Consultancy: School-Related Gender-Based Violence Consultant – Req. #574530

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Vacancy Announcement: Consultant

Consultancy Title: School-Related Gender-Based Violence Consultant

Section/Division/Duty Station: UN Girls’ Education Initiative’s (UNGEI), Education-ADAP Section, Programme Division, NYHQ

Duration: 1 September 2024 to 31 January 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. 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 UN Girls’ Education Initiative’s (UNGEI) is a global partnership for gender equality in and through education. Our mandate is to catalyse and galvanize action locally, nationally, regionally, and global for girls’ education and gender equality in education. The UNGEI Secretariat is governed by UNICEF policies of employment. We strive to uphold feminist and anti-racist principles in how we work and offer flexible work arrangements.

School Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV) is defined as violence that occurs in and around schools that is rooted in harmful gender norms and stereotypes and reinforced by unequal power dynamics. SRGBV includes physical, sexual and psychological violence. UNGEI co-chairs with UNESCO the Global Working Group to End SRGBV since 2014, a platform with over 70 member organizations that work across gender, education, health, child protection and violence against women and girls. The Working Group collaborates on joint advocacy, builds a knowledge base, shares resources, and fosters a coordinated and cohesive response to SRGBV. In the last years, the Working Group has advanced evidence-based global normative standards, facilitated knowledge exchange, and brought attention to promising practices in addressing SRGBV. Members represent civil society organizations, bilateral and multilateral donors, the UN, academia, and education unions.

In addition to its co-lead role of the SRGBV Working group, UNGEI hosts the most updated and state of the art knowledge hub on SRGBV. UNGEI developed the ‘Whole School Approach Minimum Standards and Monitoring Framework to Prevent SRGBV’ (2018) by leveraging the collective knowledge and experience of the Global Working Group to End SRGBV. UNGEI designed a landmark modular training course to build a comprehensive understanding of SRGBV targeting teachers, education policy makers and practitioners. An online version of the modular training course is under preparation. UNGEI also leads country-level programs that work to prevent and respond to SRGBV. Experience from Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe show how catalytic funding can be instrumental to address gender-based violence in and around schools in a short period of time. UNGEI drives the annual 16 Days of Activism campaign focusing on ending GBV in and through education. 

The purpose of the assignment is twofold:

1.         Build an investment case for the prevention of SRGBV. The investment case will be two-fold, covering the added-value of investing in prevention of SRGBV, globally, to support advocacy for SRGBV Global WG members’ work and missions, and also consider the specific role of UNGEI within the education, gender equality, GBV prevention and response ecosystem;

2.         Assess the current modality and purpose of Global Working Group to End SRGBV within the current ecosystem, highlighting its positioning to accelerate progress towards preventing SRGBV for all girls, boys, and children in all their diversity, as well as adults in the school.

Scope of Work:

Under the supervision of the Programme Manager for Gender Transformative Education and UNGEI Director, and in close collaboration with UNGEI’s Gender and Education Specialist and the UNESCO Project Officer – Sexuality Education, SRHR, Gender, the Consultant will deliver two separate decks covering the components mentioned above. The Consultant will build on their experience, available documents and resources, key informant interviews, surveys with the WG members, and strategic knowledge of the field of violence prevention and response in and through school:

The deliverables are as follows:

1) A two-part investment case in the area of SRGBV, to support two purposes:

a.  An investment case for UNGEI to lead as a key global actor in prevention of SRGBV, taking into account UNGEI’s added value from the results of the programmes it implements, its global advocacy and communications, global public goods it has (co-)produced and technical expertise;

b.  An investment case to support members of the global WG on SRGBV to raise funds and continue building momentum to address and prevent SRGBV, utilizing a modular approach that can be separated and used across contexts/organizations as per needs based on the format of what’s the problem and what we’ll do to solve it as UNGEI.

2) Slide deck on the UNGEI SRGBV WG, purpose, modality, current operating model, the WG’s contribution to the fields of GBV/VAWG, child protection, education to date, with an eye on successes and potential for building bridges and synergies between and across these sectors, and how the WG can both strengthen and expand its role in this respect. 

Terms of Reference / Deliverables

Deliverable 1: A global investment case for the prevention of SRGBV, that demonstrates the need for cross-sectoral collaboration, building on evidence drawn from global data, as well as countries across regions, including national data sets.

Two investment case pieces developed:

– One deck for UNGEI’s added value as an actor in leading in the prevention of SRGBV;

– Secondly, a short document on the importance of tackling SRGBV, to be used by members of the global SRGBV WG, to support their respective advocacy and funding proposals.       

30 November 2024

Deliverable 2: Slide deck on the added value of the UNGEI WG

– Slide deck reviewing the current operating model of the global WG that will also provide recommendations for research priorities, partnerships, the working modality of the WG, amongst other criteria to be determined.

15 December 2024

Qualifications

(1) Education

• Master’s degree in Gender studies, Education, International Development or Social Sciences.
• Research experience in the field of gender, violence prevention and school-related gender-based violence, knowledge of working groups and working group modalities, and resource mobilisation and partnerships.
• Fluency in English is required.

(2) Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

•   At least 10 years of experience in the field of violence prevention, education, gender, and/or international development;

•   Deep knowledge of the ecosystem of violence prevention in and through schools and education at the global level as shown through previous positions or affiliations or research;

•   Strong knowledge of available evidence of what works to prevent SRGBV, as well as corresponding implementation core elements;

•   Demonstrated strategic capacity as shown through previously developed successful strategies;

•   Capacity to work quickly and efficiently and excellent synthesis capacity of complex issues.

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. 

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.