TERMS OF REFERENCE
Summary
Title
Purpose
MDGi Project Implementation Monitoring and Reporting Consultant
Assist the Chief of Health and Nutrition Section in the monitoring and
documentation of progress in the implementation of activities and tasks
related to the MDGi programme
- Create and manage an updated knowledge bank for the MDGi
programme starting from the initial negotiations with the EU;
- Participate in internal and external meetings related to the MDGi
programme as directed by the Health and Nutrition Section Chief and
provide high quality minutes of meetings and follow-up action points
- Support day-to-day documentation of progress updates collected from
internal UNICEF communications, (within country office team, with
regional office, with HQ and with Brussels teams) as well as from
UNICEF team consultations with the EU Delegation to Zambia, with
Government of Zambia entities at national, provincial and district level
as well as with UN sister agencies;
- Review assigned documents and provide high quality analytical and
visually appealing summary reports and/or presentations for sharing with
internal and external audiences as and when required;
- Support the MDGi project implementation and visibility teams
document processes and progress in Lusaka as well as at the field level;
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Level and Expected Fee
Location
Duration
Start Date
Reporting to
Support the preparation, review and finalization of MDGi documents
destined for reviews by the MDGi Technical Working Group (TWG) and
to the EU Delegation to Zambia to the UNICEF Chief of Health and
Nutrition – ensuring such documents are visually appealing and carefully
vetted for content quality and accuracy ensure diligent adherence to
agreed-upon presentation standards.
- Ensure tracking and pacing of UNICEF teams contributions and
feedbacks for timely submissions to UNICEF Chief of Health and
Nutrition and the UNICEF Zambia Senior Management Team;
SSA
Lusaka, with occasional field travel
6 months with possibility of renewal
Immediately
Chief, Health and Nutrition
Background:
The Government of Zambia through the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health
(MCDMCH), and the Ministry of Health (MoH), together with the United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) are implementing a Maternal Neonatal and Child Health Millennium Development Goal
Initiative. The Action is entitled "Accelerating Progress towards Maternal, Neonatal and Child Morbidity
and Mortality in Zambia". The MCDMCH and UNICEF Zambia, through support from the European
Union (EU), will be supporting the implementation of an ambitious project over a 48 month period which
aims at improving availability and quality of health and nutrition services in 11 selected districts in
Copperbelt and Lusaka Provinces. The action focuses on strengthening service delivery and management
at district level, and at building management capacity at the provincial and national level. Supply side
interventions for improving the availability of services will be complemented by demand side measures at
the level of communities and households. The MDGi project will build on experiences and innovations
which have been piloted in Zambia, and aims at combining already existing strategies and capacities for
specific health problems into a comprehensive package of care at district level.
Objectives/Target:
The consultancy will support the production and timely dissemination of high quality documents and
communications as needed for the MDGi project – including but not limited to correspondence, progress
notes, and records of meetings, workshop reports, donor updates, donor reports and case studies. The
materials the consultant will produce is destined for a varied audience the majority of whom will be
technical.
Specific Tasks
The consultant will be required to complete the following tasks:
1. Establish an agreed upon communication, quality assurance and approval work-process for MDGi
related documents with the Chief of Health & Nutrition Section and the ZCO Senior Management;
2. Collate document contributions and liaise closely with the Operations Officer and members of the
Operations Section in ensuring the correctness of entries;
3. Maintain frequent courteous, collegial and results-focused contacts with ZCO units and team
members contributing to the design, implementation, monitoring evaluation and reporting of the
Zambia MDGi project (Health and Nutrition, Water and Sanitation, SPPME, Child Protection and
Education section as well as the Representative’s Office, the Dep Rep’s Office and Operations);
4. Ensure that the UNICEF and EU submission guidelines and procedures for quality and timeliness
of donor reporting, progress updates and other project related communication and documentation
are respected and implemented;
5. Collate inputs from various meetings and communications and liaise with the concerned section’s
programme assistants and the Operations section to ensure correctness and appropriateness of
financial information and reporting prior to submission through the Chief of Health and Nutrition
Section to various consultative fora;
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6. Provide quality control and editorial support, including editing and rewriting donor reports and
donor updates as needed and insure all content is factual and grammatically correct;
7. Support documentation of lessons learned from partnerships management and field implementation
and ensure accuracy and quality of contributions to the MDGi visibility plan and donor reports,
including quality assurance of planned photographs, info graphics and human interest stories;
8. Provide quality control and editorial support editorial support to the revised Description of Action,
the final Log-Frame and revised budget of the action and any other inception phase reporting;
9. Write and edit MDGi related correspondence for the ZCO Chief of Health and Nutrition Section
and senior UNICEF Zambia staff and ensure that correspondences and related follow-ups are
timely, factually, grammatically correct and are properly archived for documentation, knowledge
sharing and audit purposes;
10. Write and edit minutes for high-level MDGi meetings and MDGi related workshops and properly
archived for documentation and accessible for timely internal and external information sharing;
11. Assist in drafting and finalization of high quality analytical and visually appealing summary reports
documents, briefing notes and other MDGi related materials and/or presentations by UNICEF
Chief of Health and Nutrition for sharing with internal and external audiences as and when required
(Internal review meetings, UN MDGi support team meetings, MDGi TWG and Steering
Committee, the EU Delegation to Zambia and other fora) - ensuring such documents are visually
appealing and carefully vetted for content quality and accuracy ensure diligent adherence to
agreed-upon presentation standards;
12. Ensure internal and external deadlines are met with care and respect of sanctioned internal and
external review and approval processes prior to submissions to the donor;
