Documentary Production Company for UNICEF ECA Programme Cycle

Institutional/Corporate Contract

Terms of Reference (TOR)

Summary:

Background:

UNICEF Eastern Caribbean Area Office (ECA) supports governments and partners across the Eastern Caribbean to realize the rights of every child, as articulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and reflected in the UNICEF Multi-Country Programme.

Throughout the 2022-2026 programme cycle, UNICEF has worked alongside governments, civil society organisations, development partners, communities, children and young people to improve outcomes across a broad range of programme areas, including:

• Early childhood development;
• Quality, equitable and inclusive education;
• Child protection and violence prevention;
• Mental health and psychosocial support;
• Social protection;
• Youth participation and civic engagement;
• Climate resilience and environmental sustainability;
• Emergency preparedness and humanitarian response;
• Digital innovation; and
• Social and behaviour change.

The programme cycle has unfolded during one of the most challenging periods in the region's recent history. Caribbean children and families have continued to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic while confronting increasingly frequent and severe climate-related emergencies, including hurricanes, flooding, drought, volcanic activity and other natural hazards. The region has also experienced changing migration patterns, economic pressures and widening social inequalities that continue to affect children's well-being.

Despite these challenges, governments, communities and development partners have demonstrated resilience, innovation and commitment in advancing children's rights. Across the Eastern Caribbean, thousands of children and young people have benefited from stronger education systems, improved child protection services, expanded opportunities for youth leadership, enhanced emergency preparedness, greater access to mental health support and more climate-resilient communities.

Throughout the current programme cycle, UNICEF Eastern Caribbean has documented these initiatives through photographs, videos, human-interest stories, news articles and digital communications products. These existing assets provide a valuable historical record of programme implementation and impact and present an opportunity to demonstrate change over time through compelling visual storytelling.

As the current programme cycle draws to a close, UNICEF seeks to produce a flagship documentary film that reflects on the progress achieved for children across the Eastern Caribbean, while recognizing the partnerships, resilience and collective action that made this progress possible.

Rather than serving as a corporate institutional video, the documentary will adopt a human-centred approach, placing children, young people, families and communities at the heart of the narrative. Their voices, experiences and aspirations will illustrate how UNICEF's partnerships have contributed to meaningful and lasting change across the region.

The documentary will serve multiple purposes, including advocacy, donor engagement, resource mobilization, institutional learning and public awareness. It will also generate a suite of high-quality visual assets that UNICEF can continue to use throughout the next programme cycle.

Purpose

UNICEF Eastern Caribbean Area Office seeks the services of a qualified production company to conceptualize, produce and deliver a high-quality documentary film and accompanying short-form social media video series documenting the impact of UNICEF's work across the Eastern Caribbean during the 2022-026 programme cycle.

The documentary should answer one overarching question:

"What changed for children in the Eastern Caribbean over the last five years?"

Through authentic storytelling, the documentary should demonstrate how UNICEF, working alongside governments, communities, donors, civil society organizations and children themselves, has contributed to improving children's lives across the subregion.

The selected contractor will be expected to develop a compelling documentary narrative using a combination of newly captured footage and existing UNICEF audiovisual materials, highlighting both measurable programme achievements and the lived experiences behind them.

The assignment also seeks to produce a package of short-form digital videos derived from documentary footage to support advocacy and public engagement across UNICEF's social media platforms.

UNICEF Responsibilities

To facilitate the successful implementation of this assignment, UNICEF will:

• Identify and coordinate access to programme locations and activities for filming.
• Identify and facilitate access to children, young people, families, government representatives, implementing partners and other contributors to be interviewed.
• Coordinate introductions to key stakeholders and focal points in each programme country.
• Provide relevant background documentation, programme reports, communication materials and approved archival photographs and video footage for review.
• Facilitate internal review of scripts, treatments, rough cuts and other draft products.
• Support the contractor in obtaining any programme-specific permissions required for filming within UNICEF-supported activities.

The contractor shall remain responsible for all aspects of production planning, scheduling, filming, post-production and delivery of the agreed outputs.

