International Consultancy: Culture Change Management Specialist, Kampala, Uganda, 3 months (Remote and In-country work modalities)

The overall objective of the assignment is to assist UNICEF Uganda in shaping, driving and affirming office culture change and practices that support UNICEF’s mission and goals, and in keeping with UNICEF’s values of care, respect, integrity, trust, accountability and sustainability, make recommendations to address the issues coming out of the Pulse Survey and other key resources. The Consultant(s) will be supervised by HR Manager in coordination with Management & Staff Association and working closely with the workplace culture change group.

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.

For every child, a fair chance

Uganda is one of the over 190 countries and territories around the world where we work to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease, and discrimination place in a child’s path. Together with the Government of Uganda and partners we work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, the objectives of the Uganda National Development Plan, and the planned outcomes of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework.

Visit this link for more information on Uganda Country Office https://www.unicef.org/uganda/

How can you make a difference?

Background

UNICEF has a history of more than seventy years of service to the world’s children. Its staff has been at the forefront of a decade-long global movement to realize and to protect the rights and wellbeing of children around the world. It is these staff members – their values, attitudes, practices, behaviors that form the bedrock of the organization’s culture. Together with our mission and mandate, it is the essence of who we are as an organization and what makes us unique.  As we continue being shaped by the shifting needs and expectations of our work, by our learnings from the past, by a changing world and by the implementation of a new country programme, we have a unique opportunity to continue to shape and affirm our organizational culture. UNICEF has seen the need to ‘take the pulse’ on workplace culture in its offices. Twice a year, staff members will be asked a set of nine core questions related to their work environment.  Results are captured anonymously and published by each office /business area. The results will inform a continuous improvement plan on people management, impact offices’ Performance Scorecard, and the Heads of Office performance evaluation reports, serving as an accountability tool. UNICEF Uganda embarked on a culture change journey where an action plan was prepared to inform the Office’s culture change management strategy. The office has done a series of training to help staff members in the areas of team building, performance management, career development, conscious and unconscious biases, personality assessments and career conversations. The Office has held staff retreats in times past which served as opportunities for staff members to reflect and refocus. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these face-to-face staff retreats did not take place in 2020 – 2021.  Face to face staff retreat after two years was convened in April 2022.

How we value each other as UNICEF staff members and the behaviors that affect the environment in which we work are key indicators of the health of our culture. It is important, therefore, that we regularly reflect on the health of our culture and take appropriate measures to reshape, revive and reaffirm the essence of who we are as an organization – our vision, values, people, practices and working environment.

Justification

The review of our office culture has been made more urgent by the findings of two recent staff surveys i.e. The Global Staff Survey (GSS) and the Global Pulse Survey on Workplace Culture. The Country Office Management Team (CMT) has accepted the recommendations from the Internal Task Force on Culture Change and has agreed on immediate actions for the overall improvement of the office culture. To implement these recommendations, UNICEF Uganda Office is seeking the services of a consultancy firm.

Purpose of the assignment

The overall objective of the assignment is to assist UNICEF Uganda in shaping, driving and affirming office culture change and practices that support UNICEF’s mission and goals, and in keeping with UNICEF’s values of care, respect, integrity, trust, accountability and sustainability, make recommendations to address the issues coming out of the Pulse Survey and other key resources.

Scope of Work – Major Tasks                                                                                                        

1. Build on the findings and recommendations of the various reviews, fill any gaps to determine UNICEF Uganda’s current office culture including skill-sets with a focus on:
   1. our people (staff);
   2. our practices (ways of working);
   3. our place (working environment) by engaging staff at all levels.
2. Develop a strategy for sustainable culture change based on UNICEF’s core values,supported by an implementation plan. This would include identifying the current areas for improvement at all levels of staff, untapped assets, as well as staff aspirations. The implementation plan should structurally address the areas for improvement and strengthen the office’s culture and values-based leadership, considering the relevant recommendations of the internal task force on Culture change and the Culture change action plan.
3. Provide a change management process to accompany the existing culture change action plan. Support the Country Management Team (CMT), the internal task force on culture change, and the Local Staff Association (LSA) to adapt to recommendations as part of efforts for improved office culture.
4. Assess, as appropriate, the roles of key internal stakeholders in relation to the prevailing culture and their ability to support a culture change. Engage staff members in discussions to understand the key challenges faced by staff and using this feedback to inform the recommendation and analysis of a proposed culture change process.
5. Advise and support the establishment of a culture change/change management governance architecture that has the capacity to ensure broad engagement and successful implementation of culture change initiatives in the short, medium and long term.
6. The work of the consultant/s should be informed by best practices and lessons learned from other international offices and state-of-the-art industry approaches, models, and technologies.
7. An implementation plan that acts as a roadmap for the roll-out of the people strategy. This will include details on how the culture change process will be managed in the short, medium and longer term and a plan to track and evaluate progress.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

