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, opportunities.

How can you make a difference?

Context and Purpose for the job

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action.

Ensuring access to health services for all children is a key focus for UNICEF Country Office in Romania. In line with the results framework for the 2018-2022 programme cycle, UNICEF and the Government of Romania agreed to cooperate for promoting the right of all children to health, strengthen an integrated approach and focus on the most marginalized groups.

UNICEF Romania, since 2016, has been focusing on increasing the acceptance and uptake of routine vaccines by the general population. To this, since 2020, a special focus was put on acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination through community engagement and mobilization as well as public communication campaigns. The envisaged work includes:

• • • Scaling-up to national level the tested and adapted (jointly with CDC Atlanta) Inter-Personal Communication (IPC) training for relevant health professionals across the country, with a view to ensure coverage of professionals including those who reach the most vulnerable (and least vaccinated) communities.
  • Disseminate UNICEF developed guidelines and handouts for professionals and mobilizers to inform, mobilize and communicate with potential beneficiaries of COVID-19 vaccination and routine immunization
  • Capacity building for health professionals on various vaccination-related topics (eg inter-personal communication, use of the National Electronic Vaccination Registry, addressing misinformation).
  • Production and dissemination of public communication materials to promote vaccination and healthy and safe behaviours.
  • Providing families with children access to correct information via an online platform.

Purpose for the job: The SBCC consultant reports to the SBCC Officer for close supervision and guidance. The consultant provides technical and operational support to the supervisor and internal colleagues by administering, executing and implementing a variety of tasks to promote community engagement and participation, and measurable behavioural and social change/mobilization, requiring the application of technical and theoretical skills and the study of organizational goals, rules, regulations, policies and procedures.

Key function, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

1. Support to strategy design and development of SBCC activities

• Research and/or participate in conducting comprehensive SBCC situation analysis of social, cultural, economic, communication and political issues in the country.
• Collect, draft and/or organize materials and related documentations for SBCC strategies and plans to ensure optimum impact, scale and sustainability of achievements/results.
• Assess and/or recommend appropriate information and materials for SBCC initiatives verifying accuracy and quality for dissemination.
• Assess the impact of SBCC activities on the CO and UNICEF goals to achieve measurable behavioural and social change resulting in the improvement of children’s rights and wellbeing. Submit qualitative report/synthesis of results for development planning and improvement.

2. Support to the implementation of SBCC activities

• Collaborate with internal and external partners to provide operational and technical support to the design of SBCC strategies, and research, develop, test, produce and use quality SBCC materials and/or organize events and activities to ensure maximum outreach and impact on behavioural and social change of target audience.
• Provide technical, administrative and logistical support and background materials to carry out SBCC activities and recommend operational strategies, approaches, plans, methods and procedures.
• Assess and recommend potential contacts, networks, resources and tools to support the maximum impact and outreach of SBCC initiatives.
• Follow up on the production of SBCC materials to ensure technical quality, consistency and relevancy of communications materials that are developed, produced and disseminated to target audience (e.g. individuals, communities, government officials, partners, media etc).
• Collect, assess and organize information for budget planning and management of programme funds and prepare documentations and related materials for financial plan for SBCC initiatives. Monitor/track the use of resources as planned and verify compliance with organizational guidelines, rules and regulations and standards of ethics and transparency.

3. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Support the organization, administration and implementation of capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders/partners across programme sectors in SBCC planning, implementation and evaluation in support of programmes/projects. Develop training materials for training activities and revise them periodically for improvements and updates.

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

Education

• University degree and advanced degree in one of the following fields is required: social and behavioural science, sociology, anthropology, psychology, education, communication or another relevant technical field.

Experience

• A minimum of three years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: social development programme planning, social and behavioural change communication or another related area.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.

Language Requirements

• Strong mastering of Romanian language is a must.
• Fluency in English is required.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Application procedure:

The application will be made in the dedicated UNICEF platform and it must include:

1. an updated CV focused on the skills and experience requested by the current consultancy;
2. a cover letter underlining the motivation for applying for the position and how the candidate’s experience, skills and experience match the requirements of the position;
3. Portfolio: A sample of the candidate’s SBCC work (e.g. – campaign, behaviour change communication materials or guidelines, etc), including, where possible, the results achieved.
4. a financial offer, specifying the requested net monthly fee in RON.- as per the template Financial bid_C4D Consultant.docx

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.