National Consultancy: U-report Project Manager

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.

Background

Uzbekistan is at an important demographic juncture. Today's children and young people, constituting 60% of the population, in 15-20 years will become the largest labour force Uzbekistan has ever had. With the right investments now, today’s bulging youth population can be the generation that takes Uzbekistan to the next level of socio-economic development. Alternatively, a failure to adequately invest in the well-being of today’s children and young people may lead to greater disenfranchisement, hopelessness and higher level of youth unemployment. This in turn could create a breeding ground for discontent, political and social tension and intensify labour emigration, thereby leading to a loss of the precious “demographic dividend”.

Engagement of youth into development and realization of strategies and decisions related to youth wellbeing and their future is critical for building active citizenship and social cohesion. International experience shows that such engagement improves young people's skills, strengthens sense of belonging and enhances civic participation of the future leaders. It also improves governance and social accountability making policies and programmes more effectively tailored to the needs and aspirations of young people.

In this context, in October 2018 the Youth Union and UNICEF jointly launched U-Report, a digital youth engagement platform. The initiative is supported by the Senate and the Ministry of Education, with financial support of Ucell, a mobile operator. U-Report is a global UNICEF project aimed at strengthening youth participation. It is based on innovative, user-centered opinion monitoring tool which enables real-time and anonymous data collection through free SMS, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram. Since the start of the project in October 2018, over 140,000 young people have joined to speak out on issues that matter to them in weekly polls and other forms of engagement. This data is used to inform policies and programmes of government, civic society, international organizations and youth groups.

In order to encourage participation of young people, U-Report team runs youth engagement activities and develops U-Reporters’ community. This includes a wide range of online and face-to-face activities as outlined in U-Report Youth Engagement Strategy.

Most recently, the onset of the COVID-2019 pandemic limited the possibility of direct dialogue between young people and the Government. Social distancing requirements contributed to feelings of isolation among young people. During quarantine, U-Report continued supporting the dialogue between young people and the Government. It also has served as an effective resource for informing young people across the country about the myths and facts about coronavirus, the dissemination of relevant and useful information during a pandemic.

Objectives

The objective of this individual consultancy is to manage all stages of project implementation and scale up of U-Report jointly with the national partners.

Timeline & Deliverables

The deliverables are expected to be prepared within 11.5 months during the period of 5 July 2021 – 21 June 2021:

• The platform reaches at least 200,000 U-reporters by the end of 2021 and 250,000 by July 2022
• Weekly polls developed and conducted; results analyzed and disseminated to youth, partners and media
• 7 roundtables "Government and Youth voices" are conducted with national counterparts and media for advocacy and implementation of U-Report results
• 4 outreach campaigns to Bukhara, Namangan, Navoi, and Djizzakh
• 4 quarterly Steering Committee meetings are organized to approve 3 month poll plans and to support further development of the platform
• 7 additional Government/media/NGO partners are informed of U-Report and start using U-Report for a dialogue with young people
• 2 monitoring reports based on the approved M&E framework (every 6 months)
• U-Report Unlimited first pilot dialogue Youth-Government is conducted and further action plan is developed (with a consultant)
• Documented achievement and lessons learned from the second year of U-Report, based on the discussion with stakeholders, including youth

Activities

Under the direct supervision of Youth and Adolescent Development Officer, the incumbent will focus on the activities specified below:

1. Project management

• Manage U-Report, in accordance with the U-Report Youth Engagement strategy and together with the Youth Affairs Agency U-Report focal point
• Develop and implement Project Workplan, jointly with the internal and external partners and stakeholders, including various UNICEF Country Office (CO) sections
• Monitor project implementation based on the Workplan and submit the bi-weekly reports
• Working with U-Report working group and youth committees, develop poll plan and individual poll questionnaires for the Steering Committee’s consideration and approval
• Plan and organize quarterly Steering Committee meetings to guide the project and approve poll plans
• Conduct weekly polls; analyze results and disseminate results to youth, partners and media
• Share the results on a regular basis with youth, steering committee members, partners and UN(ICEF) staff
• Coordinate the work of U-Report Youth Committee and regional Youth Committees
• Actively liaise with all UNICEF Programme and Communication Section in developing polls and analysing U-Report results
• Systematically follow up and document successful cases of influence on government programmes and policy making, and share them with the stakeholders, youth and the media
• Continuously update and improve U-Report website and other social media platforms
• Ensure that project deliverables are provided on time and on budget.
• Monitor and report on progress based on M&E framework for U-Report on bi-annual basis
• Liaise with the U-Report focal points in the other COs and the Global Innovation Centre, manage information flows and project-related knowledge, and ensure that the project implementation fully corresponds with its goals, as well as based on the global principles and guidelines.

2. Project development

• Conduct U-Report Unlimited first pilot dialogue Youth-Government and develop action plan for further implementation
• Conduct a stocktaking meeting with all stakeholders to reflect on achievement and lessons learned in the third year of U-Report in October 2021 and prepare lessons learned

3. Outreach and resource mobilization

• Conduct systematic outreach and build partnership network with the Government, civil society, UN, youth groups, local authorities and other counterparts through the mechanism of the Project Steering Committee and beyond to constructively engage them in U-Report. Ensure that the youth opinion reports are presented to the relevant duty bearers and officials for follow-up.
• Working with the UNICEF CO Communication Section, design awareness raising and advocacy plan to run both national and subnational communication campaigns across all media outlets (print, radio and TV, as well as strategies for reaching venues of community activism and dialogue)
• Conduct outreach campaign in 4 regions (9 already covered) in cooperation with the nationwide movement Yuksalish, the local authorities, Youth Affairs Agency and other partners at local level, youth committee and volunteers to systematically increase the number of U-Reports
• Develop and implement resource mobilization strategy with support of the Youth and Adolescent Development Officer, Chief of Communication Section and Deputy Representative.
• Facilitate design and production of promo materials and other communication products

Management

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of Youth and Adolescent Development Officer, in cooperation with UNICEF Communication and Programme Sections.

Resource requirements and payments

According to UNICEF policy, the final fees will be set up based on the “best value for money” principle. Payment will be made upon satisfactory completion of the assignment on monthly bases and provision of monthly reports of accomplished tasks and deliverables approved by the supervisor.

The candidates are requested to submit their financial offer consisting of fee for the services to be provided. The Individual Contractor will receive direct payment to his/her indicated bank account in Uzbek Sums based on the UN currency exchange rate.

All required travel expenses within consultancy will be covered by UNICEF according to its procedures (transport fares, terminal, DSA).

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

• Master’s Degree in social policy or other relevant disciplines
• At least five years of professional experience in the areas of social policy, youth policy, adolescent development and participation, media, partnership development
• Proven ability to conceptualize, plan and execute high-level communications campaign across multiple mediums, with national brand recognition
• Excellent written and oral communications skills in Uzbek and Russian and working level of English language (Examination of a previous authentic written work in Uzbek and Russian)
• Computer literacy, experience working with web-based applications (such as RapidPro)
• Experience working with UN(ICEF) on youth participation and empowerment is an asset.

Procedures and Working Conditions

The assignment is office-based and will require travel within Uzbekistan.

Reservations

UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if deliverable(s) incomplete, not finalized or for failure to meet deadlines. UNICEF will reserve copyright of all developed materials and own primary data collected through this assignment. The materials cannot be published or disseminated without prior written permission of UNICEF. UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future. The contractor must respect the confidentiality of the information handled during the assignment. Documents and information provided must be used only for the tasks related to these terms of reference.

UNICEF undertakes no liability for taxes, duty or other contribution payable by the consultant on payments made under this contract.

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

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.