Education background:

Advanced degree in Human Resources Management (HRM), Psychology, Communications, Change Management, Gender Studies, or a relevant social sciences field. A Relevant professional certification

Work-experience:

• At least ten years of experience in consulting on change management, culture change, organizational improvement, leadership and management practices, team collaboration; and organizational and individual behaviors.
• Proven track record in developing and rolling out culture change initiatives, including with organizations and other UN agencies
• Experience in human resources, talent management and investigations
• Proven track record in gender equality in the workplace initiatives
• Proven track record in leadership and management initiatives including capacity building and training

Other Skills

• Strong organizational, interpersonal, and communications skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication in English
• Good judgment, high sense of responsibility, tact and discretion.
• Demonstrated cultural sensitivity and ability to work in a multicultural environment
• Strong values including care, integrity, trust, accountability, and respect.

Language skills. Excellent English skills required (oral and written)

Conditions:

• The consultancy will commence only when contract has been signed.
• The consultants will use UNICEF premises occasionally for feedback meetings, compiling reports and processing travel arrangements. Also, virtual meetings will apply
• Transport will be arranged as per approved TA’s. The payment has been calculated per days worked and payment will be done based on deliverables as described above.
• Consultants will not have supervisory responsibilities nor authority on UNICEF budget and other resources.
• Consultants will be required to sign the Health statement for consultants/Individual contractor prior to taking up the assignment, and to document that they have appropriate health insurance, if applicable.
• The Form 'Designation, change or revocation of beneficiary' must be completed by the consultant upon arrival, at the HR Section.
• No contract may commence unless the consultant provides a certificate of completion of a mandatory course on “prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse”.  A certificate to be submitted with the signed contract should have been obtained in the last three months.

• Under the consultancy agreements, a month is defined as 21 working days, and fees are prorated accordingly. Consultants are not paid for weekends or public holidays
• Consultants are not entitled to payment of overtime. All remuneration must be within the contract agreement
• No contract may commence unless the consultant provides a certificate of completion of a mandatory course on “Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse”. A certificate to be submitted with the signed contract should have been obtained in the last three months.
• Clearance from DHR will be required for former UNICEF staff
• Clearance from the Government required for civil servants

Application Procedure/Call for Proposals

Interested candidates are required to submit a technical proposal on how they intend to approach the work. The proposal should include a timeline, and methodology, based on the Terms of Reference. The proposal must also include detailed CV of the consultant, as well as a financial proposal, clearly indicating daily rate for professional fees. The financial proposal must be all-inclusive of all costs (consultancy fees and where applicable air fares, airport transfers, daily living expenses).  This is an international level consultancy and competitive market rates should apply.

Evaluation of Candidate:

Technical proposals obtaining a score of at least 70 points will qualify for financial evaluation.

b) Financial proposal evaluation criteria

The lowest financial bid will receive the following maximum score: Lowest Bid 100

The formula for calculating the financial score is the following:

Financial Score                       =                      Lowest Bid (US$) X 100(Maximum Score)

            Bid Being Scored (US$)

c) Final evaluation (combined technical and financial evaluation)

The total score of each bidder will be the weighted sum of the technical score and the financial score as

shown below. The maximum total score is 100 points.

Total Score = 70% x Technical Score + 30% x Financial Score

Please note that the final remuneration will be negotiated by HR.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The competencies required for this post are….

View our competency framework at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.