international Consultant Gender Programmatic Review of the Cameroon – UNICEF Cooperation Program 2022 – 2026, Yaounde Cameroon (80 days)

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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, a chance in life!

Cameroon is characterized by structural and deep-rooted gender inequalities (or gender inequalities). According to the UNDP Gender Inequality Index, in 2014 Cameroon was in 132nd position out of 151 countries.In Cameroon, 32% of adolescents and young people, girls and boys aged 15, experience physical, sexual and psychosocial violence, 24% of adolescents aged 15 to 19 have started their sexual and reproductive life, 29% of children are married before the age of 18; One in ten girls is married before the age of 15. Child marriage affects 50 times more girls than boys before the age of 15 and 8 times more girls before the age of 18. Education, WASH and nutrition also faces big challenges in terms of gender balance, 22% of adolescent girls and young people cannot read compared to 13% of boys in the same age group. In 2014, 32% of young women (between 15 and 24 years old) were illiterate (compared to 17% of men), in rural areas the proportion was much higher (52% of young women and 29% of young men). For nutrition issues, there is an upward trend in the prevalence of overweight/obesity among adolescent girls aged 15 to 19, between 2004 (16.5%) and 2018 (18.4%) and more than 40% of adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 are anaemic throughout the country. 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. UNICEF promotes the rights and welfare of all children, girls and boys, in everything we do. Together with our allies, we work in 190 countries and territories to transform this commitment into practical actions that benefit all children, especially focusing our efforts on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded, worldwide. Guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and in line with the 2030 Agenda, UNICEF works to put the rights and well-being of the most disadvantaged girls and boys at the heart of the social, political, and economic agenda, in line with our equity focus, working across our organization and with our partners in government, civil society and the private sector to support shifts in public policy, fuel social engagement, and increase investment for children. Gender equality is a priority for UNICEF, as manifested in its Gender Action Plan 2022–2025 (GAP). The GAP sets out an ambitious roadmap to promote gender equality and empowerment of girls and women in all areas of our programme and management work. The GAP establishes UNICEF’s intention to transform into a more gender-transformative organization with enhanced ambitions for gender equality across results areas, including humanitarian action. The GAP’s programme priorities aligned with the Unicef Strategic Plan included child marriage and early unions, gender-based violence, girls’ secondary school education, menstrual health and hygiene, adolescent health, girls’ empowerment and transforming harmful gender norms from early childhood through adolescence.

It is therefore mandatory for UNICEF to be informed by a thorough analysis of gender-related considerations as they either favor or hamper advancement of children’s rights. The results of this analysis inform strategic choices of programmatic positioning. Gender Programmatic Review is important, because it accompanies the Country Programme Document.

link https://unicef.sharepoint.com/sites/CMR/SitePages/AboutUs.aspx.

How can you make a difference?

The purpose of this consultancy is to support the Cameroon country office of UNICEF Cameroon to conduct a Gender Programmatic Review (GPR) of its current Country Programme 2022-2026 to identify to the extent to which the current programme reflects the gender priorities of the UNICEF Strategic Plan, and UNICEF Gender Action Plan 2022-2025, and the Key Results for Children (KRC).

UNICEF Cameroon will conduct Gender Programmatic Review (GPR) of its current Country Programme 2022-2026 to identify the extent to which the current program reflects the gender priorities as outlined in the UNICEF Strategic Plan 2022-2025, UNICEF Gender Action Plan (GAP) and Key Results for Children (KRC). The GPR includes an assessment of the key performance indicators on gender equality and gender mainstreaming, 5 GAP programming principles and 13 gender results, as well as 08 KRCs. The GPR process, will also include an analysis of the Country Office’s current attainments and identification the future programmatic priorities and new strategic areas that will help the Country office achieve gender transformative results for children in Cameroon, and inform gender programmatic strategy of the ongoing country program document (CPD).

The GPR should be conducted in participative manner with involvement of programmatic sections and sub-national offices, Government, and keys stakeholders. It will be largely based on document review in regular communication and close cooperation with UNICEF team in Cameroon.

Specific objectives include

Conducting the Gender Programmatic Review consist of completing the following tasks:

• Desk review of gender in country programming and programme management. Assess UNICEF Cameroon programmatic priorities and operational modalities against gender and age specific needs and vulnerabilities of girls, boys, women and men, in view of 13 Results of UNICEF Gender Acton Plan and 10 Key Results for Children
• Budgetary analysis. Review budget allocation to programme results through gender lenses and suggest ways for improvement
• Gaps analysis of the transformative agenda. Analyse, systematize and translate the socio-cultural, legal, economic and other evidence through gender lenses and methodology to inform a revision of the gender-transformative Theory of Change of the CPD
• Propose major shifts for better gender informed programming and programme management. Illustrate and justify the necessary gender programmatic shifts for the coming years , suggest gender results framework, considering regional specificities and operational modalities of field offices
• UNICEF’s positioning for a more effective address of major gender issues. Suggest strategies for UNICEF Cameroon in stronger country positioning as opinion leader in gender-transformative agenda in cooperation with the UNCT, governmental and non-governmental partners
• Analysis of innovative solutions. Suggest approaches in utilization of innovation, tech, digital, knowledge and data as main enablers for gender-transformative agenda in Cameroon; justify the potential Flagship initiatives and make connection with future strategic partners from across all sectors
• Assessing capacity required for a more appropriate gender action. Provide guidance on staffing, management, coordination and internal capacity strategy capable to support and make effective gender results for children,
• Conduct a participatory approach. Participate in regular online consultations with UNICEF team and sub-national offices, Government and keys stakeholders
• Write a detailed report. Submit the final version of GPR covering the above-mentioned elements

The excepted results/ deliverables:

• Contract finalized and agreements
• Document review covering assessment of Unicef Cameroon programmatic priorities in light of GAP and KRC, budget allocations to gender results and analysis of country evidences
• Draft GPR integrating comments on document review, and covering suggested gender programmatic shifts, country positioning, innovations, flagships, partnerships; suggesting staffing, management, coordination and international capacity strategy
• Final version of GPR all comments integrated

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have

• An advanced university degree (Masters and above) in Education sciences, Public Health, C4D, social sciences or any related field
• 08 (eight) years or more experience in program design, planning, monitoring and evaluation of projects targeting gender issues
• Analytical and conceptual ability; communication skills.
• Competencies in strategic thinking, program planning, and implementation.
• Skills in research methodology and statistical analysis.
• Additional asset: Have significant experience working and providing technical support to national programs and civil society organizations
• Fluent in English and French, communication skills, report writing with critical analysis and experience in process documenting.

Administrative issues and conditions

1. Payment of professional fees will be based on the submission of agreed 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.

2. The Consultant will be required to complete UNICEF's standard online courses related to Ethics and Integrity at UNICEF; Prevention of Sexual Harassment and Abuse of Authority; Sexual Exploitation Abuse (PSEA) related training prior to taking up the assignment and/or travel.

3. The Consultant will be required to sign a Health Statement prior to taking up the assignment, and to document that he/she has appropriate health insurance, including Medical Evacuation.

4. The selected candidate will be posted at UNICEF Yaounde Office for 60 calendars and 20 remotely

HOW TO APPLY:

Qualified candidates are requested to complete an application including a profile to the respective advertisement online. Please indicate your ability and availability.

Applications submitted without a financial proposal will not be considered. Rates must include all expenses related to the assignment (e.g., consultancy fee, living allowance, travel if applicable), quoted in USD. Kindly note that the consultancy is remote, and Office based, and this should be reflected on the financial offer.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract 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 and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors 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.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants 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.