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Consultancy Title: Adolescent Girls’ Learning Agenda Consultant

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

Duration: January 11, 2025, to January 10, 2026

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:

While advancements have been made in recent years across a range of gender equality outcomes, the COVID-19 pandemic, increasingly complex and extended humanitarian crises around the world and the ongoing catastrophe of climate change all threaten to reverse gains made towards gender equality. Adolescent girls are on the frontlines of these crises. Nearly 1 in 4 girls aged 15-19 is not employed, in education nor training compared to 1 in 10 boys of the same age. Over 11 million girls may not go back to school after the COVID-19 crisis, especially adolescent girls, due to pervasive restrictive gender norms. Globally adolescent girls 10-14 years spend 50% more of their time on household chores than boys of the same age. while only 35% of STEM students in higher education are women. An estimated 10 million additional girls are at risk of child marriage over the next ten years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, also increasing their risk of early pregnancy. Globally, 15% of girls give birth before the age of 18, while girls account for the majority (3/4) of all new HIV infections amongst adolescents. These numbers can be turned around.  More than 600 million adolescent girls are poised to take on the future and have already begun leading change and building more gender equal, just futures for their communities. UNICEF’s global frameworks now recognize this time of life as critical for intervention.

As described in UNICEF’s Gender Action Plan (GAP), cross all five Goal Areas of the UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2022–2025, adolescent girls’ leadership and wellbeing are an organization-wide priority.

The GAP and its accompanying monitoring and evaluation framework articulate five key interlinked targeted actions for adolescent girls. Advancing their leadership, voice and agency is a cross-cutting theme and new feature of the GAP:

• Promoting adolescent health and nutrition, including girls’ sexual and reproductive health rights;
• Closing gaps in primary education and advancing every girl’s right to quality secondary level learning, including their safe transition from school to work through skills building, mentoring and coaching opportunities;
• Protecting every girl from violence, exploitation and abuse – online and offline – and preventing harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and child marriage;
• Facilitating girls’ access to quality menstrual health and hygiene information and services at schools, homes and in their communities;
• Tackling poverty through gender transformative social protection, including unconditional cash transfers and care work reforms.

UNICEF is working to accelerate action with and for adolescent girls, aligned with the vision set out in the Adolescent Girls’ Programme Strategy, which articulates programmatic approaches to deliver multi-sectoral, girl-intentional programming, working in partnership with other partners, especially girl-led and girl-focused organisations. Critically, a quality, dynamic learning agenda is at the heart of the new initiative for and with adolescent girls.

UNICEF’s Gender Equality section is seeking an Adolescent Girls’ Learning Agenda Consultant to develop, network, implement and monitor a learning agenda with supervision from the Senior Advisor, Gender Equality, and in close coordination with the Adolescent Girls’ Programme Specialist. The role will focus on advising on the internal learning and capacity-building agenda to deliver with and for adolescent girls (including a dynamic learning series, using different modalities to reach country-based staff with learning adapted to best suit their needs); developing specific outputs relating to gender-transformative social protection and care; and ‘extracting’ and synthesising learning in a light touch way from the ‘POWERGirls’ portfolio. The POWERs4Girls portfolio includes multiple countries working on different approaches to support girls’ empowerment and wellbeing. The consultancy will also develop the laying of foundations for a strategic, more externally oriented learning agenda, in support of better evidence-based, experience-driven action with and for adolescent girls, better knowledge management practices, and technical advisory support.

