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 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: GPE KIX Africa 19 Hub (Inclusive Education, ECE, Gender and Knowledge Exchange) Consultant

Duty Station: PG, Global Education Practice

Duration: 15 March 2026 – 15 January 2027

Home/ Office Based: Remote

 

BACKGROUND

UNICEF works in some of the world’s most challenging contexts to reach the most disadvantaged children to save their lives, defend their rights, and help them realize their full potential. UNICEF provides oversight, quality assurance, and technical assistance as well as building strategic partnerships and generates evidence to strengthen programming. Within education, UNICEF supports country offices by generating quality evidence and building partnerships for risk-informed programming and financing and enhancing the capacity of countries to design, implement, monitor, and evaluate education programmes with a focus on ensuring that all girls and boys, including those with disabilities, complete early learning, primary, and secondary education with grade-level learning outcomes.

Globally, an estimated 240 million children aged 0–17 years live with disabilities with 28.9 million living in Eastern and Southern Africa alone. Yet, many remain out of school, and those enrolled often face barriers to meaningful learning due to lack of inclusive teaching practices, inadequate resources, and persistent stigma. Gender disparities also remain a pressing challenge. Worldwide, 129 million girls are out of school. In Eastern and Southern Africa, gender inequalities are compounded by social and health challenges.

To address these barriers, UNICEF, in partnership with UNESCO’s International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA) and the Pan-African Institute for Education for Development (AU IPED), co-leads the Knowledge, Innovation and Exchange (KIX) Africa 19 hub. Funded by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the hub supports 19 Anglophone African countries to generate, share, and apply data, knowledge, and innovations that inform inclusive, gender-responsive education policies and programmes. UNICEF’s priorities within KIX include strengthening early childhood care and education (ECCE), advancing equity and gender equality, building capacities of partner countries, and supporting tailored country-level mechanisms

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

Under the supervision of the Education Specialist, Budget Reform and Financing, the consultant will provide technical and coordination expert advice to Global Education Practice in the implementation of the GPE-KIX Africa 19 initiative. The purpose of the assignment is to contribute specialized expertise to strengthen selected components of the Africa 19 Hub activities, including country support processes, regional knowledge exchange, and documentation and dissemination of evidence and innovations that inform inclusive and gender-responsive education policies and programmes.

Scope of Work

1. Activities and Tasks:

a. Technical coordination support to KIX Africa 19 hub implementation. The consultant will provide technical, coordination, and documentation support to UNICEF GEP and consortium partners through the following tasks:

• Provide technical inputs to hub activities in collaboration with UNESCO-IICBA and AU-IPED, including preparation of background materials, tracking tools, and progress summaries.
• Compile activity tracking updates against workplans and budgets for review by UNICEF staff and consortium partners.
• Participate in consortium meetings, prepare briefing notes, capture key decisions, and circulate meeting summaries and action points.
• Draft technical and financial progress reports based on inputs from partners and consolidate feedback for finalization by UNICEF.
• Provide technical and logistical planning support for the 2026 KIX symposium, including drafting concept notes, compiling inputs, and symposium report

1. 1.  

b. Technical support to country engagement and peer learning mechanisms. The consultant will provide technical assistance to selected country support processes through the following tasks:

• Provide technical support to Kenya and Lesotho education authorities, including preparation of technical materials and documentation development of a disability-inclusive teacher training manual.
• Facilitate knowledge exchange activities between South Sudan and Malawi stakeholders by preparing technical briefs, documenting lessons learned, and supporting follow-up actions related to SRGBV programme design.
• Technical drafting, consolidation of inputs, and documentation processes for national ECE scale-up plans and roadmaps in selected countries (Lesotho, Mozambique, Eritrea, Sierra Leone).
• Contribute analytical and documentation on gender analysis processes undertaken with UNGEI and national stakeholders, including preparation of summaries, synthesis notes, and case documentation.

c.  Knowledge management, communication, and learning. The consultant will support knowledge generation, dissemination, and learning activities through the following tasks:

• Provide organizational and technical support for regional webinars and communities of practice, including agenda preparation, documentation of proceedings, and post-event summaries.
• Support packaging of research findings produced by KIX grantees into user-friendly formats by drafting briefs, summaries, and communication materials for review by UNICEF and partners.
• Compile and synthesize examples of good practices, lessons learned, and innovations from participating countries into draft knowledge products such as case studies and policy briefs.
• Draft communication content highlighting programme results and learning for publication on agreed platforms, based on validated information provided by UNICEF and partners.
• Prepare draft social media content packages aligned with key international observances to support visibility of programme evidence and country experiences

