National Individual Consultant for the Assessment of the IT Girls Initiative, UNICEF Bosnia and Herzegovina

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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, Education

Project Background: Building on the previous interventions supported by UNDP, UNICEF and UN Women since 2015, IT Girls is a joint UN initiative that aims to bridge the digital gender gap and promote equal opportunities for girls and boys in education and access to technology. Through the promotion of gender equality and human rights, adolescent girls aged 13-18 and young women 18+ benefit from the advanced and targeted interventions aimed at raising their knowledge and awareness about the importance of including them in the field of ICT (Information and Communication Technology). IT Girls Initiatives strengthens competitiveness and digital literacy among girls in an increasingly digitalized world. All this contributes to building a more equal, stronger and more skilled labour force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) with increased participation of women, particullary in the IT sector. Through the IT Girls Initiative the girls throughout BiH have opportunities to meet with and learn from their peers and ICT experts/mentors from all over the country at various learning events and competitions. This increases their confidence, pitching and negotiations skills, thus empowering them to participate in a more meaningful way in the IT sector. The initiative prepares girls and young women to enter the labor market. In this way, the girls will become more empowered and increase their resilience to exploitation, abuse and risks. The IT Girls Initiative includes a strong focus on the vulnerable girls, such as the girls living in poverty, the girls in rural areas, or the girls otherwise at some risk. By involving schools and teachers in these interventions, the IT Girls Initiative aims to also initiate anchoring the IT Girls Initiatives principles it in the public education system as much as possible. The IT Girls Initiative also aims to involve teachers and the private sector to carry out the activities which will contribute to providing more awareness and opportunities for the girls to gain IT skills, increase the awareness and knowledge of opportunities and benefits of the ICT education and industry for women and girls. While focusing on reaching out to the vulnerable and deprived communities, this initiative also aims to contribute to strengthening the education system. This complements the ongoing work of the three UN agencies in the broader thematic areas such as social inclusion, with emphasis on education and skills building.

Project Key Results

  1. Established 10 IT Girls Clubs for 192 girls ages 13 to 15 – a new Science, Technology, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) learning methodology with the usage of Arduino1 aimed at girls of age 13 to 15 – implemented as an extra-curricular activity in 10 primary schools spread across 9 towns of FBiH.

  2. Conducted two Training of Teachers (ToT) for 30 STEAM teachers from 10 primary schools implementing IT Girls Clubs STEAM learning methodology.

  3. More than 400 girls aged 13 – 18 and young women 18+ benefited directly by participating in one of the IT Girls events, training, or similar activities during the implementation period of this assessment (2018 – 2021). The events, training and activities include:

  • Training programs: IT Girls Summer School, Postani IT Girl Training;

  • Competitions: Tehnomasta, European Youth Awards, EU Code Week Hackathon (#CodeLikeITGirl), European Researchers’ Night;

  • Workshops: IT Girls in search for their SPARK, Tehnomasta.

  1. Conducted BiH Behavioral Insights study on a sample of 974 students and 171 teachers in researching girls and women in STEM in BIH.

  2. Piloted IT Girls mentorship program for 21 young women from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 2 women based in Serbia and the USA. Mentees included in the pilot group came from 8 BiH cities.

  3. Portrayed 56 female role models in cooperation with the ICT private sector and academic institutions.

  4. Raised awareness and boosted confidence among over 2,000 girls and women by marking the international days online and offline: Women in Science and Technology Day, International Women’s Day, Arduino Day, Girls in ICT Day, EU Code Week, EU Robotics Week, 16 Days of Activism, International Day of the Girl, World’s Child Day

  5. Designed 3-year Action plans for five private IT companies (Authorityy Partners, Bravo Systems, Lanaco Company, Mistral, Rubicon) offering guidance on how to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace, and community (Five Women’s Empowerment Principles)2

COVID-19 pandemic response results

  1. Delivered #Postani IT Girl training program in online space for 20 girls and young women aged 15-23 spread across 12 towns across BiH;

  2. Organized 13 #ITGirlsGoOnline webinars, reaching around 35,000 girls and women through social media channels;

  3. Conducted online campaign focused on presenting and promoting the IT industry organizational culture, highlighting the benefits and flexibility that IT companies offer to their employees, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic for nine IT companies (Softray Solutions, Mistral, Atlantbh, Zira, Klika, Mibo, Infobip, Lanaco, and Ministry of Programming).

Purpose of Activity/Assignment: The purpose of this Assessment is to review the UN joint project IT Girls Initiative in terms of its design, overall performance, achievements and effects and generate knowledge and lessons learned to inform UN agencies, the Embassy of Sweden and the other potential future donors in the planning of the future IT Girls Joint Programme and initiatives.

Scope of Work: The Assessment will provide insight into the extent to which the planned initiative results have been achieved from 1 January 2018 till 30 June 2021. The objective of the Assessment is to examine the results, inputs and activities of the initiative and look in to how the results delivered added value to initiative’s target groups.

To the extent possible, the Assessment will also consider the results achieved in 2020 towards addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Assessment will look into the initiative’s processes, innovations, strategic partnerships and linkages producing the intended results and the factors that facilitated and/or hindered the progress in achieving the results, both in terms of the external environment and risks, crisis caused by the pandemic, as well as internal, including weaknesses in the initiative project design, management and implementation, human resource skills, and resources.

