Consultancy: Gender-Responsive Social Protection and Care & Support Consultant – Req.#574529

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, hope.

VA Template for Consultants and Individual Contractors

Vacancy Announcement: Consultant

Consultancy Title: Gender-Responsive Social Protection and Care & Support Consultant

Section/Division/Duty Station: Social Policy and Social Protection, Programme Division, NYHQ

Duration: 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025

Home/ Office Based: NYHQ/ Home-based 

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: 

To support the Social Protection and Gender Lead (UNICEF HQ) and relevant Social Policy and Social Protection colleagues in advancing an ambitious portfolio on gender-responsive and inclusive social protection through assistance on a) knowledge management and dissemination, b) global advocacy and partner engagement with civil society, youth, and bilateral agencies; c) coordination support to internal and external communities of practice or working groups; and d) support to development of technical resources and materials for UNICEF offices and partners.

Scope of Work:

This consultancy will support the Social Protection and Gender Lead (UNICEF HQ) through the following:

Knowledge Management and Dissemination

•  Conduct background reading, research and review to expand knowledge and learning resources

•  Assist in the development and execution of knowledge and learning dissemination plans and their coordination with regional and country offices as well as external partners and sectors

•  Circulate technical guidance and operational tools developed by Lead and consultants

•  Support the development of outputs such as videos, animations, and infographics to engage audiences, ensuring innovative visualization of the Gender-Responsive and Age-Sensitive Social Protection (GRASSP) research program

•  Support the development of outputs such as capacity statements, country case study compilations, and technical guidance to expand the global care and support agenda activities, including a disability-inclusive and gender-responsive multi-country partnership.

Working Group Coordination and Planning

•  Support the coordination and organization functions and delivery and dissemination for 5 working groups

•  Drive the planning and organization of 1 in-person SPIAC-B Gender Working Group meeting and country immersion visit, including direct coordination with working group agencies

•  Assist in the planning and organization of SPIAC-B Gender Working Group meetings, events or activities

•  Coordinate and co-facilitate 6 meetings, including outreach to participants and information sharing.

Civil Society and Youth-led Organizations Engagement

•  Assist the engagement of civil society organizations in Phase II of the ‘We Deserve Better initiative, with particular focus on youth-led, women-led, and girls-led organizations.

•  Serve as a focal point for civil society and other partners of the We Deserve Better initiative, coordinating activities and corresponding resources for collaboration with partner groups

•  Draft CSO-centric materials for joint global advocacy on gender-responsive social protection and collaboration on participatory policymaking approaches

•  Develop 1 stakeholder engagement guide on participatory policymaking approaches connecting grassroots organizations to social protection policymakers and practitioners

Global Advocacy and Partnerships 

•  Contribute to the development of resources for advocacy and awareness-raising

•  Help identify points of intersection for collaboration with at least 2 UNICEF sector teams

•  Draft materials for internal and external webinars, workshops, and other relevant events.

•  Support the identification and engagement of new global and regional target audiences for partnerships and dissemination of the GRASSP research.

•  Coordinate with the Social Policy Communications Specialist to help promote strategic advocacy and social media

•  Supporting prospecting and outreach to 5 potential donors to submit at least 2 proposals

Technical Resource Development

•  Support the Lead in the planning and execution of 4 regional workshops and virtual technical clinics on gender-responsive social protection (GRSP) for UNICEF Country Offices.

•  Conduct outreach to regional and country offices to analyze capacity building opportunities to strengthen technical know-how of Social Policy network on gender-responsive social protection

•  Create resources to accompany technical capacity-building by the Lead with country offices

•  Prepare mission briefs and technical background documents ahead of 6 country missions.

•  Support the Lead in identifying and assisting champion countries for the uptake of the We Deserve Better findings

•  Generate recommendations for entry points to engage country offices in implementation of We Deserve Better

•  Assist in operationalization of the GRASSP research findings for UNICEF Country Offices, including engagement with designers and creators for technical knowledge products and with country offices receiving funding

Other tasks

•  Draft materials for donor reporting to showcase achievements and document challenges.

•  Compile country reporting against CSI 5.2 and 5.5, among others for the Child Poverty and Social Protection team.

•  Help track expenditures against portfolio budget to help monitor donor resource allocation.

•  Review vendor outputs to ensure alignment to contracted assignment. 

Terms of Reference / Deliverables

– Knowledge Management and Dissemination

Finalization, graphic design, and publication of the We Deserve Better report, one-pager, and the GRSP summary overview brief.

31 December 2024

– Technical Resource Development       

Create at least 4 materials (e.g, presentations, background documents, etc.) to accompany technical capacity-building by the Lead with country offices.  

31 December 2024

– Partnerships  

Prospect research for proposal development for 2 new grant opportunities.         

31 December 2024

– Civil Society Engagement

Identify and engage 2 new regional civil society target audiences for GRASSP and GRSP by disseminating studies and tools from findings      

31 December 2024

– Working Group Coordination and Partnerships

Coordinate planning of 1 SPIAC-B Gender Working Group in-person meeting in selected country in Africa.

31 January 2025

– Technical Resource Development       

Identification of and outreach to 4 champion countries for the uptake of gender-responsive social protection findings and recommendations from government partners, as part of the recent initiative.       

31 January 2025

– Technical Resource Development

Draft 1 technical guidance tool on inclusive care and support through social protection    31 January 2025

– Partnerships    

Coordinate planning of at least 2 regional workshops on GRSP to leverage GRASSP findings

31 March 2025

– Knowledge Management and Dissemination

Dissemination of 3 resources on care and support

31 March 2025

– Technical Resource Development

Prepare at least 6 mission briefs and technical background documents for country missions

31 March 2025

– Civil Society Engagement

Create and disseminate at least 2 CSO-centric products for We Deserve Better and advocacy and awareness-raising on GRSP

30 September 2025

– Partnerships  

Drafting of annual reporting to 2 donor partners and 1 annual reporting for the Child Poverty and Social Protection team.

30 September 2025

– Civil Society Engagement

Develop 1 stakeholder engagement guide on participatory policymaking with CSOs and disseminate with civil society organizations, including 4 GRSP posts on social media, 2 graphic designs or imagery.

30 September 2025

– Technical Resource Development

Prepare at least 3 mission briefs and technical background documents for country missions.

30 September 2025

– Technical Resource Development

Review draft of 1 country case study compilation on inclusive care and support  

30 September 2025

Qualifications

(1) Education

• Master’s degree in International Development, Gender, or Social Protection, or related social sciences.

(2) Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

Knowledge and Experience:

• Knowledge of social protection or gender in developing country contexts, required.
• Experience working with a range of partners including donors, civil society, or UN agencies, required. Specific experience with feminist organizations that are women and girl-led is required.
• Experience supporting coordination activities across an organization and within working groups, required.
• Experience working on gender-responsive social protection knowledge product development and dissemination, required.
• Experience working on care and support systems through social protection highly preferred.
• Experience assisting in grantmaking and reporting, budget expenditure tracking, vendor facilitation, and operational support, highly preferred.
• Experience providing administrative and facilitative support to technical experts, highly preferred.

Skills:

• 3-5 years of experience in international development, gender, or social protection, including internship or consultancy with a UN agency, highly preferred.
• Strong writing and communication skills especially in team environments, highly preferred.
• Exposure to developing country contexts, particularly in Africa and/or Asia, required.
• Ability to work independently with confidence and self-motivation, necessary.
• Highly organized and proactive with timely production of materials to deliver assignments, necessary.
• Knowledge of PowerBI to analyze global trends, highly preferred.

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.