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TERMS OF REFERENCE

Background and Rationale

UNICEF is operating in an increasingly dynamic and complex environment, requiring frequent strategic transitions to remain relevant and effective. These transitions—driven by technological advancements, evolving mandates, and external shifts—bring opportunities but also generate uncertainty and resistance.

While leadership often focuses on senior management, the role of Country Office Staff Associations (COSA) and their elected representatives is critical in ensuring smooth, equitable, and successful implementation of change. As direct representatives of the workforce, COSA Chairs and ExCom members are well placed to voice staff concerns and foster engagement. Yet, their capacity to lead, communicate, and mediate during strategic transitions is often underdeveloped, resulting in resistance and mistrust.

To address this gap, the Regional UNICEF Staff Association (RUSA), jointly with the Regional Chief of People and Culture, will host a targeted leadership and change management training during its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls, 10–14 November 2025, as part of the broader Future Focus Initiative (FFI) and aligned with the Global and ESAR Staff Support Strategy.

PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The consultancy will design and facilitate a 1.5-day interactive workshop to strengthen the leadership capacity of COSA Chairs in navigating organizational changes.

The training will equip participants with practical and transferable skills and tools to:

• Lead with confidence during transitions.
• Communicate effectively and address staff concerns constructively.
• Mediate conflicts and foster psychological safety.
• Influence decision-making to better represent staff interests.
• Build resilience and sustain peer-to-peer learning beyond the training.
• Build transferable skills and toolkit to enable COSA Chairs to conduct CO training sessions to current and future COSA members (TOT format)

Objectives

By the end of the training, participants will be able to:

1. Demonstrate increased knowledge of change management.
2. Apply effective communication and negotiation skills to real-life change scenarios.
3. Use at least three practical tools (e.g., communication plan, staff feedback template, mediation framework) in their country office contexts.
4. Strengthening collaboration across COSAs through a regional peer learning community.
5. Have a TOT toolkit to transfer the knowledge learnt also to their COSA members in their country offices.
6. Report increased confidence (target: ≥75% of participants) in leading staff during organizational transitions.

Scope of Work / Tasks

The consultant/firm will undertake the following:

Phase 1 – Preparation (October 2025)

• Conduct virtual consultations with RUSA ExCom, Regional HR Chief, and selected COSA Chairs to refine priorities.
• Submit a training agenda and methodology tailored to UNICEF’s organizational context.

Phase 2 – Delivery (10–11 November 2025)

• Facilitate a 1.5-day in-person workshop for ~22 COSA Chairs.
• Cover key thematic areas:
  • Understanding change dynamics
  • Strategic communication and feedback
  • Negotiation, advocacy, and conflict resolution
  • Building resilience and psychological safety
  • Influencing and advocacy in strategic transitions
• Apply adult learning methods (simulations, role-plays, group discussions, case study, peer coaching).
• Provide participants with a TOT and toolkit of ready-to-use templates (e.g., presentation, communication plan, conflict mediation guide)
• Building transferable skills to enable COSA Chairs to conduct CO training sessions to current and future COSA members (TOT format) in their country offices.

Phase 3 – Reporting (by 21 November 2025)

• Prepare a comprehensive report summarizing:
  • Training proceedings and key outcomes.
  • Participant feedback and lessons learned.
  • Strategic recommendations and next steps for sustaining capacity (e.g., peer learning community, refresher sessions).

Sustainability and Follow-up

To ensure lasting impact, the consultant should propose:

• Simple mechanisms for continued peer exchange (e.g., WhatsApp/Teams group, quarterly check-ins).
• Recommendations for integrating change management into annual COSA planning.
• Options for refresher sessions or training-of-trainers approaches.

Deliverables and Payment Schedule

Deliverable	Deadline	% Payment
Draft agenda and summary of stakeholder consultations	31 Oct 2025	10%
Training facilitated successfully	10–11 Nov 2025	60%
Toolkit of practical change management resources delivered	11 Nov 2025	10%
Final report with recommendations and toolkit annexes	21 Nov 2025	20%

 Monitoring and Evaluation

 Training effectiveness will be measured through:

• Pre- and post-training self-assessments of participants’ confidence in managing change.
• End-of-session evaluations of relevance, utility, and facilitation quality.
• Management feedback on the contribution of trained COSAs to ongoing transitions.

Minimum requirements:

Qualifications and Experience

• Advanced university degree in Social Sciences, HR Management, Organizational Development, Education, or related field.
• Minimum 5 years of experience facilitating leadership and change management workshops, preferably in international organizations.
• Demonstrated expertise in organizational change, staff engagement, and adult learning methodologies.
• Prior experience with UNICEF or other UN agencies is highly desirable.
• Strong facilitation, communication, and analytical reporting skills in English (French desirable).

For every Child, you demonstrate...

• 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 promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

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.

Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal (Talent Management System):

• An up-to-date curriculum vitae (CV)
• A detailed technical proposal
• A separate financial proposal

Please ensure that the technical and financial proposals are submitted as distinct documents.

Interested applicants must clearly indicate:

• Their availability to undertake the assignment
• Their daily or monthly rate
• Their capacity to fulfill the Terms of Reference

Applications submitted without a fee/ rate will not be considered.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.