Individual Consultant to implement a Review of UNICEF Supply Division’s Market Communications, Supply Division, Cph

Individual Consultant to implement a Review of UNICEF Supply Division’s Market Communications

Monitoring, Strategic Data & Evidence Unit

UNICEF Supply Division, Copenhagen

Location details Copenhagen/ Home Based

Duration: Up to 80 working days out of a 5-month period

Anticipated Start Date: 19 April 2021

Context

UNICEF Supply Division, based in Copenhagen, manages the organization’s “supply function”, procuring goods and services from around the world to support country, regional and global programmes for children. In 2019, this procurement totaled $3.8b across more than 150 countries, broken down as $2.6b in goods and $1.2b in services. A key purpose of the supply function is to ensure access to critical and life-saving supplies and services during emergencies. In 2020 this focus on emergency procurement continued with UNICEF’s close engagement in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, for which over $400m in critical supplies have been procured across the categories of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), diagnostics, and oxygen/therapeutics, reaching over 100 countries.

UNICEF globally operates under the guiding framework of the Strategic Plan 2018-2021 , which calls for sustained UNICEF investment for programmes across five Goal Areas. Although the supply function is cross-cutting and supports all of this work, there is particular focus on “Change Strategy 5 – Leveraging the power of business and markets for children”, which emphasizes UNICEF’s role in influencing markets to ensure the continued availability and access to essential supplies, beyond direct procurement.

As per the SD Office Management Plan (OMP) for 2018-2021, the supply function is operationalized through an investment of $326m across ten “global supply strategies”, one of which is Products and Markets.

The Products and Markets / Market Shaping strategy aims at influencing global and local markets collaboratively, for existing and future products/services, by driving fit-for-purpose products, accelerating R&D and scale-up, and addressing access, affordability and value for money, to improve the lives of all children. It also defines industry engagement with the business sector.

The strategy was developed with a view to increase availability of affordable, fit-for-purpose products and services, and to reduce global and local market barriers that prevent access to essential supplies for children, contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets. Such impact is only achievable by building on existing strengths, which include: Information transparency and strategic communications; Market analysis and insights; Strategic procurement and special contracting; Project and portfolio management; and Ability to build and leverage partnerships.

The proposed review will focus on the component Information transparency and strategic communications, particularly on Supply Division’s capacity to disseminate pertinent market information (demand/supply volumes, pricing, TPPs, procurement plans) to reduce market asymmetries and improve functioning of markets for strategic commodities. This element of the product and markets strategy is implemented though a series of market communication actions, including, among others, the publication of market notes and updates and a markets dashboard .

The Task

The overall purpose of the market communications review is to gather and systematize evidence on how market communication actions have contributed to the goals and outcomes of SD’s products and markets strategy. This evidence will inform key decisions for the future, supporting improvement of the strategy over the next four-year planning period for Supply Division (OMP 2022-2025). This will ultimately help UNICEF to accelerate equitable and sustained access to essential supplies for children, contributing toward the achievement of the SDGs by 2030.

Specific objectives of the review are:

• Looking back: To systematize what has been done in terms of market communications, generating evidence on what has worked and what has not worked well in support of the products and markets supply strategy;
• Looking forward (strategy): To generate evidence-based recommendations to inform future decisions regarding how to communicate to markets in a way that enhances impact on sustainable access to essential supplies for children;
• Looking forward (tools): To advise on current and potential market communication tools that should be adopted, re-focused or dropped by SD to improve the market communication strategy;
• Looking forward (monitoring): To review existing indicators and identify new ones that will allow SD to better monitor and understand the results of the markets communication strategy.

The review should be implemented through the following steps:
• Step 1: Desk review / inception phase, which will include: Kick-off call(s) with the contract manager and reference group; Desk review of key documents and supply data to be provided; Refine review questions and methodology; Prepare inception report (Deliverable #1); Online inception workshop with the reference group.

• Step 2: Data collection and analysis, which will include: Data collection: (key informant and stakeholder interviews); Analysis and preparation of draft report, with case studies (Deliverable #2); Online workshop with the reference group and selected key informants to validate initial findings, conclusions and recommendations.

