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PURPOSE OF ASSIGNMENT

Kenya is a diverse country with different social-economic practices. Successful Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) activities will require understanding of local social context, including gender dynamics, nomadic population, religious practices and preferred means of communication, as well as careful coordination with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and County Health Management Team to ensure efficient use of resources for strategic actions on the ground in partnership with local leaders.
This will require consistent participation in the incidence management system, and frequent travel to the counties to coordinate action with the County Health Management Team, Ministry of Health and even neighboring countries.

In cases there are threat of disease outbreaks and public health emergency, UNICEF Kenya Country Office will require a consultant to augment the capacity of the Social and Behaviour Change section (SBC). The purpose of the consultancy is to provide the government and counties of Kenya with effective and timely advice to plan, coordinate and conduct successful Risk Communication and Community Engagement activities.

PROGRAMME AREA AND SPECIFIC PROJECT AREA

RCCE expertise mainly covers the following areas in response to disease outbreaks: develop an evidence-based strategy to plan and coordinate government and other stakeholders, organize two-way communication with the communities to raise awareness, hold dialogues with the community leaders to accept public health measures and new vaccines, engage with media houses and monitor and respond to infodemics, and build capacity among health workers to strengthen case management and infection prevention and control.

OBJECTIVE(S)

RCCE consultant will support the Government of Kenya and UNICEF Kenya to harness the RCCE expertise to prevent and contain disease outbreaks.

MAJOR TASKS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED

1. National Planning and Coordination: Develop of national Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) Plan. Support the government in the facilitation of RCCE Technical Working Groups and coordination with other relevant working groups. Develop RCCE plan for vaccine introduction and multi-media campaigns in consultation with the MOH National Vaccine and Immunization Programme to ensure acceptance by the affected communities.

2. Data generation and usage: Review recent data (administrative data, KAP studies, social listening data and others), strategy documents and plans. Conduct interviews with key stakeholders to identify bottlenecks and resources. Design social science data generation to understand the behavioural barriers and drivers.

3. Messaging materials: Develop community-informed messaging matrix for the generation of key messages and IEC materials in consultation with the MOH including pre-testing and finalization with affected populations and key audiences

4. Capacity building: Map the capacity gaps and propose specific activities to build capacity among MOH personnel at national and county levels. This may include, but not limited to establishing a coordination mechanism to improve the communication among key stakeholders, build capacity in the County Health Management Team to proactively communicate to the communities, and preparing for crisis communication in case of Adverse Event Following Immunizations. Build capacity of health workers on the skills related to RCCE and inter-personal communication skills to instill confidence in the public health measures.

5. County Support: Support the County Health Management Team and County Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) to adapt and implement the National-level RCCE plan for the affected communities based on the available data and local context. This will require careful coordination with the CHMT, to ensure joint planning with other relevant actions such as case management, infection prevention and control, and vaccine supply management activities.

6. Risk Communication: Engage with national and community media and selected digital influencers to raise awareness about the public health risks associated with the disease in question. Build their capacity to highlight the importance of accurate and timely communication during the public health emergencies.

7. Community Engagement: Develop and sustain partnership with local leaders, community leaders, youth groups, professional associations (e.g. truck drivers) and religious leaders to create opportunity for dialogue to minimize the impact of outbreaks by ensuring adherence to the public health measures. Monitor the RCCE activities and provide supportive supervision to connected CHMT and community leaders in affected counties. Ensure equity considerations in prioritizing high-risk groups (e.g. elderly, frontline workers, people with comorbidities), geographical locations and gender equality.

8. Infodemic management: Monitor the infodemics (myths, misconceptions and misinformation) and trigger response action by the MOH and partners.

9. Knowledge management: Facilitate documentation and dissemination of good practices and lessons learned

Accountability to Affected populations: Support advocacy, networking and capacity building for improved understanding of and adoption of AAP principles and approaches for humanitarian programming and implementation at county level.

Responsibilities of the Consultant: Consultant will use own laptop and communication devices.

Responsibilities of UNICEF: If the assignment office based, UNICEF will facilitate access to the UNON compound and provide desk and chair.

Travel

The consultant may be requested to travel to complete assignments. Therefore, the consultants are requested to include two types of fees in the financial proposal:

1. Fee for remote service

2. Fee for services including travel (factoring travel costs related to travel insurance and visa).

At a later stage, when the PO is raised for an assignment including travel the office will use the Fee for services including travel and add the travel line for the estimated cost of tickets and DSA to be reimbursed on actuals.

