TERMS OF REFERENCE
UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of 5.7 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to support Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.
Consultant - Addressing Violence Affecting, and Involving Children in UNRWA Installations and Services Communication Expert
BACKGROUND
Palestine refugee children, like children around the world, can be exposed to various forms of violence in the home, at school, in the community or because of the context in which they live. It is estimated that every year, at least a billion children globally are exposed to violence. Violence against children has far reaching impacts. Not only is it a violation of the child’s right to be protected from violence, but it can affect a child’s short and long-term health, well-being, developmental needs and levels of educational attainment. Violence against children can perpetuate cycles of vulnerability and inequality into adulthood and can also have long-term societal and economic costs.
Making sure that children access, and benefit from, the Agency services in a violence-free environment that ensures their protection and human development with dignity is at the core of the mandate of UNRWA and is an Agency-wide priority. Since 2016, UNRWA has strengthened its approach to this issue through an Agency-wide initiative to ‘Address Violence Affecting, and Involving Children in UNRWA Installations and Services,’ referred to as the ‘AVAC’ initiative. An AVAC Strategic Framework sets out a plan of action to eliminate all forms of interpersonal violence – physical, psychological and sexual violence - against children, in both the development and humanitarian contexts, as well as in the online space.
UNRWA has secured funding from the Government of Belgium to advance on the implementation of the AVAC initiative. The Consultant will support the Social and Behavioural Change (SBC) / Communication for Development strand of the project.
With a need for improved communication and engagement with all stakeholders, from children via parents to UNRWA staff and, finally, communities, in order to end violence against children, Component 1 of the Belgian-funded AVAC project is designed to employ communication for development (C4D) techniques to promote new social norms where children are better protected, cared for and respected. The component is specifically developed in relation to the cross-cutting strategy, “Communications” and Pillar 1: Prevention of the AVAC Strategic Framework and will be led by Education HQ (Amman) with the engagement of all Fields and relevant Programmes.
Central to C4D is the idea that communication is a dialogue, “a two-way process that enables community stakeholders to be involved in decisions relating to them, and enabling solutions and messages to be locally contextualized and culturally relevant.”[1] It is critical that C4D interventions work across all levels (individual, interpersonal, community and institutional) to promote a culture where violence is unacceptable and people feel empowered to change and act.
Led by the C4D consultant, the C4D AVAC plan should be developed through a participatory and capacity building process, bringing UNRWA HQ and Field AVAC Focal Points together through a series of virtual workshops to identify barriers to change, key audiences, key messages and communication channels (e.g. media, social media, community engagement and dialogue) to empower individuals and communities in addressing VAC. The C4D plan should act as a roadmap to guide UNRWA engagement over the coming five to seven years in promoting new norms where children are better protected, cared for and respected, in enabling environments where they can grow, play, learn and develop to their full potential. It should include a section on how the progress and impact of the campaign will be measured, including tools to assess change.
For that reason, UNRWA is seeking a specialized C4D consultant to work across and with all Fields, in the development of an Agency-wide AVAC C4D Plan, outlining evidence-based C4D interventions, which build on global best practices to transform the attitudes that normalize and accept VAC.
DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Reporting to the Director of Education, and the AVAC Coordinator within the Department of Education, and in close consultation with colleagues in the Departments of Education, Protection, External Relations and Communications Department, Department of Human Resources, Department of Internal Oversight Services, and Ethics, the consultant will be expected to provide technical support to strategic communications activities of the UNRWA Addressing Violence Against Children (AVAC) initiative and will be responsible for the following duties and responsibilities:
Consultations and Mapping with the UNRWA Field Offices:
· Map out the existing AVAC communication and awareness-raising efforts at the Field level and provide technical support to their implementation where relevant
· Conduct a desk review of available literature in this area both within UNRWA as well as externally using Inter-Agency resources.
· Conduct focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with select stakeholders and participant groups to develop a working hypothesis.
Develop a Communication Strategy and a C4D Plan:
· Work with the broader AVAC team to design a long-term sustainable, high quality, culturally-relevant communication strategy for social and behavioural change (at both the individual and collective level) in support of UNRWA’s AVAC initiative, including the identification of key audiences, messaging framework and proposed materials.
· Develop viable and sustainable C4D plan to achieve UNRWA goals in addressing violence against children in all its installations and services and outline processes for their implementation and institutionalization.
