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For every child, a Champion
Adolescents (10–19 years) make up 18 per cent of the total population of Lesotho. Like young people elsewhere, they face complex and changing environments. However, in Lesotho, many of their challenges are particularly acute and concerning, especially in the context of widespread poverty where 67.3 per cent of adolescents aged 13–17 years are deprived in multiple dimensions of well-being such as healthcare, nutrition, education, safe water, housing and information.3
Lesotho has the second highest HIV prevalence in the world. A quarter of its entire population is living with HIV/AIDS.4 While HIV related outcomes improved for other age groups, the rate of improvement has not translated for adolescents. Adolescents, and in particular girls, are especially at risk. Every week, 28 adolescent girls 10-19, and seven adolescent boys are newly infected with HIV.2 Comprehensive knowledge of HIV is also worryingly low among adolescents – 35 per cent for girls and 30 per cent for boys. Overlapping risk factors such as high teenage pregnancies (1 in 5), early sexual debut (2 in 5), low contraception use, (1 in 5) and never testing for HIV (2 in 5) place adolescents in high risk of HIV. The nexus’ between HIV risk among adolescent girls and mother to child transmission of HIV are clear. Over 50 per cent of all pregnancies in Lesotho are among adolescent girls, and young women (15-24) and 1 in 5 ANC attendees are adolescent girls 15-19.
Education often plays a protective role in reducing adolescents’ vulnerability to HIV infection and other risks. However, only 46 per cent of adolescents are in secondary school. Children with disabilities, rural adolescents and rural boys, in particular, are most disadvantaged. Only 16 per cent of adolescents with disabilities attend secondary school. Rural boys who become herd boys – a cultural obligation in Lesotho society – are especially likely to be deprived of an education. The poor quality of education is linked to high youth unemployment, another major obstacle to a meaningful life for many adolescents and young people in Lesotho. The broad unemployment rate is estimated at 28 per cent, and it is as high as 43 per cent for youths aged 15 to 24.18
Sexual violence against children and adolescents is a tragic but common occurrence in homes, schools and institutions. At least 10,000 adolescents and children are believed to experience sexual abuse in Lesotho, according to a 2011 Situation Analysis of Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children, which remains the best available source of specific data on the subject.13 More than 24 per cent of women are married by age 18, while almost one in five girls aged 15–19 years have begun childbearing.
To address some of the above mentioned challenges and in line with the national policies and strategies, UNICEF would like to support civil society organisations (CSOs) in the deployment of Rapid Pro /U-Report in Lesotho to support achievement of results for children through adolescent and youth engagement and participation. Rapid Pro in Lesotho will help curb such challenges by allowing a flow of information to adolescents and from through digital platforms—facilitating adolescent engagement in the country.
Rapid Pro/U-Report is a program designed to empower young people to speak out on issues that they care about in their communities, encourage citizen-led development and create positive change6. By continuous engagement, youth and youth leaders, are able to identify challenges, objectives and goals, and design questions which will be broadcasted via U-Report. U report is currently implemented in over 22 countries across Africa. With over 6.5 million users globally, U-Report has supported both development and humanitarian interventions, advocacy and awareness raising amongst children, adolescent and youth.
The assignment will be led by a consultant with relevant set of competencies to focus their attention on setting up the platform. These competencies are not currently available in LCO, thus the need for a short term consultant.
How can you make a difference
Goal and Objective:**
Under the supervision of the the HIV Specialist the consultancy will develop a U-Report strategy, including youth and partnership engagement modalities that directly contribute to LCO programme results, and provide capacity building to partners on RapidPro.”Additionally the consultant will, develop a subsequent sustainability plan for scalability and in collaboration with the Child Protection Specialist and HIV Specialist, develop a response strategy for child protection and sexual and gender based violence.
The office aims to deploy U-Report for dissemination and collection of several distinct layers of information; specifically, to provide:
- Information from adolescents and young people on availability and access to information and services in their respective communities
- Information to adolescents and young people on sexual reproductive health & rights, including HIV
- Information from adolescents and young people on satisfaction with services and site-specific situation analysis indicators building on the social accountability work embarked by the UNICEF Lesotho Country Office
- Information from the adolescents and young people on their Knowledge, Attitudes, Behaviours and Practices (KAP)—as a follow-up to the national KAP Survey on SRH/HIV
- Provide information from adolescents and young people to inform intervention strategies, and, and advocacy with line ministries. Connect adolescents and young people with local CSOs and partner engagement activities
- Provide information to adolescents on SRHR,violence against children and HIV& AIDS.
- Respond to reported cases by using referral mechanisms in place to forward issues to the relevant responder.
Provide details/reference to AWP areas covered:
The activity aligns to the rolling workplan (2019-2021) signed by the Ministry of Health and UNICEF under output 2.1: Adolescents living with or at risk of HIV have increased capacity to demand quality prevention, identification, care, and support services.
Activities and Tasks:
The consultant is expected to:
- Provide technical guidance and leadership on the introduction and functionality of RapidPro in Lesotho
- Strengthen partnerships with private sector such as mobile network providers to enhance project delivery
- Develop U-Report Strategy, in consultation with UNICEF and partners (including government, NGOs and CSOs), aligning to the UNICEF Global Adolescent Development Programming and Generation Unlimited
- Develop Partnership Engagement and Sustainability Strategy, taking into account UNICEF’s long term capacity (human resources, financial) to support implementation beyond phase one
- In collaboration with the Child Protection Officer, develop a strategy to respond to child protection / GBV type reports
- Work with stakeholders to deploy the pilots, scale as appropriate, and secure partner buy-in and ownership (including government, NGOs, CSOs and the private sector)
- Act as a liaison between UNICEF Lesotho and RapidPro vendor in resolving technical issues, in collaboration with IT team of LCO and Resident Coordinator’s Office (RCO).
