Consultancy Recruitment – Strengthen the Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) pillar in the overall response to Cholera in the MENA region

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.

Since the beginning of the year, at least 29 countries have experienced cholera, with major outbreaks reported in Somalia, Nigeria, Cameroon, DRC, Malawi, and Syria. Cholera is now spreading out across the MENA region. To date, 5 countries are facing an epidemic situation: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen. Overall, the cholera situation is driven by cross border population movement from epidemic countries to nonepidemic countries in a context of an increased proportion of people affected by drought with no access to safe water and proper sanitation. UNICEF country offices of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria have expressed urgent needs in term of capacity building of Government Counterparts and NGOs partners as well as staff with focus on applying evidence and data to inform the development of strategies and interventions. There are also needs in assessing gaps in communication strategies and packages and in developing new guidance and packages supporting Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) strategies and interventions. Both trainings operation and the development of materials would enable to accelerating and improving the quality of the response to cholera in these 3 countries. Support is also required to track data gathered from social listening and community feedback as well as other regional and country level data sources to guide country offices in strategy formulation and partner capacity building. Included within this is ensuring a strategic approach to misinformation management. Finally, there is a need to report, document and share key info including the approaches, successes, challenges and lessons learned from the responses. UNICEF MENARO is therefore looking for an SBC consultant to support these areas of activity above.

For every child, Happiness

Purpose: Strengthening and documentation of evidence based RCCE interventions related to Cholera preparedness and response in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and other affected countries as relevant and based on the epidemiological situation.

How can you make a difference?

Strengthening and documentation of evidence based RCCE interventions related to Cholera preparedness and response in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and other affected countries as relevant and based on the epidemiological situation.

Duration of contract: 80 days within 5 months

Scope of Work:

The consultant is expected to:

Training:

• Conduct assessments, in all relevant countries, looking at capacity gaps for UNICEF staff, Government counterparts and NGO partners.
• Based on existing RCCE and WASH training materials and resources, develop a standardized regional training package.
• Conduct the training in countries to cascade to other national and sub-national level partners.

Materials and Resources:

• Assess the relevance of existing materials, evaluate the gap and propose new materials in Arabic, English, Farsi, French and Kurdish
• Support Country Offices to adapt, pre-test and localize the regional training package
• Support Country Offices to validate through SBC/RCCE coordination mechanisms.

Social Listening:

• Provide technical assistance in aspects of social media monitoring, rumor tracking and misinformation management, online listening, and support with content production and dissemination linked to Cholera prevention and response.
• Through online monitoring tools, identify Cholera highly assessed conversation threads to identify wrong information and/or myths being circulated in the countries affected by cholera.
• Produce regular reports highlighting key issues, topics, trends concerns raised and addressed online providing recommendations for better engagement, and tracking actions taken.
• Triangulate data from various sources to inform countries on revisions required.
• Provide technical assistance to MENAR countries social listening focal points.
• Knowledge Management
• Support the relevant countries to document best practices in relation to preparedness and response to cholera from an SBC perspective.
• Support countries to analyse, report and utilize data.

Knowledge Management

• Support the relevant countries to document best practices in relation to preparedness and response to cholera from an SBC perspective.
• Support countries to analyse, report and utilize data.

Work Assignment Overview

1. Deliverable

TRAINING • Conduct assessments, in 5 countries, to identify capacity gaps for UNICEF staff, Government counterparts and NGO partners. • Based on existing RCCE and WASH training materials and resources, develop a standardized training package for the region in Arabic, English, French, Farsi and Kurdish. • Conduct the training through TOT and cascade training.

Deliverable output

1) Capacity assessment gap report of the actors in the 5 countries. 2) Standard training package for each of the groups (Government Counterparts, NGOs partners) identified. 3) Methodology and roll out plan for the training. 4) Training reports including agenda and list of participants, and pre/post KAB and skills self[1]assessment.

Timeline: 15 February 2023

1. Deliverable

MATERIALS & RESOURCES • Assess the relevance of existing communication materials, evaluate the gap and propose new materials in Arabic, English, French, Farsi and Kurdish • Support Country Offices to adapt, pretest and localize the regional training package • Support Country Offices to validate the materials through SBC/RCCE coordination mechanisms.

Deliverable output: 5) Report assessing the existing materials and gaps. 6) Finalise set of adapted materials in 4 languages. 7) Pre-testing for each of the materials developed.

Timeline: 31 March 2023

1. Deliverable:

SOCIAL LISTENING • Provide technical assistance in aspects of social media monitoring, rumor tracking and management, online listening, and support with content production and dissemination linked to Cholera prevention and response. • Through online monitoring tools, identify Cholera conversation threads to identify misinformation and/or myths being circulated in 5 countries. • Produce regular reports highlighting key issues, topics, trends concerns raised and addressed online with recommendations for better engagement, and tracking actions taken • Triangulate data from various sources to inform countries on revisions required • Provide technical assistance to MENAR countries social listening focal points.

Deliverable output: 8) 2 biweekly cholera thematic social listening reports. 9) Report detailing technical support sessions to country offices. 10) Country-by-country monthly update of social listening keywords and channels.

Timeline: 15 April 2023

1. Deliverable:

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT • Support 5 countries to document best practices in relation to preparedness and response to cholera from an SBC perspective.

Deliverable output: 11) At least one best practice developed per country • Support the countries to utilize behavioral insights and SBC approaches in SitReps. • Support countries to analyse, report and utilise data. 12) SitRep reflecting SBC strategies and interventions for each country 13) User friendly data sheets compiling SBC, ideally incl sub-national levels

Timeline: 15 April 2023

*Timelines may be revised based on the contract issuance date

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in any field related to development and/or social sciences.
  A minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience in in development, experience with the UN agencies is an asset. Extensive evident knowledge in cholera preparedness and response. Outstanding evident experience in cascading training and crafting curricula.
• Extensive evident expertise in developing culturally relevant materials and in conducting pre-testing sessions
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Excellent level in English. Arabic and French are an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

To view our competency framework, please visit  here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

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:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

NB: The candidate should have a medical insurance as well as a valid travel document.

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.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

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