Consultancy: Strategic Communications Consultant, 12 Months, Evaluation Office, NYHQ

The UNICEF Evaluation Office (EO) is therefore seeking to hire a suitably qualified, experienced, and dynamic Strategic Communications consultant for a long-term technical engagement to support the evaluation function at all three levels (headquarters, regional, country) in delivering the strategic objectives of the new Evaluation Policy.

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, evaluate

The mission of the UNICEF Evaluation function is to help drive results for children by fostering evidence-informed decision making. Evaluation in UNICEF supports learning and decision-making which, in turn, support better results for children. We conduct a diverse set of independent, credible, and impartial corporate thematic, institutional effectiveness, humanitarian, country-led, impact and joint and evaluations to ensure UNICEF uses evaluation evidence to improve outcomes for children. 

How can you make a difference? 

The UNICEF Evaluation Office (EO) is seeking to hire a suitably qualified, experienced, and dynamic Strategic Communications consultant for a long-term technical engagement to support the evaluation function at all three levels (headquarters, regional, country) in delivering the strategic objectives of the new Evaluation Policy.  This involves providing supplementary technical capacity to increase the visibility and awareness of the contributions and impacts of UNICEF evaluations and linked activities and amplifying their influence, both within and outside the organization. The consultant should possess a good understanding of the unique communication needs of an evidence function (research, data or evaluation) or science communication more broadly, and possess a broad range of multi-media skills and professional strategic communication capacities.

The Strategic Communications consultant will provide supplementary technical support to the Director of Evaluation and broader evaluation function’s strategic communication initiatives. 

1. Drive implementation of the new Evaluation function Communication & Advocacy Strategy in support of the Director of Evaluation, other evaluation colleagues, and related specialists.

• Support harmonization of branding of communication materials to give the UNICEF Evaluation function due visibility and a strong public identity.
• Establish communication baselines against which the achievement of objectives of the Communication & Advocacy Strategy are regularly monitored and evaluated, undertaking analysis to continuously improve the effectiveness of the communication strategy and establish awareness, engagement and impact monitoring mechanisms and metrics.
• Ensure all evaluation outputs are enabled for search engine optimization and accessibility (including disability and inclusion accessibility standards) online and that publication formats are reaching desired audiences to maximize #evidenceforchildren.
• Support the EO Information Associate to further develop an Evaluation Community of Practice across UNICEF to facilitate real-time lesson-exchange and peer support, working with in-house evaluation staff and regional KM focal points and facilitating broader engagement of evaluation practitioners and champions.
• Identify and document learnings on internal and external strategic communication to ensure ongoing refinement and updating of the Strategy to enhance uptake and use of evaluation evidence for children.

1. In collaboration with the Evaluation Office Information Associate and ICTD, support updating and ongoing population of internal knowledge management platforms and the external Evaluation Office website, building the skills and capacities of colleagues as necessary.

• Provide advisory support to the Information Associate in restructuring and new content development for the internal evaluation function SharePoint sites and external Evaluation website in line with the aims and objectives of the new Evaluation Policy
• Support the EO Innovation specialist in strategic coordination and prioritization of the Evaluation Office webinar series.
• Source and facilitate access to appropriate advocacy and communication training, access to information and develop other online and offline training materials for Evaluation function staff as requested by the Director of Evaluation.
• Provide specialist expertise and advice to support ongoing communications efforts of evaluation specialists, including providing guidance and tools to support integration of strategic communications and engagement into all parts of the evaluation management cycle.

1. Enhance targeted, strategic communication for the evaluation function both internally and externally.

• Develop a social media engagement strategy for the evaluation function and on behalf of the Director of Evaluation, differentiating voice and branding between these accounts and segmenting potential audiences.
• Develop and produce creative, targeted communication content and materials (text/audio/simple video/web seminars and social media posts) to amplify evaluation findings, using most up-to-date technologies and software (Canva, Infogram, Biteable, Adobe etc) to create multi-media communications products that can be communicated easily and widely.
• Provide support in summarizing evaluation reports into presentations, templated brief layouts, and other relevant formats for communication on websites and social media channels, as well as partner channels to enhance visibility and use of evaluation evidence for children, building upon and expanding on the existing communication templates and UNICEF branding formats.
• Contribute to writing/editing/developing e-mail marketing including e-bulletins from the desk of the Director of Evaluation, evaluation articles, summaries, briefs, blogs, and print products, highlighting and synthesizing UNICEF evaluations for both internal and external channels.
• Provide supplementary capacity to EO colleagues to develop infographics, motion graphics, videos, PDFs and PowerPoints aligned to key evaluation messaging including for presentations to the Executive Board, report launches, workshops and other key events.
• Work with EO colleagues, building upon work undertaken to date, to develop an online evaluation Advocacy/Communications pack with relevant tools, templates, and guidance in support of UNICEF evaluation specialists working to enhance #evidenceforchildren across the function worldwide.

1. Support targeted (internal and external) evaluation advocacy campaigns and ensure evaluation evidence feeds into broader UNICEF campaigns and fundraising activities.

