Consultancy - Culture Initiative, Exceptional Collaborator Award

Duration:           2 months



Location:           New York, USA

Position: 

In the context of identifying areas for scaling-up and equipping UNFPA for the present and future, organizational culture is defined as the set of behaviors, underlying values, and mindsets that shape how we work and interact day-to-day. Considering its implications and critical importance for the organization, the Culture Initiative was launched in 2019, as a cross-cutting element of the Change Agenda. The objectives of the Culture Initiative are to understand UNFPA’s current culture; build a vision of the culture that will enable UNFPA to deliver on its mandate and strategy; build momentum for change; and define the pathways to change by institutionalizing the aspirational culture as part of UNFPA regular business.

The proposed consultancy will support the organization's efforts to ensure that all UNFPA corporate units and personnel adopt the values, behaviors and mindset to be results-focused, agile and innovative and, therefore, fit for purpose to achieve its Strategic Plan, 2018-2021, and to achieve the ICPD and 2030 agendas. 

Objectives:

The overarching objective of the consultancy is to develop a detailed proposal and define the criteria for a spot award for exceptional collaboration, civility and excellence in service with emphasis on teamwork, collaboration both for individuals and teams. The goal is to promote productivity and to provide immediate and visible recognition of employee contributions. The award is to be developed on the basis of data collected on UNFPA culture AS IS and culture TO BE. Once the information is compiled, a concrete format and structure shall be proposed.

The consultancy objectives can be summarized as follows: 

• Fully develop and propose criteria, eligibility, names, categories, timelines, and procedures for an annual spot award recognizing exceptional collaboration, civility and excellence in service. The employee’s contribution must be for an action or accomplishment that is beyond the scope of the employee’s regular day-to-day activities and assignments. The award is not intended to address simply the performance, but how the work was accomplished by individuals and teams, behaviors, attitudes that demonstrate an ability to focus on results, but using stellar interpersonal skills to nurture collaboration. Peer nomination process, followed by shortlisting based on specific criteria and OED (Office of Executive Director) review is suggested for the exceptional collaborator award.  

Scope of the Consultancy

The engagement of an individual consultant will ensure that technical expertise and capacity provide an independent view and explore new approaches for finalizing the award. It is anticipated that the consultant will conduct a secondary desk review of documents to assess existing knowledge on organizational culture and produce a proposal for the exceptional collaborator award. The consultancy is expected to take six weeks for the completion. 

The selected service provider is expected to undertake the following key tasks:

• Exceptional Collaborator Awards webpage creation and management
• Based on the legacy of the culture initiative, fully develop and propose criteria, eligibility, names, categories, timelines, and procedures for a spot award recognizing exceptional collaboration, civility and excellence in service.
• Liaise with UNFPA pertinent units to create, upload materials and maintain an “event website” (MyUNFPA community page) that details event information and includes different individual pages for, but not limited to, the following: About the Exceptional Collaborator Award, How to Apply, FAQ, Judges, Nominees and Winners (content to be developed jointly with UNFPA).
• Coordinate with UNFPA to manage application submissions and develop a system ensuring that submitted applications are automatically entered into a database.
• Liaise with country office teams to coordinate the submission of English applications that may be translated from local languages into the applicant database.
• Guided by the overall communications plan, develop a comprehensive social media deck that includes a minimum 15 draft social media messages along with appropriate handles, hashtags and branded graphic card templates that can be translated and published on each social media platform (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook etc.) throughout the duration of the contract. This includes messages to promote the Exceptional Collaborator Award, linking to its web pages, call for nominations and highlight national/regional winners and their profiles.

Process and Methodology

The selected consultant must describe how he/she will address/deliver the demands described in the ToR(s); providing a detailed description of the essential performance characteristics, reporting conditions and quality assurance mechanisms that will be put in place, while demonstrating that the proposed methodology will be appropriate to the local conditions and context of the work.

Preparation and Inception

• Core messages to share key data obtained during the first phase of the Culture Initiative, including the Culture Poll/Survey and inter-regional workshops.
• Delivery of brief 1-2 page inception reports detailing the consultant's understanding of the work required, the proposed approach to work, analysis and approaches.

Desk Review

• Desk review of documents from all organizational levels to assess existing knowledge on organizational culture AS IS and culture TO BE.
• Consultancy (remotely, e.g. via Zoom) with stakeholders in HQ and Regional and Country offices to gather their recommendations for the award, and lessons learned from their experience and any assessment resources developed at the field level.
• Development of an exceptional collaborator award on organizational culture.

Review Process

• As the award is finalized, the draft documents will be circulated by the CMS to relevant parties for review.

Final Documents prepared

• The consultant will incorporate and address comments and requests by UNFPA in consultation with the Change Management Secretariat. 
• The consultant will submit a complete, copy-edited and cleanly formatted layout of the exceptional collaborator award as a Word document. 

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Change Management Secretariat. The work will be done in cooperation with different areas of UNFPA, including relevant stakeholders. Regular meetings will ensure that findings from analysis, diagnosis and recommendations can be discussed in a dialectic and co-creative process.

Requirements

Education

The consultant must have an Advanced degree in a relevant field

Experience

• Team Leader with a minimum experience of 5 years in similar or related assignments in Human Resources, Performance Management, or relevant fields;
• Demonstrated experience in coordinating, liaising and sharing information with institutions dealing with organizational culture;
• A team player with proven application of relevant competencies, including assessment, analytical, writing and planning skills;
• Ability to work under pressure and in response to changing needs;
• Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines;
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and liaison skills;
• Excellent writing, reporting, drafting and editing skills;
• Experience in web development is a plus;
• Ability to establish effective working relations in a multicultural team environment; 
• Initiative, sound judgment and demonstrated ability to work harmoniously with staff members from different national and cultural backgrounds. 
• Computer literacy in Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Canva.

How to Apply: 

Please send your CV, cover letter, and proposed plan to address the objective of the consultancy with "Consultancy: Exceptional Collaborator Award" in the subject to Vlada Gromova (gromova@unfpa.org). 

Disclaimer:



UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Fraudulent notices, letters or offers may be submitted to the UNFPA fraud hotline http://www.unfpa.org/help/hotline.cfm



UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, teamwork, Embracing diversity in all its forms, integrity and a healthy balance of work and life. We are committed to maintaining our balanced gender distribution and therefore encourage women to apply. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities for all including persons with disabilities.