2. Work relationships:  The consultant will work under the supervision of the Education Specialist (UNICEF, GEP), who will provide technical guidance, approve deliverables, and serve as the primary point of contact for oversight, while UNICEF retains full responsibility for programme implementation, decision-making, and stakeholder engagement. In carrying out the assignment, the consultant will collaborate with relevant UNICEF GEP thematic teams, including disability inclusion, early childhood education, and gender, to obtain technical inputs and share progress updates, and may engage with UNICEF country offices as requested to support assigned tasks. The consultant will also interact with consortium partners — UNESCO-IICBA and the African Union — to gather inputs, contribute to joint activities, and document progress in line with agreed workplans and under UNICEF’s guidance. Engagement with external stakeholders such as ministries of education, national focal points, research partners, and development agencies will be limited to the technical scope of the assignment and conducted in consultation with UNICEF, and the consultant will operate within established consortium governance arrangements and UNICEF communication and clearance protocols.

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

Work Assignment Overview/Deliverables and Outputs/Delivery deadline

1.  Implementation planning for KIX hub activities

-  A finalized 2026–2027 KIX implementation and coordination package, consisting of a consolidated annual workplan, an activity tracking matrix, and a partner coordination tracker

15 April 2026

2.  Consortium reporting inputs

- Consolidated technical and financial report of Year 2 KIX implementation

15 May 2026

3.  Technical documentation of ECE roadmap development

-  ECE roadmap package containing consolidated technical inputs from participating countries.

15 June 2026

4.  Documentation and synthesis of South–South learning exchange

-  A finalized South Sudan–Malawi exchange brief summarizing technical outcomes, lessons learned and agreed follow-up actions.

15 July 2026

5.  Preparation of evidence from KIX research

-  Two formatted KIX research evidence briefs translating grantee findings into policy-ready summaries

15 Aug 2026

6.  Technical documentation of IE cooperation

-  A final report documenting outcomes of Kenya–Lesotho South-South Cooperation on Inclusive Education teacher Training

15 Sept 2026

7.  Documentation and synthesis of regional knowledge exchange

-  Documentation of three synthesis reports for three webinars or communities of practice

15 Oct 2026

8.  Development of knowledge products synthesizing country innovations

-  Two finalized knowledge products in policy brief or case study format synthesizing country practices and policy innovations

15 Nov 2026 

9.  Technical support to KIX continental symposium

-  A finalized 2026 KIX symposium report with details of the sessions and themes covered as well as materials presented.

15 Dec 2026

10.  Synthesis and visibility documentation of KIX programme

-  A consolidated visibility package including a gender analysis synthesis note, programme results communication materials, and a social media content toolkit

15 Jan 2027

Qualifications

Education:   

Advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) in the field of education (such as special education, inclusive education, development etc.). Bachelor degree  combined with six (6) years of qualifying experience may also be considered

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *:

• Minimum of four (4) years of relevant professional experience in disability-inclusive education and gender, of which at least two (2) years were acquired at international or regional level, preferably in Africa
• Professional experience working with African ministries of education and development partners on education policy, planning, or programme implementation.
• Demonstrated understanding of current global and regional developments in education, including inclusive education, gender equality, and strategies for strengthening education systems.
• Demonstrated experience contributing to multi-country education initiatives, including coordination of partners.
• Experience in developing or reviewing education policies, strategies, standards, or operational guidance documents.
• Proven experience designing and documenting multi-stakeholder consultations or South–South learning exchanges,.
• Experience in developing policy-oriented knowledge products (e.g., policy briefs, synthesis reports, evidence summaries) translating technical findings into actionable recommendations.
• Demonstrated ability to manage assignments independently, meet deadlines, and deliver high-quality outputs with limited supervision.
• Strong capacity to build and maintain effective working relationships with government and non-governmental counterparts,
• Excellent analytical, drafting, and written communication skills in English..
• Must exhibit the UNICEF Core Values of:
• • Care
  • Respect
  • Integrity
  • Trust
  • Accountability
  • Sustainability

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.