National individual consultancy to support implementation of the Skills4Girls programme being implemented in partnership with IT PARK with UNICEF in Uzbekistan

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.

Background

In Uzbekistan, girls and young women are prevailing among NEET, which makes them more vulnerable to becoming socially excluded. After completion of the compulsory secondary education 56% of young people of 19-24 years of age are NEET (69% female and 33.4% male). The NEET-rate for young women increases rapidly once they are above 18 years of age and complete compulsory secondary education (from 1.7% to 69%).

Substantial divide persists among girls and boys in computer literacy and Internet access and use. The share of females without any computer literacy is 43.5% in comparison with the one among males of 30,0%. The share of girls and young women aged 14-30 years old who never use the Internet is 68%. The key reasons of not using the Internet among youth are poor connectivity, lack of own devices and high cost of the Internet. For girls and young women, the access is also hindered by social stigmatization based on the believe that the Internet influences behaviour of girls negatively. Among married young women, 71% never use the Internet. Underrepresentation of young women in STEM fields reduces their skilled employment prospects.

The purpose of the programme is to deliver skills courses for girls by equipping adolescent girls, including the girls with disabilities, with digital skills and STEM competencies in order to increase their participation in STEM education and careers, as well as to break harmful stereotypes and norms. The education system will be strengthened for girls and have enhanced capacity to deliver gender-responsive programmes with increased skills of local trainers and mentors. The programme will be implemented in partnership with IT Park.

Objectives

The objective of the consultancy is to support capacity building of girls under Skills for Girls (S4Gs) programme though conducting orientation sessions for girl’s leadership and empowerment. The content will include and not be limited to gender equality concepts, breaking biases and harmful stereotypes in relation to girls in STEM, girls’ choice of professions, 21st century skills and professions of the future.

Timeline & Deliverables

The assignment will start in May 2022 and should be completed by end of 2022 in phases with time lapse in between according to the below schedule of deliverables.

Activity - Days - Deliverables

1. Development of the curriculum, quality training package consisting of training module, presentations, handouts, pre-test and post-test surveys, list of potential guest-speakers/role models; The content includes and will not be limited to gender equality concepts, breaking biases and harmful stereotypes in relation to girls in STEM, girls’ choice of professions, 21st century skills and professions of the future through participation of the role models - 20 days - Curriculum and training packages endorsed by UNICEF.

2. Conducting total of 4 trainings, 2 days each jointly with the second trainer in Tashkent and 3 target regions; Development of training reports - 12 days - Training reports with pre-and post-test results endorsed by UNICEF and recommendations for future training.

3. Facilitating engagement of women/girl role models with girls through presentations/interaction as part of capacity building to promote girls’ leadership and empowerment; Collecting and analyzing feedback on the interacting events from role models and girl participants - 7 days - Presentation/interaction with girls by role models, including those with disabilities and the analyzed feedback with recommendations.

4. Documentation of human-interest stories (HIS) representing success of girls, including girls with disabilities - 6 days - Reports from HIS (at least 4).

Total: 45 working days

Resource Requirements and duration.

The duration of the assignment is 45 working days over 2022, starting from May, 2022. The payment will be made based on the detailed budget of the key deliverables or phases in the work plan. The fee will be paid in tranches based on the milestones completed according to the timeline and upon successful completion of the deliverables of the assignment and evaluation by the Supervisor. The consultant is expected to submit report for each deliverable upon completion of the task. Travel cost will be covered by UNICEF based on rules and regulations. The contract can be extended subject to successful deliverable of all the terms to support the second year of UN Joint Programme implementation.

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

• University degree preferably in social sciences.
• Excellent understanding of CEDAW principles and gender issues in the local context, and experience in gender training, development of the curriculum, gender analysis and assessments.
• Proven successful experience in conducting trainings especially for young people and/or school children.
• Experience working with UN Agencies is an asset.
• Good analytical and report writing skills.
• Fluency in Uzbek and Russian.

Management

The consultant will be working under the supervision of the Gender & Inclusion Specialist and in coordination with the second trainer on Disability Inclusion. It is required that the consultant works closely with persons with disabilities and/or OPD groups to facilitate the training, coordinate their respective efforts and ensures accessible and inclusive approaches.

Reservations

UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if deliverable(s) incomplete, not finalized or for failure to meet deadlines. UNICEF will reserve copy right of all developed materials and own primary data collected through this assignment. The materials cannot be published or disseminated without prior written permission of UNICEF. UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future. The contractor must respect the confidentiality of the information handled during the assignment. Documents and information provided must be used only for the tasks related to these terms of reference.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

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.