Contract Duration:  9 months

Working arrangement: Office-based + travel

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Key Tasks:

1. Literature Review and Contextual Analysis
2. Stakeholder Engagement:
3. Risk Assessment and Safeguards
4. Design of the Childcare Model

In carrying out the above tasks, the Consultant will integrate Feminist and Gender Frameworks, e.g. by applying the 5R model (Recognise unpaid care as work; Reduce time spent on it through services; Redistribute responsibilities to males/households; Reward care providers via incentives; Represent caregivers in decision-making) to design gender-responsive elements. The work including proposals should align with UNICEF's Gender Policy 2021-2030 and Action Plan 2026-2029, emphasising targeted investments in adolescent girls' health, nutrition, education, skills, and protection, while promoting norms change and male involvement.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here:  ToR TMC0004762.pdf

Minimum requirements:

Work Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in childcare, early childhood development, social protection, gender programming, child rights, public policy, or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience in the design, implementation, evaluation, or strengthening of childcare, parenting, family support, or community-based care programmes.
• Strong understanding of childcare systems, care economy, unpaid care work, nurturing care, and child wellbeing frameworks.
• Experience integrating childcare interventions within social protection, education, health, livelihoods, or gender equality programmes. Demonstrated experience applying gender-transformative, disability-inclusive, and child rights-based approaches in programme design and implementation.
• Experience facilitating participatory research, co-creation, and stakeholder engagement processes involving caregivers, adolescents, and communities.

Language Requirements:

• English and Kiswahili

 Knowledge/Expertise/Skills:

• Advanced degree in Gender Studies, Social Policy, Development studies, Child Development, Public Policy, or related field.
• Experience in designing gender-responsive social protection or childcare programmes or feminist economics or unpaid care work, preferably in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Experience working with adolescent populations, including adolescent mothers and disability-inclusive programming.
• Strong analytical, research, and facilitation skills.
• Familiarity with Kenyan social protection system is an asset.
• Excellent communication skills; ability to engage diverse stakeholders, including males in gender dialogues.
• Experience working with UNICEF, UN agencies, or similar organizations is an asset.
• Experience in East Africa or comparable contexts is strongly preferred.

Desirables:

• Experience in designing community-based childcare models and care services.
• Experience integrating childcare within social protection, education, health, or livelihoods programmes.
• Experience working with adolescent mothers, young caregivers, and marginalized populations, including persons with disabilities.
• Experience developing costing frameworks, investment cases, financing strategies, or scale-up roadmaps for social services.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is either a role with direct contact with children, a role that works directly with identifiable children’s data, a safeguarding response role, or an assessed risk role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) apply.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

• An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)
• Cover letter
• A separate financial proposal (only acceptable in the format of the linked template)  Financial Proposal Template TMC0004762.xlsx
• A detailed technical proposal not exceeding 20 pages (excluding annexes, e.g. for CVs):

1. 1. Understanding of assignment
   2. Proposed methodology/ approach to assignment
   3. Evidence of meeting the required qualifications (this may include links to or annexes of relevant past work and CVs of all consultants engaged as annexes)
   4. Draft workplan
   5. Proposed budget

Remarks:  

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.