Development of programme guidance,(UN Children's Fund) -Employment,career opportunity in USA

Job Title:  Consultancy, Development of programme guidance on implementing accountability initiatives and enhancing partnerships with…
Organization: UN Children's Fund
Country: United States of America
Deadline: 17th Oct 2013

Development of programme guidance for UNICEF Country Offices on implementing accountability initiatives and enhancing partnerships with accountability mechanisms
Terms of Reference

***1. Background:
As a human rights principle, accountability places an obligation on duty-bearers, in particular States, to be answerable in relation to their obligation to respect, protect and fulfill human rights enshrined in international human rights instruments. Child-centric accountability upholds the obligation of duty-bearers (in particular the State, but also indirectly individuals and organizations) to answer for their decisions and actions in respect of the rights of children under their jurisdiction or care. With the coming into force of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1990, children acquired the legal status as subjects and holders of rights which are capable of being enforced. To this end, duty-bearers are required to accept responsibility for the results of their actions and disclosing them in a transparent manner where appropriate.

Institutions of accountability are critical mediators and monitors for the effective and practical realization of this principle. Accountability involves a continuum of interventions from the community-based to the national (and even to the regional or international in some cases) level, as well as from the informal (e.g. committees, panels and watch-dog, often citizens-led mechanisms) to the formal (e.g. human rights commissions, ombudsman institutions, regular courts and children’s courts), and vice-versa in some cases. Global level mechanisms that hold governments to account for their obligations to children also exist (e.g. State Party Reporting to the human rights treaty bodies such as the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), as well as their respective communication procedures). The Third Optional Protocol to the CRC in particular is expected to enter into force soon, and will afford children and organisations working with them to bring individual and collective communications to the CRC Committee, once national remedies have been exhausted.

Accountability has been proposed as a core feature of the new post-2015 development agenda. As a member of the task team established by the United Nations Secretary General to support the UN system-wide preparations for the post-2015 UN development agenda, UNICEF is firmly committed to making the human rights principle of accountability a practical reality for all children everywhere. It has as such reflected this across a number of programmatic elements of its present Medium Term Strategic Plan (2009-2013) and its 2014-2017 Strategic Plan (SP). In that regard, the current MTSP’s End of the Cycle Review flagged social accountability as one of the key issues to be strengthened in UNICEF’s interventions to build the capacity for enhanced civil society engagement – i.e. feedback on, and voicing demand for, improved service delivery—thus contributing to improved results for children and families.

Furthermore, in February 2013, the UNICEF Executive Board approved of the Management Response to a Global Evaluation of the organization’s application of the Human Rights Based Approach to Programming, which reaffirms UNICEF’s continued commitment to the principle of accountability and its contribution to the achievement of results for children. To this end, UNICEF is seeking to build on its experience of promoting this principle and supporting mechanisms that ensure its realization for children through a range of options and possibilities for expanded support to country level efforts and partnerships.

This effort builds upon a number of previous initiatives, including:

 A research mapping of local and informal accountability mechanisms undertaken by New York University in collaboration with the Human Rights Unit of UNICEF (2013). This literature survey identifies local and informal accountability mechanisms that are available to children and their families in the fields of health and education. It focusses particularly on those mechanisms that target children from marginalized communities and in particular, those that target (i) children from religious, ethnic and national minority groups, (ii) children from indigenous groups, and (iii) children with disabilities.

 A global study of independent human rights institutions for children undertaken by the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre (2012) which brings an explicit children’s focus to traditional adult-oriented governance systems demonstraing their impact on the effectiveness of delivering results for children.

***2. Purpose:

The main objective of this assignment is to assist UNICEF in reviewing and analysing how, through innovative accountability mechanisms for children’s rights (with a focus on non-formal mechanisms) the CRC can be used as a practical tool to support the realization of children’s rights. Further, to develop programme guidance providing UNICEF Country Offices with recommendations on how to implement accountability initiatives and enhance partnerships with various types of accountability mechanisms.
Within the framework of UNICEFs Strategic Plan (2014-2017), this assignment will therefore make a key contribution towards: (1) ensuring that each Result Area of the SP (Health, HIV and AIDS, Water, Sanitation & Hygiene, Nutrition, Education, Child Protection and Social Inclusion) contributes to enhancing accountability to children; (2) enhanced strategic readiness of UNICEF Country Offices to support partnerships and interventions that promote accountability; and (3) generating evidence of the benefits and impacts of accountability mechanisms as a basis for informed advocacy, resource mobilization and decision-making, particularly within the context of UNICEFs strategic position and role in the post-2015 development agenda.
The consultant will report to the Associate Director, Programmes, UNICEF HQ and be supported in the assignment by the Human Rights team in New York and Geneva.
***3. Expected Results:
Conduct a desk review to:
a) obtain an overview of how the principle of accountability has been interpreted in theory and determine the various modalities through which it has been translated into practice at global, regional, national and community levels to advance the implementation of children’s rights;
b) with a focus on innovative, non-formal accountability mechanisms, provide an overview of illustrative experiences at all levels and in each of UNICEF’s Result Areas;
c) analyse the extent to which these mechanisms promote equity and are adapted to children, including the most vulnerable; and
d) on this basis, produce recommendations for enhanced engagement of UNICEF in supporting such mechanisms. Specifically, elaborate the programmatic elements of accountability in the seven results areas of the SP (2014-2017) and present a range of options for engagement by each sector.
Based on above desk review, develop programme guidance for UNICEF Country Offices on implementing accountability initiatives and enhancing partnerships with accountability mechanisms.
***4. Duty Station: Home-based

