Re-Advertisement -Consultancy based in Austria: Communications Consultant to Develop National Campaign Strategy for Promoting the ECEC Workforce with UNICEF ECARO (45 working days)

Contract

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For every child, Education

In consultation with the project steering committee members develop a communication strategy and plan that will promote ECEC profession as a desirable career choice, targeting also minority groups and men as future ECEC staff. The Strategy should complement all other activities within the project.

In order to inform the development of the campaign strategy, the consultant is also expected to analyze previous similar campaigns and communication materials and consider if any elements of these previous or on-going campaigns could be built upon within the activities planned in the new communication strategy and plan.

When developing a strategy, the consultant should gain a deep understanding of ECEC and the ECEC workforce in Austria to determine the most appropriate target audience for this campaign, and they must also consider the most effective form of marketing and communication to reach and encourage a change in behavior of this audience.

Scope of Work:

Under the overall supervision of the ECD regional advisor and ECARO communication specialist, the selected candidate will provide support to the Austria Technical Support Instrument (TSI) project steering committee by developing a communication strategy and plan to encourage uptake and perception of the ECEC profession in Austria.

Within the scope of the work and under the guidance of the Austria TSI Advisory Group, the key expected output should be a well-documented communication strategy and communication plan. The process of strategy and plan development will include:

1. Gaining understanding of project purpose and aim, key project decisions and strategy direction from project steering committee and working group members.
2. Participation in discussions and development of model and monitoring & evaluation frameworks to gain deep understanding of project aims and objectives as well as context to understand and inform communication strategy needs and direction.
3. Analysis of workforce campaigns that were previously developed by Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) and identify resources and assets that have already been developed, and elements of previous and/or ongoing campaigns that can be built upon within TSI project campaign strategy.
4. Identification of target demographic(s) and audience(s) to be reached by campaign.
5. Identification of key partners who will inform and share guidance to ensure proper and long-term implementation of communication plan (i.e., local communications and media agencies, facilitators from rural and urban communities, social media influencers, etc.).
6. Use of evidence and resources (i.e., desk review of ECEC workforce conditions in Austria, European good practice on strengthening ECEC workforce conditions, sector workforce analysis diagnosis report, consolidated recommendations report) generated within the project to draft communication strategy that encourages professionals to enter and/or remain in the ECEC workforce through targeted messaging that portrays the profession and sector in an attractive way.
7. Presentation of communication strategy to project steering committee and relevant project participants and gather and apply feedback to improve developed strategy, assets, and implementation plan prior to finalization of materials.
8. Briefing and supervision of a selected designer in the design and creation of agreed communication assets and messages outlined in the communication strategy.
9. Consultation to BMBWF and federal provinces on campaign implementation and rollout.

Tasks/Milestone: Deliverables/ Outputs Delivery deadline****Task 1: Desk review and research of past communications campaigns on workforce engagement and consultations with working group members to gain understanding of project communication needs and workforce framework. Deliverable 1: The consultant’s working plan 5 daysTask 2: Analysis of problem, project communication needs and target audience for communication messages. Deliverable 2: A summary draft of up to five pages 5 daysTask 3: Development of project communication strategy that includes:

• Brief summary of the situation analysis of key issues for ECEC uptake in Austria (by conducting a desk review, consultations with the steering committee)
• Audience analysis including identification of priority audiences, their characteristics, barriers and facilitators, segmentation and influencing audiences;
• Identification of key partners who can support the implementation of the strategy;
• Communication objectives;
• Approaches for achieving objectives;
• Identification of communication channels to disseminate messages;
• Key messages, tailored for each specific audience and for the proposed channels, and different formats, taking into account the possibility of using various formats as appropriate such as text, graphics, imageries, infographics, video, printed materials, etc. for targeting the different audiences identified in the analysis; and
• Proposed indicators to assess the impact of the communication effort (campaign) on the targeted audiences – the Monitoring and Evaluation framework.

Deliverable 3: Draft communication strategy 20 daysTask 4: Development of communication plan that includes:

• Proposed activities, timelines and responsibilities per each communication objective, by audience and by communication channel
• Briefing and supervision of the designer who will design the basic creative assets (i.e., Logo of the campaign, branding guidelines)
• Estimate of a costed budget
• Monitoring plan

Deliverable 4:Draft communication plan 12 daysTask 5:Presentation of the communication strategy and plan to the Steering Committee and validation. Submission of approved document.

Deliverable 5: Strategy and plan are presented to the Steering committee during a meeting. Strategy and plan documents are finalized and include conclusions from the meeting with the Steering committee.

3 daysEstimated Duration of the Contract

45 working days

Consultant’s Work Place and Official Travel

Based in Austria with some local travel. Travel expenses will be reimbursed based on actuals.

Estimated Cost of the Consultancy & Payment Schedule

Payment will be made on submission of an invoice and satisfactory completion of the above-mentioned deliverables. Please indicate an all-inclusive lumpsum to undertake this TOR based on 45 working days.

Minimum requirements:

Minimum Bachelor’s degree in communication, marketing, public relations, mass communication or a relevant social science is required. Master’s degree in one of these fields is an asset.

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

• Fluency in German and English is required;
• At least 5 years' experience developing advocacy and communication strategies and related tools and assets.
• Experience developing advocacy and communication strategies at the national level considered an advantage.
• Experience working on ECD, education, and/or workforce campaigns is an asset;
• Knowledge of ECEC provision and workforce in Austria an asset;
• Must be based in Austria;
• Experience working with advocacy and communications stakeholders (i.e., local communications and media agencies, community facilitators, social media influencers, etc.);
• Experience working with ministerial/governmental, EU, or UN campaigns is preferable;

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:

Please include a full CV and Financial Proposal in your application by indicating your availability and all-inclusive lumpsum (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without an all-inclusive lumpsum will not be considered. 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.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants 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.