National Consultant: Communication for Development – Child Grant based in Jakarta, Indonesia

To develop the communication strategy, program campaign and IEC materials for the Child Grant in Aceh and Papua provinces

UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child. UNICEF has spent 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families. Defending children's rights throughout their lives requires a global presence, aiming to produce results and understand their effects. UNICEF believes all children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfill their potential – to the benefit of a better world.

BACKGROUND
Growing up in poverty impacts on children’s health and education, their wellbeing and future life chances. Studies from Indonesia show that poverty drives children to drop out of school early. Poverty is also the reason that many children in Indonesia are living without parental care, which is a known risk factor for violence against children.

A recent analysis of SUSENAS 2016 data by Indonesia’s Central Statistics Agency (BPS) and UNICEF shows that – like in most other countries – children are more likely to be poor than adults. In 2016, 13.3 percent of children compared to 10.9 percent of the total population were living below the national poverty line. Many children live in households just above the national poverty line. Overall, more than half of all children (57 percent) grow up on less than IDR 25,000 a day or twice the national poverty line. In addition, almost two thirds of children are deprived in at least two out of six dimensions of child well-being, including health, education, food and nutrition, housing, facilities, and child protection.

The Government of Indonesia is committed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, including Goal 1 to end extreme poverty and reduce poverty rates by half using national definitions, including child poverty and multidimensional poverty. Universal and unconditional child grant is one approach to reduce child poverty which central and local governments are currently exploring, including through Child Grant programs in Aceh and Papua provinces.

In Indonesia, depending on age group and benefit level, child grants could have a decisive impact on poverty and inequality. Microsimulation using 2015 National Social Economic Survey (SUSENAS) shows the potential and immediate impact of adding child grants to the income of eligible households. For example, an unconditional child grant of IDR 200,000 per month for all children under 18 in Indonesia would reduce national poverty rates from 11.2 percent to just 3.7 percent. Targeting children below school age (0-6 years) only would reduce poverty rates from 11.2 percent to 7.8 percent.

Child Grant in Aceh and Papua
Provincial and selected district governments in Papua and Aceh provinces, are planning the introduction of Child Grants in 2018. In Papua, technical support will be provided by the Government of Australia (DFAT) through MAHKOTA and KOMPAK in partnership with UNICEF, while in Aceh technical support will be provided by UNICEF.
Papua
Papua has the highest rate of child poverty rate in Indonesia, with 35% of children living below the poverty line. The provincial government of Papua is planning to adopt and finance cash transfer programs in selected districts and have requested the Government of Australia (DFAT) and UNICEF to support design, implementation and scale-up across the province. UNICEF and DFAT (through KOMPAK (decentralized basic services and village governance) and MAHKOTA (social protection)) will support the local government to implement, monitor and evaluate the program of Child Grants in three remote districts (Paniai, Lanny Jaya and Asmat). UNICEF will lead the impact assessment and communication strategy of the program in Papua.

The Child Grants will benefit all Papuan children aged 0-3 years inclusive. The benefit level will be at least IDR 200,000 (around USD 14) per child per month, recognizing the high cost of living in Papua. The child grant is expected to begin to be rolled out in three districts starting in the second quarter of 2018, with plans for full provincial coverage by 2021.

Aceh
The Child Grants will also be introduced in the province of Aceh, whereby the provincial government of Aceh will implement and finance cash transfer programs in selected districts in the province. The program in Aceh will be implemented by the local government with support from UNICEF to design and evaluate its impacts.

The program in Aceh aims to establish proof of concept for the coordinated application of interventions to address child and maternal malnutrition across three sectors in which UNICEF has substantial ground-level experience in Indonesia – Social protection (Child Grants); Child Protection (positive parenting); and Child Survival (Health, Nutrition and WASH) at village, district and province level. Although this assignment focuses on the impacts of the grants, the impacts to be observed will also include those contributed by the coordinated cross-sectoral interventions.

The age group of the beneficiaries in Aceh and benefit level will differ from Papua, and the exact age group and benefit level is still to be determined. Coverage may include all children aged 0-6 years, with benefits of around IDR 200,000 (around USD 14) per person per month.

Despite of the Governor’s strong interest and support, there’s no formal funding commitment for child grants from the provincial government. However, one of the districts, Sabang District, is ready to start the program in the second quarter of 2018 using district’s funding. Sabang already has an education grant program, providing IDR 2 million (USD 150) per year for every student since 2013, and they plan to transfer cash to all children age 0-6 starting in May 2018. Coverage in other districts in Aceh is expected to kick off later in 2018 or early 2019.

Summaries of Papua and Aceh child grant

PAPUA
Starting date
April 2018 in all sub-districts in three districts: Paniai, Asmat and Lanny Jaya.
Type of Child Grants
Unconditional, almost universal (covering only indigenous Papuan children)
Target beneficiaries
All Papuan children (Note: approx. 90% of population in the first locations is classified as indigenous Papuan).
Age group: 0-3 years inclusive
Transfer mechanism
Cash to be transferred to a bank account in the name of the child and withdrawn by the child’s main caregiver (typically female).
Locations
Starts with 3 districts: Lanny Jaya, Asmat and Paniai districts in 2018.
Plans for expansion to more districts in 2019 – 2021 (see Program Design Document).
Source of child grants funding
Local government (Special Autonomy Funds/Otsus).
Note: Otsus in Papua can only be used for programs that benefit indigenous Papuan only.
Transfer value
IDR 200,000 (USD 14)/month/child.
Duration of UNICEF Support
3 years: 2018 – 2020
“Cash Plus” Component
Main focus will be on Unconditional Child Grants, but the program will also be linked to intervention to increase birth registration.
Implementing Agencies
Provincial and District Governments. Provincial Government to provide general oversight and support. Field implementation to be led by District governments. Technical supports will also be provided by DFAT (through KOMPAK and MAHKOTA) and UNICEF.

