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For every child, Access

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbkJiMmvKqk

How can you make a difference? 

Organizations must contend with DfA-issued decrees, laws, and informal regulatory practices that frequently conflict with humanitarian principles and international legal obligations. Operating in this intricate environment requires careful adherence to global standards and humanitarian norms, while also ensuring compliance with donor requirements and avoiding breaches of international commitments.

Despite these constraints, humanitarian partners have continued to deliver aid by strengthening their access capacities. However, recent directives and regulations have further restricted operational space—particularly affecting women and girls, limiting their access to services, and curtailing their participation in public and professional life. Aid actors must therefore strike a delicate balance between operational feasibility and adherence to humanitarian and development principles, all while navigating shifting geopolitical dynamics and power structures.

Considering these challenges, there is an urgent need for a dedicated Access Consultant. This consultant will provide expert guidance to ensure UNICEF’s operations remain aligned with international standards and local regulations, thereby safeguarding the organization’s ability to operate effectively in Afghanistan’s complex legal and political context.

Scope of Work:

UNICEF’s strategy for engaging with the De-facto Authorities (DfA) is essential to ensuring that its operations remain aligned with global humanitarian standards while adapting to local realities. This strategy must navigate a complex political and legal landscape, upholding core humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.

To support this strategy, an Access Consultant will provide expert guidance and actionable recommendations to address challenges related to humanitarian access and policy engagement. This includes supporting UNICEF’s advocacy efforts and engagement with both national and sub-national DfA actors, ensuring that operational and policy concerns are addressed clearly and in accordance with international humanitarian principles.

A central responsibility of the consultant will be to advise on and prepare access-related documentation to support the ACO Field Coordination and Emergency (FCE) Section in inter-agency humanitarian access coordination forums. This will ensure UNICEF’s active participation in shaping and implementing broader sectoral strategies. The consultant will also support the UNICEF ACO Access and Engagement Taskforce (AET), conducting detailed analyses of access impediments and risks across programmes, field offices, and other areas requiring specialized, time-sensitive support.

The consultant will conduct regular Contextual Analyses of Afghanistan’s evolving political and humanitarian environment, providing insights to inform UNICEF’s engagement strategies with the DfA. Strengthening UNICEF’s relationships with the DfA through proactive contact management and continuous expert support to relevant sections will also be a key function.

In addition, the consultant will provide troubleshooting support to zonal offices when access challenges arise, working closely with FCE to ensure safe and coordinated engagement. Developing tools, guidance, and monitoring mechanisms to support the implementation of UNICEF ACO’s Access and Engagement Strategy will be a critical component of this role.

Finally, the consultant will contribute to enhanced coordination between UNICEF and other UN agencies by supporting FCE’s representation in the Access Working Group (AWG). This includes providing strategic advice and drafting analytical inputs on engagement-related matters.

Through these focused efforts, the consultant will bring critical expertise to strengthen UNICEF’s capacity to operate effectively in Afghanistan’s complex environment—ensuring principled, responsive, and contextually appropriate humanitarian action.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

Applications must include:

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Samples of previous work
• Financial offer in USD. (This should only be the day rate for working days. UNICEF will provide a daily sustenance allowance for days spent in Afghanistan, including weekends, to cover out-of-pocket costs while in-country, including accommodation. Travel, international and local, will be reimbursed).

Applications submitted without financial and technical proposals will not be considered.

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

FCE Annual Workplan include an output dedicated to Access, as follows:  Ensure ACO has an up-to-date access and engagement strategy, and staff are capacitated to engage on key streamlined strategic issues at all levels.

Some of the activities are:

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Advance Degree in the relevant field.
• Work Experience:
• A minimum of 8 years of relevant experience in humanitarian action with significant experience in access, and negotiations in complex settings.
• Skills: In-depth understanding and experience working in Afghanistan on humanitarian issues is mandatory.
• Understanding of international humanitarian law and best practices.
• Proven training in trainers’ skills, qualifications and experience of training multinational staff   

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

 To view our competency framework, please visit here. 

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

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:  

Interested consultants are required to apply online, indicating availability and all-inclusive lump sum fee to undertake the terms of reference.

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

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract 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 and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors 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.