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, Inspiration

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbkJiMmvKqk

How can you make a difference?

The heavy reporting burden that ACO faced in 2023 (306 reports submitted as registered in the system, plus ad hoc reporting requests not registered) will continue in 2024 and 2025. As of mid-May 2024, a total of 112 reports are registered as due in the remainder of 2024. For 2025, 168 reports are already registered in the system, with 147 or 88% due in the first six months of the year. More reporting requirements are expected to be added as additional funding is mobilized throughout the year, as well as following no-cost extensions of active grants due to operational impediments.

While the team onboard is equipped to respond to ad hoc update requests from donors resulting from the volatile country context and sudden onset emergencies, support is required for the 280 already scheduled reports to be submitted until the end of June 2025 as well as support for the development of new donor proposals.

Further, while fundraising results were roughly maintained in 2023 compared to 2022, 2024 and 2025 risk seeing a decline in funding given the multitude of crises worldwide, all of which require humanitarian and Nexus funding. Therefore, ACO will need to step up its fundraising efforts which will require ongoing strong support from the Resource Mobilization Unit.

SCOPE OF WORK:

Under the guidance of the Partnerships Manager and in close collaboration with the Resource Mobilization Team (Partnerships Manager, Specialists, Officers), the consultant will:

• Produce well-written and impactful narrative and financial donor reports for the UNICEF Afghanistan Country Office (ACO), across programmes and donors. This includes the preparation of report templates in line with donor and UNICEF ACO standards, the briefing of sections and cross-cutting units to provide inputs, the follow-up with colleagues to receive timely inputs, the review of inputs and coordination of necessary revisions, and the copy-editing and formatting of reports.
• Develop proposals (narrative and budget documents) and concept notes for ACO across programmes. This includes the preparation of proposal templates in line with donor and UNICEF ACO standards, the briefing of sections and cross-cutting units to provide inputs, the follow-up with colleagues to receive timely inputs, the review of inputs and coordination of necessary revisions, and the copy-editing and formatting of proposals.
• Produce other documents for donor communications and resource mobilization.

Each task will include ensuring the completeness, coherence, correctness, and formatting of documents, including reviews of results planned / reported, log frames, financial reporting, and budgeting. The consultant will ensure that high-quality documents are produced by the agreed upon deadlines, for final review by the Partnerships Manager / Specialist / Officer and clearance by the Deputy Representative Programmes. To this end, the consultant is expected to collaborate with programme sections as well as cross-cutting teams of ACO (e.g., Budget, Field Coordination and Emergency, Communication and Advocacy, Programme management Unit).

All documents will have to meet high quality standards and be submitted on time. The volume of work needed will vary with each document, which is presented in the approximate classification below. The number of working days per deliverable will be revised if needed, depending on different factors including the quality of drafts to be passed on to the consultant.  The target delivery date will be specific to each document.

Based on current foreseen reporting workload, it is estimated that the number of days may be approximately distributed as detailed in the table below.

It is to note that the workload will be divided between several consultants, depending on capacity available and actual workload. Further, the estimated budget is subject to negotiation based on each consultant’s qualifications and defined work package.

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES AND TIMELINES:

Reports fall into the following categories, and estimated workload for briefing and review (combined) varies:

• Standard donor reports: up to 3 working days.
• Moderately complex donor reports: up to 4 working days.
• Highly complex donor reports: up to 8 working days.
• Consolidated reporting (thematic reports, consolidated emergency report): up to 14 working days.

Workload for proposals and concept notes varies considerably, depending on the donor requirements and the complexity of the proposed interventions. The average estimated workload is up to 5 working days.

Workload for other documents for donor communications and resource mobilization will also vary considerably, with the estimated workload averaging 0.5 days.

For estimated timelines, kindly refer to the below table. Each document will have its own timeline depending on agreements with donors and internal stakeholders.

Within the scope of work, the consultant is responsible for:

• Use their own equipment, such as laptops, microphones, software, and other necessary accessories.
• Not share the content or any part thereof with any third party without written permission from UNICEF. All content will be the property of UNICEF.
• Be available for revisions and reviews of the documents as needed.
• Follow the UNICEF style guide and relevant donor templates.
• The performance of the consultant will be evaluated based on the quality of the documents, adherence to deadlines, and the ability to effectively convey humanitarian and basic needs as well as UNICEF’s impact in Afghanistan.

Responsibilities of UNICEF:

• Provide all details pertaining to and the requirements for each assignment.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Applications must include:

• Cover letter.
• Resume.
• References.
• Technical proposal incl. overview of availability during the 12-month assignment period, per month; and experience with UNICEF donor reporting.
• Financial offer in USD. (This should be the day rate for working days).

Applications submitted without financial and technical proposals will not be considered.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advanced 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.

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

• An advanced university degree in Social Sciences, Communications, Marketing, Journalism, Technical Writing or another related field.
• Five years of relevant work experience; with eight years of experience considered an asset.
• Experience in writing for UN organizations and / or government.
• Experience in narrative and financial reporting.
• Familiarity with results-based management.
• Strong writing and editing skills in English.
• Advanced MS Word and intermediate MS Excel skills.
• Strong logical and analytical skills, attention to detail.
• Highly organized, excellent time management and ability to work under tight deadlines.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, ability to quickly establish trusted relationships.
• Familiarity with basic budgeting is considered an asset Previous experience and exposure to UNICEF programmes (including in emergencies) and UNICEF donor reporting is considered an asset.
• Previous professional experience in Afghanistan is considered 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: 

Interested consultants are required to apply online, indicating availability and all-inclusive lump sum fee to undertake the terms of reference.

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.