International Consultant: To Develop UNICEF Nepal Strategy on Adolescent Development and Participation, Nepal

Contract

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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, result

UNICEF recognizes the importance of adolescent development as a crucial element of the life cycle perspective of human development. This is particularly true for adolescent girls, where progress remains uneven and lagging on various SDG indicators. 35 per cent of women (20 24-year-old) were married before they turned 18; 61 out of 1000 girls aged 15-19 years are either pregnant or have already given birth and 39 per cent are suffering from anaemia. Likewise, roughly half of all girls do not transition to secondary school with only 30 per cent completing secondary schooling.

Many -being, education, and skills development can lead to higher incomes and increased productivity as well as a reduction in harmful outcomes such as child marriage, child and maternal mortality and child stunting1. The organization acknowledges the need of involving young people up to the age of 24 as the neurological, physical, personal, and social development extends to the age of 24.

UNICEF Nepal has been investing in programming with and for adolescents through engagement and service delivery in health, nutrition, education, child protection, WASH and social protection. The second decade agenda upholds adolescent-centric programming as reflected in UNICEF's second Decade Guidance, the Engaged and Heard Guidance and Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidance for Working with and for Young People and various other policy mandates for investment and advocacy for related policies, programmes and adolescent engagement and participation. For UNICEF, the primary focus is putting adolescents/young people at the centre of holistic, multi-sectoral programming for and with them, with their participation at the centre. This is in-line with UNICEF South Asia framework for Adolescent girls, which calls for accelerated action for girls in the region.

The UNICEF Nepal Country Programme for 2023-2027 has identified the enhancement of human capital as a crucial strategy to leverage the demographic window of opportunity. The programme is structured around six main areas: health, nutrition, climate-adaptive water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), education, child protection, and social protection. Furthermore, four overarching priorities have been identified with the objective of pivoting the results of the programme, namely child-friendly governance, gender-equality programming, social inclusion and disaster risk reduction, climate resilience and environmental sustainability. Adolescent Development and Participation (ADAP) is well integrated in the programme components as well as in the overarching priorities. Similarly, during Country Management Team retreat held in the first quarter of 2024, most of the sectors and field offices proposed having comprehensive inter-sectoral programme for adolescents as a flagship programme for NCO for 2024. With the recognition of the need for actionable initiative, NCO has deemed it essential to create a strategy for integrated and holistic adolescent programming including adolescent development and participation.

How can you make a difference?

The main purpose of the assignment is to draft an inter-sectoral strategy for ADAP for NCO based on sectoral priorities and opportunities for convergence considering their evolving capacity and diverse needs.

Scope of Work:

The consultant is expected to develop a concise and holistic strategy that provides direction for intersectoral and convergent planning and programming on ADAP including distinct strategies for accelerating progress for adolescent girls in line with the Adolescent Girl's Framework for South Asia 2022-25 for NCO seeking inputs from all programme and cross sectoral teams including field offices. Additionally, the strategy is expected to cover recommendations for funding and resourcing strategies, evidence generation/data, monitoring and evaluation and office wide accountability mechanisms.

Main tasks:

1. Develop a methodology and workplan to facilitate analysis of cross sectoral priorities and a sound institutional strategy on ADAP.

2. Based on goal and priorities at global, regional level, and NCO, undertake a situation analysis including desk review, interviews with key staffs and identify constraints and opportunities for enhancing holistic adolescent programming for NCO, including provincial specificities.

3. Identify sectoral priorities and gaps in the policy and programmatic ecosystem (both external and internal level) through stakeholder consultation.

4. Research institutional and programmatic support available for adolescent's development especially in thematic areas including education, skilling leading to employment, water sanitation and hygiene, child protection, social protection, nutrition, health, climate change, entrepreneurship, civic engagement and social norms including efforts on deconstructing gender values and promoting value of girl.

5. Identify concrete opportunities for programmatic convergence with existing cross sectoral initiatives and approaches for adolescents especially girls meaningful civic engagement and participation as one cross-cutting priority across all NCO programmes.

6. Develop a specific action plan for Adolescent girls focusing on the most marginalised communities.

7. Develop priorities through co creation workshop with geographical and programmatic convergence and develop strategies and plans outlining clear deliverables, indicators, and tools.

8. Suggest a coordination and accountability mechanism that suits the needs of NCO for effective implementation of the identified programme priorities.

9. Suggest medium to long term partnerships (across sectors - government, development partners, CSOs/NGOs, and the private sector) to work on diverse issues related to adolescents in a cross-sectoral approach.

10. Recommend methodology and tools for monitoring and evaluation for enhanced accountability.

Duration of Contract: The total duration of the contract is for 35 working days over the period of 4 months starting from 01 May to 31 August 2024. The assignment will be remote based with one time travel to Nepal.

Deliverables for this Assignment:

Tasks/Milestone****Deliverables/Outputs****Timeline****Proposed Fee (In Nepalese Currency)Draft detailed methodology and plan of implementationConduct inception meeting with NCO key staffs and submit an Inception Report with detailed work plan, methodology and tools

3 days

By 15 May 2024

Conduct desk review of the existing literature, official documents/publications/strategies, and mapping of relevant stakeholders for interviews and question guide.Analysis of desk review and workplan and list of

stakeholders to be consulted for strategy

7 days

By 10 June 2024

Conduct interviews and co creation workshop with relevant external and internal cross sectoral partners and as per the agreed methodology and workplan.Submission of transcription and analysis

as a document

10 days

By 10 July 2024

Draft final holistic strategy with clearly defined strategic priorities for NCO and set of overarching activities that need to be undertaken. Submit final report with gap analysis and required outputs as outlined in the terms of reference as well as outlined in the workplan prepared in consultation with UNICEF. This will include a specific action plan for girls especially from marginalized communities1. Submission of concise holistic Adolescent

Strategy for UNICEF Nepal and addendum

action plan for girls

2. Submission of report with data visualisation

and clearly articulated key findings.

3. Submission of PowerPoint - A visually compelling presentation for dissemination with

internal and external stakeholders.

10 days

By 10 August 2024

Review and incorporate revisions and submit final strategySubmission of final strategy

5 days

By 31st August 2024

Total Fee To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Academic Qualification:

• Advanced university degree (Master's or above) in one of the following fields is required: Social science, Education, International Affairs, Economics, Public Policy, or similar field

Work Experience:

• Extensive experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, strategy development and report writing with ability to write in a clear and concise manner is required.
• Previous experience of working on development of institutional strategy is required.
• A minimum of 6 years of professional experience of working on issues related to young people's (10-24 years) developmental, empowerment and participation needs.
• Ability to work independently and to a clear work plan being directly accountable.
• Experience in interacting with and collecting relevant data from different levels of stakeholders.
• Knowledge of children with disabilities and relevant guidelines and standards, disability inclusive education, human rights/child rights, gender equality and child safeguarding and protection.
• Availability and willingness to provide high quality deliverables and going through various revisions for incorporating feedback and comments.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language and/or local language of the duty station is considered as an asset.
• Some prior experience with UNICEF or other UN agencies in program planning is considered an added advantage.

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 here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

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.

Remarks:

Request to submit financial proposal as per deliverables.

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.