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Consultancy Title: International Consultancy For Delivery of Capacity Development Training for UNICEF Belarus staff and partners on Social and Behaviour Change and Community Engagement

Section/Division/Duty Station: Communication and Partnerships section, UNICEF Belarus CO

Duration: January 8, 2024 to February 28, 2024

Home/ office Based: Remote with one week visit to Minsk, Belarus

About UNICEF

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. Over 76 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and abuse. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations, and governments.

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment: 

The purpose of the consultancy is to conduct capacity development assessment, design a Russian-language capacity building CE-SBC orientation module based on this, and facilitate the orientation training for UNICEF programme and communication teams, national partners, and UN (United Nations) Communication Group.

The consultant will also develop overall recommendations to sustain community engagement, social and behavior change in Belarus, which might include but not limited to:

• assessment of existing CE-SBC initiatives, including objectives, target populations, methodologies, and outcomes 
• collaborate with programme officers to identify potential areas where CE-SBC can enhance program effectiveness and outcomes
• check at what degree CE-SBC initiatives aligned with the overarching goals and priorities of UNICEF in Belarus
• develop a plan for continuous capacity building of SBC officer
• Develop indicators and metrics that SBC and programme officers can use to assess changes in behaviors related to child well-being

The following critical outcomes will be achieved:

• Enhanced understanding: participants will gain deeper understanding of community engagement, social and behavior change principles, approaches, and best practices. This includes understanding the global shifts in CE-SBC and how these align with the local context.
• Improved skills: through the training module, participants will acquire practical skills in data driven designing and implementing CE-SBC strategies. This includes the ability to utilize data-driven approaches, apply systems thinking, and develop localized responses to address the unique needs of communities in Belarus.
• Strengthened collaboration: The training will foster collaboration among Belarus CO and national partners. It will encourage a multidisciplinary approach to CE-SBC, enhancing the collective effectiveness.
• Sustainable CE-SBC practices: The consultancy will provide recommendations on how to sustain CE-SBC efforts in Belarus. These recommendations may include strategies for continued capacity building, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, and ways to integrate CE-SBC into ongoing programmes and initiatives.
• Maximize UNICEF efforts in application and mainstreaming of SBC principles, approaches to systems, services, and platforms to contribute to programme results to achieve behaviour change. 

Scope of Work:

Under the supervision of the Social and Behaviour Change Officer the consultant will support UNICEF in:

• Capacity development assessment of staff and partners
• Development of capacity building module
• Preparing training materials
• Delivering in person training Sessions
• Preparing recommendation report and set of practical tools 

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables / Delivery Deadline:

Development of a comprehensive and tailored capacity building module based on the assessment results that encompasses all relevant aspects of CE-SBC.

• Capacity building assessment
• Capacity building module

By 20 January 2024

Development of training materials, presentations, handouts, including practical tools required to apply in practice or design of SBC strategies, sample of strategy and approaches in practice, and any necessary visual resources required for the week-long training session.

• Training package

By 26 January 2024

Delivery of training session that covers CE-SBC principles, approaches, case studies, practical exercises, and interactive discussions, engage participants actively and provide them with hands-on experience.

• In-person training session

On 1-6 February 2024

Outline recommendations for sustaining CE-SBC efforts in Belarus, encompass strategies for capacity maintenance, monitoring and evaluation, integration into ongoing programs, and addressing emerging priorities.

• Recommendation report

By 13 February 2024

Development of set of tools for implementing CE-SBC strategies within the programs.

• Set of tools

By 20 February 2024

Summary of the achieved results withing the entire consultancy

• Final Report

By 25 February 2024

Travel (if required as per TOR):

Travel is expected within this TOR, approx. February 1-6, 2024

Qualifications

Education:

• A relevant advanced degree (Masters) in social sciences, behavioral science, anthropology, communication, or a related field

Work experience/Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

• Strong expertise in community engagement, social and behavior change.
• Demonstrated in-depth knowledge of CE-SBC principles, theories, methodologies, and best practices.
• Knowledge of the Russian language is required.
• A proven track record of successfully implementing similar capacity building and training initiatives related to CE-SBC.
• Familiarity with UNICEF and UN mission and programmes, operations, protocols, and procedures is a significant advantage.
• Experience in designing and delivering interactive, engaging, and effective training sessions for diverse audiences, developing comprehensive training modules and materials, ensuring they are well-structured, easy to comprehend, and conducive to learning.
• Familiarity with the local context in Belarus is an advantage.  

Competencies:

• Communication
• Drive for results

Requirements:

Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and

• Interested consultants should provide a letter of interest (Cover Letter) describing how they can contribute to the interventions listed under roles and responsibilities and why they should be selected for this position. In addition, they should share their latest CV/Resume and financial proposal to undertake this job.
• Methodology and strategy for developing capacity building module
• Upload copy of academic credentials
• Financial proposal: all-inclusive lump-sum cost (including travel and accommodation cost for this assignment as per work assignment) that will include/ reflect:
  • the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability
• Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.
• At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.
• Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

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

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: Here

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:  

Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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. Consultants 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.