International Consultancy – Establishment and Roll-out of U-Report in the Eastern Caribbean

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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.

How can you make a difference?

Location: Remote (6.5 months) & in-country-Barbados (5 months)

Duration: 11.5 months (02/01/2021 – 16/12/2021)

Section: Communication, Advocacy and Partnership

Supervisor: Communications Specialist

BACKGROUND:

UNICEF Eastern Caribbean Area (ECA) is in the process of rolling out U-Report across the Eastern Caribbean as it seeks to provide a platform for young people and communities to participate in the decisions affecting their lives, to have access to all information and to be provided with safe and responsive mechanisms to handle complaints and feedback. The platforms across the sub-region are being branded as U-Report Barbados; U-Report Trinidad and Tobago; and U-Report Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), which incorporates Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The principal audiences of these platforms will be the 611,000 young people aged 12-29 years (28 per cent of the population) who live in the sub region, but the needs of entire communities will be covered.

U-Report is a social monitoring tool designed for youth and other community members to strengthen community-led development, citizen engagement and access to and use of real-time monitoring and participation platforms. It allows youth and community members to speak out via SMS and other channels – through polls and unsolicited messages – on what is happening in their communities. It provides a forum to amplify their voices through local and national media and acts as a citizen-sourced, real-time data point for key stakeholders, service providers and decision-makers about the issues being faced in communities. The platform also feeds back useful information to the U-Report participants, so they are empowered to work for change and improvements in their localities themselves. In the Eastern Caribbean Area, the platform will also be used to advance programme implementation in the areas of social protection; education; and child protection, through offering peer-to-peer support as well as psychosocial support, as well as other innovative and human-rights-based solutions through partnerships (establishment of partner pages).

Information collected through U-Report will feed into UNICEF’s programmes, the policies of the respective governments and sub regional bodies such as the OECS Commission. The platform will facilitate adolescent and young people participation in line with the objectives of the OECS Youth Empowered Societies (YES) movement, Generation Unlimited global initiative and national youth strategies.

This initiative will be implemented in partnership with the OECS Commission, for the OECS U-Report; the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment for the Barbados U-Report and the Office of the Prime Minister – Gender and Child Affairs for the Trinidad and Tobago U-Report.

SCOPE OF WORK:

*1) Goal and Objective*****:

Under the supervision of the Communication Specialist and in close consultation with the Senior ICT Associate, the Consultant will support UNICEF ECA and key partners (OECS, Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), and Governments) to develop the U-Report plan that supports the implementation of the UNICEF Multi-Country Work Plan and initiate a systematic implementation of U-Report activities.

As a key part of the assignment, the Consultant will develop a U-Report strategy, including youth and partnership engagement modalities that directly contribute to the Multi Country Office results and provide capacity building to partners on U-Report. Additionally, the consultant will develop a subsequent sustainability plan for scale-up and support the implementation.

The office aims to utilize U-Report in promotion of human rights-based approaches to programming and for dissemination and collection of several distinct layers of information; specifically, to:

  • Provide a platform for engagement and sharing information with and from young people and other members of the community on the availability and access to information and services in their respective communities.
  • Support the overall utilization of the platform for emergency preparedness and response, including provision of information on impending weather systems and in other emergencies to enable communities to be better prepared; and working with Disaster Management Departments to understand the needs of the affected population in the aftermath.
  • Information from adolescents, young people and the community in general on satisfaction with services to build social accountability.
  • Information from the adolescents and young people on their Knowledge, Attitudes, Behaviours and Practices (KAP) on a range of issues.
  • Provide information from adolescents and young people to inform intervention strategies and advocacy with line ministries. Connect adolescents and young people with local civil society organizations (CSOs) and partner engagement activities.
  • Support key programmatic interventions, in particularly:
  • Support the establishment of key partnerships to address, and through partner pages, ensure that referral mechanisms are in place for children reporting issues or seeking psychosocial support.
  • Support the OECS Commission, CDEMA, Ministries to effectively use U-Report as a tool for soliciting feedback from clients on services provided by the respective sector/s and ensuring continued and sustained usage of the system.

    2) Activities, Tasks and Deliverables

Under the direct supervision of the Communication Specialist, in close collaboration with the UNICEF Specialists and Officers and the Senior ICT Associate, the international consultant will provide technical guidance and leadership on the functionality of U-Report in the Eastern Caribbean Area, specifically U-Report Barbados, U-Report OECS and U-Report Trinidad and Tobago. Please see detailed Table of Activities, Tasks and Deliverables in the attached full Terms of Reference here U Report ECA - TOR final Adv 171121.pdf

The assignment will be implemented over 11.5 months for completion of the assignment and expected deliverables, with expected start on 2 January 2021 and completion by 16 December 2021.

