International Consultancy on Design of COVID-19 Vaccination Communication and Engagement Roadmap, Baku, Azerbaijan

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, advocacy

The global pandemic of COVID-19 affects all countries, including Azerbaijan. As of 11 January 2022, the country has had 622,236 confirmed cases, with overall 606,311 recoveries and 8,471 deaths. Also, as of 11 December, some 11,498,430 people were vaccinated in Azerbaijan, 5,187,462 received the first dose, 4,699,487 had their second dose, and 1,644,216 had their booster dose. It is still not enough to build a sufficient protective environment for the country on the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest Behavioural Insight survey conducted by WHO and the Public Health Reform Centre (PHRC) in November 2021 shows that vaccination willingness has decreased, yet the negative intentions toward vaccination has also decreased in the whole population. Only 49 per cent of respondents expressed willingness to vaccinate, while 60 per cent of low intentioned respondents believed getting vaccinated against COVID-19 was not important for their health. Based on UNICEF's bi-weekly social listening reports of December 2021 and January 2022, one of the major concerns was the continuity of booster shots. Myths on serious side effects remained in the top three as in the past months.

In supporting to increase the coverage of COVID-19 vaccine and prevent further COVID-19 outbreaks, UNICEF has supported the State Agency for Mandatory Health Insurance (SAMHI) and the Management Union of Medical Territorial Units (TABIB) to produce a series of communication assets to promote COVID-19 vaccination.

However, anti-vaccine misinformation and weak communication practices to address the general public's concerns are still observed. The absence of a clear strategy to address vaccination hesitancy is also an important factor, alongside the capacity for relevant stakeholders and more robust services to provide immunisation.

Recognising that continuous support to communication efforts of the partners is essential for a successful vaccination process, UNICEF Azerbaijan is seeking an international consultant to provide technical support to review the current situation and draft a roadmap for COVID-19 Risk Communication and Community Engagement, including vaccination promotion and increasing demand for immunization for the Country Office in support of national efforts.

How can you make a difference?

The purpose of the consultancy is to review and assess the current situation on COVID vaccination promotion, behavioural barriers and entry points to strengthen Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE)and demand for immunization in the country and define areas/recommend next steps where UNICEF Azerbaijan Country Office (CO) can provide the best support to its partners in the relevant governmental entities.

Scope of Work:

The consultant will have the following major areas of responsibility and tasks:

• Review relevant information and work closely with UNICEF programme staff, WHO Office in Azerbaijan, as well as national partners and key stakeholders to understand the status quo with regards to RCCE and vaccination promotion/demand for immunization in the country.
• Identify evidence gaps, and support additional evidence generation (including online and offline) and analysis to formulate recommendations for interventions on RCCE and demand for immunization. The consultant will identify opportunities to and support strengthening national systems and capacities.
• Design, support implementation monitoring and assessment of costed set of actions for the CO with different partners on risk communication, community engagement and demand generation efforts with regards to COVID 19 risk communication and vaccination promotion (including specific communication events, developing communication materials or providing capacity building to health professionals to improve their communication/interpersonal communication skills).

Major tasks

Deliverables

Timeline:

Preparation work

1. Desk review of all available data, documents and tools related to the COVID-19 situation and interventions in the country as well as the regional and globally, including national and regional strategic papers
2. Adhering to local context and situation in the country related to health systems

Inception report

7 days

Synthesise and analyse the data obtained from different sources including the desk review and meeting with partners to prepare the report with clear recommendations and action points

Final report/Roadmap on Vaccination Communication and Engagement

14

Create a short term action plan and an M&E framework for the implementation, monitoring and assessment of activities for demand generation among general public and healthcare workers.

One year action plan with key interventions

M&E framework

14

Prepare PPT of the findings to be presented to and validated with the relevant stakeholders

PowerPoint presentation of the findings

1

Supervisor of the consultancy is Communication and Partnership Specialist.

Start date: 14 February 2022

End date: 31 May 2022

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

• Advanced University Degree in Communication (with an emphasis on strategic communication), public health, health communication or social/behavioural sciences.
• At least five years of professional experience in social/behavioural change communication, health promotion
• Previous experience in promotion of immunisation or disease outbreak RCCE preparedness/response is a strong asset;
• Proven experience in implementing social/bevaioral change communication campaigns or other communication interventions;
• Analytical capacity and proven experience in planning and management;
• Good communication and presentation skills.
• Excellent teamwork skills.
• Experience in working with UNICEF or other UN Agencies will be an asset.
• Excellent command of English.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

All consultants & individual contractors regardless of contract duration must complete the applicable mandatory online courses prior to signature of contract. The link to these courses will be provided during the selection process for the successful candidates.

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.

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.