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TOR - Consultancy: to support implementation of the joint UNFPA and UNICEF Programme “Empowering women and girls to realize their sexual reproductive health and rights in South Africa” (For South African Nationals ONLY)

Pretoria

  • Organization: UNICEF - United Nations Children’s Fund
  • Location: Pretoria
  • Grade: Consultancy - Consultant - Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Public Health and Health Service
    • Women's Empowerment and Gender Mainstreaming
    • Children's rights (health and protection)
    • Sexual and reproductive health
    • Project and Programme Management
  • Closing Date: Closed

The Joint Programme will work closely with the Government of South Africa and other partners in three selected districts, Nelson Mandela Metro and Alfred Nzo districts in the Eastern Cape Province and the uThukela district in the KwaZulu-Natal Province.

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For every child, Prevention

Background and Justification 

South Africa has a significant HIV epidemic, with 7.97 million people living with HIV in the country.  The estimated overall HIV prevalence rate is approximately 13.5% among the South African population. While prevalence among adults aged 15-49 years is 20.6%, with significant differences between females (26.3%) and males (14.8%).  While there has been a notable decline in infections since 2010, new infections remain critically high at an estimated 1,200 weekly. HIV prevalence among pregnant women has hovered around 30 per cent since 2004.

The Government of South Africa has taken important steps toward addressing these challenges.  Despite the existence of strong policies and strategies at the national level, implementation of programmes and initiatives on the ground remains a challenge, especially in most disadvantaged areas targeting hard-to-reach AGYW. These challenges are limited to institutional and human resource capacity; weak coordination of initiatives implemented by various government departments and partners.  Others are poor accessibility (based on cultural and traditional beliefs) and availability of quality sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) prevention and response services; and lack of reliable, disaggregated data for programme coordination, monitoring and evaluation.

About the UNFPA-UNICEF joint programme 

The UNFPA-UNICEF joint programme (Joint Programme)“Empowering women and girls to realise their sexual reproductive health and rights in South Africa” aims to improve the SRHR and reduce Gender-Based Violence (GBV) among vulnerable AGYW (ages 15-24) in the three focus districts. This will be achieved by the combination of three strategic pillars working synergistically. Data-driven quality sexual and reproductive health services, including HIV and SGBV information, for AGYW (ages 15 - 24) will be enhanced in the three districts. The delivery of a multi-sectoral package of quality SRHR, HIV and GBV prevention and response services will be strengthened. Evidence-based policy, planning and multi-sectoral coordination at the national and sub-national level will be strengthened for scaling up quality SRH, HIV and SGBV services for AGYW, and preventing GBV. The results and lessons learned generated in the three districts will provide evidence for replication and scale-up across other districts and provinces.

The Joint Programme will work closely with the Government of South Africa and other partners in three selected districts, Nelson Mandela Metro and Alfred Nzo districts in the Eastern Cape Province and the uThukela district in the KwaZulu-Natal Province. The project districts were chosen because they have a high burden of disease, show poor progress on selected SRHR indicators, high teenage pregnancy and HIV prevalence and incidence. In addition, both UNICEF and UNFPA have already established effective partnerships through ongoing programmes.

In addition, the Joint Programme will intensify national efforts towards the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals, NDP 2030 including 2019, UNSDCF as well as the Presidential emergency Action Plan on GBVF and 2019 National Strategic Plan on GBV and femicide. In line with the categorization of South Africa as an Upper Middle Income Country, implementation will prioritize upstream interventions at national and sub-national levels to strengthen the policy environment as applicable; strengthen integration pathways for SRH, HIV and GBV services delivery with a focus on adolescents and young women.  The UNFPA-UNICEF joint programme will promote greater coherence, based on common areas identified in the Delivering as One approach. Guided by the common chapter of UNFPA, UNDP, UNICEF, and UN-Women Strategic Plans, UNFPA will work together with the wider United Nations system and national partners for stronger coherence and collaboration.

This consultancy will focus on project management for  district-level system strengthening within existing structures including functional referral systems and capacity building  among professional and lay providers in quality GBV, SRHR and HIV services targeted at young women and adolescent girls and young men and adolescent boys. 

Scope of Work 

  1. Goal and Objective:  Under the supervision of the Child Protection Manager and HIV Manager, the consultant will contribute to the programme objective: 

Improved institutional capacity of health and social services in the three targeted districts to provide quality age-appropriate SRHR, HIV and SGBV services, inclusive of information, education and counselling to AGYW. 

As a result, the consultancy is expected to:

  • Manage implementation of the joint programme relationship with key stakeholders and local partners in the district.
  • Support strengthening of district coordination mechanisms
  • Contribute to the wider joint programme goals 
  1. Provide details/reference to AWP areas covered: This work will contribute to the achievement of output 4.3: Government has enhanced capacities to provide integrated multi-sectoral child protection services, linking cash transfer with early identification and referral of vulnerable children to multi-sectoral prevention and response services.
  2. Activities and Tasks:  
  1. Manage the Joint Programme relationship with key stakeholders and local partners in the district.

The consultant will be responsible for leading the planning, execution and monitoring of project activities in collaboration with partners within the districts. This will include continuous assessment of the local context and project activities and recommendation of changes in approach to ensure delivery of planned activities. The consultant is also expected to draft quarterly stakeholder reports and present at relevant fora. Furthermore, the consultant will also be expected to identify opportunities for evidence generation and best practices across districts.

  1. Provide support to strengthen district coordination mechanisms

The consultant will be expected to provide leadership, technical and analytical support to the districts by strengthening of existing district-level intersectoral coordination structures. The consultant will support the design and monitoring of district implementation plans to contribute to the joint programme.