C4D Plan and Communication Strategy Implementation:
· Provide inputs to project proposals to leverage the necessary funding to deliver the materials and activities.
· Define indicators, in coordination with the M&E Consultant, to measure the change/impact of the proposed communications activities to be included in the broader M&E Framework for UNRWA AVAC initiative.
· Work with AVAC Focal Points and communication staff in UNRWA Field Offices to adapt and implement the AVAC social and behavioural change communication strategy for each context, including by facilitating an exchange of information on findings, lessons learned and best practices.
· Develop and disseminate child-friendly and gender-sensitive communication materials and outputs to support campaign related activities towards creating behavioural changes to end violence against children in UNRWA installations and services, for example a toolbox.
· Capitalize on key global outreach movements to end violence against children, particularly the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children “#SafetoLearn” campaign.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
· University degree from accredited education institute, preferably in the social/behavioural sciences, with an emphasis on strategic communications planning, social mobilization and participatory communication.
- A minimum of 10 years of professional work experience in the field of communications for development, social behaviour change and child protection, including first-hand experience in developing and implementing strategies in developing countries.
- At least two continuous years of relevant international experience outside the country of which the candidate is a national or holds citizenship, a passport or national identity card.
· Proven experience in drafting plans and strategies.
· Fluency in English is required, and a good knowledge of Arabic is an asset.
· A profound knowledge of the Middle East & North Africa region, Palestine refugees and UNRWA is required, including a culturally conversant attitude in social relationships of the region.
· Independent, well-organized, and strong initiative.
· Experience using media and communication technologies to mobilize social and behavioural change.
COMPETENCIES
UN Core Values of Professionalism, Integrity and Respect for Diversity and Core Competencies of Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results apply by default.
· Planning and Organizing
· Creating and Innovating
· Adapting and Responding to Change
· Learning and Searching
· Relating and Networking
CONDITIONS OF SERVICE
· The consultant will be working with UNRWA HQ.
· The consultancy will be deliverable based, and payments will be released on instalments upon satisfactory receipt of agreed deliverables according to the work plan.
· The duration of the consultancy is until 28 February 2022 (extendable according to performance and availability of funds).
· Expected start date is August 2021.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Applicants should submit an up-to-date CV/resume and cover letter that clearly indicates how their experience and qualifications meet the requirements of the consultancy and provide the names of at least two recent references via consultancy@unrwa.org, indicating the title of this consultancy “AVAC Communication for Development Consultant”** in the subject line of the message.
In addition to the CV/Resume, the consultant will be expected to submit:
· Two examples of previous work completed in this area (e.g., strategic documents, photos, edited work, videos, etc.)
The deadline for the submission of applications, references and supporting documentation is 21 July 2021. Late applications will not be considered, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Payments will be made as per deliverables and are estimated as follows:
Deliverable
Timeframe
Estimated Cost US$
1.
Consultations and Mapping with the UNRWA Field Offices Report
25 days
9000[2]
- Communication Strategy and a C4D Plan
25 Days
9000
3.
Support Strategy and C4D Plan Implementation including development of Communication Material
25 Days
9000
Estimated Total
27,000
General information
UNRWA personnel, including consultants, are expected to uphold the highest standards of integrity, neutrality and impartiality at all times. This includes respect for, and commitment to, human rights, diversity, and non-violent means of dealing with all kinds of conflict. Only persons who fully and unconditionally commit to these values should consider applying for UNRWA positions. UNRWA is a non-smoking work environment.
UNRWA is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from both women and men. UNRWA encourages applications from qualified women. Only those applicants shortlisted for interview will be contacted. UNRWA is a non-smoking environment.
7 July 2021
[1] UNICEF 2019, Technical Guidance, Communication for Development Programmes Addressing Violence Against Children, P.9
[2] This is estimated as desk work – should travel to the Field Offices be an option the consultant will be also paid TSA and travel costs.
How to apply:
Applicants should submit an up-to-date CV/resume and cover letter that clearly indicates how their experience and qualifications meet the requirements of the consultancy and provide the names of at least two recent references via consultancy@unrwa.org, indicating the title of this consultancy “AVAC Communication for Development Consultant”** in the subject line of the message.
In addition to the CV/Resume, the consultant will be expected to submit:
· Two examples of previous work completed in this area (e.g., strategic documents, photos, edited work, videos, etc.)
The deadline for the submission of applications, references and supporting documentation is 21 July 2021. Late applications will not be considered, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.