ESTIMATED DURATION OF LTA

Duration of LTA is 2 years, with additional 1 year based on successful performance. The actual contract duration is expected to be between 3 months to 12 months based on the breadth of services and deliverables required.

Competencies:

• Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment and promote collaboration among key stakeholders in the face of pressures and tensions.

• Strong analytical skills to understand data, anticipate changing priorities and identify solution, openly sharing

knowledge, insights and effective practices.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English are required. Knowledge of local language will be considered an asset.

• Capacity development skills to augment the capacity of County Health Management Team in risk communication, Community engagement, social listening and crisis communication.

• Willing to travel frequently within Kenya as per UNICEF travel rules, regulations and procedures.

Academic qualifications:

Advanced university degree in Public Health, Behaviour Science, Social Science, Data Science, medicine and other relevant areas.

Work experiences:

• At least 8 years of professional work experience in RCCE, health communication, immunization, outbreak response, health system strengthening, county health management, and other relevant areas.

• Proven expertise in planning, coordinating, implementing and monitoring health communication/community outreach activities.

• Solid knowledge of immunology, vaccine delivery and key characteristics of the disease in question.

• Prior experience in working with the government is desired

• Previous work experience in the UN is an asset.

TECHNICAL EVALUATION CRITERIA (WITH WEIGHTS FOR EACH CRITERIA)

The selection of consultants for the LTA will be based on technical evaluation and financial offers in the ratio of 80:20. The criteria for technical evaluation will be as follows:

Criteria	Marks
	Min	Max
Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment and promote collaboration among key stakeholders in the face of pressures and tensions.	5	15
Strong analytical skills to understand data, anticipate changing priorities and identify solution, openly sharing knowledge, insights and effective practices.	5	15
Capacity development skills to augment the capacity of County Health Management Team in risk communication and crisis communication.	5	10
At least 8 years of professional work experience in RCCE, health communication, immunization, outbreak response, social and behaviour change system strengthening, county health management, and other relevant areas.	5	15
Proven expertise in planning, coordinating, implementing and monitoring health communication/community engagement activities.	5	10
Solid knowledge of behavioural and social determinants and key characteristics of the disease in question.	5	10
Prior experience in working with the government and/or the UN is an asset.	0	5
TOTAL TECHNICAL SCORE The minimum overall qualifying score is 50. Only those candidates who meet the overall qualifying marks of 50 and score the minimum cut-off in each of the above sub-criteria, including the interview, will be considered technically responsive, and their financials will be opened.		80
Financial Score The selection of the consultant will be on the basis of technical evaluation & financial offer in the ratio of 80:20.		20
TOTAL		100

 

FINANCIAL PROPOSAL:

Category / Services	Rate
Daily fee (Remote)
Daily fee (Onsite)
Communication and internet (per month)
Travel international (if applicable)
Travel local and logistics (car hire, fuel and others) - reimbursement
DSA (if applicable)
Both national and international applicants are welcome. The expected fee rage is $300-$450 per day.

 

The application to be submitted through the online portal should contain the following attachments:

1. A Cover letter explaining the motivation for applying and explaining how the qualifications and skillset of the candidate (to be uploaded online)

2. Curriculum Vitae (CV) (to be uploaded online)
3. Three Work Samples – This includes three previously written human-interest stories / reports / advertising materials / content created / proposal. It is critical to submit work samples as you will observe from the advertisement that marks have been assigned to these criteria for arriving at the most suitable candidate

iv. A financial proposal indicating professional fee as per the above template. Please do not forget to specify your name in the file while saving. (To be uploaded under other supporting documents).

v. Certificates of mandatory courses (Ethics and Integrity at UNICEF (2020 version); Prevention of Sexual Harassment and Abuse of Authority (2021 version); BSAFE & Sexual Exploitation Abuse (PSEA) (2021 version) consolidated in one single pdf.

 

Without all the above documents I, ii, iii, iv, your application will be considered incomplete and invalid and will not be considered further. Document v should be submitted within 1 week from the receipt of offer letter.

• Any attempt to unduly influence UNICEF’s selection process will lead to automatic disqualification of the applicant.
• Joint applications of two or more individuals are not accepted.
• Please note, UNICEF does not charge any fee during any stage of the process.
• Female candidates meeting the requirements are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion and encourages qualified candidates from all backgrounds including persons living with disabilities to apply.

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 committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Remarks:  

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

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.