UNICEF seeks to recruit national a consultant for graphic design and layout of the LEAP operations manual, Accra – Ghana

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,

The Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme is the Government of Ghana’s flagship Social Protection intervention that was initiated in 2008 with the aim of reducing poverty among the poorest and vulnerable households in Ghana. The broad objective of LEAP is to reduce extreme poverty by increasing consumption, nutrition and improving human capital among extremely poor households with Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs), the aged (65 years and above without support), persons with severe disability without productive capacity and extremely poor pregnant women with children under one year.

Over the last few years some improvements have taken place on the programme. These include the use of public information campaigns and electronic data collection to improve targeting, a phased transition to an electronic payment system, development of electronic reporting formats to be used by DSWOs, changes in MIS modules and improvements in functionality, administration of complaints and updates through case management, and the plan to improve access of LEAP households to basic social services. Though guidelines were developed to guide the implementation of many of these improvements, the most recent version of the LEAP Operations Manual (OM) is from 2014, and it has not been updated to align with these revisions to implementation. In addition, the current phase of the LEAP programme is adding new components including facilitation of linkages to complementary services, recertification of communities and graduation which have not been included in previous operations manuals or guidelines.

The LEAP Operations Manual is the primary source of operational guidance for the LEAP programme. It outlines the key design parameters for the programme and broad procedures for the key operational areas needed to implement an efficient and effective programme. As the most recent last review of the OM was in 2014, the LEAP Management Secretariat (LMS) is currently reviewing all aspects of OM, aimed at updating all operational processes.

Considering the wide variety of end-users of the LEAP OM, from national level managers to district officers, rural bank payment service providers and community level focal points, it is crucial that the revised OM be user-friendly and easily understood. As a result, in addition to updating the content of the OM, the formatting and layout must be presented in such as way as to enable end-users to recognize their role and guide them towards correct programme processes. LEAP would like to also identify innovative means for disseminating the OM to increase the usage of available guidelines and improve adherence to agreed processes, this includes digitization of the document that will allow for filtering for content and completion of process checklists in real-time.

 

The activities that have been undertaken thus far for updating the manual are:

1. Reviewed the existing OM and guidelines for LEAP operations and agreed on the gaps that need to be updated.
2. Updated the content for relevant components of the manual and accompanying guidelines.

How can you make a difference?

The purpose of this assignment is to provide technical support to the LEAP Management Secretariat to finalize the content of the revised operations manual and to format it into a user-friendly format.

 

Specifically, the consultant will:

1. Consolidate the content components of the OM and accompanying guidelines into a coherent manual, editing the content for consistency, clarity, simplicity of the language and checking for logical completeness and flow of processes.
2. Advise and design the most appropriate layout and graphics of the OM to enhance readability, illustrate key work processes and highlight key messages in the manual and accompanying guidelines. Formatting should be user-friendly and enable quick access to roles and expectations of different actors.
3. Create a digitized interactive version of the OM with appropriate features to enhance remote access by staff in different units and levels of the LEAP programme. The software development for the interactive version must enable filtering by process, function and role and should allow for tracking of progress.

 

Tasks To be Completed:

1. Review the full LEAP OM including the technical annexes and edit for consistency in language, headings and sub-headings, etc.
2. Format the full LEAP OM including page numbers, fonts, size and headings, enabling cross referencing between sections and with detailed technical annex guidelines.
3. Develop a user-friendly draft design and layout for the operations manual utilizing appropriate simple but creative graphics, icons, color coding, tabs, boxes, workflows, checklists, diagrams, etc. Design should be consistent across the OM and technical guidelines in the annex, enabling quick reference for process checklists and roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders.
4. Facilitate presentation and consultation with the LMS, UNICEF and stakeholders to agree on most appropriate and user-friendly design. Based on feedback from this session, finalize design and format OMaccordingly. The final design should be presented in template form, allowing for future editing of content in subsequent OM updates.
5. Based on final OM and consultations with stakeholders, develop an interactive digital version of the LEAP operations manual with features such as glossary, links between sections and technical annexes, filtering by process, role, or stakeholder among other functionalities. It is expected that this interactive version will be developed as a software application that can be utilized by Android smart devices as well as desktop and laptop computers. The final product will be presented in template form, allowing for future editing of content in subsequent OM updates.

 

Expected Deliverables and Timeframe for Submission

	Deliverable	Proposed Timeframe
1	Final edited and formatted operations manual (tasks 1 & 2)	3 weeks from signature of contract
2	Presentation of draft user-friendly design and layout to stakeholders for consultation and feedback (task 3)	5 weeks from signature of contract
3	Final design/layout of OM that has incorporated feedback from LMS, UNICEF and stakeholders, submission to include master template that enables future editing of content (task 4)	8 weeks from signature of contract
4	User-friendly digital version of the OM presented as software application, submission to include master template that enables future editing of content (task 5)	10 weeks from signature of contract

 

Supervision and Reporting Arrangement

The consultant contract will be supervised by the Social Policy Specialist at UNICEF and technically supervised by the Deputy Director of the LEAP Programme. The consultant is expected to work closely with the LEAP Management Secretariat and the UNICEF Social Protection team.

 

Payment and Payment Schedule

The consultant will be paid professional fees based on expected deliverables in 4 installments as per the table above. Breakdown of total payment is proposed as follows:

• Deliverable 1: edited OM, 20% of total contract
• Deliverable 2: draft OM designs, 20% of total contract
• Deliverable 3: final OM and template, 25% of total contract
• Deliverable 4: user-friendly digital OM and template, 35% of total contract

 

Timeframe

It is expected that the assignment will be completed within 3 months, final product due by 31 December 2018.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• A first degree or training in publishing, graphic design or any other visual production based subject
• A minimum of 5 of relevant professional experience and proven experience in visual production, graphic design, layout design, formatting, translation of technical text into creative, user-friendly manuals and guidelines
• Demonstrated previous experience of similar assignments, a sample of 2-3 previous works must be submitted with application.
• Extensive experience using design software such as Coral Draw, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, etc.
• Excellent writing and editing skills in English;
• Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
• Good knowledge of government development programmes, experience developing user-friendly manuals and/or guidelines for such programmes is desirable.

 

General Conditions: Procedures and Logistics

• The consultant will be expected to use his/her own computer/software and means of transport. Office space at UNICEF can be made available at the consultant’s request;
• The assignment will be based in Accra with frequent interaction with LMS;
• The assignment cost will include professional fees and other related cost to the assignment;
• The contract will be paid in 4 installments based on satisfactory submitted deliverables as indicated above.

 

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 technical competencies required for this post are….

View our competency framework here

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.

 

Remarks:

Interested candidates should attach their financial proposal to complete this assignment in Ghana Cedis. In addition to the CV/Resume, candidates should attach a maximum four-page proposal on how he/she intends to effectively accomplish this assignment within the designated three-months period, inclusive of a draft workplan. Candidates should also include 2-3 samples of relevant layout design work that has been completed within the past 10 years.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Apply here