The Assessment will address the following questions:

• To what extent has the intended objective of the project been achieved? What are its main accomplishments?

• What factors have contributed to achieving or not achieving the intended specific objective of the project?

• To what extent has the initiative contributed to strengthening the capacities of young girls and women, teachers, institutions, etc.? Have there been some unintended, other benefits for the target groups?

• What is the strength and value added of the UN partnership behind the initiative?

• Are there unintended effects from the initiative?

• What are the key innovative approaches applied?

• What was the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of the initiative’s activities, in terms of their intended results, objectives, size and structure of target group?

• What would be the potential strategies that could strengthen sustainability of project components after the project is completed?

• To what level could similar future initiatives contribute to promoting gender equality?

• What are the main risks to scaling up of this initative and its long term sustainability? How could these risks be mitigated?

Appendix 1: Report Structure of the Assessment

  1. Coverage

This should indicate: the title of the project, the date the report was submitted

  1. Table of Contents

It should include page numbers and list of tables, graphics, boxes, annexes and photos

  1. Abbreviations/Acronyms

It should include list of abbreviations

  1. Map of BiH

It should include project distribution locations

  1. Executive Summary:

It should be a summary that contains the context of the assessment, purpose, scope, methodology, main findings, conclusions, recommendations and lessons learned.

The executive summary should be a “stand-alone” document

  1. Introduction:

The Introduction should not be more than one page. It should contain the:

• Purpose of the assessment

• Scope of the project

• Scope and methodology of the assessment

• Structure of the report

  1. Project description and assessment profile

This section should contain:

• Brief background to region/country (political, social, economic, and historical)

• Economic, social and cultural dimensions of the object to be evaluated

• Linkages to other objects

• Stakeholders

• Issues to be addressed

• References to relevant documents and mandates

• Other information (phases, timeline, budgets etc.)

• Purpose and scope of the assessment: what results were expected to be achieved – any obstacles.

  1. Assessment findings

This section should be a clear statement of what the assessment found out in response to the questions it was set up to answer. There will be different categories suitable to the project being assessed and based on the TOR. This should include findings (the list below is not exhaustive):

• To what extent has the intended objective of the project been achieved? What are its main accomplishments?

• What factors have contributed to achieving or not achieving the intended specific objective of the project?

• To what extent has the project contributed to strengthening the capacities of young girls and women, teachers, institution etc?

• What are the main benefits for the targeted groups and beneficiaries of the initiative’s activities, including analysis of benefits for each target group reached by projects activities?

• To what extent are the targeted groups satisfied with the capacity improvement gained while implementing the projects activities?

• What is the strength and value added of the UN partnership behind the initiative?

• Are there unintended effects from the initiative?

• What are the key innovative approaches applied? What was the influence of the COVID19 pandemic on the implementation of projects activities, in terms of their intended results, objectives, size and structure of target group?

• What would be the directions to expand the concept in the future?

• To what level could similar future initiatives could promote gender equality?

  1. Conclusions:

Conclusions should be based on the analysis of the findings and supported by evidence. They should:

• Add value to the findings

• Answer to assessment issues

• Focus on issues of significance related to key areas mentioned in the TOR.

  1. Recommendations:

The Recommendations should be numbered and divided according to whom they are directed. They should:

• Contain suggestions to improve future performance

• Be supported by evidence and findings

• Provide the suggestions for future direction of the project

• Be actionable within 12-24 months

  1. Lessons learned

Lessons learned should help to:

• Replicate similar type of interventions elsewhere or upscale the project;

• Prevent mistakes for future similar interventions;

• Contribute to general knowledge in the area of the intervention of the project being evaluated.

Length of the Report

The maximum required length of the report is 20 pages (plus annexes).

Duration of consultancy: 15 September to 15 November 2021 (22 working days)

How can you make a difference?

The purpose of this Assessment is to review the UN joint project IT Girls Initiative in terms of its design, overall performance, achievements and effects and generate knowledge and lessons learned to inform UN agencies, the Embassy of Sweden and the other potential future donors in the planning of the future IT Girls Joint Programme and initiatives.

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

  • BA degree in Psychology, sociology, gender studies, political sciences or related field.
  • MA in relevant fields will be considered an asset.
  • At least 5 years of experience in designing and conducting studies, quantitative and qualitative analysis and data analysis and project assessments;
  • Excellent English language skills;
  • Knowledge and experience in the area of digital literacy, information technology and computer literacy related projects;
  • Knowledge of the BiH country context;
  • Knowledge of the human rights framework, including gender equality aspects
  • Familiarity with the mission and mandate of UN is an asset;

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies:

  • Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
  • Works Collaboratively with others (1)
  • Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
  • Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
  • Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
  • Drive to achieve impactful results (1)
  • Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

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:

Please submit your application along with lump sum financial offer for this consultancy stated in BAM or USD.

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

For further details please contact Human Resources at UNICEF Office in Sarajevo, Ms. Marina Kadic mkadic@unicef.org

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.

Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: unicef.org

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