***5. Deliverables:

 Report on the theoretical concept of accountability, the desk review and analysis of existing accountability mechanisms for children (with a particularly focus on innovative non-formal mechanisms) and recommendations for potential scaling up and innovative approaches to accountability initiatives in each of the seven result areas of the SP, particularly within the context of UNICEF’s field operations. (15 pages)
 Final programme guidance. (15 pages)
***6. Timeframe: Approximately 40 working days within a three-month period.

***7. Start Date: 4 November 2013 End Date: 31 January 2014

***8. Qualifications and specialized knowledge, experience and skills required:

    Advanced university degree in the social sciences;
    Ten years solid responsible professional work experience in social development, human rights in general, and children’s rights in particular, knowledge of the mandate and work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child;
    UNICEF programming experience at the country level is essential;
    Ability to connect human rights programming principles with implementation in the field in a concrete and practical way;
    Strong research and analytical skills especially in going beyond conceptual understanding of child rights to organize information and data so as to draw a clear picture of what is working, what is not, and why;
    Excellent writing and communication skills and ability to present information to relevant audiences in a clear and succinct manner;
    Proactive ability and initiative to seek guidance, information, and input from the project team and supervisor on an on-going basis;
    Prior experience working with UN agencies or other international organizations is an asset.

General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants / Individual Contractors

    Legal Status

The individual engaged by UNICEF under this contract as a consultant or individual contractors (the “Contractor”) is engaged in a personal capacity and not as representatives of a Government or of any other entity external to the United Nations. The Contractor is neither a “staff member” under the Staff Regulations of the United Nations and UNICEF policies and procedures nor an “official” for the purpose of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, 1946. The Contractor may, however, be afforded the status of “Experts on Mission” in the sense of Section 22 of Article VI of the Convention and the Contractor is required by UNICEF to travel in order to fulfill the requirements of this contract, the Contractor may be issued a United Nations Certificate in accordance with Section 26 of Article VII of the Convention.

    Obligations

The Contractor shall complete the assignment set out in the Terms of Reference for this contract with due diligence, efficiency and economy, in accordance with generally accepted professional techniques and practices.

The Contractor must respect the impartiality and independence of UNICEF and the United Nations and in connection with this contract must neither seek nor accept instructions from anyone other than UNICEF. During the term of this contract the Contractor must refrain from any conduct that would adversely reflect on UNICEF or the United Nations and must not engage in any activity that is incompatible with the administrative instructions and policies and procedures of UNICEF. The Contractor must exercise the utmost discretion in all matters relating to this contract.

In particular, but without limiting the foregoing, the Contractor (a) will conduct him- or herself in a manner consistent with the Standards of Conduct in the International Civil Service; and (b) will comply with the administrative instructions and policies and procedures of UNICE relating to fraud and corruption; information disclosure; use of electronic communication assets; harassment, sexual harassment and abuse of authority; and the requirements set forth in the Secretary General’s Bulletin on Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse.
Unless otherwise authorized by the appropriate official in the office concerned, the Contractor must not communicate at any time to the media or to any institution, person, Government or other entity external to UNICEF any information that has not been made public and which has become known to the Contractor by reason of his or her association with UNICEF or the United Nations. The Contractor may not use such information without the written authorization of UNICEF, and shall under no circumstances use such information for his or her private advantage or that of others. These obligations do not lapse upon termination of this contact.

    Title rights

UNICEF shall be entitled to all property rights, including but not limited to patents, copyrights and trademarks, with regard to material created by the Contractor which bears a direct relation to, or is made in order to perform, this contract. At the request of UNICEF, the Contractor shall assist in securing such property rights and transferring them to UNICEF in compliance with the requirements of the law governing such rights.

    Travel

If UNICEF determines that the Contractor needs to travel in order to perform this contract, that travel shall be specified in the contract and the Contractor’s travel costs shall be set out in the contract, on the following basis:
(a) UNICEF will pay for travel in economy class via the most direct and economical route; provided however that in exceptional circumstances, such as for medical reasons, travel in business class may be approved by UNICEF on a case-by-case basis.
(b) UNICEF will reimburse the Contractor for out-of-pocket expenses associated with such travel by paying an amount equivalent to the daily subsistence allowance that would be paid to staff members undertaking similar travel for official purposes.

