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In conflict and disaster, children suffer first and suffer most. UNICEF works to strengthen the links between humanitarian action and development work, delivering a continuum of support. In Brazil, UNICEF support child-centred disaster risk reduction interventions and emergency responses, like the Venezuelan migration outflow and the drought in the Amazon Region. In the last two years, UNICEF also contributed to the Yanomami public health emergency and the response to the floods in Rio Grande do Sul.  

Crosscutting all UNICEF’s work is Social and Behaviour Change (SBC), which aims to empower individuals and communities, and lower structural barriers that hinder people from adopting positive practices and societies from becoming more equitable, inclusive, cohesive and peaceful. SBC encompasses any set of strategies and interventions that influences drivers of change and supports local action towards better societies. UNICEF has been a global leader on SBC – formerly known as Communication for Development (C4D) – for over 35 years.                       

Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) is a series of activities or interventions aimed at individuals, social groups and networks, at family and community levels, that address the way information is transmitted, perceived, understood and applied. However, it is not enough to provide people with life-saving information; it is necessary to understand the barriers to accessing essential services. That's why community involvement is a critical component in emergency response. RCCE is equally important for managing and responding to the social and economic consequences of risk mitigation measures, supporting people's well-being during emergencies.

As part of disaster preparedness efforts, it is important to develop, implement, and monitor action plans that prepares government entities to communicate effectively with the public, engage communities, local partners, and other stakeholders to prepare and protect individuals and communities in humanitarian situations. This consultancy aims to develop an RCCE Toolkit and Course as part of its efforts to contribute to emergency preparedness and response in Brazil.

UNICEF’s humanitarian action is guided by its Strategic Plan and its Core Commitments for Children (CCCs), which outline what UNICEF commits to do across all sectors – health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), child protection, and education – as part of any humanitarian response. The CCCs are aligned to international standards and are guided by humanitarian principles. 

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

Under the guidance of the Social and Behaviour Change Officer, in close coordination with the Emergency Specialist and the RCCE Specialist, the consultant will support UNICEF in producing and developing a Toolkit and course on Risk Communication and Community Engagement in Brazil, liaising with all field offices that respond to humanitarian situations in the country. Throughout the 6-month period of the assignment, the consultant is expected to support the creation of a child-centered toolkit of risk communication materials to be shared with government of all levels, delivered as: a mapping of existing UNICEF materials, a matrix of key messages for different types of emergencies (droughts and floods), the finalized and tested communication materials (cards, posters, leaflets and radio scripts). The toolkit will support emergency efforts by Brazil´s Civil Protection (Defesa Civil) and the social assistance sector responsible for humanitarian shelter, with three main objectives:

1. To support child rights in humanitarian shelters across the country
2. Contribute to Brazil´s efforts on Disaster Risk Reduction (by Civil Protection)
3. Provide general life-saving risk communication messages which will be made available for municipalities affected by emergencies.

Lastly, the consultant will develop a short child-centered RCCE course to engage and build capacity of public managers involved in emergency preparedness and response.

WORK ASSIGNMENTS OVERVIEW

1. WORK ASSIGNMENT 1

RCCE Toolkit: Mapping

Mapping UNICEF's existing materials/tools since the start of the migration response, COVID-19 and more recent emergencies (2018-current), and organizing the materials in an online repository. UNICEF staff will support the process.

1.1. DELIVERABLES/OUTPUTS

a. A cloud-based and catalogued repository accompanied by a document listing UNICEF's mapped materials.

1.2. TIMELINE

After 30 days of contract signature

1.3. ESTIMATE BUDGET

10% of consultancy fee 

2. WORK ASSIGNMENT 2

RCCE Toolkit: Message Matrix

The consultant will develop a comprehensive matrix sheet with child-centered key messages by type of emergency (drought and smoke / floods) for each of the five UNICEF Goal Areas - Health and Nutrition, WASH, Education, Child Protection and Social Policy – targeted at parents and caregivers and which will also be used for advocacy purposes. National and international humanitarian and UNICEF-related materials and guidelines may be used as sources. The consultant will have access to UNICEF’s thematic focal points in Brazil for inquiries and approval processes. Messages will be used by UNICEF in different contexts where children’s lives are at risk. The matrix template will be developed by the consultant in liaise with UNICEF, and will be limited to 35 priority behaviours and/or actions to be undertaken in different stages of emergencies to protect children’s rights.  

2.1. DELIVERABLES/OUTPUTS

Spreadsheet containing priority key messages per type of Emergency and per area, after consultations with UNICEF officers, in a format to be proposed by the hired consultant.

2.2. TIMELINE

After 60 days of contract signature

2.3. ESTIMATE BUDGET

20% of consultancy fee

3. WORK ASSIGNMENT 3

Child-centred RCCE Course

Develop an 8h-training course in Risk Communication and Community Engagement aimed at state and municipal public managers, Civil Protection coordinators and communication professionals, involved in preparedness and response efforts. The course should have shorter 4h and 2h-options and bring at least one practical co-construction exercise to be proposed to target audiences. The consultant will not be responsible for implementing the course, only providing the materials detailed in the deliverables’ list below, in Portuguese. An inspirational short UNICEF version of this course will be provided as a starting point.

