Purpose of Consultancy:
Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a country with a high total fertility rate and a resultant growing working-age population. About 60 percent of the PNG population is below 25 years old. It has a high maternal mortality ratio of 171 per 100,000 live births, among the highest in the world. It has a low contraceptive prevalence rate of 24.1 per cent, a high unmet need for family planning at 30 per cent, low coverage of skilled birth attendance and a high HIV epidemic prevalence at 0.8 per cent. The adolescent birth rate is high at 13 per cent, 22 per cent of 19 years old women have at least one child and six percent have two or more children (PNG National Demographic and Health Survey, 2016-2018).
Given the youth bulge in PNG and the importance of sexual and reproductive health and sexuality education and prevention of gender-based violence (GBV), UNFPA has supported various initiatives to address these. For instance, as part of its programme to help end GBV in PNG, UNFPA works with the National Department of Education, National Department of Health, the PNG Family Health Association (FHA), the Child Fund and Family Planning New South Wales in rolling out Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in PNG.
CSE is a curriculum that covers healthy and respectful relationships, rights and values, sexual and reproductive health, pregnancy, and parenting. It is a curriculum-based process of teaching and learning about the cognitive, emotional, physical and social aspects of sexuality. It aims to equip children and young people with knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that will empower them to realize their health, well-being. and dignity; develop respectful social and sexual relationships; consider how their choices affect their own well-being and that of others; and understand and ensure the protection of their rights throughout their lives.
The goal is for CSE to reach both in-and out-of-school youth, contributing to reduced incidence of adolescent pregnancy, STIs, HIV and AIDS as well as to remove the stigma associated with sexuality education. These programmes are being funded through the Spotlight Initiative to End Violence Against Women and Girls and by UNFPA using its core resources.
UNFPA continues to find innovative, creative and sustainable approaches to improve SRH and sexuality education and GBV prevention in PNG. To complement its existing initiatives, UNFPA will hire the services of an International Consultant who will work with the National Department of Education, the Department of Community Development and Religion, CSOs working in these areas and a Provincial Health Authority (which will be selected based on criteria) to develop and pilot-test an in-school and out of school curriculum on SRH and sexuality education and GBV prevention for broader youth and community leadership, knowledge building and engagement, mainly focused on young girls and young boys in PNG..
The Individual Consultant International to Develop Sexual and Reproductive Health, Sexuality Education and GBV Curriculum will be responsible for the following:
With the overall guidance of the Country Representative and Deputy Representative and in close collaboration with the SRHR, Gender-based Violence and Mental Health and Psycho-Social Support Specialists, the Comprehensive Sexuality Education focal Point and the Young Ambassador for SRHR, the Consultant will:
• Collaborate with youth partners and advisors to create arts-infused, region-specific pedagogy for increased knowledge acquisition and community engagement on the topics of gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health, and sexuality education.
• Regularly update and communicate with UNFPA and the National Department of Education on curriculum and training processes, suggestions and other needed items related to the curriculum development.
• Plan and schedule trainings and workshop for the team and partners on topics such as Bloom’s Taxonomy, Art’s Infused Instruction, Inquiry-Based Learning and Teaching Through Dramatic Presentation and create a short report on the workshops afterwards.
• Collaborate with the graphic arts and layout design personnel for content layout and design.
• Using the created curriculum, plan and implement trainings with the volunteers and team who will be engaged to teach the curriculum on an ongoing basis.
• In collaboration with UNFPA and the teaching team, create the monitoring and evaluation tool to test the efficacy of the curriculum.
• Support the team on advocacy activities related to the curriculum content.
• Join monthly meetings to update the UNFPA on the progress of the curriculum development and training.
• Make any necessary edits or additions to the curriculum based on the monitoring and evaluation report findings.
• Support the UNFPA, NDOE, the National Department of Health and the National Department of Planning and Monitoring to co-plan and organize knowledge sharing meetings and webinars on topics such as, “Educating Communities on Sexuality Education and Sexual and Reproductive Health through Arts Integrated Pedagogy.”
• Coordinate with the UNFPA Communication Unit on the videography and photography work to document the process of curriculum completion, the process of community engagement through the curriculum and their feedback on the learning process and content learned through the curriculum. The video will also serve as part of the monitoring and evaluation process.
In terms of specific deliverables, the Consultant will:
● Prepare the inception report, drafts and final version of the SRH, sexuality education and GBV prevention curricula in PNG;
● Hold a consultative workshop on the draft education curricula with key stakeholders, including Government;
● Draft presentation, meeting/workshop materials, action points/minutes of the meeting, and prepare the draft report (outcome) of the consultation;
● Prepare a video to document the process of curriculum completion, process of community engagement through the curriculum and their feedback on the learning process and content learned through the curriculum; and
● Provide capacity building sessions for the NDOE, Department of Health, Department of Community Development and a Provincial Health Authority in PNG (selected based on a set criteria) for knowledge transfer.
Duration and working schedule:
The contract will cover the period of 180 working days, during the period between 1 November 2022 and 31 October 2023. Payments are calculated on the basis of a daily rate.
Place where services are to be delivered:
- The Individual Consultant to Develop Sexual and Reproductive Health, Sexuality Education and GBV Curriculum, Port Moresby, PNG. No travel is expected
Required expertise, qualifications, and competencies, including language requirements:
Qualification
● A Master’s Degree in Education and/Organizational Development
● Must be able to remain focused under pressure, with a commitment to working hard and long hours; and
● Must be meticulous - have a keen eye for details, looking for excellence/perfection in all technical matters.
Experience:
- At least 10 years of experience teaching in a school classroom
- At least 10 years of experience in teaching the performing arts and/or visual arts
- At least 5 years training teachers in classroom management and arts-infused education
- Ample experience in curriculum development
- Ample experience working in a third-world country setting
- Good written and communication skills
- A keen understanding of how the arts can support education
- Having worked with UN/UNFPA is an asset.
Other Skills for the Consultants:
● A high level of proficiency in Microsoft Office (MS Word, Excel, and MS PowerPoint) is required.
● Values:
o Exemplifying integrity
o Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system
o Embracing cultural diversity
o Embracing change
● Core Competencies:
o Achieving results
o Being accountable
o Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen
o Thinking analytically and strategically
o Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships,
o Communicating for impact
Languages:
Fluency in oral and written English is required.
Other Desirable Skills:
● Prior experience in Pacific and/or PNG is strongly preferred;
Submission of applications:
Interested applicants should submit their applications of interest to:
The UNFPA Representative, UNFPA, Level 14, Kina Haus, Douglas Street, PO Box 1041, Port Moresby on Email: png-recruitment@unfpa.org no later than 24 October 2022.
This should include:
Letter of Interest, CV, and UN Personal History Form
We are no longer accepting applications for this position.
