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Vacancy Announcement: Consultant 

Consultancy Title: Gender Action Plan (Hub) Consultant

Section/Division/Duty Station: Gender Equality Section, Programme Division, NYHQ

Duration: 1 November 2024 to 30 September 2025

Home/ Office Based: NYHQ / Remote

About UNICEF

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 for developing 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.

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

The UNICEF Gender Action Plan 2022-2025 (GAP) prioritizes gender-transformative approaches to promoting gender equality, which includes dismantling the formal structures as well as harmful stereotypes that hold girls and boys back from reaching their full potential. The GAP also has a focus on institutional change to achieve strategic gender outcomes, which includes measurement and evaluation of results, staff talent and capacity strengthening, and knowledge management and communications.

To support country offices in operationalizing and reporting on the GAP priorities across goal areas – health and nutrition, education, child protection, protection and water and sanitation, and social protection – as well as on institutional enablers, key guidance and tools need to be developed/updated and socialized. These tools support country staff to identify gender challenges in their context, develop appropriate programmatic solutions, and engage strategically with key stakeholders around gender equality programming, policy and advocacy. The results of the gender analysis, implementation of the gender interventions, and associated learnings need to be reported on, documented, and shared within UNICEF and beyond, as accountability tools and as global knowledge products.

The UNICEF-Gates Foundation partnership joint investment mechanism (JIM) has the shared goals of (i) ending preventable maternal and child deaths (ii) accelerating gains on maternal and childhood nutrition (iii) increasing cognitive development outcomes and (iv) improving adolescent health and well-being. The five-year partnership has also committed to ensure gender equality is meaningfully included in analysis, design, implementation, evaluation and learning stages of the work of JIM countries to achieve positive outcomes for women, children, and adolescents.

To support these UNICEF HQ efforts within JIM countries and globally to enhance gender analysis, monitoring and results, the UNICEF Programme Group Gender Team seeks a consultant to support the following tasks:

1) Support data quality assurance and aggregation for annual reporting

2) Coordinate the production of various gender reports to document gender results, challenges and lessons.

Scope of Work:

The Consultant will be responsible for the below deliverables to HQ, executed in consultation with regional and country offices as needed.

1) Support data quality assurance and aggregation for annual reporting

• Support quality assurance of annual reporting data submitted by country offices under the guidance of the Gender section Planning, monitoring and evaluation focal point, including making inquiries with offices to correct data
• Support aggregation of data for the calculation of key indicators for the Strategic Plan that the Gender Section is responsible for (H5 indicators)
• Support the assembly of data from various other sources like Agora, Emergency Preparedness Platform and HR Dashboards for calculation of the GAP standard

2) Coordinate the production of various gender reports to document gender results, challenges and lessons and review for accuracy and completeness

• Provide coordination and project management support for the development of reports and slides (develop project timelines, identify milestones, etc)
• Finalize Evaluation Management Response for Board Submission
• Collate text for the System-Wide Action Plan annual report and submit through the portal
• Prepare reporting for the Gender Equality Acceleration Plan
• Collate text from Goal Areas and Country Office Annual Reports for the writer of the GAP Executive Board Report
• Coordinate the production of the Data Companion to the Executive Board report
• Collate text for the public-facing Global Annual Results Report (drawing on the GAP report, adding case studies from the Gender section)
• Coordinate the production of the GARR working with the editors and designers (supply photos, answer questions)
• Coordinate the development of a slide deck for presentation of gender results to the Executive Board (share key results, infographics, and photos  with designer), working with the designer

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

• Project timeline for each report, 20 calls conducted – by 31 March 2025
  • Coordination and project management support for the development of reports/slides
• GAP evaluation management response and entry into EISI system – by 30 December 2024
  • Finalize the draft GAP evaluation management response for Board submission.
• SWAP report – by 30 January 2025
  • Collate text for the System-Wide Action Plan annual report and submit through the portal
• Gender Equality Acceleration Plan report – by 31 March 2025
  • Prepare annual reporting to SG/DSG for the Gender Equality Acceleration Plan
• Excel file with tabs by region, containing the best results from each – by 31 March 2025
  • Quality assurance of 2024 country office annual reporting
• Completed data sheet for all H5 indicators – by 31 March 2025
  • Aggregation of data for the calculation of gender-led indicators for the Strategic Plan
• Completed data file with all dimensions of the GAP standard – by 31 March 2025
  • Assembly of data from various sources like Agora and EPP for calculation of the GAP standard
• Raw text file for GAP Executive Board report – by 31 March 2025
  • Collate text for the GAP Executive Board Report
• Excel files with 30+ tabs for the designer to use as basis for the Data Companion – by 31 March 2025
  • Assemble file of visuals for the Data Companion
• Completed slide deck for Executive Board – by 31 March 2025
  • Coordinate development of a slide deck of gender results working with the designer
• Raw text file for the Global Annual Results Report – by 31 March 2025
  • Collate text for the public-facing Global Annual Results Report
• Completed Global Annual Results Report (or chapter) – by 30 September 2025
  • Coordinate the production of the GARR working with the editors and designers, providing photos, reviewing drafts

Qualifications

Education:

At least a master’s degree.

Discipline: An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in social sciences (i.e. sociology, demography, psychology, political science, social policy or economics), public health, public policy, public administration, international development, or in an area relevant to UNICEF’s sectoral work (e.g. Health, Nutrition, WASH, Education, Child Protection, Social Protection, Inclusion, HIV/AIDs, etc.) is required.

Experience:

• A minimum of 5 (five) years of progressively responsible professional experience and demonstrated track record of having undertaken substantive writing and led technical support on gender and development.
• Experience in managing programmes/projects is essential, including budget and knowledge management.

Competencies/Knowledge:

• Excellent written communication skills are essential.
• Knowledge of UNICEF/UN reporting systems is an asset.
• Fluency in English (written and verbal) is required. 
• Knowledge of another official UN language is an asset.

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.