  1. Contribute to the wider Joint Programme goals

As and when required, the consultant is expected to actively participate in the management process of the joint programme such as team meetings, knowledge sharing and exchange   as well as strategy development among other required tasks. 

  1. Work relationships: 

The consultant will work closely with the UNICEF team under the leadership and direct supervision of the Child Protection Manager, liaise with different civil society stakeholders including the Department of Social Development and Health at the district and provincial levels as well as civil society. 

  1. Outputs/Deliverables:  

The consultant is expected to engage on a monthly basis with the Child Protection Manager to reach an agreement on expected deliverables aligned with activities and tasks as outlined in section 3 above. 

Deliverables

Duration

(Estimated # of days or months)

Timeline/Deadline

Schedule of payment

Draft monthly monitoring and progress reports based on agreed priorities

21 days

Month 1

Monthly fee

Draft monthly monitoring and progress reports based on agreed priorities

21 days

Month 2

Monthly fee

Draft monthly monitoring and progress reports based on agreed priorities

21 days

Month 3

Monthly fee

Draft monthly monitoring and progress reports based on agreed priorities

21 days

Month 4

Monthly fee

Draft monthly monitoring and progress reports based on agreed priorities

21 days

Month 5

Monthly fee

Draft monthly monitoring and progress reports based on agreed priorities

21 days

Month 6

Monthly fee

Draft monthly monitoring and progress reports based on agreed priorities

21 days

Month 7

Monthly fee

Draft monthly monitoring and progress reports based on agreed priorities

21 days

Month 8

Monthly fee

Draft monthly monitoring and progress reports based on agreed priorities

21 days

Month 9

Monthly fee

Draft monthly monitoring and progress reports based on agreed priorities

21 days

Month 10

Monthly fee

Draft monthly monitoring and progress reports based on agreed priorities

21 days

Month 11

Monthly fee

 6. Required Travel:  

The consultant will travel within the specified districts below when required. Travel costs for the consultant will be included in the total consultancy fee (with the assumption that the consultant is based in the Nelson Mandela Municipality). 

Sr. No.

Purpose

Location

# of days at Location

 

District coordination meetings

uThukela District

40 days

 

District coordination meetings

Alfred Nzo

20 days

Payment Schedule

Payment to the consultant will only be made upon satisfactory completion of each deliverable as per agreed upon monthly deliverables. 

Desired competencies, technical background and experience 

  1. An advanced University degree in Social Work, Public Health, Social Policy, Development Studies, Social Sciences or related,
  2.  5-8 years of experience working within the children’s rights, public policy and development environment;
  3.  Demonstrated experience in project management and partnership development;
  4. Outstanding research and analytical skills, including strong ability to analyze, integrate and summarize information from a wide range of sources;
  5. Demonstrated capacity to engage with key stakeholders and facilitate workshops and dialogues
  6. Excellent writing skills in English, including a demonstrated ability to draft clear, concise and reports;
  7. Good computer skills, including familiarity with search engines and academic databases;
  8. Ability to work independently and to ensure high-quality deliverables;
  9. Demonstrated capacity to carry out the assignment within the allocated timeframe;
  10. An added advantage having working experience in the GBV, SRHR, HIV and/or VAC programming, and;
  11. Proficiency in Xhosa.

Administrative issues 

The consultant will primarily be operating from his/her own office, using her/his office resources and materials in the execution of this assignment. Meetings will be conducted with the consultant regularly as will be agreed upon meetings with the Child Protection Manager, HIV Manager and as required with other UNICEF and UNFPA colleagues to update on progress and if necessary, adjust the timeline and work plan accordingly.  The consultant will meet with the government and other non-governmental partners. Regular meetings will be held with the consultant to finalize monthly deliverables. 

Conditions 

  • The consultant must be based in the Eastern Cape province. Ideally, in Nelson Mandela district with travel to Alfred Nzo and uThukela district.
  • All travel is by most economical fare and reimbursement as per UNICEF policy,
  • As per UNICEF DFAM policy, payment is made against approved deliverables. No advance payment is allowed unless in exceptional circumstances against bank guarantee, subject to a maximum of 30 per cent of the total contract value in cases where advance purchases, for example for supplies or travel, may be necessary.
  • Estimate of any travel costs required for the consultancy will be included in the contract, in line with UNICEF travel cost guidelines. It will be paid on a reimbursement basis based on actual costs incurred.
  • The candidate selected will be governed by and subject to UNICEF’s General Terms and Conditions for individual contracts.

Risks 

  1. There may be delays in the approval of nationally endorsed tools for implementation in the districts
  2. District level intersectoral fora may not be functioning as required and may need to be revived and inclusive of key stakeholders representing provincial and district level government officials, civil society organizations, traditional leaders, communities as well as adolescent girls and boys, young women and men. 

How to Apply

Interested and qualified candidates are requested to submit their application to the following link:   https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/?job=538607  by 15 March 2021.

This notice will also appear on http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/, http://www.unicef.org/southafrica, UN Job List, UN Jobs.

Please indicate your ability, availability and daily/monthly rate (in ZAR) to undertake the terms of reference above (including admin cost if applicable).  

Applications submitted without a fee rate will not be considered.

We invite you to watch a short video on the system on how to apply: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePgDIQ9RVYs&feature=youtu.be 

If you have not been contacted within 1.5 months of the closing date, please accept that your application was unsuccessful. Regret emails will be sent only to shortlisted/contacted candidates.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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.

This vacancy is now closed.
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