P****AYMENT SCHEDULE:

Monthly payment upon completion of the tasks/activities (deliverables) in the agreed work plan and submission of monthly report on the activities carried out highlighting bottlenecks, main challenges and opportunities.

REQUIRED EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, TECHNICAL BACKGROUND, COMPETENCIES:

Education: Master’s degree in Social Sciences, Information Technology, or related field relevant to the assignment.

Experience:

  • At least five years of experience in supporting and coordinating project activities across a large organization and with other international partner organizations and with government
  • Demonstrated experience with youth and adolescent engagement programmes, including leveraging new technologies to implement C4D strategies.
  • Demonstrated in-depth experience with RapidPro or other ICT-related engagement platforms.
  • Experience in project management and rolling out of large-scale projects with strong technology components.
  • Strong presentation and communication skills in English (fluency required); with demonstrated ability and communicate effectively with multiple audiences.
  • Demonstrated experience in training and capacity building in the related subject.

For Every Child, you demonstrate UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

A****DMINISTRATIVE ISSUES:

The work of the Consultant will be supported by UNICEF, and also be linked and supported by the OECS Commission as well as other officials in the Ministry of Youth, Barbados and Office of the Prime Minister – Gender and Child Affairs, Barbados.

The Consultant will work remotely for the first 6.5 months and will be required to provide in-country support to the rollout and capacity building of partners. Sub-regional travel may be required as part of the assignment (Saint Lucia (estimated 10 days) and Trinidad and Tobago (estimated 10 days)) in line with the situation and easing of travel restrictions. All travel is by most economical fare and reimbursement as per UNICEF policy.

During the assignment, fortnightly conference/skype calls will be held as required with the teams to facilitate the work plan implementation.

CONDITIONS:

Before commencing work, a consultant or individual contractor shall submit a statement of good health and take full responsibility for the accuracy of that statement, including confirmation that he or she has been informed of the inoculations required for the country or countries to which travel is authorized. Consultants and individual contractors shall assume all costs that may occur in relation to the statement of good health.

Consultants and individual contractors are required to certify that they are covered by medical/health insurance.

The Consultant is expected to work remotely from his/her home base with his/her computer.

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 per cent of the total contract value in cases where advance purchases, for example for supplies or travel, may be necessary.

The selected candidate will be governed by and subject to UNICEF’s General Terms and Conditions for individual contracts.

RECOURSE:

UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs is incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines. Performance indicators against which the satisfactory conclusion of this contract will be assessed include: timeliness/quality of submission and responsiveness to UNICEF and counterpart feedback.

TITLE RIGHTS:

All materials created by the Consultant which bears a direct relation to, or is made in order to perform, this contract and any intellectual property rights thereof, including but not limited to patents, copyright and trademarks, shall be jointly owned by UNICEF and the Consultant. At the request of UNICEF, the Consultant shall assist in securing such property rights and transferring them to UNICEF in compliance with the requirements of the law governing such rights requirements of the law governing such rights. Any third-party usage shall require written permission from both parties.

SELECTION PROCESS:

A desk review and technical assessment will be completely on a shortlist of Candidates who meet the minimum requirements. The shortlist of candidates may be subject to interview with the UNICEF Panel in order to find the applications that are technically responsive. Operations will support the financial negotiations. The contract will be awarded to the most competitive proposal.

REQUIRED TRAININGS:

Consultants and Individual contractors, even those working from home, must complete the following online courses prior to signature of contract. All certificates should be presented as part of the contract.

Ethics and Integrity at UNICEF

Prevention of Sexual Harassment & Abuse of Authority

Sexual Exploitation Abuse (PSEA)

Consultants and Individual Contractors must complete the following course before commencement of any travel on behalf of UNICEF.

BSAFE Security Training

Any consultant or individual contractor who is issued a UNICEF email address must complete the following courses no later than 30 days after signature of contract.

UN Human Rights and Responsibilities

UNICEF Information Security Awareness Course

Fraud Awareness

HOW TO APPLY:

Prospective individuals should apply through UNICEF jobs website using the following link https://jobs.unicef.org/en-us/job/536268/international-consultancy-establishment-and-rollout-of-ureport-in-the-eastern-caribbean, applying no later than Tuesday, 1 December 2020. The application package should include the following:

A. Cover letter (no more than 3 pages) addressing relevance to the experience and competencies required;

B. Curriculum Vitae

C. Detailed financial proposal (all-inclusive fee in USD, consultancy fee, travel, allowances, etc. to undertake this assignment)

Candidates are expected to be available from 2 January 2021 to take on the assignment.

Applications submitted without the financial proposal comprising the fee/rate will not be considered.

Please note all application documents must be uploaded via the e-recruitment system.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. If you have not been contacted within a month of the closing date. please accept that your application was unsuccessful. Regret emails will be sent only to shortlisted/contacted candidates.

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.

Added 3 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: unicef.org