Background and Justification
The UNICEF Lesotho Country Programme is centred on four sub-programmes: Social Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation; Health and HIV; Basic Education; and Child Protection. Due emphasis is given to mainstreaming cross-cutting principles and strategies, including but not limited to, gender equality, a human rights based approach to programming, advocacy, communication for development, and capacity development.
UNICEF Lesotho, similar to countries working under the BNLSS framework considers Strategic Advocacy as critical strategy to support implementation of the Country Programme. The purpose of the consultancy is to strengthen engagement with Government and all stakeholders to support realization of children rights in Lesotho.
UNICEF Lesotho therefore seeks to engage a consultant to develop an Advocacy Strategy and Implementation Plan, 2015 – 2017 for Lesotho Country Office. In addition, the consultant is also expected to develop a Visibility Plan on Social Development for the EU and UNICEF joint Programme being implemented under the auspices of the Ministry of Social Development.
The two documents will guide UNICEF Lesotho work in promoting and raising awareness on its work in Lesotho while also creating support and understanding of the Organization’s work among key stakeholders. They consultant will also guide the office efforts to reinforce partnerships and develop new alliances to mobilize and leverage resources for children in line with global and regional Advocacy Strategies.
The final products are expected to include an environment and stakeholder assessment, objectives, target audiences, messages and media mix, resources, specific actions, activities and products, monitoring and evaluation of impact. The documents will also serve as a reference for critically assessing progress in the delivery of the country office advocacy and communications efforts and will facilitate dialogue with key stakeholders for children and women’s rights.
Scope of Work
Under the supervision of the Communication Specialist, the consultant will contribute to the strengthening of UNICEF Lesotho’s strategic partnerships in order to leverage better results and mobilize resources for marginalized Basotho children and women. The tasks include:
· Working in tandem with the LCO team to develop an, Advocacy Strategy and Implementation Plan for UNICEF Lesotho 2015-2017 in line with the global advocacy and regional Advocacy and Communication strategies recently launched;
· Work in tandem with the Social Policy Team, European Union and Ministry of Social Development to develop a Visibility and Advocacy Plan for Social Development;
· Collect, document and disseminate programming experience and best practices for dissemination to key stakeholders using different multimedia approaches;
· Collect and Write human interest stories and edit texts for enhanced partnerships and resource mobilization such as UNICEF Intranet, PANORAMA, Funding Market Place, ICON etc;
· Strengthen LCO on-line presence (facebook, twitter etc)
· Develop infor-graphics and tools (such Power-Point Presentations) for reporting LCO programme actvities to key partners such as Policy Makers and donors;
· Conduct training of LCO staff to improve und erstanding of advocacy approaches and enhance their skills on preparing evidence based advocacy activities using various multi-media platforms (i.e. Power Point Presentations).
TASKS
RefKey Tasks Deliverables Timeline 1. Produce inception report with working methodology and conceptual framework as informed by TOR and discussion with the CO. Inception report with working with clear methodology 1 week 2. Produce an Overview outline of the LCO Advocacy Strategy and Implementation Plan (2015 – 2017) with key advocacy issues identified. Overview Chapter outlining of the Advocacy strategy 1 weeks 1. Produce an Overview outline EU and UNICEF visibility with clear visibility issues identified. Overview Chapter of visibility plan 1 week 3. Conduct 2 days training workshop for UNICEF staff to improve the understanding of advocacy concepts and approaches and to enhance their knowledge and skills on designing and implementing evidence-based policy advocacy work using a mixture of communication means [written, dialogue]. Workshop format (programme) 1 week 4. Produce second draft detailed Advocacy and Strategy and implementation plan (2015 – 2017) Draft strategy document with all chapters 6 weeks 5. Produce second draft detailed EU and UNICEF Visibility plan Draft visibility plan with all chapters 4 weeks 6. Draft human interest stories, document best practices, support on-line presence, develop power-point presentations and inforgraphics 4human interest stories, Power-Point Presentation, infor-graphics etc 2 Weeks on-going during consultancy 7. Submit Final Draft Advocacy and Communication Strategy and Plan and EU/UNICEF visibility plan Final documents 2 weeks
(Home Based)
DELIVERABLES
RefDeliverable % Payable 1 Inception report 20% 3 Second Draft detailed Advocacy Strategy and Plan and EU and UNICEF visibility plan 40% 4 Final draft Advocacy Strategy and Plan including EU and UNICEF visibility plan 40%
TIME FRAME
The consultancy will begin on 01 May 2015 and will end not later than 08 September 2015. The first 16 weeks of the consultancy will be based in UNICEF Lesotho, while the last two weeks of the assignment will be completed at home. While in-country the Consultant will receive technical and logistical support from the LCO (i.e. working space, access to email, internet, etc).
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
· The consultant will provide own lap-top and cell-phone.
· LCO will facilitate transport to project sites as might be required during the undertaking of this assignment.
· Incumbent will be provided with working space
· The consultant will be provided with a daily subsistence allowance in the implementation of in-country component of the consultancy (16 weeks).
· The LCO will also cater for the consultant’s airfare (return ticket).
· Incumbent will work closely with the Communication Specialist under the supervision of the Chief, Social Policy.
· All materials designed and used during the consultancy shall remain the property of UNICEF
· Payment will be made upon satisfactory delivery of the deliverables and only after the approval of the deliverables by UNICEF Representative.
· Consultant should be immediately available to work on this project for the duration of the consultancy.
PAYMENT
- 20% upon delivery of proposed plan and approach within 2 days after signing the contract.
- 40% upon submission of second Draft detailed Advocacy Strategy and Plan and EU and UNICEF visibility plan by 30 June 2015.
- 40% upon submission of Final Draft detailed Advocacy Strategy and Plan and EU and UNICEF visibility
REQUIRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
- Over 5 years’ experience in the area of communication, fundraising and policy advocacy
- Advanced University Degree in Social Sciences /Journalism/ Communication or related field.
- Proven experience in designing communication strategies as well as development of communication tools for fundraising and advocacy.
- Prior contacts and demonstrated experience supporting partnerships and/or resource mobilization skills within the UN system or with other civil society organizations. is an advantage;
- Ability to work independently as well as with a team in an international, multicultural and interdisciplinary environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships both within and outside the organization;
- Deadline driven with focus on results
- Advance MS office skills
- Adept at the use of office communication skills
- Excellent oral and writing skills
SUBMISSIONS FOR THE ASSIGNMENT
The interested candidate for this contract must submit a written (computer typed) application. The proposal should include, at minimum, the following sections (the candidates will not be even considered for short-listed if the following is not provided):
- A CV outlining the relevant experience that qualifies the candidate to undertake such assignment including contact details and signed by the candidate
- Samples of previous work in lay-out design and experience with other UNICEF offices or other International Agencies.
- Incumbent should indicate availability and daily rates to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without daily rates will not be considered.
RECOURSE
UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs is incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines. Performance indicators against which the satisfactory conclusion of this contract will be assessed include: timeliness/quality of submission and responsiveness to UNICEF and counterpart feedback
PROPERTY RIGHTS
UNICEF shall hold all property rights, such as copyright, patents and registered trademarks, on matter directly related to, or derived from, the work carried out through this contract with UNICEF.
HOW TO APPLY:
Interested and suitable candidates should ensure that they forward their applications (a cover letter, CV, and signed P11 form which can be downloaded at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/P11.doc), quoting the indicative fee range with reference: LESA/SSA/015-002. The closing date for the submission is 10 April 2015.
Applications submitted without a fee/ rate will not be considered. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.