    Statement of good health

Before commencing work, the Contractor must deliver to UNICEF a certified self-statement of good health and to take full responsibility for the accuracy of that statement. In addition, the Contractor must include in this statement of good health (a) confirmation that he or she has been informed regarding inoculations required for him or her to receive, at his or her own cost and from his or her own medical practitioner or other party, for travel to the country or countries to which travel is authorized; and (b) a statement he or she is covered by medical/health insurance and that, if required to travel beyond commuting distance from his or her usual place or residence to UNICEF (other than to duty station(s) with hardship ratings “H” and “A”, a list of which has been provided to the Contractor) the Contractor’s medical/health insurance covers medical evacuations. The Contractor will be responsible for assuming all costs that may be occurred in relation to the statement of good health.

    Insurance

The Contractor is fully responsible for arranging, at his or her own expense, such life, health and other forms of insurance covering the term of this contract as he or she considers appropriate taking into account, among other things, the requirements of paragraph 5 above. The Contractor is not eligible to participate in the life or health insurance schemes available to UNICEF and United Nations staff members. The responsibility of UNICEF and the United Nations is limited solely to the payment of compensation under the conditions described in paragraph 7 below.

    Service incurred death, injury or illness

If the Contractor is travelling with UNICEF’s prior approval and at UNICEF’s expense in order to perform his or her obligations under this contract, or is performing his or her obligations under this contract in a UNICEF or United Nations office with UNICEF’s approval, the Contractor (or his or her dependents as appropriate), shall be entitled to compensation from UNICEF in the event of death, injury or illness attributable to the fact that the Contractor was travelling with UNICEF’s prior approval and at UNICEF’s expense in order to perform his or her obligations under this contractor, or was performing his or her obligations under this contract in a UNICEF or United Nations office with UNICEF’s approval. Such compensation will be paid through a third party insurance provider retained by UNICEF and shall be capped at the amounts set out in the Administrative Instruction on Individual Consultants and Contractors. Under no circumstances will UNICEF be liable for any other or greater payments to the Contractor (or his or her dependents as appropriate).

    Arbitration

(a) Any dispute arising out of or, in connection with, this contract shall be resolved through amicable negotiation between the parties.
(b) If the parties are not able to reach agreement after attempting amicable negotiation for a period of thirty (30) days after one party has notified the other of such a dispute, either party may submit the matter to arbitration in accordance with the UNCITRAL procedures within fifteen (15) days thereafter. If neither party submits the matter for arbitration within the specified time the dispute will be deemed resolved to the full satisfaction of both parties. Such arbitration shall take place in New York before a single arbitrator agreed to by both parties; provided however that should the parties be unable to agree on a single arbitrator within thirty days of the request for arbitration, the arbitrator shall be designated by the United Nations Legal Counsel. The decision rendered in the arbitration shall constitute final adjudication of the dispute.

    Penalties for Underperformance

Payment of fees to the Contractor under this contractor, including each installment or periodic payment (if any), is subject to the Contractor’s full and complete performance of his or her obligations under this contract with regard to such payment to UNICEF’s satisfaction, and UNICEF’s certification to that effect.

    Termination of Contract

This contract may be terminated by either party before its specified termination date by giving notice in writing to the other party. The period of notice shall be five (5) business days (in the UNICEF office engaging the Contractor) in the case of contracts for a total period of less than two (2) months and ten (10) business days (in the UNICEF office engaging the Contractor) in the case of contracts for a longer period; provided however that in the event of termination on the grounds of impropriety or other misconduct by the Contractor (including but not limited to breach by the Contractor of relevant UNICEF policies, procedures, and administrative instructions), UNICEF shall be entitled to terminate the contract without notice. If this contract is terminated in accordance with this paragraph 10, the Contractor shall be paid on a pro rata basis determined by UNICEF for the actual amount of work performed to UNICEF’s satisfaction at the time of termination. UNICEF will also pay any outstanding reimbursement claims related to travel by the Contractor. Any additional costs incurred by UNICEF resulting from the termination of the contract by either party may be withheld from any amount otherwise due to the Contractor under this paragraph 10.

    Taxation

UNICEF and the United Nations accept no liability for any taxes, duty or other contribution payable by the consultant and individual contractor on payments made under this contract. Neither UNICEF nor the United Nations will issue a statement of earnings to the consultant and individual contractor

How to apply:

Interested persons are invited to submit their P11 (which can be downloaded from our website at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_53129.html), CV along with a one-page cover letter summarizing relevant experience to pdconsultants@unicef.org with subject line “Consultancy, Development of programme guidance on implementing accountability initiatives and enhancing partnerships with accountability mechanisms” not later than October 17, 2013. Please indicate a lump sum amount for the delivery of the products. Note that any travel required as part of the project will be paid by UNICEF and should not be included in the lump sum total. Any applications without a lump sum amount will not be considered.
Joint applications of two or more individuals will not be accepted.