National Consultant: Nutrition and Food Systems Youth-led Campaign, Pretoria, South Africa, 13 months (Home-based)

Under the supervision of the Nutrition Manager, the consultant will plan, implement, and evaluate a youth led
food SBC campaign for nutrition and food system transformation targeting young people between the age of 15-24 years.
The consultant will ensure that the campaign achieves the following objectives:
1. Facilitate access to accurate and context-specific information on nutrition and food system transformation for adolescents and youth aged 15-24 years.
2. Improve the capacity of young people aged 15-24 years to plan, implement and evaluate youth-led food system advocacy campaigning activities to support key policy development and increase demand for nutritious food.
3. Increase capacity among relevant local youth structures and advocacy partners to take an active role in food system transformation and advocacy for food policy changes to improve the food environment in South Africa.

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, NUTRITION. 

Health UNICEF South Africa

UNICEF South Africa is committed to ensuring that every child survives and thrives. 

Given the various factors that influence nutrition-related behaviors, changing such behaviors requires interventions at multiple levels including:

• individual knowledge and awareness of healthy and unhealthy foods, as well as affordable, and accessible food alternatives
• community level changes that address practical and normative barriers for individuals to facilitate healthier nutritional choices
• a policy environment which is conducive of healthy choices
• meaningfully involving young people in any initiative that seeks to influence their behavior

The South African government is actively working to improve the food environment to improve diets and decrease the growing rates of obesity and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Some of the key recommended policies that the country is pursuing include fiscal measures such as taxation on sugar-sweetened beverages, improving the school food environment, implementing mandatory front of package labelling on foodstuffs, as well as restricting marketing of unhealthy foods to children.

In support of the government efforts to improve the food environment, since 2022, UNICEF South Africa has implemented a youth-led advocacy and Social and Behavior Change (SBC) campaign titled My Body, My Health: My Wealth. During its first two phases in 2022-2024, the campaign has reached over 3 million young people aged 15-24 years with messages on prevention of obesity and non-communicable diseases and empowered youth to be agents of change in relation to the existing challenges of the food system and relevant policies to effectively counter these.

The first two phases of the campaign have mainly been implemented through the network of UNICEF Volunteers primarily hosted in institutions of higher learning across the country. Volunteers are on average aged 18-24 and work to support the UNICEF mandate through a youth for children approach. In addition, UNICEF has worked closely with relevant civil society partners and youth networks that support and empower young people to engage with food policy. 

UNICEF will continue involving youth as agents of change to advocate for better nutrition and the transformation of the food system through various policy initiatives, such as the implementation of the draft regulations Relating to the Labelling and Advertising of Foodstuffs. To achieve this, UNICEF seeks to implement phase III of the national youth-led campaign on nutrition and food system transformation aiming to reach and engage adolescents and young people aged 15-24 years. The campaign builds on the achievements and learnings from the existing UNICEF campaign My Body, My Health: My Wealth and seeks to co-create with and actively involve young people, as well as relevant stakeholders and government Departments, in its implementation. 

How can you make a difference? 

Under the supervision of the Nutrition Manager, the consultant will plan, implement, and evaluate a youth led food SBC campaign for nutrition and food system transformation targeting young people between the age of 15-24 years. The consultant will ensure that the campaign achieves the following objectives:

1. Facilitate access to accurate and context-specific information on nutrition and food system transformation for adolescents and youth aged 15-24 years.
2. Improve the capacity of young people aged 15-24 years to plan, implement and evaluate youth-led food system advocacy campaigning activities to support key policy development and increase demand for nutritious food.
3. Increase capacity among relevant local youth structures and advocacy partners to take an active role in food system transformation and advocacy for food policy changes to improve the food environment in South Africa.

Outputs/Deliverables:
The campaign will include the following phases and activities:

Phase I: Design and Planning

• Leveraging on approaches from phase II of the campaign, collaborate with young people and key partners to design a comprehensive campaign strategy and workplan, including SMART objectives, activities, milestones, defined roles and responsibilities, slogan campaign, a defined digital advertising strategy, monitoring and evaluation and other relevant matters.
• Establish and maintain a consultation group including relevant stakeholders (CSO representatives, youth, communications and advocacy specialists, government officials, etc.) to consult on, drive and share key milestones of the campaign.
• Present the campaign strategy and workplan to UNICEF and obtain feedback to fully finalize it.

