January 20th, 2022 at 10:09 am
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.
POSITION: National Consultant – Advocacy Campaign Strategist, Accra Ghana, Policy and Evidence, 120 days within 11.5 months
For every child, advocate
In Ghana, UNICEF cooperates with the Government and other partners to defend the rights of children and help them fulfill their potential. With offices in Accra and Tamale, the UNICEF team seeks to achieve results in strategic program areas.
The overall goal is for every child to survive and thrive, to live in a safe and clean environment, to learn, to be protected from violence and exploitation, and to have an equitable chance in life.
The current Country Programme of cooperation is aligned with the Government priorities, the UN Sustainable Development Partnership (UNSDP), and Key Results for Children (KRCs) in the West and Central African Region (immunization, nutrition, learning outcomes, ending child marriage and ending open defecation).
UNICEF’s main strategies include evidence-based advocacy, system strengthening, integrated programming across sectors, emergency preparedness and response, and innovation.
Background
The social protection sector has evolved over the years and continues to play a key role in the socio-economic development of the country.
The sector has also seen some major achievements, notably the development of a social protection policy that aims to ensure a well-coordinated, inter-sectoral social protection system to ensure effective implementation and coordination and enable people to live in dignity through income support, livelihoods empowerment, and improved systems of basic services. It aspires to close the inequality gap and ensure total inclusion for all Ghanaians.
Despite the successes in recent years, the sector is still faced with various challenges emanating from policy directions and commitments, program implementation, and delivery.
The aspirations of the social protection policy cannot be fully achieved without a deliberate effort to increase awareness on the incidence of poverty, inequality, and vulnerability in the country and its effects on national development, to generate a better understanding of the role and responsibility of the government in social protection and fostering complementarity between programs to maximize impacts on beneficiaries.
It is against this backdrop that UNICEF developed a Social Protection advocacy strategy in 2019 to provide guidance for this area of advocacy work. The strategy focuses specifically on advocacy activities that are beyond the unit’s ongoing programming activities, which also influence national social protection policy and programming.
The three key components of the social protection advocacy strategy include influencing budgetary allocation to the social protection sector, influencing key political parties on social protection priorities for inclusion in party manifestoes, and creating public awareness on rights and entitlements to social protection.
The strategy and its two-year implementation plan have been reviewed to identify key achievements and gaps. The review has led to the identification of key outstanding activities as well as new activities that are critical for the achievement of the change objectives of the strategy.
Further to that, the implementation period of the overall advocacy strategy has been extended from mid-2021 to the end of 2022. This assignment is focused on the second change objective/component of the advocacy strategy: creating public awareness on rights and entitlements to social protection.
How can you make a difference?
The consultant will support UNICEF to undertake all preparatory work leading to the launch of the campaign, its rollout, and coordinate activities of partners. The consultant will also be key in supporting UNICEF to strategically identify entry points and to plan opportunities critical for the achievement of results. This will include all advocacy channels, including communication.
Specific Tasks
The Consultant Will Undertake The Following
As part of the social protection advocacy strategy development and implementation process in the last couple of years, the unit had identified key partners and allies that could support the rollout and implementation of the rights and SP campaign.
Support Partner Engagements on the Draft Campaign Plan and its Finalization
The consultant will facilitate engagement with relevant stakeholders in identifying key activities for implementation. The consultant will be expected to hold at least three bilateral and 2 joint meetings in collaboration with the social protection and communication teams in UNICEF.
Outputs from these engagements are expected to feed into the final review and validation of the campaign strategy including a one-year implementation plan.
Coordinate Campaign Activities of Partners
The consultant will be expected to set up a technical coordination team made of focal persons from relevant participating institutions/organizations. The coordination team will be expected to provide technical inputs necessary for the finalization and validation of the campaign strategy, support the launch and lead on specific activities under the campaign implementation plan.
The consultant will be expected to support the setup of this coordination team, facilitate regular meetings, provide oversight for all activities during roll-out, conduct at least 2 capacity building for partners to lead their own campaigns, and provide backstopping and assurance functions that will ensure key institutions/partners integrate the activities into their own work processes to ensure ownership and sustainability of the campaign into the future.
Lead all Preparatory Work Prior to the Launch of the Campaign and Support the National Launch
The consultant will be expected to outline key activities or products in consultation with partners and UNICEF and develop a roadmap for the launch. The roadmap will be expected to contain specific activities and timelines leading to the national launch.
The consultant will oversee the coordination and the timely implementation of activities outlined in the roadmap. The consultant will support this key activity (working closely with the UNICEF communication team) which will be a precursor to the rollout of the campaign.
