International Consultancy: Building capacity of youth-led networks to strengthen HIV and SRH advocacy and social media

Consultant Programme & Policy Medical & Health

Contract

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TERMS OF REFERENCE

Background and Justification

Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) is the region carrying the largest share of the global burden of HIV and some of the highest rates of adolescent pregnancy. In the last decade, much progress has been made, but the gains are still fragile and HIV and unintended pregnancies continue to have a tremendous impact on the lives of children, adolescents and their families. Adolescents and young people, in particular adolescent girls and young women, are especially vulnerable to new HIV infections. Young people 15-24 years in ESA account for 34.3% of all new infections globally, with over 1 million adolescents living with HIV calling ESA home. Additionally, in ESA, one in four women aged 20-24 years gave birth before the age of 18, with an estimated average adolescent birth rate of 107.

With the onset of COVID-19, the continuity of essential HIV and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services in ESA has been disrupted. Emerging evidence indicates that people living with HIV are not accessing life-saving antiretroviral treatment; family planning and other SRH services have reduced capacity; and, gender-based violence and adolescent pregnancy are on the rise. For adolescents, access to critical information and support has largely been halted with school closures and the suspension of peer-based programmes to align with physical distancing policies. Stigma towards people living with HIV has been further perpetuated by misinformation. Given the existing poor outcomes and gaps in care for adolescents in relation to SRH and HIV, this is of particular concern.

Adolescents including those living with HIV are not just beneficiaries but active partners in the response. They have a right to actively engage, have a say and advocate for their health and well-being. Throughout the region, country-level youth-led networks play a key role in advocating and supporting the needs of their constituents as well as providing important information on managing their health and care, social media being a critical platform to reach young people. Increasingly, during COVID-19 these and other community-led organizations are front and centre of the response, often with minimal support and limited capacity.

UNICEF’s HIV, SRH and COVID-19 response requires intentional action to reach the diversity of adolescents and young people and innovatively engage with them to continue to address stigma, support behaviour change and generate demand for HIV and SRH services. Through Ground Up! A collaboration with Y+, UNICEF has been supporting the capacity building of Youth-led HIV and SRH networks in ESA however further technical support is required on advocacy and social media.

Against this background, UNICEF is seeking the services of a consultant to co-create advocacy and social media training and resources with youth-led SRH and HIV networks as well as provide technical assistance to select country-level networks. The resources and training will draw upon the global UNICEF Youth Advocacy Guide and contribute HIV/SRH and youth-led network-specific content for future iterations.

Scope of Work

The overall goal of this consultancy is to build the capacity of youth-led networks to strengthen HIV and SRH advocacy and social media engagement. Working with Y+, the consultant will co-create advocacy and social media training and resources as well as provide technical assistance to youth-led networks.

More specifically, this consultant will:

1. Review available youth-led advocacy and social media resources and consult with Y+ and associated networks to understand advocacy needs
2. Co-create an advocacy and social media resource (max 10 pages) for youth-led HIV and SRH networks that build upon the UNICEF Youth Advocacy Guide.
3. Co-create an online advocacy and social media training workshop for SRH and HIV advocates from youth-led networks - drawing upon the UNICEF Youth Advocacy Guide training modules
4. Support the planning and facilitation of the online advocacy and social media workshop
5. Provide remote tailored advocacy and social media technical assistance to five youth-led HIV networks in the region.

Working Relationship

The consultant will report to the Adolescent and HIV Specialist. The consultant will also regularly interact, consult and validate content with the adolescents and young people from the region through the Global Network of Young People living with HIV (Y+) as well as UN partners under the 2gether 4 SRHR programme. Engagement with Y+ will be facilitated and supported by the Ground Up! focal point and the UNICEF Adolescent and HIV Specialist.

Expected Deliverables

Under the overall guidance of the UNICEF’s Adolescent and HIV Specialist, the consultant will deliver the following:

1. Summary minutes of inception meeting with UNICEF ESARO and Y+
2. Inception Report outlining the proposed methodology for meeting deliverables of the consultancy based on the review of current resources and consultation with Y+ members

Online training workshop

3. Draft online training workshop agenda and associated tools including for monitoring of outcomes
4. Finalized online training workshop agenda and associated tools for verification by UNICEF and Y+
5. Short report of the online training workshop including outcomes and annex of ppts and associated tools

Technical Assistance

6. Draft technical assistance plan outlining remoted support for each of the six youth-led HIV networks
7. Final technical assistance plan for verification by UNICEF and Y+
8. A short report outlining the remoted technical assistance provided and the key outcomes

Resource development

9. Concept and draft outline of an advocacy and social media resource for youth-led HIV and SRH networks that can contribute to the UNICEF Youth Advocacy Guide
10. Draft advocacy and social media resource for review and inputs
11. Final advocacy and social media resource verification by UNICEF and Y+
12. PowerPoint presentation of outcomes of the training workshop, technical assistance and advocacy resource to all engaged partners including Y+ and UN

All deliverables must be developed in collaboration with young people from Y+ as well as include the inputs of UNICEF technical specialists and UN partners. All reports and products should be prepared in English and be submitted electronically.