- Identify best practices for U-Report programme and RapidPro application from other offices for replication in Lesotho
- Provide capacity building around real time monitoring for UNICEF focal points, government counter-parts, and NGO partners; include advanced training on U-Report as appropriate
- Develop capacity building material for UNICEF and partners
- Documentation, capturing the lifetime of the project, lessons learned, and best practices throughout the Phase 1 of the project
- Contribute to the global innovation community of practice and knowledge exchange
Outputs/Deliverables:
Tasks
Tasks / Milestones
Deliverable
Due Date
Develop RapidPro key guidance documentation (work plan, concept note, strategies, U-Report Lesotho Charter, training manuals, data management SOPs) in consultation with partners
- Facilitate consultative meetings with UNICEF team
- Consult Government and civil society partners
- Organise and facilitate a brown bag session on the technical and programmatic use of RapidPro for UNICEF,UN staff,RC’S office and UNDOCO to ensure powered initiatives in the Lesotho country office.
- Work directly with mobile operators/third party to procure short code and negotiate SMS across all network providers cost
- Draft documentation, including work plan, U-Report Lesotho Charter, etc
- Present draft work plan and other documentation to UNICEF, partners and Government for endorsement
- Set up of U-Report Steering Committee
- Build the capacity of UNICEF Volunteers and UNICEF Programme colleagues officers to run U-Report campaigns
Validated U-Report implementation work plan
U-Report training documents developed
Data management SOPs developed
U-Report Steering Committee TORs developed
15 August 2019
Identify the existing adolescents networks and design and run of public information campaign
- Map existing service provision landscape
- Conduct capacity building sessions on RapidPro for all relevant programme partners, CSOs, and UN agencies and U-Report Steering Committee Members
- Work with UNICEF Communication Specialist to identify key issues to trigger social media debates / sharing of information U-Report in Lesotho
- Build the capacity of UNICEF Interns and UNICEF Programme Colleagues officers to run Rapid Pro campaign
Service coverage mapping report
U-Report Training reports
Mapping of the existing youth and adolescent engagement space, and identifying existing networks, partners, programmes that can become part of the larger U-report programme.
Set-up of U-Report
Compilation of stand-alone U-Reports for strategy,documentation and feedback.
30 September 2019
Building of outreach campaign on availability and access to information and services in their respective communities
- Consult U-Report Steering Committee on SMS based questionnaires and themes for the next 6 months
- Configure Questionnaires in RapidPro
- Identify geographic areas
- Run campaigns
- Analyse data and disseminate internally
and with implementing partners and U-Report Steering Committee
- Build the capacity of Youth Engagement Volunteer and UNICEF Programme Colleagues officers to run Rapid Pro campaigns
- Create standard operating procedures to be followed by all users of the U-reporting system.
- Evaluate partner usage of U-report and understanding incentives and constraints involved between high level users and low level users.
Rapid Pro Pilot Campaign Reports available
15 November 2019
Document U-Report progress, challenges and lessons learnt
- Collaborate with all stakeholders to present achievements, challenges and lessons learnt on use of RapidPro
- Produce final documentation of experiences and lessons learnt
- Build the capacity of UNICEF Programme Specialists to conduct U-Report campaigns
- Arrange meetings with U-reporters on the collection of data and findings.
- Report results of statistical analysis
U-Report Pilot Report Available, including recommendations for Phase 2 of U-Report implementation
13 January 2019
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
- A Master’s degree in Social Sciences, International Relations, Development, Community Development, Information Technology or in a relevant field.*A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 5 years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.
- A minimum of 3 years of relevant professional experience in supporting and coordinating project activities across a large organization and with other international partner organizations and with government .
- Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
- Fluency in English is required.
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….
- Progressively responsible professional work experience in communication, education, and technology fields, some of which should be in an international setting
- Demonstrated experience with youth and adolescent engagement programmes, including leveraging new technologies to implement C4D strategies.
- Experience with RapidPro or other SMS-based engagement pilot is an added advantage.
- Some professional or academic background in one of UNICEF’s sectorial areas (preferably Health or Education) is desired
- Experience with processing large amounts of information and synthesizing it
- Experience in project management and rolling out of large scale projects with strong technology components
- Familiarity with information systems and communication technologies
- A strong understanding of UNICEF’s mission and vision as well as its programmes through direct or indirect work experience with UNICEF
- Proven skills in communication, networking, strategic thinking, advocacy, negotiation, and ability to relate this to new media and young people
- Proven ability to conceptualize, plan and execute ideas as well as to transfer knowledge and skills
- Proven capacity to work with and lead collaborative teams across different locations and with different technical skills
- Strong writing and communication skills and the aptitude to handle competing messages and priorities with multiple audiences
- Very good interpersonal skills, skilled at persuading, influencing, relating and networking
- Creative, innovative thinker who can also translate ideas into practical applications
View our competency framework at
http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf
How to Apply
Qualified candidates are requested to complete an application including profile to the respective advertisement on https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/ Please indicate your ability, availability and financial proposal/quote to complete the terms of reference above.
Rates must include all expenses related to the assignment (e.g. consultancy fee, travel/flights, living allowance).
Applications submitted without a fee/ rate will not be considered.
If you have not been contacted within 2 months of the closing date please accept that your application was unsuccessful. Regret emails will be sent only to shortlisted/contacted candidates.
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:
Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. **