National Consultancy : Development of the Early Childhood Development M’mera Mpoyamba Advocacy and Communication Strategy (Open to Malawian Nationals Only)

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, Care...

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) supports national efforts towards the realization of children's rights to Survival, Development, Protection and Participation. The UNICEF Nutrition Programme work in close partnership with the Government of Malawi under the leadership of the Department of Nutrition, HIV and AIDS (DNHA) and other ministries including Ministry of Gender and Child Development with the overall objective to improve the nutrition situation of children under 5 years and ensure that they have access and use quality promotive, preventive and curative nutritional services to reduce malnutrition.

Early childhood, which spans the period of age 0-5, is critical for cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development. During these years, a child’s newly developing brain is highly plastic and responsive to change. Optimal early childhood development requires a stimulating and nurturing environment, access to books and learning materials, interactions with responsive and attentive caregivers, adequate nutrients, access to good quality early childhood education, and safety and protection. Latest data from Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2020/2021 shows that in Malawi, fifty nine percent of children age 3-4 years were developmentally on track in at least three of the four domains {physical (89%), social-emotional (78%), and learning domains (74%), literacy-numeracy (17%)}. Attendance to early childhood education programmes was low (34%).

Evidence also shows that attendance to Early Childhood Education (ECE) was much more likely among children living in urban areas (51%) than rural (31%) and high from the richest (51%) than the poorest households (21%). The home environment also plays a role in the uptake of ECD services. However, evidence also shows that support for learning at the household level was very low from both fathers (2%) and mothers (12%). In Malawi, evidence also shows that access to learning and reading materials is also low with only 1% of children having access to three or more children’s books. Almost half of the children age under 5 years were left at home with inadequate supervision in the previous week (44%). Only 17% of children age 3-4 years were developmentally on track in literacy-numeracy.

Children face a broad range of risk factors including poverty; poor health; high levels of family and environmental stress and exposure to violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation; and inadequate care and learning opportunities face inequalities and may fail to reach their developmental potential. Investing in the early years is one of the most critical and cost-effective ways countries can reduce gaps that often place children with low social and economic status at a disadvantage. Research has shown that there is low uptake of Early Childhood Development (ECD), in schools hence the need for a focused and accommodative advocacy strategy that encompasses all the stakeholders’ requirements for better implementation of ECD and address of challenges both identified and emergent.

UNICEF Malawi would like to engage a national Consultant to develop an Evidence Based National ECD Advocacy and Communication Strategy to support demand creation for ECD services, raise awareness on ECD and advocate on ECD financing and prioritization in the national budget.

How can you make a difference?

The Consultant will collaborate with Ministry of Gender and other Ministries under guidance of the Director of Children’s Affairs in the Ministry of Gender and UNICEF ECD Specialist and Social and Behaviour Change Specialist within UNICEF Nutrition Section to develop an evidence based ECD Advocacy and Communication Strategy, implementation and costed M&E and plan.

The Consultant will undertake the following activities:

1. Compile an inception report showing in-depth understanding of the assignment
2. Conduct a desk review of secondary data sources on multisectoral (ECD, Nutrition, Health, WASH, Child Protection, HIV&AIDS) policies and strategy and adapt key ECD issues for inclusion in the ECD Advocacy and Communication strategy, drawing on key lessons learnt from the implementation of the M’mera Mpoyamba campaign and highlighting best practices in East and Southern African Countries (ESARO), ECD Review of National Early Childhood Development Policy and Strategy and other national strategic documents
3. Conduct national level stakeholder’s consultation to validate desk review findings and enrich the interpretation of the desk review data
4. Conduct qualitative key informant interviews to gather primary data and validate desk review findings at various implementation levels.
5. Develop evidence-based multisectoral ECD Advocacy and Communication Strategy with clear objectives, desirable change and implementation plan, costed monitoring and evaluation framework

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

Academic qualification:

• Advanced university degree or equivalent experience in Programme Communication or Social and Behaviour Change Communication; Sociology, Mass Communication or other field related to behaviour change and communication.

• Demonstrated experience in knowledge management documentation

  Work experience:

• Minimum 10 years' experience in the field of social behaviour change, demand creation, advocacy and communication

• Solid experience in developing Social and Behaviour Change/demand creation/advocacy and or communication strategies
• Proven experience in working in the ECD sector will be an added advantage

• Demonstrated experience in knowledge management documentation

  Technical skills, knowledge and strength areas:

• Knowledge of ECD and one or more other relevant areas (e.g. behaviour change, health promotion, community development, education, etc.)

Competencies:

• The ideal candidate should possess excellent communication, writing and analytical skills
• The ideal candidate should be well conversant with multisectoral strategies and policies relevant to ECD

Languages:

• Fluency in spoken and written English.
• Fluency in any of the local languages spoken across the work districts will be an added advantage

Please refer to the attached full Terms of Reference ECD Advocacy and Communication Strategy Consultancy ToR.pdf for more details on the consultancy and requirements.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

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 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.

HOW TO APPLY...

Interested consultants should provide the following:

1. Curriculum Vitae
2. Brief technical proposal (no longer than five pages) demonstrating the consultant’s understanding of the assignment and approach/methodology to the assignment
3. Financial proposal including a breakdown of their all-inclusive fees (including professional fees, travel, living cost, visa and other costs). Financial Proposal for Consultancy.xlsx Complete the attached form.
4. References details

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.