Expression of Interest: Gender Consultant Roster

UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO) is seeking applications to a roster for individual gender consultants to support the implementation of the second phase of the UNICEF Gender Action Plan (2018-2022).

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.

Purpose of Assignment:

UNICEF’s work on gender equality is guided by its Gender Action Plan (GAP) 2018-2021. The GAP 2018-22 specifies how UNICEF will promote gender equality across the organization’s work, in alignment with the UNICEF Strategic Plan 2018-2021 and also supports the achievement of gender equality goals as outlined in Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This second phase of the GAP builds on the learning from implementing the GAP 2014-2017, sustaining and strengthening the most effective elements, while also making adjustments to address gaps and challenges.

The GAP programmatic framework defines a twin track for the integration of gender equality outcomes across all programme areas, and the implementation of ‘targeted gender priorities’ focused on empowering adolescent girls. The five targeted priorities place a special focus on adolescent girls facing an intensification of deprivations. The five targeted priorities include (1) Promoting adolescent girls’ nutrition, pregnancy care, & prevention from HIV/AIDS and HP, (2) Advancing adolescent girls’ secondary education, learning and skills including STEM, (3) Preventing and responding to child marriage and early unions, (4) Preventing and responding to gender-based violence in emergencies, and (5) Facilitating accessible and dignified menstrual hygiene management in both humanitarian and development settings.

UNICEF’s GAP 2018-2021 also articulates two substantive themes to make the integration of gender within programmatic results more tangible and actionable. The first theme focuses on equality between girls and boys, and the second on gender equality in women’s and men’s roles in the care and support for children.

UNICEF EAPRO is seeking services of gender experts to provide a range of support services and technical assistance to Country Offices (COs) and the East Asia Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO) to achieve the envisioned results of the second phase of the Gender Action Plan (GAP), which comes into action in 2018. Successful applicants will be placed on the EAPRO Gender Consultant Roster to be sourced for upcoming assignments.

Work Assignment:

Applicants for the EAPRO Gender Consultant Roster are invited to submit an Expression of Interest (EoI) and to indicate their areas of expertise. Upcoming gender assignment include, but are not limited to, the following areas:

• Gender & Sector Expertise: Provide technical assistance to conceptualize and operationalize gender mainstreaming in one or more of UNICEF’s sector programming: Health, Nutrition, WASH, Child Protection, HIV/AIDS, Education, and Social Policy. Provide technical reviews of programmatic approaches, and technical inputs to increase gender-responsiveness of sector-specific toolkits, manuals, packages, standards, trainings, process guidance, programme documents, policy drafts, etc.
• Gender Reviews & Gender Analysis: Perform gender reviews of country office programmes, guided by UNICEF gender programmatic review (GPR) tools; map and identify country programme outputs and activities with the greatest potential for impact and scale; support in-depth gender analysis linked to selected outputs, sectoral or cross-sectoral programme components; assist with developing Theories of Change (ToC) that analyse and address intermediate gender barriers/bottlenecks and structural determinants; provide actionable recommendations for accelerating gender in the programme.
• Gender Research and Evidence Building: Develop and conduct gender-related research, using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, including scoping studies and strategic research for advocacy; support efforts to close the gender data gap and advise on data collection and management strategies; strengthen the quality of research, analysis, and evidence building on gender related programming and policy.
• Programme and Proposal Development: Support the development of results-based programmes for gender and development; provide technical input and review of gender components in key funding proposals, concept notes, appeals submissions; advance the design of funded projects/programmes so that gender technical components are clearly defined and reported on.
• Gender Results Frameworks: Provide guidance to the articulation of gender results in country programmes and the development of gender-inclusive results frameworks; provide capacity building in framing gender results and indicators and gender-responsive M&E; support the review and development of gender-related indicator sets; perform (rapid) field reviews/assessments of gender results of programmes or programmes components.
• Capacity Development: Assist COs and partners to develop targeted capacities for GAP implementation; design and deliver targeted GAP and gender sessions, workshops, gender coaching, and other training initiatives, tailored to the context and requirements of participants, at both basic and advanced levels;  support the development of systems, tools and processes that enable staff members and partners to enhance their understanding and adoption of gender sensitive behaviours and to accelerate implementation of the GAP.
• Gender & Innovation: Provide gender technical support to the development of innovative solutions (technical or social innovations) to ‘unsolved’ problems of the Gender Action Plan; improve the gender-responsive and transformative nature of ongoing innovation projects; provide review of and advice on innovative gender pilots and planning of scale up.
• Communications and Knowledge Management: Support documentation and sharing of guidance and experience in gender programming and lessons learned; showcase gender-related best practices; design and edit gender knowledge products; develop social media contributions to promote gender equality; perform gender knowledge management tasks for country offices.

Work Schedule and Deliverables:

This is a call for consultants to be placed on the EAPRO Gender Consultant Roster. Work schedules, deliverables, and final outputs will be specified for each work assignment in the respective TOR.

Estimated Duration of Contract:  

This is a call for consultants to be placed on EAPRO Gender Consultant Roster. Start of contract, expected date of completion and necessary official travel will be specified for each work assignment in the respective TOR.

Qualifications or Specialized Knowledge/Experience Required:

a) Advanced university degree (Masters or higher) in Social Sciences, Public Health, Gender Studies, International Development or in an area relevant to UNICEF’s sectoral work.

b) At least seven years of progressively responsible professional experience at international levels and demonstrated track record in the area of gender and development/humanitarian action.

c) Strong substantive, technical, programmatic, and research skills; along with sectoral expertise in any of the following sectors: Health, Education, WASH, HIV/AIDS, Protection, Social Policy, C4D, ECD, or combined expertise in Adolescents.

d) Proven rigor in analytical, conceptual, and programme design skills relevant to gender and development with an understanding of theories of change and path from intervention to result.

e) Ability to contextualise and be able to translate the approaches into practicable programme design in complex environments.

f) Technical excellence in at least one of the gender categories as outlined in the TOR.

g) Fluency in English; knowledge of a language in the East Asia Pacific region is an asset.

Interested candidates are requested to submit the CV or P-11, areas of gender expertise, full contact information, availability, and proposed daily professional fee in USD by 4 September 2017.

 FORM P11.doc

Note: Gender experts who were included in the previous EAPRO Gender Consultant Roster (2016-2017) do not have to re-apply. They will be contacted about their interest to continue their nomination in the roster.

----------------- Only short listed candidates will be notified. -----------------