Moreover, the consultant will be responsible for delivering an online version of the same course, adapting the content of the in-person course to the script parameters of the EV.G platform (Escola Virtual de Governo, maintained by ENAP – Escola Nacional de Administraçao Publica), which will be shared by UNICEF. The consultant will hold no responsibility on providing programming or animation services for the insertion of the course in the learning platform. He/She/They will be responsible in recording two short tutorial videos.

3.1 DELIVERABLES/OUTPUTS

a. Facilitator´s guide (in .doc format) and agenda for 8, 4 and 2-hour options.

b. Participants workbook or leaflet to be delivered to participants summarizing main content (in .doc format, no professional design needed).

c. Checklist Planning tool, summarizing steps to design an RCCE strategy (in .doc format, no professional design needed)

d. Presentation (in .ppt format).

e. Online version of the course, delivered as a script (model to be delivered by UNICEF) with two short videos. The online course must include, as follows:

1. Proposal of 3 multiple choice quizzes for the participants.
2. UNICEF’s or royalty-free images (at least 15), as well as bibliographic sources and references. Images must be sent in jpeg or png format, in high resolution.
3. Recording of a video lesson of up to 1 hour on the course content, showing the consultant accompanied by a Power point presentation, using computer screen recording tools.

3.2 TIMELINE

After 90 days of contract signature

3.3 ESTIMATE BUDGET

20% of consultancy fee

4. WORK ASSIGNMENT 4

RCCE Toolkit: Testing

Conduct, with the support of local UNICEF offices in Brazil (to be determined), the pretesting of key messages and draft materials with the affected population and key local partners, considering the need for geographic and/or group adaptation. This will be carried out in a format to be proposed by the hired consultant and considering the pretesting concepts of Attractiveness, Comprehension, Acceptance, Relevance, Call to Action, Persuasion, and Improvement. There will be no travel involved, as implementation will be performed by UNICEF in selected locations, guided by the consultant.          

4.1. DELIVERABLES/OUTPUTS

Short report on the results of the testing and adaptations made, containing methodologies used and images.

4.2. TIMELINE

After 120 days of contract signature

4.3. ESTIMATE BUDGET

15% of consultancy fee

5. WORK ASSIGNMENT 5

RCCE Toolkit: Materials

Production of the UNICEF Risk Communication and Community Engagement Toolkit, containing final versions of the tested materials by type of emergency, target audience (considering the need for geographic and/or group adaptation) and format of diffusion. The toolkit will encompass a short User Guide (“how to use the toolkit”). It will comply with UNICEF brand guidelines and have concise and standardized language throughout the materials – all of which will have their script approved by UNICEF prior to production.

In total, the 25 materials (25 posters, 25 series of up to ten cards – carrossels for dissemination on Instagram and Whatsapp – 25 flyers and 25 radio scripts) will correspond to identified priority behaviours selected during “Work Assignment Two” of this ToR. To facilitate production, each behaviour will have its poster, leaflet, cards and radio script, totalling 25 priority actions or behaviours to protect children and adolescents in emergencies (drought and floods). They will be original materials, containing illustrations and/or images provided by the consultant following UNICEF guidelines.

5.1. DELIVERABLES/OUTPUTS

a. Materials: 25 posters, 25 series of up to ten cards, 25 flyers and 25 radio scripts (no recording involved).  

b.  User Guide explaining what the Toolkit is for and how it should be used.

c. Link of cloud repository with all content finalized and approved, containing documents in high quality PDF (leaflets and posters), PNG (cards) and .doc (radio scripts) as well as their respective open format versions on Canva (www.canva.com), to facilitate sharing and editing by public managers of all levels for different contexts, hosted in a UNICEF account.

5.2. TIMELINE

After 150 days of contract signature

5.3. ESTIMATE BUDGET

35% of consultancy fee 

TRAVEL PLAN

No travel planned for this consultancy.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED

•            A university degree in one of the following fields is required: social and behavioural sciences, social communication, sociology, anthropology, psychology, education, public relations or another relevant technical field.

•          A minimum of 4 years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: RCCE, CwC, SBC, C4D or another related area.

• Work experience in humanitarian settings is required and solid experience producing content aimed at affected populations. The applicant must send a portfolio with links and resources attesting previous experiences.

•            Knowledge on children’s rights issues, including the Convention of Rights of the Child and the Statute of the Child and the Adolescent is an asset.

•            Proven ability to manage relationships with partners, including government counterparts, local communities, adolescents.

•            Strong writing and communication skills in Portuguese.

•            Relevant experience in a UN system agency or humanitarian/development organization is considered an asset. 

LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

•          Fluency in Portuguese is required. English speaking and writing is considered an asset.

FINANCIAL PROPOSAL

• A financial proposal including the fee for the assignment based on the deliverables and number of days must be submitted. Consultants are asked to stipulate all-inclusive fees, including lump sum, administrative cost, travel cost and subsistence costs, as applicable.

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

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 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.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.