ACEH
Starting date
May 2018 in Sabang District. Roll out in other districts is expected by Q4 2018.
Type of Child Grants
Unconditional, universal.
Target beneficiaries
All children.
Age group: 0-6 years inclusive
Transfer mechanism
Cash to be transferred to a bank account in the name of the child and withdrawn by the child’s main caregiver (typically female).
Locations
To be confirmed by Province government.
To date only 1 district (Sabang district) has made commitment to fund UCG. Sabang also have been funding Education Grant supporting all school-aged children in the district since 2013.
Source of child grants funding
Local government (Special Autonomy Funds/Otsus)
Transfer value
To be confirmed. Initial discussion with Province Government suggests IDR 200,000 (USD 14)/month/child. However, Sabang district plans to start with IDR 150,000 (USD 11.5)/month/child.
Duration of UNICEF Support
3 years: 2018 – 2020
 “Cash Plus” Component
Unconditional “Universal Child Grant” plus child survival (health, nutrition, WASH) and child protection (positive parenting) bundled intervention.
Implementing Agencies
To be confirmed. Provincial Government has not made commitment yet.
District of Sabang is ready and will start in Q1 2018.

For this program to be successful, a contextual communication strategy and good quality Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials must be produced and used for the program campaigns. The communication strategy, mass campaigns, and IEC materials will enable the program to effectively reach out the intended beneficiaries, inform the beneficiaries of the program procedures, and promote behavior change among the beneficiaries over a period of time.

Separate communication strategy, campaign and IEC materials will be developed for each Aceh and Papua provinces taking into account the different contexts in both provinces. While the development of the communication strategies and IEC materials are funded by UNICEF, the local governments will support the printing and distribution of the IEC materials at the community level. Since the preparation already started in Papua there will be some communication work needed and initiated by KOMPAK prior to the start of this consultancy.

Given this background, there is a need to hire a consultant to develop the communication strategy, program campaign and IEC materials for the Child Grant in Aceh and Papua provinces. While the communication strategy must be ready by February 2018, the program campaign (including the production and distribution of respective IEC materials) will be split into two stages:

Stage 1: Program Socialization (to start in March 2018).
This stage is about socializing or introducing child grants to beneficiaries. This includes explaining the purpose and rationale of the program to the beneficiaries, and explaining the procedures and requirements of the program – which may include:
• Procedures and requirements to access the cash
• Eligibility criteria
• Amount of transfer
• Grievance and complaint-handling mechanism
• Rationale of the support

Stage 2: Behavior Change campaign (to start in June 2018)
This stage will focus on promoting and influencing behavior changes among the beneficiaries of the cash assistance. Although the cash transfer is unconditional, meaning beneficiaries will not be forced to use the cash for certain purposes, it is important to provide support – through the campaign and IEC materials - to build beneficiaries knowledge on the best ways they can use the money.

PURPOSE OF ASSIGNMENT and SCOPE OF WORK
OBJECTIVES:
UNICEF is seeking a Communication for Development (C4D) consultant to:
1. Develop communication strategy for the Child Grant program in Aceh and Papua provinces. The communication strategy shall include outreach strategy, stakeholder mapping and analysis, campaign strategy and messages, communication channel, and IEC material.
2. Develop IEC materials for the Child Grant in Aceh and Papua
3. Develop training package for local government of Aceh and Papua to effectively use and disseminate IEC materials to targeted beneficiaries.
4. Technical support to the local government counterparts in Aceh and Papua in implementing the program socialization and behavior change campaigns.

SCOPE OF WORK:
• Organize and facilitate consultations with key stakeholders (i.e. local governments of Papua and Aceh, UNICEF, DFAT, Mahkota, KOMPAK) to develop communication strategy, key campaign messages and ideas for IEC materials.
• Write the communication strategy and key campaign messages for both the socialization and behavior change campaigns.
• Design IEC materials targeting beneficiaries of the program.
• Pilot test IEC materials in selected locations in Papua and Aceh.
• Develop training package for local government counterparts in Aceh and Papua on soft skills how to use IEC materials to promote behavior change from using the cash assistance.
• Organize and facilitate trainings on IEC materials for local government counterparts in Aceh and Papua in coordination with UNICEF FOs and DFAT/MAHKOTA/KOMPAK (in Papua).
• Provide technical advice, coaching and mentoring to local government counterparts in implementing the program campaigns.
• Review and revise the communication strategy and IEC materials for the scale up in 2019.
• Closely working with UNICEF Social Policy Cluster and C4D Specialist in Jakarta Office and with UNICEF Social Policy teams in Aceh and Papua Offices.
• Coordinate with local government counterparts and key stakeholders in both provinces, including DFAT, Mahkota and KOMPAK teams in Papua.
• When/if needed, the consultant can work with his/her team to deliver the tasks outlined above.

IDEAL PROFILE OF THE CONSULTANT:
• At least 5 years’ experience in Behavior Change Communication/Communications for Development
• Experience in designing mass Communication Strategy including communication messages
• Experience in designing Information, Education and Communications materials
• Excellent skills in communicating with children and young people
• Knowledge of gender issues and gender-transformative programming
• Training facilitation experience
• Familiar with and experienced in adolescent/ child-centered design of programmes for organizations (the UN or other)
• Experience working in diverse regions of Indonesia
• Fluency in Bahasa Indonesia and proficiency in English
• Excellent report writing skills in English (a sample of report written by the candidate should be submitted with the application)

Disclaimer: The screening of your application will be conducted based on the information in your profile. Before applying, we strongly suggest that you review your profile to ensure accuracy and completeness.