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, an advocate.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment

As of 8 January 2024, more than 114,000 refugees from Ukraine are recorded in Slovakia. Approximately 37,061 are children aged 0-17. As of 31 October 2023, 11,990 Ukrainian children are enrolled in schools and kindergartens across Slovakia (1,887 in kindergartens; 7,779 in primary schools; 2,324 in secondary schools, including special schools). This means that about two-thirds of children are not in school.

UNICEF will continue to provide humanitarian cash support to Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia until end of the summer 2024. The closing of humanitarian cash support will require dedicated communication from UNICEF and UNHCR. Limited humanitarian cash transfers are being explored under the initiative to support learning to earning transition of Ukrainian adolescents.

Furthermore, UNICEF contributes to disability assessment reform for children; education system’s public financing implications analysis informed by results of PISA; analysis of public financing implications of the transition of UNICEF services to the municipal level; and defining specifications to integrate national information management systems within national social policy systems. All the mentioned streams of work consider inclusion of Ukrainian children, while also directly supporting Slovak children – as a result of systems’ strengthening approach.

UNICEF Slovakia Ukraine Refugee Response is seeking a Junior Social Policy Consultant to support implementation of the Social Policy programme within the refugee response in Slovak Republic and the transition phase from the current model of work towards implementation with a smaller team and programme.

The Junior Social Policy Consultant will work in close coordination with the Social Policy team, and in liaison with the Communication team under supervision of the Social Policy Specialist.

The consultancy is based in Bratislava, Slovakia. Travel to support focus groups and interviews is also expected.

Scope of Work

Under the supervision of the Social Policy Specialist, and in coordination with other teams, primarily the Communications team, the consultant will support implementation and transition of the Social Policy portfolio in Slovakia.

More specifically, the consultant will:

1. Support communications of Social Policy portfolio: Provide support for communications-related activities to disability assessment reform, closure of humanitarian cash programme, and public communication of recommendations stemming from humanitarian cash transfers’ implementation monitoring.

• Develop communication materials (ex. animation, flyers, social media posts) to communicate information related to cash closure & disability assessment reform.
• Participate and contribute to interpretation during the piloting of disability assessment reform (Q4 2024)

2. Support implementation of Humanitarian Cash Transfers and their closure: Provide support to implement grievances. Support outlining of FAQ related to communicating cash programme and its closure (N.B. FAQs are developed by UNICEF and implemented by Helpline). Support translation in meetings with the Helpline operators in Ukrainian.

3. Provide support for overall logistics arrangement and documentation filing: Support the Social Policy programme in organising meetings and trainings (relevant to missions and consultancies). As part of this workstream, the consultant will in particular:

• Support the logistical arrangements (ex. managing missions’ workplans and liaison with consultants and stakeholders, and coordinating interpretation, catering, venue needs with the office’s operations team) and the implementation of interviews and focus groups (ex. supporting facilitation and interpretation as needed);
• Support managing on UNICEF Social Policy SharePoint folder

4. Provide technical support to review deliverables of social policy consultancies – providing a perspective of Ukrainian youth representative.

Work Assignment Overview

*Tasks / Milestone******Deliverables / Outputs******Timeline / Deadline*****1. Support communications of Social Policy portfolio• Disability reform assessment animation.10 working days;

By 15 August 2024

• 4 communication materials (social media posts, leaflets)3 working days;

By 31 August 2024

• Logistical support in piloting of disability assessment reform (interviews and FGs)5 working days;

By 31 December 2024

2. Support implementation of Humanitarian Cash Transfers and their closure• Calls to beneficiaries to address grievances implemented2 working days;

By 31 August 2024

• Interpretation provided in meetings with Helpline operators (in Ukrainian)2 working days;

By 31 August 2024

• Review and translate Cash FAQ reviewed and translated to Ukrainian (including FAQ updates)3 working days;

By 30 September 2024

3. Provide support for overall logistics arrangement and documentation filing• Disability piloting missions, P4FC missions, and a mission to outline MIS functional specifications workplan managed, interpretation arranged, and e-mail correspondence with partners drafted and implemented.7.5 working days;

By 31 December 2024

• Slovakia Social Policy SharePoint folder cleaner and organized (contributing to transition strategy and Programme Handover).5 working days;

By 31 December 2024

4. Provide non-technical support to review deliverables of social policy consultancies• Review deliverables of P4FC consultancies for PISA & Municipalities, Disability Assessment Piloting, & MIS Functional Specifications.7.5 working days;

By 31 December 2024

Estimated Duration of the Contract

45 working days between July and December 2024.

Consultant’s Work Place and Official Travel

The Consultant will be based in Bratislava.

As part of this assignment, some local and international travels are foreseen. The consultant will arrange her/his travel as and when they take place, and related costs will be reimbursed per UNICEF travel policy.

Travel Clause

• All UNICEF rules and regulations related to travel of Consultants apply.
• All travels shall be undertaken only upon the prior written approval by UNICEF.
• The consultant must be fit to travel, be in a possession of the valid UN BSAFE certificate, obligatory inoculation(s) and have a valid own travel/medical insurance and an immunization/vaccination card.

Estimated Cost of the Consultancy & Payment Schedule

Payment will be made on submission of an invoice and satisfactory completion of the above-mentioned deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs are incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines. All materials developed will remain the copyright of UNICEF and UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future.

Please submit a professional fee (in EUR) based on 45 working days to undertake this assignment, without travel fees as these will be reimbursed as and when they take place.

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

Required:

• Minimum of 6 months of relevant experience in social policy.
• Minimum of 6 months of relevant experience in design (including in Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator, and Microsoft Office package).
• Fluency of English and Ukrainian is required.

Desired:

• Experience working with UNICEF is a strong asset. Experience with other UN organization is an asset.
• Experience working within refugee setting is a strong asset.
• Experience working with state and NGO partners is an asset.
• Working knowledge of Slovak is required.
• Experience working in high-income countries is desirable.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most marginalized children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family 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:

Please include a full CV, a Cover Letter, and samples of relevant work (as attachments or hyperlinks to online documents) in your application. Additionally, indicate your availability and professional fee (in EUR) to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without a professional fee will not be considered. 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.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants 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.