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If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines fordeveloping countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries

Consultancy: EmPowerHer Africa Programme Consultant  

Duty Station: Programme Group, GenU   

Duration: 15 November 2025 – 31 October 2026

Home/ Office Based: Remote

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

The AU Women and Youth Financial and Economic Inclusion (WYFEI) 2030 initiative is a cornerstone of the African Women's Decade (2020–2030), aiming to eliminate systemic barriers to financial and economic inclusion for women and youth across Africa. Through public-private partnership and alignment with Agenda 2063, WYFEI 2030 drives empowerment via entrepreneurship, job creation, and inclusive policies. UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited (GenU) and the African Union have launched the EmPowerHer Africa programme to empower 50 million adolescent girls and young women by 2030, expanding access to market-relevant skills, financial inclusion, and entrepreneurship opportunities.

PURPOSE OF CONSULTANCY:

Provide strategic, operational, and technical support to EmPowerHer Africa, supporting AU and UNICEF frameworks for programme delivery, partnership strengthening, knowledge generation, and roll-out of targeted interventions across Member States. The role is responsible for programme planning, coordination, and stakeholder engagement to ensure high-quality, scalable implementation

Scope of Work

1. Programme Implementation & Technical Support
• Facilitate operational roll-out of EmPowerHer Africa in pilot Member States, ensuring implementation of skills, enterprise, and financial inclusion interventions.
• Adapt AU-level frameworks into national/regional implementation strategies, supporting integration of programme standards and objectives.
• Establish and facilitate programme delivery mechanisms, work plans, and technical assistance approaches.
• Monitor implementation progress, identify bottlenecks, and initiate corrective actions.
2. Partnerships & Stakeholder Engagement
• Support engagement with Member State governments, youth/women’s organizations, implementing partners, financial institutions, private sector, and CSOs to drive joint delivery and coordination.
• Develop a Partnerships and Capacity Development Framework to guide engagement, support, and monitoring of delivery partners
• Strengthen capacity of youth-led and women-led partner organizations through targeted technical assistance and peer learning platforms
3. Reporting, Learning & Communications
   • Contribute to quarterly and annual programme reports, including data and narratives on Member State roll-out, partnership progress, and flagship initiatives 
   • Design and support at least four programme learning/dissemination sessions, consolidating lessons and innovations for scaling
   • Support AU and UNICEF advocacy, visibility, and communications through donor briefs, regular updates, and knowledge products
4. Risk, Compliance & Operational Excellence 
   • Maintain risk and compliance monitoring framework for programme delivery, reporting quarterly on operational risks, mitigation measures, and safeguarding 
   • Ensure all programme activities comply with AU, UNICEF and donor requirements on ethics, safeguarding and financial management
   • Prepare management response/action plans for critical findings or challenges identified in evaluations or reports

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

Work Assignment Overview/Deliverables and Outputs/Delivery deadline

1. Inception report 

- Inception Report completed

30 Nov 2025

2. Programme Implementation & Technical Management

-  Five Regional Adaptation Frameworks co-developed and signed with Member States

31 Jan 2026

3.  5 flagship programmes are launched in 5 countries and each launch is supported with a pre-launch dedicated training session.

30 Apr 2026

3. Partnerships & Stakeholder Engagement

- Partnerships & Capacity Development Framework developed and approved

28 Feb 226

-  2 regional training sessions conducted on partnerships and stakeholder engagement

31 Oct 2026

4. Reporting, Learning & Communications

-  Four Quarterly Progress Reports (submitted at the end of each quarter)

31 Oct 2026

-  Annual Progress Report, consolidating all activities and outcomes

31 Oct 2026

-  Four learning/dissemination sessions, documented and shared

31 Oct 2026

-  Prepare 4 (quarterly) donor briefs, 4 (quarterly) knowledge products to support AU and UNICEF  advocacy, visibility, and communications.

31 Oct 2026

5. Risk, Compliance & Operational Excellence

-  Quarterly risk/compliance monitoring updates, with management action responses

31 Oct 2026

Qualifications

Education:

A Masters degree from a recognized university in Development, Economics, Gender Studies, Social Policy, or related field.

Language Proficiency:

Fluency in English required; proficiency in French or other AU working language highly desirable

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *:

• A minimum of 5 years’ proven experience in programme management for multi-country development, including capacity building and technical assistance for governments/CSOs.
• Demonstrated leadership in partnerships, stakeholder engagement, and the delivery of gender/youth empowerment programmes.
• Strong familiarity with AU and/or UN programming and results frameworks.
• Exceptional drafting, reporting, communications, and facilitation skills.
• Availability for travel within AU Member States, if required.