Hiring Office
UNFPA WCARO: Dakar, Senegal - home based
Background
West and Central Africa’s (WCA) population is predominantly young. More than 64% are under the age of 24. Young people are a tremendous resource for the region – but their potential will only be realized when the right investments in their education, health, skills and empowerment are made.
Yet young people in this region face considerable challenges. This region has some of the world’s highest levels of child marriage, adolescent pregnancy and maternal mortality rates (especially among adolescents).
The West and Central Africa region has some of the highest child marriage rates in the world with two out of five young girls married before the age of 18. It is also the region with the largest percentage (28%) of women between ages of 20 and 24 who reported a birth before age 18 as well as the largest percentage (6%) of reported births before age 15.
UNFPA recognizes the critical importance of investing in adolescents and youth to harness the demographic dividend in West and Central Africa. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development highlights the importance of realizing the demographic dividend and it is also recognized in the Africa Common Position on the Post-2015 Agenda as well as the African Union's Agenda 2063 on the Africa We Want. "Harnessing the demographic dividend through investments in the Youth" is also the African Union's theme for 2017.
The issue of child marriage is central to that of the demographic dividend as it can be a driver for increased fertility and increased population growth. Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) in Africa show that adolescent fertility has an important contribution to overall fertility. Indeed, this fertility rate reaches 128 live births per 1,000 teenage girls in the Western and Central African regions, and 103 in sub-Saharan Africa, reflecting the extent of the problem in this region. This is due mainly to early marriage, low education level among girls, poor access to quality reproductive health services, socio-cultural and economic factors, etc.
Purpose of the consultancy
The purpose of this consultancy will be to produce a position paper on ‘Why addressing child marriage and adolescent pregnancy is essential to achieve the demographic dividend in West and Central Africa’.
The paper will provide the following:
- an easy-to-understand analysis of the demographic dividend particularly in West and Central Africa;
- the implications of current levels of child marriage and adolescent pregnancy on achieving the demographic dividend;
- projections of child marriage and adolescent pregnancy, and the risk of missing the demographic opportunity;
- recommendations for UNFPA and partners to address child marriage within the larger framework of achieving the demographic dividend
Specific tasks for the assignment
The specific tasks for the assignment consist of:
- Preparatory phase (2 days): This will start by a Skype call with the relevant experts at WCARO to discuss the assignment in further detail. Following this, the consultant will develop the following:
- Workplan and timeline
- Index of resources to inform the position paper
- Draft outline of the position paper
- First draft of the Position paper (7 days): this will be done through an analysis of key publications and data. This paper will be shared with UNFPA WCARO staff and other relevant staff (for up to two rounds of feedback)
- Final Position paper, taking into account all feedback received (3 days)
- Develop a policy brief and presentation on the key findings and recommendations from the report (3 days)
Deliverables
- Position paper
- Policy brief
- Presentation
Duration and working schedule
The duration of this consultancy will be 15 days total. The entire time frame covers 10-28 April. .
Place where services are to be delivered
Home-based
Deliverables are to be provided electronically
Monitoring and progress control, including reporting requirements, periodicity format and deadline
During the consultancy there will be several deadlines at which the consultant is expected to submit parts of the study for review by UNFPA. The consultant will develop a detailed workplan at the start of the assignment, that will take into account time for feedback, and for revision of documents.
Supervisory arrangements
The consultant will work under the overall guidance of the team leader of the Adolescents and Youth Unit.
Expected travel
No
Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements
- Advanced degree in international development, public administration or other relevant course. A degree in demography will be an added advantage
- 10+ years of demonstrated experience in the area of demographics, adolescent girls’ programming or a related field
- Demonstrated experience in research, both quantitative and qualitative;
- Experience in the field of child marriage and adolescent pregnancy an asset;
- Prior experience in West and Central Africa is an asset;
- Fluency in written and spoken English is required; French is an asset.
Inputs / services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner (e.g support services, office space, equipment), if applicable
Access to relevant documents
Other relevant information or special conditions, if any
All applicants should send their CV by 27 March to unfpa.wcaro.recruitment@unfpa.org.
We are no longer accepting applications for this position.