Specific Tasks & Methodology:

Under the guidance of the Communication Officer and the supervision of the Communication Specialist, the selected contractor will be responsible for all aspects of the documentary production process, including pre-production, production and post-production.

Task 1: Inception, Research and Creative Development

The contractor will:

• Participate in an inception meeting with UNICEF to clarify objectives, expectations, timelines and production requirements.
• Review relevant programme documentation, including programme reports, annual reports, evaluations, human-interest stories, communication products and audiovisual materials from the 2022-2026 programme cycle.
• Review UNICEF's existing archive of photographs, videos and other digital assets and assess their suitability for incorporation into the documentary.
• Identify opportunities to use archival footage to illustrate programme progress and demonstrate change over time.
• Develop a documentary treatment outlining the proposed narrative, visual approach and storytelling methodology.
• Develop a detailed production schedule, filming plan and travel itinerary. Five days of travel is anticipated on each country.
• Prepare a proposed interview framework, including recommended interviewees, themes and guiding questions.
• Identify additional filming requirements necessary to complement archival footage and strengthen the documentary narrative.
• Submit an inception report for UNICEF's review and approval before field production begins.

Task 2: Field Production

The contractor will allocate five days in each country for field production in the following programme countries:

• Barbados
• Grenada
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Trinidad and Tobago

The contractor should allocate sufficient time in each country to capture interviews, programme activities, environmental footage and supporting visuals.

Field production activities will include:

• Conducting interviews with children, adolescents and young people participating in UNICEF-supported initiatives.
• Conducting interviews with parents, caregivers, teachers, social workers, community leaders, government officials, implementing partners and other relevant stakeholders.
• Filming UNICEF-supported programme activities, schools, health facilities, communities and public spaces where appropriate.
• Capturing observational footage that authentically reflects children's everyday lives and experiences.
• Capturing high-quality cinematic B-roll illustrating programme implementation, landscapes, communities and environmental context.
• Capturing aerial footage using drones where legally permissible and approved by UNICEF and national authorities.
• Recording professional-quality audio throughout filming.
• Capturing high-resolution still photography suitable for advocacy, donor visibility, publications and digital communications.

Throughout production, the contractor shall ensure that:

• Children and young people remain central to the storytelling.
• Interviews are conducted in accordance with UNICEF's safeguarding, ethical storytelling and informed consent requirements and suitable permissions obtained.
• Representation reflects the diversity of the Eastern Caribbean, including gender, ethnicity, disability, geography and socio-economic backgrounds where appropriate.
• UNICEF staff appearances remain limited and are included only where necessary to explain programme context or partnerships.

Task 3: Documentary Production

Following completion of filming, the contractor will:

• Review all newly captured footage and approved archival materials.
• Develop a compelling documentary narrative that demonstrates programme impact through authentic human stories.
• Integrate archival footage where appropriate to illustrate progress over the five-year programme cycle.
• Edit a broadcast-quality documentary of approximately 20-30 minutes.
• Develop opening and closing title sequences.
• Incorporate subtitles and closed captions.
• Undertake professional colour grading and sound design.
• Develop maps, graphics and motion elements where required to enhance understanding.
• Integrate UNICEF branding in accordance with UNICEF Brand Guidelines.
• Submit draft versions to UNICEF for review.
• Incorporate up to three rounds of consolidated feedback before final approval.

Task 4: Social Media Video Production

Using documentary footage captured throughout the assignment, the contractor will produce five short-form social media videos.

Each video shall:

• Be between 60 and 90 seconds in duration.
• Be produced in vertical (9:16) format.
• Be optimized for Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and YouTube Shorts.
• Include burned-in captions.
• Include appropriate UNICEF branding.
• Be capable of standing alone as an independent story while supporting the overall documentary narrative.

The proposed themes include:

• Education and Early Childhood Development.
• Child Protection and Strengthening Families.
• Climate Resilience and Humanitarian Response.
• Youth Leadership and Child Participation.
• Five Years of Impact.

The contractor may recommend alternative thematic groupings where these strengthen the overall storytelling approach.

