Consultancy: Guidelines for Programming with and for Young People in Humanitarian Settings, ADAP Section, PD - NYHQ, Requisition #517237

Revision and finalization of the DRAFT Guidelines for Programming with/for Young People in Humanitarian Context to reflect feedback of the consultations conducted with young people as well as practitioners and experts from various organizations.

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.

Background & Rationale

During the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit (WHS), UN Member States, UN entities, civil society organizations, private sector, media and youth-led organizations gathered on the topic of Transforming Humanitarian Action with and for Young People, and called to align strategies, approaches and programmatic responses to reach all young and adolescent people and empower young women and men, and adolescent girls and boys to be agents of positive transformation. 

A ‘Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action’ was established and endorsed by at least 50 organizations that work in humanitarian settings. The Compact aims to ensure that the priorities, needs and rights of young women and men, and adolescent girls and boys affected by disaster, conflict, forced displacement and other humanitarian crises, are addressed, and that they are informed, consulted, and meaningfully engaged throughout all stages of humanitarian action.   

Within the Compact, 5 long-term commitments were identified and defined under 5 Actions with the first one being “Promote and increase age- and gender-responsive and inclusive programmes that contribute to the protection, health and development of young women, young men, girls and boys within humanitarian settings”.    

UNICEF co-chairs with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) a group of practitioners and organizations to oversee the implementation of Action 1, and as such is leading the development, drafting and field-testing of Guidelines for Programming with/for Young People in Humanitarian Settings together with partner organizations which have endorsed the Compact.

The Guidelines are addressing a gap in current humanitarian tools that tend to overlook young people, a specific but broad demographic. While young people are often at the forefront of humanitarian response, including as first responders, they are rarely listened to, and even more rarely treated as positive agents of change within communities. process ensures that the priorities, needs and rights of young women and men, and adolescent girls and boys affected by disaster, conflict, forced displacement and other humanitarian crises, are addressed, and that they are informed, consulted, and meaningfully engaged throughout all stages of humanitarian action. A first draft of the Guidelines was prepared and has gone through an extensive review process including 16 youth consultations with 291 youth in 16 countries[1] as well as individual reviewers working in various humanitarian settings.  

The purpose of this consultancy is to finalize the Guidelines by reviewing and incorporating feedback received from the field consultation and develop tools to support the utilization of the Guidelines.

Purpose

Revision and finalization of the DRAFT Guidelines for Programming with/for Young People in Humanitarian Context to reflect feedback of the consultations conducted with young people as well as practitioners and experts from various organizations.

Expected results and workplan:

 The consultant will work under the supervision of UNICEF Adolescent Specialist, and in close coordination with Compact Core Action 1 Task Team including the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Mercy Corps, Plan International, the Refugee Education Trust (RET) UNFPA, UNHCR, the UN Youth Envoy Office, the International Federation of the Red Cross/Crescent (IFRC) as well as with other Compact member organizations and humanitarian practitioners from different clusters and sectors.

The consultant is expected to review the consolidate feedback from 48 practitioners, youth consultations as well as the submitted case studies and revise the current draft to produce the final version of the Guidelines. It is expected that the guidelines are redrafted with a key focus on user-experience and practical field usage. In addition, the consultant is expected to develop supporting tools around the use of the guidelines. This includes: a frequently asked questions (FAQ) overview, a monitoring/feedback tool for users of the Guidelines and a brief communication package.

The final guidelines document should focus on the following:

• Provides the “why” for addressing young people’s priorities, working and engaging with them in humanitarian contexts;
• Describes how emergencies and other humanitarian contexts such as protracted forced displacement affect young people’s lives (with age and gender lens within and between age groups) including briefly explaining how forced displacement influences the realization of their rights – including by looking across the various sectors;
• Proposes the principles that should underpin programming with/for young people in humanitarian contexts and that should be respected when assessing, designing, implementing, and evaluating interventions for/with young people;
• Provides recommendations/actions, informed by age and sex considerations, that organizations need to consider when working with young people (with age and gender lens within and between age groups) in all phases of humanitarian crisis and across different sectors including health, education, protection, water and sanitation and nutrition. This includes strengthening the nexus between development and humanitarian programmes with a wider focus on risk reduction including mitigation and prevention. 
• Provides guidance, informed by age and sex considerations, on “how to” engage with young people (with age and gender lens within and between age groups) as partners including youth groups/organizations in all phases of humanitarian situations; 
• Provides practical guidance, informed by age and sex considerations, on how to integrate and strengthen the “young people lens” (with age and gender lens within and between age groups) within the interagency/multi-partner processes, i.e. CERF, HRPs, Flash appeals, multi-sectoral assessments and others.
• Provides guidance, informed by age and sex considerations, for the monitoring and evaluation of programmes addressing young people (with age and gender lens within and between age groups) including a focus on participatory and adolescent and youth led approaches.

In order to perform his/her various tasks, the consultant will be expected to:

• Liaise remotely through bi-lateral calls with co-leads of Action 1 Tasks team
• Liaise remotely through bi-lateral calls with practitioners from different organizations across the world as needed;
• Review all existing background documents that have been prepared by the team working on the Guidelines;
• Possibly travel to New York or Geneva to present consolidated draft content and design.
• Liaise with cluster members as needed to ensure that feedback and final draft are in line with IASC procedures.

Duty Station : Remote-based with possible travel to NY and/or Geneva

Timeframe and deliverables

Start date:  1 December 2018                                            
End date:    20 February 2019

Key competences, technical background, and experience required

• An Advanced University (Master’s) in emergency management, humanitarian action or development, social or political sciences, or related field - a focus on adolescent and or youth engagement would be desirable.
• Minimum of eight (8) years’ professional experience in humanitarian programming with a focus on youth/adolescent programming. Field experience in humanitarian settings is required.
• Experience in developing resources and materials from the perspective of programme design and implementation
• Experience in developing guidelines/practical guidance for humanitarian settings
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing
• Ability to work in an international environment and under tight deadlines
• Highly proficient in use of English with the ability to write in a clear and practical manner
• Strong command of English required, proficiency in Arabic, French or Spanish is considered an asset.