Individual Consultancy - (Maldivian National) to visually document the work UNICEF Maldives supports and capture the lives of children/adolescents across the country

UNICEF MCO is seeking the services of a professional photographer to document the work which UNICEF contributes towards with the Government of Maldives and partners as well as capture the lives of children/adolescents across the country.

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.

ADVERT - Terms of Reference for Individual Consultant(Maldivian National) to visually document the work UNICEF Maldives supports and capture the lives of children/adolescents across the country.

Purpose of assignment:

To support visibility and highlight the main results to be achieved under the Country Programme Document with the Government of Maldives, for disadvantaged and vulnerable Maldivian children, UNICEF Maldives Country Office (MCO) intends to develop and disseminate both print and digital communication / outreach products with a view to promote and strategically position child rights in the national agenda. In addition, various publications around child rights will be produced to sustain policy dialogue and advocacy for well-being of all Maldivian children.

In order to achieve this result, UNICEF MCO is seeking the services of a professional photographer to document the work which UNICEF contributes towards with the Government of Maldives and partners as well as capture the lives of children/adolescents across the country.

As per UNICEF’s principles, the dignity and rights of every child are to be respected in every circumstance. While photographing/filming children, special attention needs to be taken to ensure each child's right to privacy and confidentiality, to have their opinions heard, to participate in decisions affecting them and to be protected from harm, including the potential of harm. The best interests of each child are to be protected over any other consideration, including over advocacy for children's issues and the promotion of child rights.

Project objective to which the consultancy is related:

The overall goal of this consultancy is to provide visual documentation of the work supported by UNICEF and capture the moments in the lives of children/adolescents to produce communication and advocacy materials to be used by UNICEF MCO and external partners across various platforms.

The assignment aims at professional photographic coverage of UNICEF-supported programmes (programmatic interventions); first person narrative visual story telling of children’s lives in the Maldives and capture positive, everyday voices through portraits of children, adolescents and families. Particularly, document their lives in education, health and nutrition, engagement with family and communities, and their interactions vis a vis a changing environment.

Scope of work:

1. Photographic documentation.
2. Descriptive captions or quotes (depending on the image) for all edited/finalised photos.

 Content production with distribution platforms in mind:

1. Programme coverage - professional photojournalism/documentary coverage of UNICEF supported programmes (Education, Child Protection, Health and Nutrition, Social Protection and Climate Change/Disaster Risk Reduction) as well as general advocacy on the subject ie. coverage can include documentation of programme interventions as well as documenting the situation that shows the need for intervention and the daily lives of children/families in the Maldives.
2. First person narrative visual storytelling with captions & quotes - professional photojournalism/documentary storytelling focused on an individual subject, telling the story through the life and experiences of an individual.  Visual storytelling includes captions and first-person quotes furthering the story-telling. Possibly a hero character in the narrative that is facing a challenge. Give some additional personality to the individuals beyond the main problem they are affected by. What kind of things do they love to do? How has the current crisis changed their lives? Make sure there are enough details about their lives in order to make them relatable. Emotional content resonates well with audiences and promotes further sharing. When possible, try to track and share before and after results of a story to show the impact individuals, UNICEF and our partners can make.
3. Everyday Voices - portraits of children and adults directly addressing the camera with their gaze, participating in their own representation with personal quotes that serve to further storytelling and engage audience in the issue through identification with an individual. Research has shown that positive images tend to perform better on social media - something to bear in mind for Everyday Voices. Below are suggestions for good questions for the Everyday Voices series:
   • "What’s your favourite subject in school?"
   • "What are you most passionate about?"
   • "What do you think about the changes you see/feel happening in your environment? E.g. erosion”
   • "What’s the biggest challenge you and others face in your island community?”
   • "What’s a skill you would love to learn, if you had the opportunity?"
   • And of course, good to ask follow-up questions on the answers

 Responsibilities:

1. UNICEF to cover costs of the consultant photographer including: Daily Sustenance Allowance (DSA) as per UN standard rates per working day, internal transportation costs (actuals).
2. Consultant photographer supplies all photographic equipment and agrees to provide, if requested, rough edit selections of best images, with complete caption information.   
3. The broad edits (for selection) and final selected, edited images will be transferred electronically or by portable drive.
4. UNICEF has exclusive rights to all originals taken on this assignment to all media acquired through this consultancy in perpetuity. 

Duty station: Home-based with travel to the islands.

Supervisor : Communication for Development Officer

Estimated duration of contract and deadline for submission of end-product: 11.5 months (Between January and December 2022)

Official travel involved: Travel to selected islands.

Major Tasks to be accomplished:

Qualifications:

• At least 2 -3 years experience in human interest and development-oriented photography

• Utilise high-resolution, state-of-the-art digital camera/equipment for the assignment
• Have good image editing skills and experience
• Be available and willing to travel to islands for the assignment
• Have the ability to work under pressure, open to input/scrutiny, respect for national developmental/cultural contexts and deliver on tight deadlines
• Have completed secondary school education (certificate). A tertiary, specialised education in photo-journalism would be an added advantage
• Experience working with UN agencies and International Organizations would be desirable  

Application deadline: 17 January 2022, 06:00pm (local time)

Application Link:

https://secure.dc7.pageuppeople.com/apply/671/gateway/Default.aspx?c=apply&sJobIDs=547428&SourceTypeID=796&sLanguage=en-us 

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

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:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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.