Task 5: Project Management and Quality Assurance

Throughout the assignment, the contractor will:

• Maintain regular communication with UNICEF regarding production progress.
• Participate in planning and review meetings as requested.
• Ensure all filming permissions, location permissions and participant consent requirements are secured prior to filming.
• Maintain appropriate backup copies of all footage throughout production.
• Ensure consistency in visual quality, branding and storytelling across all outputs.
• Deliver all products within agreed timelines and technical specifications.
• Comply with UNICEF's Child Safeguarding Policy, Procedures for Ethical Reporting on Children, branding guidelines and any applicable national legislation governing photography, videography and drone operations.

Suggested Methodology

• Combine a comprehensive review of UNICEF programme documentation and archival audiovisual materials with primary footage captured through field production across selected programme countries.
• Adopt a human-centred documentary approach that places children, young people, families and communities at the centre of the narrative, while demonstrating programme impact through authentic storytelling.
• Integrate interviews, observational footage and historical audiovisual assets to illustrate change over the 2022–2026 programme cycle.
• Apply UNICEF's standards for ethical storytelling, child safeguarding, informed consent and branding throughout all stages of production.
• Produce high-quality, broadcast-standard documentary and digital content suitable for advocacy, resource mobilisation and public engagement across multiple platforms.
• Incorporate UNICEF feedback through iterative review processes to ensure technical accuracy, editorial quality and consistency with organisational messaging.

Output & Deliverables

Payment will be made upon satisfactory completion and approval of each deliverable.

Reporting:

Supervision for this assignment will be provided by the Communication Officer with support from the Communication Specialist.

Expected background and Experience:

The selected production company should demonstrate the following qualifications and experience:

Institutional Experience

• A minimum of five (5) years of professional experience producing high-quality documentary films, television programmes or long-form visual storytelling products.
• Demonstrated experience producing human-interest documentaries that place individuals and communities at the centre of the narrative.
• Proven experience delivering multi-country or large-scale productions involving complex logistics.
• Previous experience working with international organisations, governments, development partners, broadcasters or non-governmental organizations is considered an asset.
• Experience working within the Caribbean or Small Island Developing States (SIDS) context is highly desirable.
• The contractor should demonstrate access to professional production equipment and personnel, including:
• Professional cinema cameras capable of filming in 4K resolution.
• Professional audio recording equipment.
• Lighting equipment suitable for indoor and outdoor filming.
• Drone equipment and licensed drone operators where applicable.
• Professional post-production editing facilities.
• Colour grading and audio mixing capability.
• Graphic design and motion graphics capability.
• The proposed team should include, at minimum:
• Creative Director/Producer;
• Camera Operator(s);
• Sound Recordist;
• Video Editor;
• Production Coordinator.
• Additional personnel may be proposed where necessary to successfully deliver the assignment.
• Technical proposals will be evaluated before financial proposals are opened.
• Only bidders obtaining a minimum technical score of 49 points out of 70 (70 per cent) will proceed to financial evaluation.
• Demonstrated understanding of the assignment.
• Understanding of UNICEF's objectives.
• Completeness and quality of the proposal.
• Relevant institutional experience.
• Qualifications and experience of proposed personnel.
• Quality of documentary portfolio.
• Experience producing similar human-interest documentaries.
• Experience managing multi-country productions.
• Quality of the proposed documentary approach.
• Storytelling methodology.
• Production work plan and implementation schedule.
• Strategy for integrating archival footage.
• Quality assurance mechanisms.
• Risk assessment and mitigation plan.
• Understanding of child safeguarding and ethical storytelling.

Technical Capacity

• The contractor should demonstrate access to professional production equipment and personnel, including:
• Professional cinema cameras capable of filming in 4K resolution.
• Professional audio recording equipment.
• Lighting equipment suitable for indoor and outdoor filming.
• Drone equipment and licensed drone operators where applicable.
• Professional post-production editing facilities.
• Colour grading and audio mixing capability.
• Graphic design and motion graphics capability.

Key Personnel

• The proposed team should include, at minimum:
• Creative Director/Producer;
• Camera Operator(s);
• Sound Recordist;
• Video Editor;
• Production Coordinator.
• Additional personnel may be proposed where necessary to successfully deliver the assignment.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Technical proposals will be evaluated before financial proposals are opened.
• Only bidders obtaining a minimum technical score of 49 points out of 70 (70 per cent) will proceed to financial evaluation.

