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UNICEF’s annual Quality Review of Country Programme Planning processes (CPPs) and Documents (CPDs) provides the organisation with a robust external assessment of the quality of the design processes and of the final documents that best articulate the goals, results, and logic of Country Programmes (CPs). Each year, the exercise assesses all CPDs submitted to the Executive Board, using a standard approach.  The review is:

• An essential data source for institutional reporting. The results of the Quality Review directly feed into several indicators for the Executive Director’s Annual Report and other initiatives such as the Global Effectiveness Review (GER), which are in turn used to report on an additional host of indicators by offices such as Programme Division (PD), Emergency Operations (EMOPS) and other Divisions and teams.
• A critical input informing the ongoing update of existing guidance: review findings, identify good practices and common areas of challenge across multiple country offices and/or specific quality criteria. It is therefore one of the most influential sources of information on what aspects of global guidance (and/or quality assurance practice) should be updated to best reflect the organisation’s perception of quality in programme design. HQ Content Owners, Regional Directors and Regional Planning Chiefs use the findings to adapt capacity development efforts. 
• An important reference for country offices drafting new programmes: the Quality Review also provides UNICEF staff in country offices with a rich set of good practices, tips and hints for how to prepare and finalize documents that satisfy institutional requirements.

Scope of Work:

 Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

Work Assignment Overview/Deliverables and Outputs/Delivery deadline

Phase 1: Inception (November 2025)

A. Orientation and planning

• Orientation with the DAPM senior management, DAPM hiring manager and PG team
• Desk review of applicable guidance and previous Quality Review documentation
• Development of the general approach to the 2023 Review process and scheduling milestones
• Elaboration of a risk management strategy

 - Inception Report, including a chronogram of key dates and working arrangements for the contract and the risk management strategy.

 30 Nov 2025

B.Content and tools development, pilot testing

• Development of a quality review methodology and Review Framework of CPP processes based on the CPP guidance.
• Facilitating the process of updating the CPD Review Framework and rubrics for scoring individual quality criteria, in consultation with SMEs and DAPM, ensuring that updates are evaluable, objective, and non-duplicative.
• Determining the approach to “Content Tracking”.
• Updating and potentially redesigning the Excel data entry/data management system tool.
• Testing and finalising the CPP and CPD Review Framework and rubrics for scoring individual quality criteria

- Updated CPD Review Framework with scoring criteria, comparing changes between 2022 and 2025.

- CPP Process Review Framework, tools and methods

24 Dec 2025

Develop the Methodology paper (no more than 10 pages)

Upload to SharePoint all the CPP documents

- Methodology Paper (including the results of pilot testing the framework) drafted concisely and acting as an Annexe to the final report.

- SharePoint repository of all the CPP documents

24 Dec 2025 

Phase 2: CPD and CPP Review (25 December 2025 – 24 January 2025)

Reviewing all CPDs and relevant CPPs, using the Review Frameworks, applying individual quality criteria

Entering both scores and comments into the database for each CPD and CPP

Taking note of any good practices to be used later for the Compendium of Good Practices

- Database with completed CPD/country sheets and preliminary analysis tabs.

24 Jan 2026

Preparing a summary of preliminary findings and recommendations in the form of a presentation (potentially using charts, tables, and infographics to summarize the results)

Discussing the preliminary results with DAPM

- Presentation of preliminary results for discussion with DAPM

24 Jan 2026

Phase 3: Elaboration of the Synthesis Report and Annexes (25 January – 29 March 2026)

Develop the Synthesis Report Compendium of Good Practices, finalise the project database, and share the draft report package for review by DAPM, HQ content owners and ROs.

The Compendium takes notes of where CPDs and CPPs met and/or exceeded quality criteria.

- Synthesis Report, no more than 35 pages (including recommendations and an analysis of key findings by quality component (QC) and quality review category (QRC)).

Annexes:

Compendium of Good Practices

Database

Methodology Paper

Phase 4: Presentation of Results and Finalisation (April 2026)

Webinars to present the findings (Following the first review of the Synthesis Report, the Consultant will prepare to present the findings in two global webinars). The webinars will be approximately 2 hours each and will include a 35-minute presentation given by the Consultant

- Presentation Deck, summarising the key findings of the quality reviews

- One-page recommendations to DAPM for the 2024 Quality Review

01 Apr 2026

After the final validation exercise, all documents should be finalised and shared in an archive for upload to UNICEF SharePoint

- Final project archive of finalised reports and annexes

15 May 2026

Qualifications

Education:

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *: 

Requirements:

Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and

- Upload copy of academic credentials

- Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :

• • the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability

- Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.

- At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.

- Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.  

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

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. View our competency framework at: Here

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:  

Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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.