• Step 3: Final report and dissemination, which will include: Preparation of final report; Preparation of Review Brief (Deliverable #3); Online dissemination workshop with external partners (TBC)

Deliverables and Payment Schedule:
Payment will be made based on completed deliverables, according to the following schedule:

Deliverable #1: Inception Report
A short report, from 10-20 pages (excluding annexes), including initial reflections, further refinement of methodology, proposed templates, final list of review questions, proposed format for the draft/final reports, proposed case study topics, and a workplan for the review. An accompanying powerpoint should also be included for the virtual reference group workshop.
Payment: 20% of contract amount

Deliverable #2: Draft report
A concise report of up to 40 pages (excluding annexes) that follows the format agreed in the inception phase. An accompanying powerpoint should also be included for the virtual reference group workshop.
Payment: 40% of contract amount

Deliverable #3: Final report and review brief
A concise final report of up to 50 pages (excluding annexes) that follows the format of the draft report. In addition, the following elements will be included: Executive summary; Key recommendations that draw from the findings and conclusions of the review.
A designed review brief of up to 4 pages, including: Summarized highlights of the review and key findings; Summarized conclusions and recommendations.

Payment: 40% of contract amount

Requirements

The consultant should have the minimum qualifications listed below:
• Advanced university degree in management, social sciences, development studies or other relevant areas;
• Advanced knowledge of global supply chain management and market communications in international development and humanitarian agencies;
• Experience with analysing markets and supply chains in low-income and middle-income contexts, especially regarding barriers in access to essential supplies for children;
• At least five years of experience in leading assessments, evaluations or reviews of similar scale;
• Experience with and strong skills in qualitative research and approaches;
• Working knowledge of the UN and UNICEF experience is preferred;
• Fluency in written and spoken English required; advanced knowledge of other official UN languages would be an advantage (especially French and Spanish);
• Excellent skills in organizing, communication, reporting and presentation.

Evaluation Criteria

Qualified candidates are requested to submit:
1. Cover letter/application.
2. Financial quote at a daily rate in US Dollars including all taxes.
3. P11  form if not applying through UNICEF Employment site
4. At least 3 Reference contacts

All applications should be submitted by 9 April 2021. Please indicate your availability and daily rate to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without a daily rate will not be considered. Applicants should submit a detailed cover letter that outlines their relevant experience and qualifications, and explains their approach to completing the key deliverables outlined above. Any specific experience with similar reviews or assessments, especially on supply chain strengthening, market communications, development aid procurement processes and humanitarian response should be highlighted.

Applicants are requested to explicitly acknowledge the scope and objectives outlined above in their own words to ensure alignment with UNICEF’s goals. Additionally, applicants can propose an approach that they deem appropriate and workable, respecting the specific scope of the engagement. They may decide to include additional activities and elements at their discretion. For example, demonstrated applicability of innovative review topics, methods or approaches that the applicant wishes to incorporate will be favorably reviewed.

If needed, UNICEF may request applicants to conduct a brief presentation of their proposals and clarify details before making a final decision on contract award.

Applicants should propose an all-inclusive lump-sum amount, expressed through a daily rate, for this assignment. Due to restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, no travel is planned as part of this assignment. Fees with shortlisted candidates are subject to negotiation prior to contract award.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.

ANNEX 1. QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED IN THE REVIEW

Key questions to be addressed in this review were developed based on the specific objectives above and are provided below. However, the full and final list of questions will be discussed and agreed with the selected consultant during the inception phase.

Looking back: To systematize what has been done in terms of market communications, generating evidence on what has worked and what has not worked well in support of the products and markets supply strategy
• What has been the main focus of the market communication actions implemented by SD over the current planning period (OMP 2018-2021) (e.g. commodity groups, specific markets, specific supplier categories)? And what were the drivers?
• To what extent does this reflect SD’s overall focus, priorities and procurement?
• Are there any areas prioritized by SD that have not been targeted by market communications?Which actions have been most impactful and why? What evidence and indicators demonstrate that?
• What in SD’ view has worked well, and why… What constituted success for SD, and how was that measured.
• What has not worked well and why? What have been the key barriers to market communications?
• Overall, what have been the most significant changes to which the market communication actions have contributed?

Looking forward (strategy): To generate evidence-based recommendations to inform future decisions regarding how to communicate to markets in a way that enhances impact on sustainable access to essential supplies for children
• How can UNICEF improve its market communication actions?
• What areas should market communication actions prioritize to enhance potential contribution to equitable and sustainable access of essential supplies for children?

Looking forward (tools): To advise on current and potential market communication tools that should be adopted, re-focused or dropped by SD to improve the market communication strategy
• Are the current tools used for market communications appropriate to generate the intended results?
• Which tools should be continued by SD? Which ones need improvement, re-focusing or change? Which ones should be dropped? What other existing tools for market communications should be adopted by SD?

Looking forward (monitoring): To review existing indicators and identify new ones that will allow SD to better monitor and understand the results of the markets communication strategy.
• Which key indicators have been used so far to monitor market communication actions? Are they the most adequate ones? How can they be improved?
• What other indicators can be used to monitor and understand the results of the market communication actions in the next four years?