Home-based: Mid/End-Term Review Consultant

Job no: 572432

Contract type: Consultant

Consultancy Title: Mid/end-term review consultant

Section/Division/Duty Station: Child Protection Section – PG - NYHQ

Duration: 1 July 2024 – 31 May 2025

Home/Office Based: Remote

Categories: Child Protection

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, HOPE. 

About UNICEF: 

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection, and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations, and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

BACKGROUND: 

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (the Alliance) is a global network of operational agencies, academic institutions, policymakers, donors and practitioners that facilitates inter-agency technical collaboration on child protection in all humanitarian contexts. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) co-leads the Alliance with rotating NGOs, currently World Vision International and Hurras Network.

The Alliance sets standards and produces technical guidance for use by the various stakeholders, particularly field practitioners. Its mission is to support humanitarian actors to achieve high-quality and effective child protection interventions in humanitarian contexts, in both refugee and non-refugee settings. In 2021, the Alliance launched a five-year strategy, Clarion Call, which outlined an overarching goal to ensure that the centrality of children and their protection is recognized and prioritized as essential and lifesaving across the humanitarian system. Since then, all the Alliance’s technical work, advocacy, collaboration, and partnerships contribute to achieving this goal through action and progress on four strategic priorities: (1) Accountability to Children, (2) Localization, (3) Multi-sector and Integrated Programming and Collaboration, (4) Prevention and (5) Climate Change as a looking forward area. The Alliance has launched its Monitoring and Evaluation Framework to track the progress of the Alliance Strategy and initiated a mid-term review in October 2023 which included a piloting of the M&E Framework and conducting an outcome harvesting exercise.

The purpose of the assignment is to support the Alliance in conducting a mid- and end-term progress review of its 2021-2025 strategy: both the overarching goal and its strategic priorities. To this end, the consultant will complete two, related but distinct tasks:

1. Part A: finalize a mid-term review that was launched in October 2023 by conducting qualitative interviews with key stakeholders and producing a brief of key learnings (by June 2024).
2. Part B: Plan and conduct an end-term review to understand intended and unintended outcomes of the entire five-year strategy in supporting the centrality of children and the four strategic priorities (by April 2025). This component is aimed primarily at supporting the strategic planning process for the following cycle (2026-2030).

Scope of Work:

Working in close collaboration with the Alliance secretariat and the Assessment, Measurement, and Evidence Working Group (AME WG), the consultant will finalize a mid-term review process and lead and conduct an end-term review of the Alliance’s 5-Year Strategy. The overarching goal is to capture the progress, achievements, and impact of the Alliance and to identify gaps and inform future priorities.

Task 1. Review the progress of the Alliance’s work on the Centrality of Children and their Protection (https://alliancecpha.org/en/centrality-of-children-visual-and-written-introduction)

• Draft an inception plan for Task 1 and 2
  Conduct a desk-based review of whether the concept and language of the Centrality of Children and their Protection has been adopted/taken-up by actors in the sector and beyond   
  Conduct key informant interviews with senior staff on child protection in humanitarian action

Task 2. Review the progress of the four Alliance strategic priorities*(https://alliancecpha.org/en/alliance-strategy-2021-2025)

• Conduct focus group discussions with key stakeholders relevant to each strategic priority

*The maturity of the progress differs across strategic priorities, therefore, the review might have to take on a differential approach to the different strategies.

Task 3. Draft and finalize a review report.

• Conduct focus group discussions with key stakeholders relevant to each strategic priority
• Draft and finalize outcome descriptions.
• Organize participatory reflection meetings with key stakeholders from the Alliance.
• Draft a review report and collect inputs from the Alliance Secretariat and AME WG co-leads.
• Finalize the review report.

Task 4. Support the end-term review of the Alliance Strategy 2021-2025 (in 2025)

• Develop an inception report.
• Conduct a desk review to identify whether the concept and language for which the Alliance advocates in alignment with the Alliance Strategy has been adopted/taken-up by actors in the sector and beyond. 
• Develop data collection and a review tool as well as data entry instruments as necessary.
• Conduct qualitative and quantitative data collection.
• Draft a review report and collect inputs from the Alliance Secretariat and AME WG co-leads.
• Finalize the review report. 

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

• 1 inception report for Task 1&2 submitted. – By 8 July 2024
• 1 desk review and 5 - 10 KIIs conducted. – By 31 July 2024
• 1 desk review and 3 FGDs (1 per strategy) conducted. – By 31 July 2024
• 1 draft report submitted. – By 9 August 2024
• 1 participatory reflection meeting organized. – By 23 August 2024
• 1 final report submitted. – By 30 August 2024
• 1 inception report submitted. – By 24 March 2025
• 6 desk reviews conducted (1 goal, 4 priority areas and 1 looking ahead priority). – By 9 April 2025
• 1 set of data collection conducted. – By 9 May 2025
• 1 draft report submitted. – By 16 May 2025
• 1 participatory reflection meeting organized. – By 23 May 2025
• 1 final report submitted, including recommendations for the next strategy (2026-2030). – By 31 May 2025

Qualifications:

Education:

• A Master´s degree in public health, social work, political science, human rights and international law or other related degree, or equivalent programming experience.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of relevant experience in monitoring and evaluation
• Strong knowledge and experience in child protection and/or humanitarian action or relevant field
• Demonstrable expertise in designing and conducting qualitative and quantitative evaluations and impact assessments.
• Excellent and demonstrable skill in participatory monitoring and evaluation methodologies and approaches.
• Experience with outcome harvesting approaches is desirable.

Competencies/Knowledge:

• Excellent report writing skill in English.
• A commitment to and aptitude for attention to details
• Ability to work well and punctually under pressure.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to successfully interact with a diverse group of people and build consensus.
• Flexible work attitude, with the ability to follow direction and work independently across a virtual work environment.
• Excellent organizational skills, with the ability to independently track and follow-up on various tasks.
• Collaborative work style, with strong team-player attitude and ability to identify gaps and to take initiative to fill them.
• Ability to operate remotely and across multiple time-zones.
  Excellent critical thinking and interpersonal communication skills.
• The individual should be highly proficient in a range of PC/web applications, including but not limited to: MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, and MS Outlook.
• Fluent in oral and written English. 

Requirements:

Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and: 

• Upload copy of academic credentials
• Financial proposal that will include/ reflect:
  • the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
    Indicate your availability.
  • Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.
• At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.
• Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory 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.

U.S. Visa Information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.  

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

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: Here

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:  

Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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. Consultants 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. 

How to Apply: 

Application Link: https://jobs.unicef.org/en-us/job/572432/midendterm-review-consultant-req-572432