International individual consultant on conducting writing course (based in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia)

We are looking for international individual consultants based in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to conduct training on reports writing

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.

Background and purpose of the Assignment

UNICEF is the agency of the United Nations mandated to advocate for the survival, development, protection and participation of children's rights. Guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF Mongolia promotes children's rights as the standard to be followed at all levels of the society.

 To provide input to organization-wide reporting on results for children and women, meet donor reporting obligations, and contribute to organizational learning, UNICEF Mongolia prepares annual report and key programme documents which are analytical, focused, concise and reader-friendly for the general public and donors for visibility, effectiveness and value for money. This communication needs to be clearly formulated and well written. In this context, the capacity of staff to prepare and present well-structured and linguistically sound proposals and reports, especially in the English language, becomes increasingly important.

 As part of its efforts to build up national capacity, UNICEF Mongolia has identified writing reports and proposals as an area for development for many locally recruited staff, and wishes to engage a consultant to support selected key staff responsible for writing in the building up of this competence.

 The consultancy will provide overall writing guidance, in the English language, by advising staff in the correct use of language, in the structuring of reports and proposals, and in the utilisation of styles and methods for effective communication and reporting.

 Purpose

 The consultant will provide support and advice to selected national staff (initially a group of 10 staff) mainly in the programmes area, to increase competence in writing reports and proposals in the English language. Focus will be on those key national staff that are responsible for drafting reports, texts, proposals, and stories in UNICEF's various programmatic areas. Through this process it is expected that staff will be better equipped, and be more productive in their current roles through higher quality writing, and better messaging.

Assignment Tasks

The task of the consultant is to work, in group and on one-to-one basis, for an extended time (6 months) with a selected group of professional officers to improve their skills in writing reports and proposals in the English language. Areas to address include;

 Different types of reports, recognizing the audience's needs

• Creating outlines, writing a rough draft
• Applying a clear and logical structure
• Meeting the objectives of each section

Methodology:

The consultant is expected to work part-time by spending a few days per month to deliver group training and individual learning sessions to selected staff. Besides these face-to-face sessions, consultant would be expected to support participating staff remotely by reviewing real-life reports or proposals that they have written, and give them advice on how to improve. This can be expected to take another two days per month of the consultant's time, resulting in a total of approximately 4 days per month. The total duration of the programme would be 6 months, resulting in a total workload of approximately 25 days. A possibility to continue afterwards either with the same staff, or a second cohort of participants, exists. Specific details of the methodology will be discussed with the consultant, but the plan needs to sufficiently address the topics mentioned above.

 Outputs:

• Projected work plan for the assignment
• Regular reports/updates on the progress
• Final report documenting the process, identifying successes and challenges experienced

Expected Deliverables:

Detailed work plan to be developed in consultation with supervisor.

Exact deliverables and due dates to be developed with consultant, based on the detailed work plan.

 a) 30 % of total Contract value after completion of 2 months of the assignment

b) 30 % of total Contract value after completion of 4 months of the assignment

c) 40 % of total Contract value after completion of entire assignment

 Estimated Duration of Contract (Dates and period):

 25 days spread out over 6 months; 2 days face-to-face training and coaching and 2 days of remote proofreading and guidance per month. Assignment start is negotiable but ideally would be from around 20 October 2017 to 31 March 2018

Payment of fee to the consultant under this consultancy contract is subject to the consultant's full and complete performance of his or her obligations under his/her contract with regard to such payment to UNICEF's satisfaction, and UNICEF's certification to that effect.

Definition of supervision arrangements and type of support provided by UNICEF

 Contract Supervisor: The consultant will report to the Communication Specialist and work in cooperation with the UNICEF Mongolia Management Team members.

 Face-to-face meetings and consultations and email communication as needed for feedback, updates and guidance

 Consultants performance will be evaluated against the following criteria: timeliness, quality of discussions and revisions, quality of facilitation, and relevance/feasibility of recommendations for UNICEF Mongolia.

 Consultant will be expected to work from home, except for the days spent at UNICEF offices with staff, for which UNICEF will provide meeting space as required.

1. Nature of Penalty Clause to be Stipulated in Contract:

 Unsatisfactory performance: In case of unsatisfactory performance the contract will be terminated by notification letter sent 5 days prior to the termination date.

 Evaluation Criteria

 A two stage procedure shall be utilized in evaluating proposals, with evaluation of the technical proposal being completed prior to any price proposal being compared.

 Applications shall therefore be submitted in two separate emails containing the following required documentation:

 a. Technical Proposal: Containing a cover letter, updated CV and Personal History Form (P11), and copies of 2 relevant performance evaluations / assessments of similar work performed earlier by the consultant. Detailed proposed workplan/implementation process during the course of 6 months. No financial information should be contained in the technical proposal.

 b. Financial Proposal: Lump-sum offer (in USD or MNT) with the cost breakdown: Consultancy fee and any other relevant costs.

 The consultancy would be best suited for applicants residing in Ulaanbaatar or its vicinity, hence no travel is projected.

 For evaluation and selection method, the Cumulative Analysis Method (weight combined score method) shall be used for this recruitment:

 a) Technical Qualification (max. 100 points) weight 70 %

Completeness and quality of response: technical proposal, cover letter, CV, P11, relevant evaluations (10 points)

Qualifications: degrees, training, skills, knowledge (20 points)

Experience: range and depth of experience with similar projects (30 points)

Concept note: proposed implementation process (40 points)

 b) Financial Proposal (max. 100 points) weight 30 %

 The maximum number of points shall be allotted to the lowest Financial Proposal that is opened /evaluated and compared among those technical qualified candidates who have attained a minimum 70 points score in the technical evaluation. Other Financial Proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.

 The Contract shall be awarded to candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores, subject to the satisfactory result of the verification interview.

 Qualifications of Successful Candidate

• Advanced University degree in the communications area, or other relevant education / training in communication, especially written communication
• 5 or more years of relevant work experience in communication, report writing, proposal writing and / or other related fields 
• Experience in teaching English as a foreign language, or carrying out training and facilitating workshops on English language communication, and working with individuals as students / clients
• Experience in conducting similar assignments
• Strong knowledge and understanding of the international development agenda and related reporting styles and requirements
• Communication, presentation and facilitation skills
• Knowledge of and experience from Southeast Asian countries and cultures, especially Mongolia
• Full fluency in English

Competencies of Successful Candidate

 To view our competency framework, please click here. 

Please indicate your ability, availability and daily/monthly rate (in US$/MNT) to undertake the terms of reference above . Applications submitted without a daily/monthly rate will not be considered.  Please ATTACH TECHNICAL and FINANCIAL PROPOSALS SEPARATELY in your online application.

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.