CATEGORY: Individual Consultant Contract
DUTY STATION: Bangkok, Thailand
CLOSING DATE: 17 August 2016 (3:00 pm Bangkok time which is 4:00 am NY time)
DURATION: 21 working days including participation in the Expert Group Meeting, between 1 September to 15 October 2016
ORGANIZATION UNIT: Asia and the Pacific Regional Office
Background
The Objective of the consultancy is to develop a background paper for the Expert Group Meeting on Accelerated Action to End Child Marriage, to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 26-28 September 2016.
Scope of Work
Under the supervision of UNFPA APRO Gender and Human Rights Advisor and in close consultation with the Regional Adviser, Child Protection, UNICEF ROSA, the consultant will be expected to:
I. Review relevant documents including the mapping of child marriage initiatives in South Asia, recent research and data on child marriage in South Asia, and selected evaluations of child marriage interventions,
II. Develop an outline for, and draft, a short background paper (maximum 10 pages), for the EGM on Child Marriage, and finalise the paper in consultation with UNFPA APRO and UNICEF ROSA.
III. Based on the background paper, develop a short presentation for presentation at the EGM in September and attend the EGM to deliver the presentation.
IV. Attend the EGM, and prepare a brief summary report from the meeting, in consultation with the meeting organizers and rapporteurs.
Key deliverables will include:
• Draft outline for the background paper.
• Draft and final background paper.
• Presentation for the EGM.
• EGM draft and final report.
Duration and working schedule
The duration of the consultancy will be 21 days including participation in the EGM, between 1 September and 15 October 2016.
Place where services are to be delivered
The consultancy is home based. The consultant will report directly to the Gender and Human Rights Advisor on the deliverables.
Delivery dates and how work will be delivered
Basis of payment: Lump sum payment on delivery of the final products.
Key milestones for delivery will include the following:
• Draft outline for the background paper by 6 Sep 2016. (1 days)
• Draft background paper by 16 Sep 2016 (8 days)
• Revised background paper by 17 Sep 2016 (2 days).
• Draft presentation by 20 September 2016. ( 2 days)
• Final presentation by 22 September 2016.
• Briefing meeting and attending the workshop during 26-28 September 2016 (3days)
• Draft workshop report by 5 October 2016 ( 5 days)
• Final workshop report by 12 October 2016.
Monitoring and progress control
The consultant will communicate with the supervisor via email and organized a weekly skype call during 1 September -15 October 2016.
Supervisory arrangements:
APRO Gender and Human Rights Adviser will be the overall manager of the consultant.
Expected travel:
The consultant will be expected to attend the EGM. APRO will cover the cost of travel and DSA.
Required qualification:
• At least 7 years of relevant professional experience.
• A post-graduate qualification in development, social sciences or related disciplines.
• Demonstrated knowledge and professional experience in the area of child marriage research.
• Expert knowledge of the literature on child marriage, dynamics of social change, and drivers of gender-based violence and harmful traditional practices.
• Strong research and analysis skills, and excellent written and communication skills.
• Demonstrated track record in preparation of high-quality reports, briefings and research papers and articles.
• Proven ability to meet deadlines, work with a minimum of supervision, and deliver quality products.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, and a commitment to the values and goals of the United Nations and UN Charter.
• Experience in and/or knowledge of the UN system and/or UNFPA/UNICEF, is desirable.
• Ability to travel is essential.
Inputs / services to be provided by UNFPA:
UNFPA Child Marriage Global programme document.
Other relevant information:
UNFPA APRO and UNICEF ROSA will host a three day expert group meeting from 26-28 September 2016, to examine promising interventions to address child marriage in South Asia, based on available evaluation and research. In particular, the expert group meeting will aim to achieve the following objectives:
• Present and discuss recent and emerging findings on key factors and drivers for child marriage.
• Building on the mapping of child marriage interventions in South Asia conducted in 2015, examine selected promising practices at regional and country level, including interventions that have been robustly evaluated, for presentation at the EGM.
• Based on presentation and discussion of promising interventions, test and refine a common understanding of successful strategies to end child marriage, building on the framework initially developed by Girls Not Brides and further elaborated in the mapping report.
• Examine and discuss lessons learned including from less successful interventions and identify key factors and barriers that prevent or impede effective change strategies and interventions.
• Develop a shared understanding of methodologies and approaches for monitoring, evaluating interventions and assessing impact.
• Identify key priorities for additional research on and/or evaluation of programmes and interventions to end child marriage.
Possible topics for discussion during the EGM (to be updated once the agenda and participant list are finalised) include the following:
- What are key emerging issues and findings from new research on key factors and drivers for child marriage in South Asia?
- What are examples of successful interventions in the following domains: creating capacity for choice (empowering girls, mobilizing parents and communities and boys and men, providing quality adolescent services), providing alternatives to child marriage (alternative/accelerated learning, material support or incentives, livelihoods), and creating legal and policy structures that enable and support change (legal and policy changes, protective services and support)?
- What are examples of successful interventions in key gap areas (such as engaging grooms/demand side of marriage markets, marriage and birth registration, services and support for married girls)? What about interventions, if identifiable, in additional emerging areas such as i) responding to economic drivers of child marriage and ii) child marriage as a result of shocks?
- What research and evaluation methods should we be using to assess our interventions? How can we measure multi-level interventions and collective impact?
- What happens when interventions fail or are less successful that anticipated? How can we ensure we learn from these experiences?
- What are key areas for further/additional research and evaluation to build the evidence base for successful programmes and interventions?
The planned outcome of the Expert Group meeting is:
i) A compendium of papers and presentations delivered at the meeting available online.
ii) A short workshop report which summarizes the discussions and includes specific conclusions about:
a. Successful strategies and interventions that are evidence based and effective in addressing and reducing prevalence of child marriage in the South Asian region and in high prevalence countries and settings in South Asia.
b. Suggested methodologies and approaches for monitoring, evaluating and assessing impact of programmes and interventions to address child marriage.
c. Recommendations for future research on child marriage.
Contract Terms and Conditions:
UNFPA will pay a consultancy fee appropriate to the tasks assigned and qualifications and experience required. When the individual consultant is required to travel on assignment, UNFPA will provide the air ticket (economy class) and the appropriate per diem by means of the applicable DSA at United Nations established rates.
How to apply:
Candidates should submit the following documents:
1. An application letter which states the candidate’s motivation to apply for this post
2. A curriculum vitae, and
3. A completed United Nations Personal History (P 11)
All the above documents must be sent by e-mail to vac-robangkok@unfpa.org
The P11 is available on the UNFPA websites at /resources/p11-un-personal-history-form
Please quote the Vacancy number VA JID 1612 – Consultant to develop background paper for Expert Group Meeting on Child Marriage.
UNFPA will only be able to respond to those applications in which UNFPA has a further interest.
UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, teamwork, respect for diversity, integrity and a healthy balance of work and life. We are committed to maintaining our balances gender distribution and therefore encourage women to apply.
We offer an attractive remuneration package commensurate with the level of the position.
Notice: There is no application, processing or other fee at any stage of the application process. UNFPA does not solicit or screen for information in respect of HIV or AIDS and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.
We are no longer accepting applications for this position.
