International Consultancy on Programme Advocacy, Baku, Azerbaijan

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, advocacy

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias, or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic, and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education, and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. Therefore, the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF aims to be the leading advocate for children, enabled by a cohort of networked, strategic, innovative, and effective advocates who deliver change for children in every part of the world.

Advocacy and influencing are at the center of UNICEF’s mandate. We advocate to decision makers for ‘the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential’. We influence society to adopt safe & healthy behaviors for children, and the public and private audiences to build support for the cause of children.

In partnership with the EU Delegation and other development partners, UNICEF will be promoting child rights and further strengthening government systems, including but not limited to health, education, child protection, and youth & adolescents. UNICEF will also be working closely with the Government of Azerbaijan on the Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey (a national household survey focusing on women and children’s wellbeing), which will set a major milestone in terms of data and evidence-based plans and priorities for children for the years to come.

The Program Advocacy Consultant is responsible for providing technical support to the development and, implementation of UNICEF Azerbaijan’s Programme Advocacy Strategy, while monitoring and evaluating advocacy, public outreach and change strategies to support UNICEF Azerbaijan in achieving positive outcomes for children and young people.

Scope of work:

The consultant will support UNICEF's advocacy efforts by providing technical support to the team. Their primary responsibilities include providing technical support in the development of effective and integrated advocacy strategies, as well as their implementation. The expert will work closely with colleagues across teams and with external partners to support the drive for changes in policy and practice, and secure political and financial commitments for children. They will provide technical support in the development of a robust advocacy strategy with SMART outcomes, compelling calls to action, and a clear theory of change, taking into account political, economic, and cultural trends.

The consultant will also be involved in proposing new approaches and innovative ideas, advising on advocacy priorities, and providing technical support on the implementation of advocacy strategies and plans.

In addition, the consultant will also be responsible for supporting digital influencing efforts, including the conceptualization, planning, coordination, and execution of digital advocacy content creation, as well as monitoring and evaluating digital initiatives. The expert will also contribute to the monitoring and evaluation of advocacy efforts, establishing baselines and analyzing the effectiveness of the strategy, approach, and activities.

Tasks/Milestone:

Deliverables/Outputs:

Timeline:

Advocacy strategy development

Draft 1 of the Advocacy strategy

6 weeks

Final Draft of the Advocacy Strategy

Stakeholder mapping

List of priority national and international stakeholders along with engagement plan for each.

3 weeks

MICS Programme outreach and Advocacy Support

Field trip report and MICS-specific outreach and advocacy implementation plan

6 weeks

Health Programme outreach and Advocacy Support

Field trip report and Health-specific outreach and advocacy implementation plan

4 weeks

Youth & Adolescents Programme outreach and Advocacy Support

Field trip report and Youth & Adolescents-specific outreach and advocacy implementation plan

4 weeks

Child Protection Programme outreach and Advocacy Support

Field trip report and Child Protection-specific outreach and advocacy implementation plan

4 weeks

Climate Change outreach and Advocacy Support

Climate change-specific advocacy implementation plan

6 weeks

Gender outreach and Advocacy Support

Gender-specific advocacy implementation plan, specifically addressing the sex ratio at birth

6 weeks

Advocacy & Outreach Assets, including on Explosive Ordnance Risk Education

Library of assets specific for UNICEF Azerbaijan’s Advocacy plans

3 weeks

Monitoring & evaluation of advocacy work

Report on the M&E of advocacy work

2 weeks

Capacity building

2 Capacity building sessions delivered

1 week

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

• An advanced university degree is required in one of the following fields: International Relations, Political Science, International Development, Public Policy, Public Administration, Economics, Communication, or related fields. *A first level university degree (Bachelor’s) in a relevant field, in conjunction with three (3) years of relevant work experience in advocacy, campaigning or a related field may be taken in lieu of a master’s degree.
• At least seven (7) years of progressively responsible and relevant professional work experience in advocacy/ campaigning is required, with at least two years at the international level.
• Experience in leading the development and implementation of advocacy strategies, with clear theories of change, specific, measurable and timebound objectives, and performance indicators.
• A track record of achieving or contributing to tangible policy change.
• Proven experience in deploying a range of advocacy tactics based on a clear theory of change.
• Experience in building and maintaining a network of advocacy stakeholders, and in working with advocacy coalitions.
• Strong communicator with emphasis on being able to present complex policy ideas in succinct, engaging ways through campaign narratives and creative tactics.
• Demonstrated experience in design and management of projects, including budget management and monitoring and evaluation of results.
• Knowledge of international development, humanitarian issues and children’s rights.
• Experience in training and facilitation is an asset.
• Experience working in a middle high-income country, and knowledge of UNICEF Processes are an asset.

• Proficiency in English is required. Proficiency in Turkish and/or Russian is not required but desirable.

  Enthusiasm, positive energy, team spirit, proactivity, desire to go on field trips across Azerbaijan, and believing in and living by UNICEF’s Core Values (Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, Sustainability).

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.