• Identify subject matter for 1-2 key evaluation campaigns per annum, identifying clear benefits and value addition from evaluations in support of delivery of child rights globally.
• Develop and maintain a list of internal and external evaluation champions who may be called upon in support of relevant campaigns.
• Develop guidance and templates for global and decentralized evaluation campaigns, including identifying strategic links to UNICEF core campaign priorities.
• Support the Information Associate and other EO colleagues to strengthen relationships with key colleagues in the Divisions of Global Communication and Advocacy (DGCA), Private Fundraising and Partnerships (PFP) and Public Partnerships (PPD), identifying and documenting relevant focal points to help ensure strategic linkages between evaluation findings/activities and evidence-informed advocacy and fundraising are maximized.
• Develop and maintain a continually updated key contact list of journalists and media outlets covering all media- print, TV, radio, video, web, photo etc, particularly in the areas of science communication, international development, and humanitarian affairs, as well as key evaluation partners for targeted distribution.

1. Provide strategic support to help demonstrate the value of evaluation and subsequent outcomes and impacts.

• Provide strategic communications support to help unpack the ‘black box’ of evaluation reports, making knowledge visible, accessible, engaging, and easy to understand.
• Identify innovative mechanisms to celebrate and acknowledge evaluation impact and use in support of children’s rights worldwide. e.g., such as exploring the feasibility of establishing a public blog dedicated to the use of evaluative evidence for child rights acceleration.
• Consolidate a centralized bank of evidence on how evaluation has made a difference and establish a system to easily generate and collect additional examples in future.
• Support EO team colleagues in management, delivery, and visibility of the global UNICEF ‘Most Influential Evaluations’ exercise in 2024.

The consultant will report to the Principal Adviser- Evaluation of the Evaluation Office (EO), with a dotted reporting line to the EO Innovation Specialist who currently line manages colleagues delivering many of the EO team’s communication and knowledge management activities.  S/He will also work closely with the Senior Evaluation Specialist (Chief of the Methods, Impact, Innovation and Learning section and Information Associate – currently leading the communication and knowledge management efforts at the EO, as well as collaborate closely with, other evaluation managers at the EO, regional evaluation advisors and other evaluation specialists.  S/He will also collaborate with staff from other divisions (Public Partnerships Division, Private Fundraising and Partnerships Division, Division of Global Communication & Advocacy, Information and Communication Technology Division) and functions (communications; advocacy; knowledge management; ICT colleagues).  The consultant will need to ensure that they are available to attend such meetings within core New York office hours. Home based (or hybrid – from New York, HQ and remote).

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

Education:

• MA/MSc degree in a discipline relevant to the strategic communications field (e.g., journalism, communication for development, communications, public affairs/relations, English, social sciences, political science, liberal arts, digital marketing, evaluation, development studies, etc.)

Experience:

• Minimum of eight years of relevant and progressively responsible professional work experience across various multi-media communication formats:  print, broadcast (audio/video), and/or new media (web). 
• Proven writing ability, with demonstrable experience of communicating complex and specialized scientific information in a format and manner which is easily understandable to non-technical audiences.
• Experience with web CMS for publishing digital content and managing knowledge in various formats.
• Experience in development and monitoring of communication strategies, including for social media with relevant SEO and accessibility optimization skills.
• Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite, editing and creating infographic, motion graphics and data visualizations; editing video and sound. Knowledge of and proven experience in relevant technologies and software such as Canva, Infogram, Biteable, Adobe etc.
• Proven experience in communicating about evaluation or other sorts of evidence/scientific products and findings to support uptake and to inform policy and to establish and monitor awareness, engagement and impact monitoring mechanisms and metrics.
• Experience with providing strategic communication guidance and developing templates and tools to support integration of strategic communications and engagement into all parts of the programme cycle for non-specialists.
• Excellent professional networks across multiple areas of multi-media communication
• Ability to work flexibly and get up to speed quickly using available CMS and mainstream social media platforms.
• Ability to juggle multiple consecutive tasks in a fast-paced, continually evolving environment.
• Prior experience of working in strategic communications in an international context and for diverse audiences.
• Excellent collaboration skills and a client-orientated focus.
• Be a strong team player, capable of working to achieve common goals within an ongoing change management process.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of a second official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) is highly desirable.

Additional Desirable Competencies

MA/MSc degree in a discipline relevant to the strategic communications field (e.g., journalism, communication for development, communications, public affairs/relations, English, social sciences, political science, liberal arts, digital marketing, evaluation, development studies, etc.)

• Familiarity with thematic areas of evaluations undertaken by UNICEF (e.g., health, nutrition, education, child protection, WASH, CEED, social protection, ECD, gender, SBCC etc), humanitarian, institutional effectiveness, impact evaluation and other related areas of work including evaluation synthesis, national evaluation capacity development etc.
• Experience of working with human rights-based, service delivery organizations (United Nations agencies and/or other inter-governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations etc), in addition to any experience gained within academia or the private sector.
• Familiarity with the UNICEF mandate in child rights and understanding of evidence generation processes in this area, including ethical requirements related to strategic communication.
• Familiarity with the UNICEF Stylebook, Communication Toolkit, Brand Toolkit and Ethical Guidelines on Reporting on Children
• Knowledge and experience of current best practice in disability and inclusion accessibility standards
  Experience in running advocacy campaigns with evidence at their core and of mechanisms to incentivize evidence uptake and use.

How to apply:

Interested candidates must submit the following documents:

• CV and cover letter.
• At least three relevant examples of strategic communication outputs in different media formats.
• The daily rate and availability within duration of this assignment.
• Preferred location of this assignment (New York or hybrid)
• A test may be administered to shortlisted candidates.

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

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

 UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

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:  

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. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts. 

How can you make a difference? 

[Insert purpose of post and bullet points on main activities] 

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in  
  *A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree. 
• A minimum of [insert years] of relevant professional experience in 
• Developing country work experience and/or 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, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

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. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.