Long Term Agreement (LTA) for Engagement of Individual Consultants to Support the Inclusion of the Mental Health Module in the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2024-2026, Data and An

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Title: Long Term Agreement (LTA) for Engagement of Individual Consultants to Support the Inclusion of the Mental Health Module in the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey [MICS] 2024-2026

Duration of LTA: Two years with the possibility of extension for one more year (max. 3 years)

Duty Station: Home-based consultancy contracts

LTA VA_Mental Health module in MICS.pdf

About UNICEF

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

BACKGROUND/RATIONALE

Mental health conditions are a leading burden of disease for adolescents. Yet, data on the prevalence of adolescent mental health conditions remain sparse, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). These data are urgently needed to guide strategic actions to address the burden of mental health problems among adolescents through effective policies and programs. UNICEF is prioritizing addressing this data gap by investing in the development of measurement tools and working with partners on the population-level measurement and programming for mental health of adolescents and young people. The MMAPP initiative is a UNICEF-led effort to close the data gap on mental health among adolescents and young people at the population level. With the support of leading experts in adolescent mental health, MMAPP has developed a culturally adaptable and clinically validated data collection tool. The new tool was launched in early 2023 and is being rolled out in the 7th round of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS7).

Within this framework, UNICEF is recruiting a pool of consultants to guide and support UNICEF Country Offices and national MICS implementing agencies in the following preparations for the implementation of the mental health module:

1. Cultural adaptation of the standard mental health module. This work involves working with local mental health experts and young people to conduct a qualitative review of the tool following a systematic approach indicated in the MMAPP protocol and the related MICS customization guidelines. The purpose of the cultural adaptation is to avoid the use of words that carry stigma in the local context, ensure that translations of the standard module are accurate, and promote the adoption of language and terminology that reflect the way adolescents and young people speak about mental health in the local context. Failure to culturally adapt the module may lead to poor quality data.
2. Development of country specific referral protocols to set up a system for the provision of psychosocial support to respondents who are identified as needing immediate mental health follow-up during the MICS data collection period. This involves working with the national MICS survey team, UNICEF program staff working on mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) and government stakeholders to map locally available psychosocial support services and set up a referral system for the duration of the MICS fieldwork that is managed by specialized government and/or private providers. Referral protocols are crucial to ensure that mental health data is collected ethically and following best practices.

PURPOSE OF ASSIGNMENT

To meet these requirements, UNICEF would like to engage the services of a pool of consultants who, under the direct supervision of UNICEF’s MICS team focal point on mental health and UNICEF’s Global lead of mental health measurement, will support countries implementing MICS to ensure adherence to cultural adaptation protocols and setting up of appropriate referral protocols. This will result in tools that are properly adapted and referral procedures in place that are appropriate, reasonable and guarantee the safety of participants and interviewing teams as well as proper engagement of stakeholders.

PROGRAMME AREA AND SPECIFIC PROJECT AREA

Mental health is a priority area for UNICEF. Mental health conditions are a leading burden of disease for adolescents. Yet, data on the prevalence of adolescent mental health conditions remain sparse, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). These data are urgently needed to guide strategic actions to address the burden of mental health problems among adolescents through effective policies and programs. UNICEF is prioritizing addressing this data gap by investing in the development of measurement tools and working with partners on the population-level measurement and programming for mental health of adolescents and young people.

OBJECTIVE(S)

The overall objective is to set up a Long-Term Agreement for Services to facilitate and expedite the process by which UNICEF will hire individual consultants to support seamless integration and implementation of the mental health module in MICS surveys between 2024 and 2026, and to ensure that standard protocols for cultural adaptation and setting of referral protocols are met, thus ensuring safety of participants, ethical protocols and ultimately quality of data.

MAJOR TASKS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED

Under the guidance and supervision of the Global MICS team in HQNY, the consultant will provide technical assistance and oversight to national MICS survey teams in the process of cultural adaptation and the development of referral protocols related to the mental health module. National MICS survey teams include UNICEF’s Country Offices and national implementing agencies (i.e., National Statistical Office and relevant government agencies). Major tasks and activities includes

1. Support national MICS survey teams to carry out the cultural adaptation of the mental health module. This work involves guiding teams to set up the proper formative research methods to work with local mental health experts and young people to conduct a qualitative review of the mental health questionnaire following the MMAPP protocol. More specifically, this will include:

1. Training of relevant members of the national MICS survey team on the various steps and requirements of the cultural adaptation process following the MMAPP guidance.
2. Advising national MICS survey team on planning, logistics and recruitment of local mental health experts and youth participants in the cultural adaptation process.
3. Providing technical guidance to the local mental health experts in the review of mental health module and documentation of the results of their review.
4. Providing technical guidance to the local mental health experts in the facilitation of group discussions with adolescent and youth advisors.
5. Supporting the local mental health experts in the triangulation, integration and documentation of the qualitative findings from c and d. This includes review of all necessary templates to document the process before submission to Regional and Global MICS team for final quality assurance.
6. Providing technical assistance to the local experts to finalize the culturally adapted mental health module for use in MICS (based on the results from e).

2. Support national MICS survey teams to develop the referral protocol to connect MICS respondents in need of psychosocial support services during the data collection period with appropriate specialized service providers. This will be done in a way that is appropriate for the locally available services and ensures the safety of MICS respondents and interviewers. This will include:

1. Training of relevant members of the national MICS survey team on the various elements and requirements of the referral protocol ensuring compliance with MMAPP guidance and UNICEF/MICS ethical standards.
2. Advising (as needed) the national MICS survey team on identification and mapping of relevant psychosocial support services in the country for this purpose.
3. Providing guidance and training as needed on the role and responsibility of the MICS interviewers and supervisors, and the role and responsibility of the psychosocial services providers.
4. Providing support to develop the localized referral protocol and related tools and reviewing all documentation before submission to Regional and Global MICS team for final quality assurance.