Support the Development of a Campaign Monitoring and Assessment Plan
The consultant is expected to develop an evaluation plan that would facilitate the measuring of results/an indication of the success of the campaign and regularly monitor performance on key campaign outputs/activities.
The consultant is expected to lead the development of the monitoring plan in collaboration with partners and support the development of draft tools to guide the future evaluation of the entire campaign. The consultant will facilitate and collate monitoring reports from partner institutions, document lessons learned and recommendations and support the technical coordination team in adapting as may be required during the rollout process.
Deliverables and Time Frame for Submission
No
Deliverables
Number of days
Timelines for submission: 1
Five stakeholder consultations were organized to review and finalize the campaign plan. This will involve both bilateral and joint meetings with partners and UNICEF’s social protection and communication teams.
4 weeks after signing
Submit a campaign monitoring plan including initial tools to be used for evaluating the entire campaign (to measure success/results building on the baseline study).
6 weeks after signing
Lead the production of communication/advocacy and campaign materials including key messages, leaflets, souvenirs, flyers, etc for the launch and roll out of the campaign in collaboration with UNICEF.
8 weeks after signing
Lead the national campaign launch in collaboration with partner organizations and UNICEF.
12 weeks after signing
Lead the capacity building of partner organizations to manage their campaigns and to integrate key activities into their workstreams.
16 weeks after signing
Facilitate the formation of a technical coordination team made of representatives from partner institutions including managing and coordinating its activities.
32 weeks after signing
Document lessons learnt and sharing of best practices among partner institutions and provide knowledge management functions for the campaign. These are to be provided in the form of case studies, articles and would be used also for dissemination purposes.
36 weeks after signing
Submit a report on the campaign process (successes, challenges, and recommendations). This will involve interviewing selected stakeholders on their assessment of the campaign implementation.
40 weeks after signing
Payment Schedule
Payment Will Be Made In Four Instalments Per The Schedule Below
The consultant will be paid based on satisfactory submission and approval of deliverables.
- Deliverables 1&2: 20%
- Deliverables 3&4: 20%
- Deliverables: 5&6 20 %
- Deliverables 7&8: 40%
Reporting
- The consultant will report to the Social Policy Specialist – UNICEF with an oversight by the Communications Manager.
- The consultant will work closely with the Social Protection and Communication Teams
Expected Background And Experience
- Advanced degree in communication studies, public relations, journalism, marketing or related field is required.
- Minimum of 8 years’ relevant and progressive professional experience working with organisations in a similar capacity: marketing, campaign management and coordination, leading promotional activities/programmes and in related areas is required.
- Experience in event organisation and coordination is required.
- Outstanding analytical, communication, facilitation and capacity building skills are required.
- Experience in monitoring and evaluating campaign activities is required.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team is required.
- Previous knowledge of social protection in Ghana is an asset.
General Conditions: Procedures and Logistics
- The consultant will be expected to use his/her own computer and office.
- The assignment will be based in Accra and the consultant is expected to provide a quote which should be an all-inclusive lumpsum fee (includes a professional fee, travel cost, living allowance outside Accra)
- Total calculated all-inclusive lumpsum fees will be paid in 4 installments based on deliverables as indicated above.
- The consultant is expected to manage his/her own travel outside Accra. He/She is expected to travel outside Accra for a minimum of 3 days per quarter and a total of 12 days within 11.5 months period.
Policy Both Parties Should Be Aware Of
- Under the consultancy agreements, a month is defined as 21.75 working days, and fees are prorated accordingly. Consultants are not paid for weekends or public holidays.
- Consultants are not entitled to payment of overtime. All remuneration must be within the contract agreement.
- No contract may commence unless the contract is signed by both UNICEF and the consultant or Contractor.
- For international consultants outside the duty station, signed contracts must be sent by fax or email. Signed contract copy or written agreement must be received by the office before Travel Authorization is issued.
- No consultant may travel without a signed travel authorization prior to the commencement of the journey to the duty station.
- Unless authorized, UNICEF will buy the tickets of the consultant. In exceptional cases, the consultant may be authorized to buy their travel tickets and shall be reimbursed at the “most economical and direct route” but this must be agreed to beforehand. All travel will be in economy class.
- Consultants will not have supervisory responsibilities or authority on the UNICEF budget.
- Consultants will be required to sign the Health statement for consultants/Individual contractors prior to taking up the assignment, and to document that they have appropriate health insurance, including Medical Evacuation.
- The Form ‘Designation, change or revocation of beneficiary’ must be completed by the consultant upon arrival, at the HR Section.
HOW TO APPLY
CLOSING DATE: February 11, 2022
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
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.