consultant is personally responsible for payment of all taxes related to consultancy.

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.