These tasks will be conducted through a combination of remote work and in-country visits, based on country needs and as agreed with the supervisor.

Responsibilities of the Consultant:

1. The consultant will communicate as frequently as needed via Teams or Zoom calls with country teams and UNICEF MICS HQ teams to make sure that all work and procedures have been completed with the highest rigorous standards.
2. The consultants will use their own equipment; laptops, software and other accessories that may be required for this task.
3. The consultant will not give the content/material or any part thereof, to any third party without the written permission of UNICEF. All components will be the property of UNICEF, and the consultant will not share the same with anyone else.
4. The consultant will not put their own name or logo/emblem on the content / final product. The only organization branding will be UNICEF, if required.

Responsibilities of UNICEF:

1. UNICEF will provide all details pertaining to the activity and the requirements.
2. UNICEF will orient the consultant on any necessary MICS-related guidelines.

DELIVERABLES

The expected services and deliverables for this consultancy are listed below. Deadlines for the submission of the deliverables will be discussed and agreed upon with the consultant supervisor.

ESTIMATED DURATION OF LTA

The Long-Term Agreement will be for a duration of three years. The initial period would be for two years with an option for renewal for a subsequent year on the same rates, terms and conditions, subject to satisfactory performance evaluation and continuing need for the service.

QUALIFICATIONS / SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE / EXPERIENCE/ COMPETENCIES

• Master’s degree in global mental health, psychology, sociology or related areas.
• Experience working across international settings in data collection activities and implementation of protocols is required.
• Experience working with adolescents and young people in areas related to mental health, psychosocial support, and emotional and psychological well-being, etc.
• Excellent ability to conduct, facilitate and lead trainings.
• Experience and quality of work demonstrably meet the highest international standards, including ability to analyze, plan, and communicate effectively.
• Fluency in oral and written English is required.
• Knowledge of any other official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) is an asset.

Note: UNICEF will award LTA to the top 3-5 ranked candidates. UNICEF does not warrant that any quantity of services will be purchased from the consultant during the term of the LTA as this will depend on forthcoming needs. Whenever services are required, details of the deliverables including quantities and deadlines will be presented to the top-ranking LTA holder, in case more than one LTA is awarded. Should this consultant not be available for this assignment, UNICEF will contact the second-ranked consultant and so on. Upon confirmation of availability and interest in the assignment by the LTA holder, a contract will be issued based on the prices/fees submitted in the financial proposal by the consultant. The consultant must sign the contract prior to the commencement of work. Payment will be made after the completion of deliverables and submission of invoices for the actual work completed, subject to satisfactory performance. The services of the consultant(s) selected under the LTA will be under controlled use and managed by the Data Collection Unit in Data and Analytics/DAPM/HQ.

TECHNICAL EVALUATION CRITERIA (WITH WEIGHTS FOR EACH CRITERIA)

The selection of consultants for the LTA will be based on technical evaluation and financial offers in the ratio of 80:20. The criteria for technical evaluation will be as follows:

FINANCIAL PROPOSAL

Financial Proposals should be submitted as a separate document from the materials required for the technical evaluation and should follow the template attached. Include the name of the consultant, signature, address, contact no., email address, and date.

CONTRACTS CREATED AGAINST THE LTA

Whenever services are required, details of the assignment/deliverables including quantities and deadlines will be presented to the top-ranking LTA holder. Should this consultant not be available for this assignment, UNICEF will contact the second-ranked consultant (if applicable).

Upon receipt of confirmation of availability and interest in the assignment, a contract will be issued with the prices/fees as agreed in the LTA. The consultant must sign the contract prior to the commencement of work.

Payment will be made after the completion of deliverables and submission of invoices for the actual work completed, subject to satisfactory performance and timely delivery.

HOW TO APPLY:

The application to be submitted through the online portal should contain four separate attachments:

1. A Cover letter explaining the motivation for applying and explaining how the qualifications and skillset of the candidate (to be uploaded online under “Cover Letter” tab)
2. Curriculum Vitae (CV) (to be uploaded online under “Resumé” tab)
3. Three Work Samples – This includes three previously written articles, papers, or reports on implementation of protocols related to mental health or emotional well-being / cultural adaptation of mental health tools, or related (to be uploaded under “Other supporting documents”)
4. A financial proposal indicating professional fee as per the LTA Financial Proposal_Mental Health module in MICS.doc . Please do not forget to specify your name in the file while saving (to be uploaded under “Financial Proposal” tab).
5. Certificates of mandatory courses: Ethics and Integrity at UNICEF (2020 version); Prevention of Sexual Harassment and Abuse of Authority (2021 version); Sexual Exploitation Abuse (PSEA) (2021 version). Note: as the LTA may include travel assignments, BSAFE will also be a mandatory course requirement to be added to the list of certificates to be uploaded at the time of application (Certificates for all four courses should be consolidated in one single pdf file and uploaded under “Other supporting documents”)

Important Note: Please do not indicate financials anywhere else in the online application form, please mark "n/a or 00", under the fee related questions in the online application form.

Without all the above documents your application will be considered incomplete and invalid and will not be considered further.

• Any attempt to unduly influence UNICEF's selection process will lead to automatic disqualification of the applicant.
• Joint applications of two or more individuals are not accepted.
• Please note, UNICEF does not charge any fee during any stage of the process.
• Female candidates meeting the requirements are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion and encourages qualified candidates from all backgrounds including persons living with disabilities to apply.

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.