#

Deliverable

Duration (estimated # of working days)

Expected timeline/deadline

Payment Schedule

1.

Summary Minutes of inception meeting

1

3rd June

2.

Inception Report

3

13th June

10%

3.

Draft online training workshop agenda and associated tools

8

8th July

4.

Finalized online training workshop agenda and associated tools

3

22nd July

5.

Short report of the online training workshop

4

19th August

30%

6.

Draft technical assistance plan

3

2nd September

7.

Final technical assistance plan

2

16th September

8.

Short reporting outlining the remoted technical assistance provided and the key outcomes

12

14th October

30%

9.

Concept and draft outline of an advocacy and social media resource

3

21st October

10. Draft advocacy and social media resource

10

4th November

11. Final advocacy and social media resource

3

18th November

12. PowerPoint presentation of activity outcomes

2

25th November

30%

13. 55 days

Payment Schedules

The performance will be evaluated on timeliness, alignment with TORs, and quality of work. Payment will be made upon satisfactory completion of all deliverables as per the schedule below.

1. Inception Report outlining the proposed methodology for meeting deliverables of the consultancy based on the review of current resources and consultation with Y+ members.

• 10% on 20th April

• Short report of the online training workshop including outcomes and annex of ppts and associated tools

  • 30% on 6th June
• A short report outlining the remoted technical assistance provided and the key outcomes
  • 30% on 15th August
• PowerPoint presentation of outcomes of the training workshop, technical assistance and advocacy resource to all engaged partners including Y+ and UN
  • 10% on 26th September

Desired competencies, technical background and experience

1. Education: Advanced university degree from a recognized academic institution in Public Health, Social Sciences or related field
2. Work experience: Minimum 5 years professional working experience in health and rights advocacy
3. Experience in working with adolescents, young people and civil society organisations
4. Experience in social media advocacy and public campaigns
5. Experience in working on HIV, SRH, adolescent health or similar content areas is desirable
6. A strong set of training and technical assistance skills, with experience of online platforms, is considered an added advantage
7. Experience working in a multicultural environment, including international experience
8. Language: Excellent English oral and written communication skills
9. Must exhibit the UNICEF Core Values of:
   1. Care
   2. Respect
   3. Integrity
   4. Trust
   5. Accountability

Administrative Issues

The HIV Section, UNICEF ESARO will provide direct oversight and supervision of the consultant’s work.

The consultant will use their own equipment including a computer to produce deliverables. All communications shall be done through available, and UNICEF recommended virtual platforms. The consultant is expected to be home-based with no travel.

Conditions

• As per UNICEF DFAM policy, payment is made against approved deliverables. No advance payment is allowed unless in exceptional circumstances against bank guarantee, “subject to a maximum of 30% of the total contract value in cases where advance purchases, for example for supplies or travel, may be necessary”
• Payment against each deliverable will be determined by each respective supervisor based on an assessment of the work output from the Consultant.
• Final performance evaluation will be conducted by both UNICEF taking into consideration the areas of responsibilities as outlined in the deliverable table above.
• The candidate selected will be governed by and subject to UNICEF’s General Terms and Conditions for the individual contract.

Risks

• As a remote assignment, there is the potential risk that the deliverables will not be met in a timely manner. To mitigate this, regular calls and email touchpoints between the consultant and the supervisors will be conducted to check in on progress and address any potential bottlenecks.
• Ensuring a close working relationship with Y+ through regular communication and having a well-planned timeline will be essential.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should apply online using the button below. As part of their application, candidates should provide: 1. A cover letter that specifies how you meet the desired competencies, technical background and experience (no more than 2 pages) 2. A short CV (no more than 4 pages) 3. A financial proposal that should include the total fees for the assignment which includes travel/administrative/per diems, if applicable 4. 3 Referees.

Apply now

Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: unicef.org