13. Conduct him/herself in a manner respectful of the UNICEF mission and code of conduct.
Expected Deliverables
The following deliverables are to be submitted in accordance to approved quality assurance and clearance
processes through the UNICEF Chief of Health and Nutrition Section who is the approved ZCO MDGi
Project Coordinator.
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Deliverables/Products
Timing
1
Weekly Progress Notes for Senior ZCO Management Team
Every Friday from the 2nd week
of entry into service
2
Weekly Updates for EU, MCDMCH and UN Head of Every Friday from the 2nd week
Agencies Meetings
of entry into service
3
Monthly Progress Updates and Documents Sets for TWG Wednesdays of the week
MDGi Meetings
preceding the agreed upon dates
of MDGi statutory or ad-hoc
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TWG meetings
4
Quarterly Progress Updates and Document Sets for MDGi
Steering Committee Meetings
Ten days before MDGi Steering
Committee meetings
5
Semi-annual donor reports quality progress reports drafted
for UNICEF Brussels, ESARO and NY as per approved
guidelines, formats and submission processes
Fifteen days before the agreed
deadlines
Qualification/Specialized knowledge and Experience:
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University degree in the social sciences, journalism or related field, a master’s degree is an asset;
High level of fluency in written and spoken English and advanced user level competency of MS
Office suite are prerequisite
Demonstrate experiences in working with government partners, UN agencies, NGO’s and donors
At least three to five years of experience with UNICEF or other international organizations on
complex programmes, with focus on donor reporting, technical writing and editing required;
Proven documentation and knowledge management for EU funded projects required;
Proven ability to express clearly and concisely ideas and concepts in written and oral form; specific
skills in report writing and editing.
Ability to research, analyze, evaluate and synthesize information
Excellent teamwork skills
Computer skills, including internet navigation, and various office applications, required.
General Conditions of Service and Ethical Considerations:
The following general conditions shall apply.
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Not entitled to any payments during days off and sick leave;
Under the consultancy agreements, a month is defined as 22 working days and fees are prorated
accordingly. Will not be paid for weekends or public holidays;
Not be entitled to payment of overtime. All remuneration must be within the contract agreement;
No work may commence unless the contract is signed by both UNICEF and the consultant.
Will not have supervisory responsibilities or authority on UNICEF budget.
Performance indicators for evaluation:
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High quality content preparation;
Meet deadlines;
Collaborative and team player.
Work Place and Official Travel:
Consultant will be based within the UNICEF Offices in Lusaka and will occasionally need to travel within
Zambia and externally and in which chase travel expenses will be reimbursed in accordance to UNICEF
rules and regulations.
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Please consult with HR on entitlements if you have any queries.
Work Place and Official Travel:
Consultant will be based within the UNICEF Offices in Lusaka and will occasionally need to travel within
Zambia and externally and in which chase travel expenses will be reimbursed in accordance to UNICEF
rules and regulations.
Application Procedure:
Interested candidates should send their application by 31 May 2014 with updated Curriculum Vitae with at
least 3 traceable references and completed UN Personal History form (P-11) to Lusaka@unicef.org OR The
Human Resources Specialist, UNICEF Lusaka Office, UN House 3rd Floor, Alick Nkhata Road, P.O. Box
33610, Lusaka. Please clearly indicate the position applied for and note that the Personal History form (P11) can be downloaded from the UNICEF Lusaka website under ‘Opportunities.’ The advertisement is also
being posted on our website. A direct link is provided for your convenience and easy access:
http://www.unicef.org/zambia/5384_10485.html
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