International consultancy to support documentation, analytical writing and reporting on UNICEF Iran programmes (open for non-Iranian Nationals)

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, Champion

International consultancy to support documentation, analytical writing and reporting on UNICEF/Iran programmes

BACKGROUND

UNICEF/Iran regularly produces documents of significance, such as Country Program Documents (CPDs), proposals, reports, studies, strategies, plans, advocacy briefs, success stories, position papers, guidelines, case studies, communications materials, etc. UNICEF publications and documents must meet a high-quality standard with respect to their content, style and quality of writing in English. In order to meet these standards, UNICEF/Iran intends to set up a stand-by arrangement through the present recruitment of writers/editors for the English language to support development of the above documents as part of programme documentation and grant management process to serve various purposes.

OBJECTIVE / SCOPE OF WORK

The objective of the work is to enhance quality and impact of documentation within UNICEF and hence enable effective knowledge sharing and communication with different stakeholders internally and externally.

The scope of work mainly includes copyediting, copywriting, formatting, writing, and developing original copy and content on UNICEF-related activities and programme such as:

• CPDs, strategy notes/programme rationales, explanatory notes, reports and publications, including mid-year/annual corporate reports, brochures, meeting reports etc.
• Strategies, plans, guidelines and case studies
• Key messages, briefs, position papers
• Support writing gap/flow identification
• High impact essays, reports and proposals
• Analytical products such as assessments, studies, research and evaluations
• Other similar products as required

In this respect, collecting and consolidating inputs from several sources such as staff, internal documents notes and narratives, reports, studies/research, and other reliable and legitimate sources and information is also expected as a requirement.

The work mainly includes copyediting, copywriting, formatting, writing, and developing original copy and content on UNICEF-related activities and programme for review and final clearance by the supervisor of the consultancy. This includes compliance with the UNICEF style and branding guidelines, grammatical accuracy, factual accuracy, unity, coherence, thorough application and result based and change language, etc.

The specific scope, quality criteria, and estimated number of days required for each assignment requested of the consultant under the consultancy contract will be discussed and agreed in writing before the assignment is initiated. Work will be assigned to the consultants on an as needed basis.

How can you make a difference?

DELIVERABLES AND TIMELINES

Deliverable & Estimate Total Time

Documents developed, written, edited, copywritten and proofread by 3/6/9/12 months after the start of the contract, Estimate Total Time 10 days for each quarter

This consultancy is expected to be for a duration of 12 months starting preferably from 1 September 2023 and continuing until 31 August 2024. The consultants must render themselves available to begin work on assignments within 24 hours of the sending of a description of the assignment in writing (via email) by UNICEF.

Following submission of deliverables for each assignment, and review of the deliverables against agreed quality criteria and acceptance by the supervisor, the consultants will be paid against invoices including breakdown of type of work (writing, editing, copyediting, proofreading) and hours spent per each. UNICEF may send comments to the consultant for adjustments and improvement of the deliverable, and in such case the consultant will be required to resubmit the deliverable addressing UNICEF’s comments to its satisfaction prior to payment of the fee.

Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant

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

QUALIFICATIONS, SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE AND ADDITIONAL COMPETENCIES

• An advanced university degree (Master’s) or higher level in related fields.

• Minimum 10 years of professional experience in writing/editing professional and/or academic documents preferably related to UNICEF fields of work.

• Proven knowledge and experience of analytical/strategic writing

• Excellent written and spoken English

• Demonstrated experience with and/or knowledge of UNICEF and the United Nations.

• Ability to synthesize knowledge and effectively express ideas in writing,

• Ability to coordinate with specified stakeholders for receiving required inputs.

• Strong analytical, writing and communication skills; ability to draft text clearly and concisely in English

• Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet;

Communication with UNICEF and the consultant will be done remotely via email, MS Teams, telephone, etc.

The application should include the following:

- Financial proposal with separate all-inclusive hourly fee for:

1. Writing (includes 2, 3 and 4)

2. Editing (includes 3 and 4)

3. Copyediting (includes 4)

4. Proofreading.

- Curriculum vitae with at least 3 references who must be current or former supervisors

• Cover letter explaining the candidate’s reasons for applying
• 3 examples of written assignments written exclusively or primarily by the candidate, either from a professional or academic context (preferably a mixture of both). For each assignment, the contact information of the supervisor (academic or professional) to whom the assignment was submitted should be provided.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for the next stages of the selection process.

CONDITIONS OF WORK

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.

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION

The technical evaluation includes three main criteria, and each main criterion is measured on the basis of the scores assigned to sub-criteria for each assessed institution. The three main criteria include 1-Overall Application, 2-Assessment of Samples of Works and Skills and Financial Proposal.

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.