International Consultant - Population Edutainment Curriculum Development for Youth Centers

Hiring office: Egypt Country Office

Purpose of consultancy:

• Egypt as a middle income country has a population structure with a surge in the number of young people (i.e. youth bulge). More than 60% of the population is under the age of 30 and 40% is between the ages of 10 and 29 (SYPE 2014).
• The SRH attitudes and practice of his age group are critical in stabilizing Egypt’s population growth and accelerating uptake of family planning services. SRH services adequate to the needs and practices of young people include premarital counselling and examination, access to family planning, and education as well as awareness of STIs including HIV. For example, the 2014 EDHS figures indicate that the adolescent birth rate in Egypt reached more than 56 births per 1000 women and youth aged from 20-24 have the highest birth rate across all age groups reaching 213 births per 1000 women. Adolescents (aged 10-19) and youth (20-24) unmet need for family planning reached about 9% and 11% respectively in 2014 which is lower than the national average at 13%. As for the prevalence of  use of family planning methods is 20% among married adolescent (15-19) women which doubles for young married women aged (20-24) to reach 42%. Knowledge and awareness level of young people on HIV/AIDs demonstrates discrepancies such that the Survey of Young People in Egypt indicates that only 14% of young people know all modes of HIV transmission. While the 2014 EDHS results indicate that about 50% of adolescents (10-19 and 68% of youth (20-14) know all modes of HIV transmission.
• These accounts of knowledge about HIV/AIDs and STIs as well as youth’s high exposure to risk factors and risky behaviours position this age group among the most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS key affected populations.  As a result, these figures on young people’s fertility, family planning utilization and knowledge of STIs indicate the need to provide SRH and population education tailored for the demand of this age group. 
• Informal population education that addresses the needs and capacitates of young people is expected to raise awareness and introduce attitudes that favour family planning and initiatives to combat all forms of gender based violence. Life skills as an avenue to engage young people on societal issues and rally them around problems this young cohort faces is not a new technique for UNFPA. UNFPA with its internationally renowned peer education program (Y-PEER) have implemented life skills education and theatre and drama techniques to raise awareness about reproductive health and gender based violence issues touching young people's lives.
• In an effort to expand edutainment for population issues at local communities, UNFPA in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and sports established 40 Population Awareness Clubs at Youth Centers in 16 governorates. In addition, UNFPA and Y-PEER network manage to engage more than 400 trainer from 125 different NGOs and reach thousands of young people all over Egypt.
• UNFPA country programme in Egypt aims to expand the possibilities for women and young people to lead healthy and productive lives, by tackling reproductive health, gender and population growth through working with local and community-based implementing partners on addressing those needs.
• The current country programme is in its 10th cycle and aligned the areas of work with the United Nations Partnership and Development Framework (UNPDF) outputs including output one for strengthened national capacities for community-based interventions in reproductive health to empower women and young people.
• In order to standardize and further enhance the utilized population education modules and training. UNFPA is contracting a consultant to develop a standard interactive, scientifically sound and tested curriculum in Arabic on Population Awareness addressing youth and women issues to be utilized at youth centres, universities and other youth communities.

MAIN DELIVERABLES:

The incumbent will be responsible for drafting and planning all the necessary arrangements for the success of the assignment in coordination with UNFPA, MoYS and Y-PEER.

The purpose of this assignment is:

1.      Conduct a desk review of the current SRH, life skills and citizenship education curriculum in out of school settings in Egypt and countries of similar context.

2.      Study the current situation in the UNFPA population and youth programmes, including: a) the analysis of the recent study on youth centers standards for societal activities; b) youth and community access and appropriateness of the facilities location and girl friendliness and ability to host educational programs, and c) status of YFCs and Y-PEER supplies and organization of work.

3.      Analyse the current practices in the area of population education and RH awareness raising with emphasis on the accuracy of the information, the community acceptance of the messaging and trainers adaptation of material and techniques.

4.      Develop a comprehensive RH/population education curriculum for extracurricular and out of school settings to be implemented by youth peer educators, youth center staff and other service providers.

Expected outcomes

To be delivered remotely:

·       Desk review/mapping the existing education and training curriculum tackling population and RH issues inclusive of GBV and harmful practices.

·       Draft the extracurricular/out of school setting curriculum for population education capitalizing on UNFPA and partners developed material on peer education.

·       Finalize curriculum based on the review workshops and stakeholder engagement.

·       Develop the training manual for TOT on the curriculum, training tools and training sessions design and schedule.

To be delivered onsite (Egypt):

·       Conduct review workshop and roundtable with number of stakeholders and beneficiaries on the developed curriculum to test and assess its relevance, applicability and other considerations.

• Conduct 4 TOTs to prepare a cadre of trainers committed to roll out the curriculum.

Duration and working schedule

The assignment will be for a duration of four months  from 1^st of April to 31^st of July 2018

Place where services are to be delivered:

Remotely and onsite in Egypt

Delivery dates and how work will be delivered (e.g. electronic, hard copy etc.):

Schedule of implementation:

·       1 review workshop and stakeholder consultation conducted by mid-April

·       1st Draft should be submitted by end of April.

·       1^st Review workshop should be conducted by mid-May 2018.

• 4 ToTs by end of July 2018.

Monitoring and progress control, including reporting requirements, periodicity format and deadline:

• The consultant shall closely work with the CO.
• Submit activity reports to the AYSRH programme analyst;
• Adhere fully to UNFPA M&E requirements

The consultant shall work under direct supervision of the Adolescents and Youth SRH programme Analyst and Assistant Representative, Egypt CO

Travel to workshops and trainings as part of the consultancy activities 

Qualifications and Experience

·       Advance degree in public health/ curriculum development studies/research or relevant social science;

·       Minimum 10 years of experience in youth development, sexual and reproductive health, family planning, social and behavior change communication.

·       International experience in curriculum design and ToT manual development on similar development, youth and SRH topics is required.

·       Proven research experience in population studies including on adolescents and youth SRH as well as demography and population.

·       Familiarity with UNFPA mandate areas of population and development, reproductive health, youth and Gender Based Violence

·       At least five years of in-depth experience in Egypt or the MENA region. High proficiency or fluency in Arabic preferred.

·       Well documented experience in population and health education related projects and iniatives

• Strong writing skills, and experience in pretesting materials and guiding related workshops with young people are also required.

The consultant is expected to be in Egypt during the review workshops (5 working days) in May 2018 and for the four training of trainers workshops (25 working days) between June to July 2018. Otherwise, the consultant can work remotely with weekly follow up skype meetings with UNFPA Co focal point.

How to Apply:

Qualified experts are advised to submit their resumes, financial and technical proposals for the above mentioned consultancy, P11 form and references to egypt.jobs@unfpa.org by close of business on Monday 12 March, 2018 indicating the position title” Population Edutainment Curriculum Development for Youth Centers” as the subject line for the email.

Please send your inquires to Ms. Eman Awad (eawad@unfpa.org) by Tuesday March 6, 2018.