International Consultant - Spotlight Initiative, Freetown, Sierra Leone

Background

Violence against women and girls (VAWG), including sexual violence, remains a grave human rights violation worldwide and a critical societal concern in Sierra Leone. The numbers of reported cases are deeply concerning with an estimated 62 percent of women aged 15-19 having experienced physical or sexual violence. Common forms of VAWG in Sierra Leone include intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation and child marriage.   

The prevalence of VAWG in Sierra Leone is a significant impediment to the nation's economic progress. It occurs in the context of a society with pervasive gender inequality index of 0.67 by 2022.  When girls and women are subjected to unsafe and abusive environments, they are unable to develop their full potential. 

In response to the anticipated Spotlight Initiative that seeks to eliminate all forms of VAWG, encompassing harmful practices like female genital mutilation, the United Nations, seeks to engage an Individual Consultant to provide technical support towards the development of a Country Programme Document/Proposal for Sierra Leone.

This programme will be consultatively consolidated by four (4) UN agencies (UNFPA, UN Women, UNICEF, and UNDP under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator, working closely with the Government, CSOs, Women’s groups and development partners.  UNFPA as Technical Coherence Lead will provide the operational and logistical support for this consultancy. 

Specific Tasks of the Consultant will include to: 

1. Coordinate the timely development of a high-quality Technical Proposal/Country Programme Document for the anticipated Spotlight Initiative for Sierra Leone. 
2. Work closely with the UN interagency technical team to ensure timely formulation of an evidence-based Country Programme Document /proposal with situation analysis, Theory of Change(TOC), programme strategies, planned activities, including detailed budget, outcome framework and other supporting documents. 

• Lead the relevant consultations  internally with the UN, and collaborating partners especially Government, CSOs, Women’s Organizations and development partners for meaningful contributions, ownership,  synergies, complementarity, and a multi-sectoral approach. 
• Coordinate the prioritization and technical drafting of the anticipated Spotlight Initiative Country Programme Document/proposal, ensuring it is premised on a strong Theory of Change (TOC), and accurately reflects the United Nations’ unique “value add” to the proposed strategies and interventions.
• Conduct sufficient background review, including of the anticipated Spotlight Initiative metadata and other related documents and guidelines to ensure that the technical sections of the proposal reflect and incorporate the local context, donor requirements, and the UN Agencies’ comparative strengths.
• Lead the proposal design processes including conducting information gathering/literature review, leading strategy sessions, convening meetings of UN Agencies and Partners, and leading proposal design workshops.
• Support UN agencies to contextualize global strategy and solutions to reflect country needs and meet donor requirements. 
• Collaborate with Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) teams to analyse program data for insights and evidence-building. 
• Work closely with finance teams to ensure technical and cost proposals are in sync.
• Consolidate drafts and final Country Programme Document/proposal with a clear country TOC/define key activities and budgets in close collaboration with all the four (4) UN Agencies and stakeholders including annexes as required by the donor (communication strategy, knowledge management and others). 
• Solicit and document technical inputs from subject matter experts at country office, Regional and Global levels.
• Support the submission of the final evidence-based Country Programme Document /proposal with situation analysis, Theory of Change(TOC), programme strategies, planned activities, including detailed budget, outcome framework and other supporting documents on behalf of the four (4) UN Agencies through the UN Resident Coordinator (managing the preparation of submission letters, main document, annexes, and observing deadlines).  
• Support post proposal development and submission activities as delegated by the four UN Agencies for the anticipated Spotlight Initiative in Sierra Leone.  

Deliverables

The deliverables of this consultancy will be submitted in electronic copies as per the below timeline:

Education:

• At least Master’s degree in social and/or economic sciences, project management, medicine and or public health or related field
• Experience:
• At least 5 years of working experience in development programming or project management.
• Demonstrated ability to produce clear written materials, track the progress of activities, and strategically communicate information. 
• Ability to work in a highly collaborative environment and as part of a cross-disciplinary team operating in multiple locations.
• Experience in working on Spotlight Initiative Programmes will be added an advantage.
• Strong analytical orientation and sound judgment; initiative, culturally sensitive, and resourceful.
• Strong communication, coordination, and collaboration skills with proven experience applied in an international context.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to interact with national and global partners and provide creative solutions in a professional manner.

Language: 

• Fluency in spoken English and excellent writing skills in English required.

Disclaimer:

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Fraudulent notices, letters or offers may be submitted to the UNFPA fraud hotline http://www.unfpa.org/help/hotline.cfm

In accordance with the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations, persons applying to posts in the international Professional category, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.