Phase II: Implementation

• Facilitate and coordinate the implementation of all activities stipulated in the campaign plan over the course of the consultancy.
• Facilitate regular and ad hoc meetings with a consultation group to test specific approaches, messages and initiatives.
• Manage individual relationships with youth advocates, assess their learning, identifying potential challenges and spot talent and key interests.
• Manage the relations with partners relevant to achieving the objectives of the campaign.
• Support youth advocates in the planning, implementation and evaluation of events and offline/online engagements to promote the campaign, including meetings with key decision makers and other engagements relevant to the policy landscape.
• With feedback from UNICEF and in close collaboration with young people and partners, facilitate the development of a package of information materials in various formats (social media tiles, blog posts, scripts for radio and video, surveys or quizzes, press releases etc.).
• Facilitate the dissemination and targeted boosting of relevant messages on multiple platforms regularly throughout the campaign duration to reach at least 1 500 000 young people. Outreach platforms include but are not limited to existing government platforms (e.g., B-Wise) UNICEF website, UNICEF volunteer campus clubs and other youth structures, UNICEF social media platforms
  (Tik Tok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter), U-Report, Internet of Good Things, school platforms, community radio and print media.
• Leveraging on UNICEF’s existing relations, identify potential media opportunities and coordinate relationships with journalists and other media sources.
• Coordinate UNICEF’s contributions to government initiatives related to yearly health days including National Nutrition Week, World Obesity Day and Healthy Lifestyle Awareness Day.
• Liaise with relevant UNICEF staff to keep the campaign website up to date with new materials developed.
• Conduct training, mentorship and capacity-building activities for local youth structures and advocacy partners on the planning, implementation, and evaluation of youth-led campaigning activities for food system transformation.
• In collaboration with culinary experts, facilitate the development and dissemination of healthy and affordable recipes for young people.
• Coordinate the dissemination of a UNICEF Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) on youth advocacy for nutrition and mental health.
• In collaboration with relevant UNICEF teams and based on latest available evidence, design, implement and evaluate the use of nudges and choice architecture interventions to improve healthy food choices across selected university food vendors. These may include calorie/nutritional labels on pre-packaged food items, increasing the availability, visibility and accessibility of healthy foods and reducing the convenience and accessibility of unhealthy foods.

Phase III: Monitoring and evaluation

• Within the campaign plan, develop a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation plan including quantitative and qualitative research tools for collection of baseline and endline data to assess the reach and effectiveness of the messages communicated and the activities conducted.
• Facilitate regular and ad hoc project management meetings with consultative group to monitor implementation and elicit feedback to course correct, as required.
• Conduct evaluations of key activities based on the campaign objectives.
• Prepare a comprehensive written report of the process, achievements, reach and lessons learned and present final evaluation and results to UNICEF.

Each phase of the consultancy will require feedback and inputs from UNICEF before these are considered complete. The consultant is expected to present results and progress to UNICEF on a regular basis.

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in  Behavioral Health Sciences, Psychology, sociology, Health Education and Promotion, Social Sciences, Public Health or another related field
• Expertise on social and behavior change communications campaigns and strategies and knowledge on nutrition, food systems, health promotion, NCD prevention or similar.
• A minimum of five years of relevant professional experience in social and behavior change, risk communication and community engagement.
• Previous experience with nutrition and food systems or health promotion.
• Solid experience in Results-Based Measurement and in social and behavior change monitoring and evaluation.
• Solid experience in multi-partner coordination.
• Experience engaging and working with young people is desirable.
• Expertise in the development and design of knowledge products for various audiences.
• Proven record of securing placements with traditional and digital media.
• Thorough knowledge of social media tools, including Twitter and Facebook.
• A good track record in working with the government and implementation of social and behavior change strategies.
• Relevant experience working in the UN or other international development organization is an asset.
• Ability to (i) work flexibly and independently with limited supervision in a multicultural team environment and deliver quality results against tight deadlines; and (ii) handle multiple tasks and deliver quality outputs even under pressure, is required.
• Strong computer skills (word, excel, power point, outlook) are required. Skills with other software such as Canva, Photoshop and similar are desirable. Strong communication skills (both writing and speaking), especially the ability to draft analytical
  reports/documents is required.
• Proactive coordination and networking skills required.
• Familiarity with government regulations and UNICEF youth advocacy initiatives is desirable.
• Fluency in written and oral English is required.
• Knowledge of a local language is an asset.

Technical evaluation

Proven skills in communication, networking, and tools development
• Knowledge of nutrition, Food systems, NCD prevention, health promotion or similar
• Proven skills in project management
• Proven skills in monitoring and evaluation of social and behavior change interventions
• Proven skills in social and behavioral data collection and analysis
• Proven skill in stakeholders’ coordination
• Proven ability to conceptualize, plan and execute ideas as well as ensure knowledge transfer
• Strong writing skills

Additional guidelines for applications

• Complete the online applicant profile
• Portfolio: relevant examples of your work
• Concise cover letter
• CV
• A financial proposal including costs related to deliverables (should you not have a template; modify Financial Proposal Form – Updated 10 April 2023.xlsx to suit your requirements).
  • Please indicate your ability, availability and daily/monthly rate (in ZAR) to undertake the terms of reference above
    (including admin cost if applicable)

Core Competencies

1. Communication
2. Working with People
3. Drive for Results

Functional Competencies

1. Analyzing
2. Deciding and initiating Action
3. Applying technical expertise
4. Planning and organizing
5. Adapting and responding to change

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:  

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. Consultants 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.