UNICEF recrute un consultant national (Stratégie C4D contre la fièvre jaune), Accra, Ghana

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 :

Yellow Fever is an acute, hemorrhagic, viral disease that is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes. Infection may result in anywhere from no to severe illness; 20-50% of those with severe illness will die of the disease. There is no known specific antiviral therapy, although the disease can be prevented by the “17D” vaccine, which provides immunity for at least 10 years. Every age group is at risk, and vaccination is a crucial weapon to prevent cases and epidemics.

Yellow Fever is endemic in the tropical regions of Africa and South America, where 44 countries (33 in Africa and 11 in South America) are considered to be at risk. Currently, more than 610 million people are considered to be at risk from the disease in Africa.

Between the 1940s and 1960s, there was widespread mass vaccination campaigns in some African countries. This resulted in the near-complete disappearance of Yellow Fever. However, immunization campaigns waned, and a generation of people grew up with no immunity to the disease.  Yellow Fever returned as a major scourge and, as urbanization progressed across Africa, the threat of a major epidemic loomed ever larger.

In 2018, the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and UNICEF launched a sub national campaign aimed to vaccinate 5.3 million people against yellow fever in nine regions in Ghana. The theme for the campaign was “Get vaccinated and be protected against yellow fever” and the main objective of this campaign was to maintain a high population immunity of all persons living in Ghana. The rationale for the campaign was part of a road map for the elimination of yellow fever in Africa by 2060 and since Ghana lay within the yellow fever zone, there was the need to rapidly increase population immunity and to protect susceptible older age groups.

How can you make a difference?

The main purpose of this assignment is to develop a communications strategy on Yellow fever catch-up campaign for the GHS – EPI and HPD as UNICEF support for combatting the resurgence of Yellow Fever through the promotion of a nationwide immunization campaign in 87 Districts. The communication strategy will set the framework for a nationwide SBCC activities including community engagement, social mobilization, advocacy for Yellow Fever immunization catch-up.

Tasks to be completed :

The Communications Consultant will support the development of an evidenced-based communication strategy which will be implemented by the GHS-EPI and HPD in collaboration with UNICEF :

1. Conduct a desk review of documents, literature and best practice on Yellow fever outbreaks campaigns in Ghana and other countries ;
2. Conduct interviews and focus groups around knowledge and perceptions with population  to inform the communication actions ;
3. Gather inputs and recommendations and engage UNICEF key EPI and HPD partners for the development of the strategy ;
4. Develop a communication strategy including messages, channels and tools to be used in the campaign ;
5. Facilitate a validation workshop with the GHS-EPI and HPD key staff as well as relevant stakeholders to input into the strategy ;
6. Draft a plan to launch and support implementation of the Yellow Fever Catch up campaign including technical support the design, development, pre-testing, production, printing, and dissemination of campaign materials ;
7. Map key stakeholders of the campaign (community groups, leaders and other partners in the community and civil society) and develop partnerships ;
8. Incorporate all recommendations and suggestions appropriately and submit 2 hard copies of the communication strategy and an electronic copy sent through email ;
9. Support the monitoring and evaluation of campaign activities ;
10. Support the documentation of a case study on the campaign. 

Deliverables and time frame for submission :

The contract will cover the period of August to November 2020 for 55 days within 4 months as shown in the table below :

Supervision and reporting arrangement : The incumbent will be under the direct supervision of the C4D Specialist, Unit Head.  The consultant will be expected to bi-weekly updates and aside reports on deliverables.

 Payment Schedule  : 

The consultant will receive based on the following deliverable :

• 20% of total payment after delivering task 1-4 ;
• 30% of total payment after delivering task 5 ;
• 40% of payment after delivering task 6 ;
• 10% of payment after task 7-9.

Timeframe :

The contract duration is 55 days within 4 months and expected to commence in August 2020.

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

• Masters degree in Communication or other related social science discipline ;
• At least 5 years working experience in a development field with 3 years relating to social and behaviour change communication strategy development, curriculum or participatory approaches is required, modules development and deployment, and design and implementation of blended learning systems, in field and institutional settings ;
• Extensive hands-on experience and knowledge of learning systems in health promotion, EPI very desirable ;
• Experience in managing the development and deployment of behaviour change communication training courses/ modules and systems desirable ;
• Experience related to a global learning management system desirable ;
• Understanding of programming and project management concepts for health promotion EPI, including demand creation and generation; gender analysis etc. would be an asset ;
• Please identify competencies required for e.g. Excellent verbal and written communication (English), coordination, facilitation, analyzing etc. ;
• Familiarity with emergency is considered an asset ;
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

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.

The functional competencies required for this post are…

View our competency framework at : 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 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.

Application method. Please attach to your application and CV, a two paged document of how you intend to carry out this tasks. Please indicate your proposed daily professional fee in Ghana Cedis.

Best wishes