The Gender & Education Consultant will support the implementation of the Gender at the Centre Initiative by providing expertise and support on technical capacity building to Ministries of Education and other partners, partnerships with young feminists and gender in education data monitoring and analysis.

Contract Duration: 6.5 months

Working arrangement: remote

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

UNICEF’s fundamental mission is to uphold the rights of every child, everywhere. Guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Sustainable Development Goals, UNICEF Strategic Plan 2026–2029 places equity at the centre of its education work to deliver results on learning and skills development of every child. The education programme offer is designed to ensure that every child and adolescent has access to quality, inclusive, and resilient learning opportunities. It prioritises three key transitions in a child’s learning journey: readiness for school, acquisition of foundational and transferable skills, and preparation for life and work. These transitions underpin UNICEF’s focus on equitable access, improved learning outcomes, and continuity of education in emergencies and fragile contexts.

Within this framework, gender equality is recognised as both a right and a powerful driver of education system transformation. Girls continue to face barriers that limit their access to and success in education, including discrimination, violence, poverty, and restrictive social norms. At the same time, there is a growing concern about boys’ disengagement in education in many countries. Addressing these inequities is essential to achieving sustainable and transformative progress for all children.

The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI), established in 2000 within UNICEF, catalyses action locally, nationally, regionally, and globally for girls’ education and gender equality through education. Its mission is to influence global policy, promote evidence-based solutions, and facilitate the sharing of good practice across contexts. By strengthening cross-sector collaboration and engaging diverse development actors, UNGEI accelerates progress towards gender-transformative education. UNGEI and UNICEF’s programmatic success strengthens partnerships and further creates advocacy opportunities.

UNGEI has been co-leading the Gender at the Centre Initiative (GCI) with IIEP-UNESCO since 2019. GCI is a multistakeholder initiative to promote gender equality in and through education with partner countries. GCI works with governments, civil society and young feminists to strengthen technical gender capacity, foster political will and support the transformation of harmful gender norms. It is currently implemented in 13 countries. To support the continuous implementation of the GCI, UNICEF is looking for a consultant to support the UNGEI and UNICEF team.

The consultancy directly supports GCI implementation in the participating countries of Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Senegal. It also benefits additional GCI countries—namely Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria and Sierra Leone —by systematically sharing lessons learned and practical experience across the entire GCI network. With the recent inclusion of Pakistan and Jordan in the GCI, the scope of support will be further expanded to include these countries. The Ministries of Education in participating countries have formally requested support, particularly technical assistance. UNICEF Country Offices have confirmed their commitment to supporting their respective government counterparts and have submitted corresponding technical assistance requests. Within the first quarter of the Centre of Excellence’s first year of operation, more than 30 technical assistance requests related to gender equality in education were submitted by UNICEF Country Offices, including those from non-GCI countries.

This consultancy will provide critical support to the Gender at the Centre Initiative, mainly through technical expertise on Gender-Responsive Education Sector Planning, Gender in Education data and evidence, and partnerships with young feminists. The Gender & Education Consultant will report to the UNGEI Education Specialist (Gender Equity) and collaborate closely with the UNGEI Education Specialist (Gender Policy), the UNGEI team, the UNICEF Education Centre of Excellence, UNICEF country offices and IIEP-UNESCO.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here: Download File TMC0002330 ToR.pdf

Minimum requirements:

  •  Education: Master’s degree in education, gender or women’s studies, child rights, international relations, international development, political science, sociology, psychology, economics.
  • Work Experience:

•   At least 5 years of professional experience in education, gender equality or child rights.

•   At least 3 years of professional experience in programming related to gender equality in education.

•   At least 1 full year of experience working with government, especially the Ministries of Education and partners in Mali, Chad and Côte d’Ivoire.

•   Demonstrated experience in working for women’s and girls’ rights.

•   Experience partnering with other education and gender stakeholders, including CSOs and youth networks.

•   Experience in preparing and providing training to MoE officials and partners using standard tools, including the GRESP (Gender Responsive Education Sector Planning).

  • Language requirement: Fluency in English and French, orally and in writing, is required.
  • Skills:
    • Expert knowledge of gender equality in education issues, including intersectional gender equality frameworks, Gender-Responsive Education Sector Planning and Gender-Transformative Education.
    • Expert understanding of the education sector, including the functioning of Ministries of Education, education sector dialogue, education sector analysis and planning.
    • Strong data analysis skills, knowledge of gender and education data sets, national education data systems.
    • High level of initiative and autonomy, ability to undertake complex tasks in a time constrained context.
    • Excellent communication skills, excellent writing competencies, strong oral presentation skills.
    • Excellent interpersonal skills, including an ability to create collaborative work relationships with people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
    • Strong commitment to gender equality.

Desirables:

  • Experience partnering with young activists is an asset.
  • Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.

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

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):

Remarks:  If the TOR or financial proposal documents are not visible on certain recruitment platforms, please visit our official page Vacancies | UNICEF Careers.

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.

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