Scope of Work:

The consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Support the delivery of the adolescent girls’ learning agenda, with a strategic and dynamic set of learning events focused around five major solutions identified in 2024;
• Roll out newsletters with key resources on adolescent girls, including the most salient evidence and tools;
• Provide support to the new UNICEF-Purposeful Adolescent Girls’ Learning Circle, including on learning and evidence;
• Deliver two learning briefs summarizing major achievements and lessons learnt from the POWER4Girls programmes by summer 2025 and winter 2025;
• Support strategic advocacy and learning event in March 2025 with a focus on adolescent girls’ rights;
• Support girl leaders and groups working with UNICEF with facilitation, advisory and capacity-building support (autumn 2024);
• ‘Extract’ and synthesize learning and best practices from adolescent girls programming in bitesize briefs;
• Provide technical advice on gender transformative social protection, including unconditional cash transfers and care work reforms for adolescent girls;
• Provide logistical and knowledge management advice on adolescent girls’ agenda, including girls’ empowerment, wellbeing, agency and skills.

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

Support the delivery of adolescent girls’ learning agenda, with a strategic and dynamic set of learning events focused around five major solutions identified since 2024. Deliver, at least 5 learning events (a broader virtual learning series and smaller operational clinics) around major solutions, providing logistical, coordination, invites, developing run of show, collaborating and managing inputs across multi-sectoral teams and providing knowledge management advice on adolescent girls’ agenda.

Deadline: 30 November 2025

Roll out newsletters with key resources on adolescent girls, including the most salient evidence and tools. Develop draft content for 12 attractive, easy-to-read bitesize newsletters summarizing recent evidence, learning events and other relevant resources on adolescent girls.  This will be stored in an online library of key resources, including learning series, events, tools and other useful content from internal and external stakeholders.

Deadline: 10 January 2026

Provide support to the UNICEF-Purposeful Adolescent Girls’ Learning Circle and donors, including on learning and evidence. Organize at least 3 meetings with the evidence working group with minutes, setting up appointments and inputs and advice to strategic direction of the group. Organize a workshop focused on learning and evidence, including preparing summary of key papers, strategic partners and relevant leading researchers.

Deadline: 30 September 2025

Deliver two learning briefs summarizing major achievements and lessons learnt from the POWER4Girls programmes. Deliver two reports on what has been learnt from the POWER4Girls programmes in the first and second phases of the work by the end of July 2025.

Deadline: 30 July 2025

Support strategic advocacy event in March 2025 with a focus on adolescent girls’ rights and what works. Planning, design and delivery of a strategic advocacy and learning event with a focus on adolescent girls in March 2025 linked to the Beijing +30 agenda.

Deadline: 30 March 2025

Support girl leaders and groups working with UNICEF with facilitation, advisory and capacity-building support (autumn 2025). Plan, design and deliver with the Global Girl Leaders Advisory Group /girl leaders strategic advisory and capacity-building workshop.

Deadline: 30 October 2025

‘Extract’ and synthesize learning and best practices from adolescent girls programming in bitesize briefs, including on gender-transformative social protection and care work. Product at least 2 short briefs on what works for adolescent girls, including in the areas of social protection and care work.

Deadline: 30 May 2025

 

Qualifications

Education:

Advanced university degree (Masters) in the area of Social Sciences, Business Administration or related degree. A bachelor’s degree with 3 years of additional experience may be accepted in lieu of Master degree. Some gender specific aspect to academic study is desirable but not essential, such as a strong gender dimension to research undertaken, or a module taken with a gender focus.

Work experience:

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *: 

• At least 3-5 years of progressively responsible and relevant professional work experience in international development, including analysis and research.
• Expertise in one or more of: capacity-building and events management (especially learning events with UN agencies), gender equality work and working with grassroots organisations all highly valuable assets.
• Some experience in Skills4Girls and/or social protection sectors and/or humanitarian contexts a desirable asset.
• Be able to work independently as well as with a team in an international, multicultural, and interdisciplinary environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships both within and outside the organization.
• Experience in work environment of an international agency, UN, or international institutions is desirable; prior experience in UNICEF is an asset.
• Knowledge of UNICEF/UN systems; familiarity with UNICEF’s work and gender transformative programming is an asset.
• Ability to communicate sensitively to different audiences.
• Ability to work within tight deadlines.
• Excellent English oral and written skills; proficiency in another UN language (Spanish, French or Arabic) desirable.

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.