National Individual Consultant on Roster - Writers (open for Nationals of North Macedonia only)

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, Wellbeing

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF North Macedonia produces on a regular basis various documents for advocacy, accountability, awareness-raising and other communication purposes. Compelling written materials are an integral part of UNICEF’s brand as well as its advocacy efforts, and as such, the organization must ensure that its publications and other documents are professionally crafted following the organization’s communication guidelines and clearly understood, and that they resonate with their intended audience. From time to time, UNICEF country office is in need of additional external support for various communication products. To avoid undertaking a separate sourcing process for each individual assignment, the CO is establishing a roster of a selected small pool of professional writers, who can be drawn upon on a need’s basis. The content created through the consultants will be used to support UNICEF public advocacy and communication purposes and to be used by UNICEF’s internal and external partners, including other UN Agencies and across various digital and social media platforms

DELIVERABLES

Writers on roster will be engaged on a need’s basis throughout the roster period through request for services. Based on the specific brief the consultant will be required to provide services for assignments including: • Develops human interest stories by visiting communities to collect the stories and/or supporting UNICEF in writing human interest stories, including through assisting with shaping story angles, providing writing tips, and supporting with the finalization of stories. • Develop advocacy and communication materials such media briefings, web content, press releases, key messages, op-eds, fact sheets, blogs, beneficiary testimonials, messages for social media platforms, written content to support photo essays etc. • Providing support to UNICEF management and programme staff to develop blogs, think pieces and policy briefs. • Providing support to UNICEF volunteer Young Reporters to develop blogs, social media messages and other written content including support through training, editing, fact-checking and writing. • Providing editorial support to as needed. This includes restructuring and rewriting areas of text as needed to promote clarity, continuity, and internal consistency and incorporate reviewers’ comments; reworking text to provide accuracy and consistency in capitalization, selling, abbreviations/acronyms, notes, bibliography, titles, graphs, and tables (including their notes and sources), as per the UNICEF style and guidebook.

In all written products the following considerations must be made: • Protecting the rights of the child must be given priority above all considerations when collecting and writing stories and other materials • Ensuring evidence generation adheres to UNICEF Procedure for Ethical Standards in Research, Evaluation and Data Collection and Analysis. • Ensuring clarity, readability, logic, appropriateness as well as engaging writing in all products • Ensuring language accuracy. The final product must not require further editing/copy-editing • Consulting with supervisor and other UNICEF colleagues to ensure adherence to UNICEF style and guidelines, and alignment with the country programme • Ensuring factual accuracy including accurate representation of the issues and programmes

ESTIMATED DURATION OF CONSULTANCY It is expected that the consultants will remain on roster for 24 months from 1 October - 2021-to 1 October 2023.

DUTY STATION Assignments will be primarily linked to UNICEF’s work in North Macedonia.

OFFICIAL TRAVEL Some travel outside of Skopje may be required. UNICEF will cover related travel and transport costs as per local UN policy. All travel will be subject to approval before travel is conducted.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… • Advanced university degree in Communication, Journalism, Public Relations; or equivalent professional work experience in the communication area, combined with an advanced university degree in a related discipline. • Minimum 2 years of progressive experience in communication and writing for an external audience. • Outstanding writing skills in English and at least one following languages [Macedonian or Albanian] with demonstrated ability for logical and analytical writing as well as ‘de-jargoning’ technical language for a wider audience • Experience in developing and delivery training to various groups to develop blogs, think pieces and other written content • Ability to synthesize complex documents into key messages and clear summary documents is desirable • Experience in drafting advocacy documents from researches or studies is desirable • Experience in conducting interviews for collecting information/case studies is desirable • Strong communicator with excellent interpersonal skills • Ability to work independently within deadlines and under pressure • Well organized and structured, good attention for detail • Initiative, passion and commitment to UNICEF's mission • Ability to interact and engage with children and understanding of child rights. • Ability to interact and sensitively engage with members of vulnerable or discriminated groups in the society, persons with trauma, refugees, migrants, victims of trafficking and/or abuse. • Technical ability and skill to conceal the identity of the subject where necessary, and still produce effective and strong communications materials. • General understanding of human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals – Agenda 2030.

PAYMENT TERMS Payments will be based on deliverables and will be made in local currency, upon delivery and invoice submission and UNICEF satisfactory review of services as specified in the Terms of Reference. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs are incomplete, or not delivered for failure to meet deadlines.

SELECTION CRITERIA All proposals will be assessed first on their technical merit and subsequently on price. The proposal with the best value for money, composed of technical merit and price, will be recommended for approval. Performance indicators: Writing style is logical, concise, and effective for audience; voice is compelling and engaging appropriate for audience; sentences are fluent and easy to understand; conventions [punctuation, spelling, grammar] are correct and timely delivery of outputs.

Technical Evaluation Criteria - Quality of written work: Writing style is logical, concise, and effective for audience; voice is compelling and engaging appropriate for audience; sentences are fluent and easy to understand; conventions [punctuation, spelling, grammar] are correct - max 40 points - Experience and qualification - max 20 points - References - max 10 points

*Applications which will receive a minimum of 50 points in the technical evaluation will be considered further for financial proposal evaluation

- Financial proposal - max 30 points

Required documents to be uploaded when applying:

Technical proposal: - A curriculum vitae (individual); - Portfolio with a maximum of 3 examples of written pieces of published work published in the last 12 months [max 800 words per piece] written in the original language [together with translation if original language is Macedonian or Albanian]. - and three written references.

Financial proposal based on the following: - Hourly fee (in MKD, Gross) - Daily rate (in MKD, Gross)

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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.