Consultancy to develop a roadmap for a sustainable surge/roster capacity for Community Engagement and Accountability (home-based, 60 working days within 5 months)

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, hope

The need to establish more predictable, systematic and collective approaches to community engagement and accountability has been long recognized, building on a growing body of experiences in different contexts. UNICEF, in partnership with OCHA, WHO/GOARN, IFRC as part of the RCCE Collective Service work and IASC discussions, is working towards strengthening global capacity to meet field demands for technical and coordination support, which is currently insufficient. Indeed. there is a long term need to expand sector-wide capacity through the training and accreditation of a pool of experts, working closely with standby partners and key humanitarian organizations and public health organization. This need has become more evident during the current COVID19 pandemic which has highlighted the central role of community engagement to ensure an effective public health response. CDAC Network, with support from UNICEF, is currently developing an online coordinator training package, building on the pilot training it conducted in January 2019. The RCCE Collective Service for COVID-19 response has also started to look into current capacity gaps, particularly for public health emergency responses. There are currently several models of deployment being used by sectors and partners (i.e clusters and GOARN model) Standby partners such as NORCAP are considering strengthening their own roster on Risk communication, Community Engagement and Accountability. There is also a growing demand from HCs and HCT for dedicated capacity support in this domain. In this context, UNICEF, OCHA, and the IFRC in closed discussion with partners of the RCCE Collective Service agreed to hire a consultant to develop a roadmap for developing a sustainable surge/roster capacity for Community Engagement and Accountability.

How can you make a difference?

The purpose of the consultancy is to:

• Develop a roadmap that outlines progress, needs and recommended steps to roll out a sustainable deployment models; the roadmap should also include the costing of a roster and surge deployment mechanisms
• Engage with relevant humanitarian and public health organizations, service providers and standby partners to identify concrete activities towards the establishment of such capacity
• Start the implementation of priority activities as identified in the roadmap, such as draft SoPs for different field coordination models, a competency framework (building on the draft developed within the RCCE Collective Service work) for different types of functions and contexts, and a talent management approach. Further details to be finalized once the roadmap is established.

Scope of work

Managed by the Senior Advisor, Community Engagement and Accountability, EMOPS Geneva and steered by the partnership formed by UNICEF, OCHA and the IFRC, as well as the RCCE Collective Service, the consultant will work on the following deliverables:

1. Develop a roadmap that outlines progress, needs and recommended steps to roll out the deployment models and costing of a roster and surge deployment mechanism

• Review past and current initiatives in the aid sector towards surge capacity to identify roadblocks(building on the previous assessment completed)
• Identify institutional models in human resourcing and talent management for global capacity, with the estimated cost implications and management options.
• Investigate models of roster and surge deployments based on other technical areas in the sector (cash, gender, protection, health etc.) as well as current practices in the cluster system
• Work closely with the 3 partner organizations to seek approval on the preferred & most viable model through the OPAG Task Force on AAP as well as WHO and GOARN as part of the RCCE Collective Service.

2. Engage with relevant humanitarian organizations, service providers and standby partners to identify concrete activities towards the establishment of such capacity

• Socialize the roadmap with a larger group of humanitarian and public health organizations, service providers and standby partners to explore their needs and interest
• Brief relevant platforms (RG2, SBC Secretariat and partners, Grand Bargain Participation Revolution workstream, CDAC Network, etc.) on the proposed approach
• Identify with relevant partners a set of priority activities that can be implemented immediately
• Bring initial investigations and draft roadmap (developed under 1) to OPAG Taskforce on AAP for inclusion in their recommendations (September) as well as RCCE Collective Service Steering Committee.

3. Start the implementation of priority activities as identified in the roadmap. Further details to be finalized once the roadmap is established (to be finalized based on road map actions).

• Develop SoPs for different field coordination models (cluster/HCT led, displacement/refugees, public health, government-led disaster response,…)
• Finalize a competency framework (based on the one being developed within the RCCE Collective Service) for these different coordination models as well as different functions (coordination, IM, social science, social and behavior science,)

Work assignment Overview:

Duration: 60 working days within a period of 5 months (Sept 2021 – Jan 2022). Modality: Home-based with no travels. 

Tasks/Milestone:	Deliverables/Outputs:	Timeline
Develop a roadmap of a roster and surge deployment mechanism	Roadmap which includes costing and institutional model	25 days
Engage with relevant humanitarian organizations, service providers and standby partners to identify concrete activities towards the establishment of such capacity	Consultation with humanitarian organizations, service providers and standby partners conducted A maximum of 3 briefings conducted List of priority activities agreed	5 days
Start the implementation of priority activities as identified in the roadmap. Further details to be finalized once the roadmap is established.	SoPs for different coordination models Competency framework Talent management approach*   *these deliverables will be adjusted once the roadmap is endorsed	30 days

Payment mechanism: Payment will be issued against the submitted invoice upon satisfactory completion of the deliverables on the schedule to each milestone defined below:

• Deliverable 1+2  – 50%
• Deliverable 3 – 50%

The performance of work will be evaluated based on the following indicators:
• Completion of tasks specified in ToR.
• Compliance with the established deadlines for submission of deliverables.
• Quality of deliverables.
• Demonstration of high standards of work.

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in the field of Social Science, Communications, Humanitarian Affairs, Development Studies, or a closely related field. 
• A minimum of 8 years of professional experience in the area of development and humanitarian response and/or international development.
• Familiarity with the principles of accountability to affected populations, risk communication and community engagement (feedback and complaints mechanisms, participation, information provision). 
• Experience with surge mechanisms, roster management, standby partnerships and capacity developments
• Professional expertise in documentation, designing and conducting qualitative research reviews and evaluations, design of surveys, conducting interviews and groups discussions and data collection. 
• Experience with managing and conducting multi-stakeholder consultations at different levels.
• Preferably work experiences with UNICEF or other UN agency, ideally in a country office. 
• Excellent analytical skills with strong drive for results and capacity to work independently
• Excellent English communication and writing skills. Samples of previous work will be required. 
• Knowledge of French or Spanish is an asset.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

Interested candidates should duly complete online profile and submit: 

• CV and/or Personal history form (downloadable from http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/P11.doc
• A proposed approach/methodology. (2 pages max)
• Samples of previous work (links or attachments)
• A cost proposal in USD. Applications without fees will not be considered.

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.