National consultancy for conducting the desk review of breastfeeding administrative and survey national data

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child. Everywhere, in everything the organization does, in programs, 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.

UNICEF in Belarus is strongly committed to investing in data and evidence generation to be able to provide policy advice based on accurate and timely evidence on child rights realization.

How can you make a difference

1. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES

UNICEF Belarus is commissioning a desk review to inform the National Breastfeeding Data validation exercise in 2021-2022. The desk review is seen as the first stage of the data validation process and results of it will support with baseline and background information the following work.

The objective of the desk review is to describe existing services and monitoring system that is in place at the national and regional levels to support, promote and measure progress in breastfeeding rates.

2. Key Tasks:

2.1. To describe existing country system against main WHO/UNICEF guidelines on breastfeeding and other existing international standards under following domains:

• National counselling services for women on breastfeeding before birth and during first two years of child’s life;

• Legislative and other norms existing in the country on inappropriate promotion of foods for infants and young children, including breastmilk substitutes;

• Social and cultural norms existing in the country on protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding practises within education, workplace, public spaces and facilities providing maternity and newborn services;

• HIV and infant feeding: the duration of breastfeeding, and support from health services to improve feeding practices among mothers living with HIV.

2.2. To describe existing system of data collection and legislation that regulates data collection on breastfeeding in the following areas:

• Use of WHO/UNICEF Tracking Tool on possible set of national targets until 2025, with focus on Breastfeeding target. https://www.who.int/tools/global-targets-tracking-tool;

• Governmental statistical forms for data collection comparing methodologies and procedures of MoH data collection and MICS.

2.3. Provide recommendations to scope of the National Breastfeeding Data validation exercise in 2021-2022, including additional qualitative and quantitative studies to support it.

3. SUPERVISION, WORK RELATIONS AND OVERSIGHT

The consultant will be supervised and report directly to the UNICEF M&E Specialist with active guidance and involvement of the UNICEF ECD Specialist. Debriefings will be arranged upon a need to support the progress of the consultancy. UNICEF staff members, consultants, consultants and partners will follow the GUIDANCE ON EXTERNAL ACADEMIC PUBLISHING (January 2017) when engaging in external academic publishing, whether in print or digital form, of the final Research Study Report.

The Consultant must respect the complete confidentiality of the data as well as any specific documents that will be produced. The Consultant can use the documents and the datasets only for the tasks related to these Terms of Reference.

4. TRAVEL

If UNICEF determines that the Consultant needs to travel in order to perform his or her assignment, that travel shall be specified in the contract and the Consultant’s travel costs shall be set out in the contract. In cases where travel costs have not been set out in the contract, the consultant is expected to submit, within ten days of completion of a specific travel, a voucher for reimbursement of travel expenses to the Operations section. Reimbursements shall only be processed if travel was duly authorized in the individual contract or by an authorized manager of the contracting section, in writing and prior to the travel.

5. PAYMENT CONDITIONS

Payments to the consultant will be conducted based on the submitted invoices with the number of consultancy days in line with actually reported deliverables.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have

• Master or Doctoral degree in Pediatrics;

• Experience in the sector/area;

• Proven ability to write research papers and articles;

• High analytical and conceptual skills;

• Ability to work in a team and have the initiative to work independently to meet deadlines;

• Fluency in Russian. Fluency in English (written and spoken) is an asset;

• Record of work with UN is an asset.

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.

For more details on deliverables and minimum requirements, please refer to attached Terms of reference (ToR)

 TOR_Breastfeeding desk review_va.pdf

The application must include:

1. A short methodological proposal on how the assignment you will be undertaken;

2. CV;

3. Financial proposal for the services to be provided.

Applications for this assignment must be received no later than: 9 May 2021.

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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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.

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.