Consultancy: Junior Reporting & Communications Consultant: Innovative project for equitable energy for schools and health centers, Office of innovation, 70 days (50% part time)

UNICEF’s Office of Innovation seeks a creative communications consultant to provide support on the internal and external communication on the recently launched “ProjectAlpha”, a project of integrating humanitarian services through solar-powered schools and health centers using sustainable energy investment in conflict affected areas.

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. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, innovate...

The Office of Innovation is a creative, interactive, and agile team in UNICEF. We sit at a unique intersection, where an organization that works on huge global issues meets the start-up thinking, the technology, and the partners that turn this energy into scalable solutions.

UNICEF's Office of Innovation creates opportunities for the world's children by focusing on where new markets can meet their vital needs. We do this by:

• Connecting youth communities (or more broadly -- anyone disconnected or under-served) to decision-makers, and to each other, to deliver informed, relevant and sustained programmes that build better, stronger futures for children.
• Provoking change for children through an entrepreneurial approach -- in a traditionally risk averse field -- to harness rapidly moving innovations and apply them to serve the needs of all children.
• Creating new models of partnership that leverage core business values across the public, private and academic sectors in order to deliver fast, and lasting results for children.

The Office of Innovation specifically looks to form partnerships around frontier technologies (like drones and UAVs, blockchain, 21st century skills, urban technologies, new banking tools, wearables and sensors, or 3D-Printing) that exist at the intersection of $100 billion business markets and 1 billion person needs – and to identify how they can grow and scale profitably and inclusively. 

Our team

We're an interdisciplinary team around the world tasked with identifying, prototyping, and scaling new technologies and practices. With our partners, we focus on convening and collaborating on new and different solutions, low- and high-tech, by:

• Looking at the 2–5-year horizon to evaluate emerging and trending technologies and to see how UNICEF can work with the private sector on doing better business while improving essential services for children.
• Investing in early-stage solutions that show great potential to positively impact children in the 02-year future including the Venture Fund that invests in open-source technology solutions from start-ups based in UNICEF’s programme countries.
• Identifying proven solutions that can be implemented at national scale in multiple countries – taking the ideas that help thousands in one country, bringing them to dozens of countries across multiple sectors, and impacting the lives of millions of children.”

Advertising summary

UNICEF’s Office of Innovation seeks a creative communications consultant to provide support on the internal and external communication on the recently launched “ProjectAlpha”, a project of integrating humanitarian services through solar-powered schools and health centers using sustainable energy investment in conflict affected areas.

Project Alpha explores an innovative approach to energy equity. Our mission is to globally mobilize USD 100M to provide sustainable and reliable solar energy to children, ensuring that they have the power to learn and live, even under the most challenging circumstances. The endeavor is not just another solar technology project, it represents a commitment to improve the lives of 100 million children and youth through energy provision and access.

At the heart of ProjectAlpha lies agile and adaptable core modules that provide the blueprint for sustainable change through valuable impact. The modules leverage frontier technologies, innovative financial models, and youth skill development to address core aspects of the problem. The modules outlined below summarize how we intend to redefine the way energy is generated, distributed, and accessed.

How can you make a difference? 

OOI is looking for a communications consultant that will assist in bringing ProjectAlpha to life. The consultant will work closely with the project manager and the rest of the team to produce inspiring communication materials such as articles and social media content to communicate Project Alpha’s development and implementation across UNICEF teams, project partners, stakeholders and other interested parties. You will possess excellent communication and writing skills and the experience to in an inspiring and engaging way communicate on the progress of ProjectAlpha to different target groups.

Your main responsibilities will be:

For Project Alpha to be implemented successfully buy-in from the projects many different partners and stakeholder is crucial, where engaging communications materials will need to be and frequently developed and published across several of UNICEF's channels and events. While UNICEFs Office of Innovation has a communications team, the amount of material needed for ProjectAlpha will require a consultant solely focused on this project. The communications consultant will be a core part of the ProjectAlpha team, and the scope of work will focus on two main areas:  communications and project management of communications related aspects, together with the project manager and ProjectAlpha team.

The responsibilities will be as follows:

Communication

• Develop a comms plan for Project Alpha. The consultant will research, write, edit and produce high-quality written content including advocacy and key messages, human interest stories, website articles, fact sheets, and source multimedia content i.e photos and videos for events and other awareness-raising activities for communication and advocacy.
• Ensure accuracy, consistency, and clarity on the materials, including fact-checking proofreading and following review and approval guidelines.
• The consultant will ensure all content and published material adheres to UNICEF’s branding standards and editorial guidelines, and child safeguarding principles. The consultant will also ensure that communication strategies and materials are inclusive and accessible to diverse audiences, including those with disabilities.
• The consultant will act as communication lead to support implementation of the solution as an Office of Innovation special project, destined for the Humanitarian Innovations Portfolio.
• Collaborate with selected country offices, UNICEF OOI and UNICEF HQ to procure compelling narratives and quotes that showcase the work and results of Project Alpha.
• Maximize the efficient and effective use of resources, reducing potential overlap between the many partners of the project and leveraging synergies.
• Initiate and keep updated a digital space for internal communication with colleagues, for engaging updates and information of Project Alphas progress.

Development of reporting and communications-related outputs

• Support the communications aspect of the project planning, implementation and reporting. Including designing, adapting and implementing the communications plan for Project Alpha, timeframe for publication, identifying relevant events for communication and balancing the use of UNICEFs different communications channels, in line with UNICEF and OOIs communications guidelines.
• Support the project manager with narrative reporting to the donors per requests from country office management and global project team requests.
• Participating in regular meetings of the project team as required by the project manager.
• Establish and maintain good working relationships with the project team.
• Coordinate with relevant UNICEF sections, such as OOIs communications team, to ensure smooth implementation of the project, and the use of expertise from different sections where needed.

Please find attached the full ToR with related information  ToR Project Alpha - Communications Consultant 2024-03-1499.pdf

The UNICEF Office of Innovation will provide the existing supplementary PDF resources and material that provide an additional layer of knowledge to Project Alpha, as required to facilitate this process.

The communications consultant will report to the Humanitarian Portfolio Manager, at the Office of Innovation, UNICEF.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

• A bachelor's degree in communications, journalism, human rights, development studies or other relevant field. 
• A minimum of 2 years of relevant experience in conducting communicative material, including working for different target groups such as donors, partners, and internal audiences.
• Knowledge of social and environmental sustainability for children and youths, particularly in fragile and conflict affected regions, is beneficial.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills for effectively building and maintaining positive teamwork.
• Excellent ability to work independently and deliver results on tight deadlines, including coordinating agreed upon communication strategic plan.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset, as is experience of working with UNICEF or UN. 
• Fluency and excellent writing skills in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

 Travel:

• The consultant is not expected to travel.

Payment details and further considerations

• Payment of professional fees will be based on the submission of agreed deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant. 

How to apply:

• Interest applicant is required to submit a financial proposal with all-inclusive fee.  Please see the financial proposal template.  Consultancy Financial Offer template.docx
• Financial proposal must include travel costs (economy class) and daily subsistence allowance, if travel is required as per TOR and any other estimated costs: visa, travel/health insurance
• Applications without a financial proposal will not be considered.

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

 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/individual contractors 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:  

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. 

Should you have any questions, please contact us at swe-ooi-recruitments@unicef.org