Consultancy: Voices of Youth- Blogging Intership Trainer

UNICEF Cambodia Country Office is looking for a consultant on Voices of Youth- Blogging Internship Trainer. If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you.

For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

Purpose of the Assignment:

To train 10 Cambodian youth (ages 14- 24 years old) in blogging through a 10-week VOY training initiative. Starting date of the training is 21 August 2017. Specifically, the training aims to provide Cambodian youth with the writing skills and blogging techniques so that they can effectively express themselves and make valuable contributions to public discussions around areas related to child rights and issues concerning adolescents and youth. This initiative also aims to equip adolescents and youth with the knowledge necessary to effectively communicate with a wider audience on various topics of public concern. 

Assignment Tasks:

The following tasks will be performed by the consultant:

1. Develop a teaching plan and curriculum based on (but not necessarily limited to) key discussion topics prepared by UNICEF as per below. This curriculum will guide weekly face-to-face group meeting discussions:

1. Blogging platforms-  popular platforms and finding the platform that suits your needs
2. Preparing a blog post: deciding a topic of concern to write about, conducting research, deciding on an audience, crafting an outline of the blog post
3. The main elements of a blog post: the title, the image, the text
4. Writing styles- what are the various blogging writing approaches and styles, and finding and diversifying your style
5. Responsibly sourcing an image and image credits: shooting your own image vs. sourcing it from the internet (which images can you and can’t you use?)
6. Teamwork: writing a blog post as a team
7. Following up on your published blogs: Measuring impact, monitoring metrics
8. Engaging with your readers: what to expect and how to react
9. Promoting your articles- using social media
10. Staying safe in the cyber safe: safe use of the internet

As part of this task, in discussion with UNICEF, the consultant will also develop weekly assignments for the VOY trainees (writing topics)

2. With UNICEF focal point, review intern candidate applications and evaluate according to set criteria to select trainees.

3. Set realistic internship goals with each participant, according to her/his individual needs and level of blogging/writing. 

4. Conduct weekly face-to-face group sessions with the trainees at UNICEF office for 10 weeks: Each session to last about 2 hours to cover topics based on the curriculum to be developed under Task #1 and a new blog assignment will be discussed with the trainees.

5. Provide individual face-to-face guidance to interns as necessary, answer questions, give constructive feedback, and engage in discussions with individual students on the day of the group sessions.

6. Review weekly blog submissions by the trainees (on google doc, home-based), provide constructive feedback and detailed comments and suggestions to each trainee for improvement with clear explanations, and suggestions for edits. Receive revised versions from the trainees, and help them finalize for publishing.

7. Conduct regular review of the project progress with UNICEF focal point – and trainee performance.

Expected Deliverables:

Deliverable 1:

Teaching plan and curriculum with clear set of reference materials, discussion elements per topic, and develop assignments for the trainees

[16 August, 8 days including revisions]

Deliverable 2:

Deliver 10 face-to-face group sessions at UNICEF Phnom Penh office (one 2-hour session per week) based on the approved curriculum; and provide additional individual face-to-face consultations and guidance to the trainees. Allocate half a day for this deliverable every week.

[21 August- 10 October, 5 days (0.5 day per session x 10)]

Deliverable 3:

All blog assignments by the trainees are reviewed and guidance provided in a timely manner.  

Total of 10 blogs completed each week (1 per intern) and ready for publishing (ensure 10 blogs are published each week, for 10 weeks).

[21 August- 31 October, 30 days (3 days per week x 10 weeks)]

Qualifications of Successful Candidate:

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor Degree, ideally in social science, journalism, marketing or communication.
• 2+ years’ experience in active blogging.
• Experience in implementing similar blogging training activities is a plus.

Knowledge and Skills

• Adept at using a wide range of social media platforms including Facebook and Blogger or other blogging platforms. 
• Proven knowledge of blogging best practices including various platforms, writing styles, audience engagement, etc. 
• Knowledge of blogging monitoring metrics.
• Proven skills in communication, networking, and ability to relate to a young audience.
• Strong awareness of social media communication behaviors in Cambodia.
• Proven copy editing skills.  
• Proven ability to write engaging blog pieces in English and in Khmer.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities within specified timeframes.

Languages

Must have excellent command of English and Khmer, both spoken and written.

Competencies

• Communication
• Working with people
• Teamwork
• Drive for results

To view our competency framework, please click here. 

To review details term of reference, please click  VOY consultant TOR Final.pdf

Please indicate your ability, availability and daily/monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above (including travel and daily subsistence allowance, if applicable).  Applications submitted without a daily/monthly rate will not be considered.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.