Technical Proposal – 70 Points

1. Overall Response – 10 Points

• Demonstrated understanding of the assignment.
• Understanding of UNICEF's objectives.
• Completeness and quality of the proposal.

2. Company Experience and Personnel – 30 Points

• Relevant institutional experience.
• Qualifications and experience of proposed personnel.
• Quality of documentary portfolio.
• Experience producing similar human-interest documentaries.
• Experience managing multi-country productions.

3. Proposed Methodology – 30 Points

• Quality of the proposed documentary approach.
• Storytelling methodology.
• Production work plan and implementation schedule.
• Strategy for integrating archival footage.
• Quality assurance mechanisms.
• Risk assessment and mitigation plan.
• Understanding of child safeguarding and ethical storytelling.
• 4. Financial Proposal – 30 Points
• The financial evaluation will consider:
• Overall value for money.
• Cost realism.
• Completeness of the proposed budget.
• Alignment between proposed methodology and budget.
• Obtain all required informed consent and assent before filming children.
• Respect children's dignity, privacy and best interests.
• Avoid any portrayal that reinforces stereotypes or places children at risk.
• Ensure filming locations and production practices comply with safeguarding requirements.
• Immediately report any safeguarding concerns arising during the assignment.
• UNICEF reserves the right to halt filming where safeguarding concerns arise.
• The contractor shall treat all information obtained during the course of the assignment as confidential.
• No footage, photographs, interviews or project materials may be published, shared or otherwise disseminated without prior written approval from UNICEF.
• Deliverables are incomplete.
• Deliverables do not meet agreed technical standards.
• Outputs are submitted outside agreed timelines without prior approval.
• The contractor fails to comply with UNICEF policies, including safeguarding, branding and ethical communication requirements.
• Technical proposal outlining the proposed documentary approach and implementation methodology.
• Financial proposal with a detailed cost breakdown.
• Documentary concept note responding to the assignment.
• Company profile.
• Portfolio demonstrating relevant documentary work.
• CVs of key personnel who would be assigned to the project.
• Proposed production schedule and work plan.

Child Safeguarding:

The contractor shall comply fully with UNICEF's Child Safeguarding Policy and Procedures for Ethical Reporting on Children throughout the assignment.

The contractor shall:

• Obtain all required informed consent and assent before filming children.
• Respect children's dignity, privacy and best interests.
• Avoid any portrayal that reinforces stereotypes or places children at risk.
• Ensure filming locations and production practices comply with safeguarding requirements.
• Immediately report any safeguarding concerns arising during the assignment.
• UNICEF reserves the right to halt filming where safeguarding concerns arise.

Confidentiality

• The contractor shall treat all information obtained during the course of the assignment as confidential.
• No footage, photographs, interviews or project materials may be published, shared or otherwise disseminated without prior written approval from UNICEF.

Recourse:

UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or part of any payment if:

• Deliverables are incomplete.
• Deliverables do not meet agreed technical standards.
• Outputs are submitted outside agreed timelines without prior approval.
• The contractor fails to comply with UNICEF policies, including safeguarding, branding and ethical communication requirements.

Property Rights:

UNICEF shall hold all property rights, such as copyright, patents and registered trademarks, on matters directly related to, or derived from, the work carried out through this contract with UNICEF. The bidder must submit all documentation and source code, where necessary, to UNICEF upon successful launch.

Payment Terms/Schedule:

Full payment will be made against all agreed upon deliverables after successful provision of the services and submission of final invoice to the Contract Manager.  Full payment within 30 days after completion of satisfactory performance. UNICEF General Terms and Conditions will apply for non-satisfactory performance.

How to Apply: 

Interested production companies are invited to submit the following:

At least three examples of similar documentary productions completed within the last five years.

Applications should be submitted electronically to: [email protected] with the subject line: "Production of Programme Cycle Documentary and Social Media Video Series", no later than Wednesday 22 July 2026 at 17:00hrs p.m. (AST).