About UNICEF
If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines fordeveloping countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.
Consultancy: GBViE Digital Content and Strategy Consultant
Duty Station: Child Protection Team – Programme Group
Duration: 1 February 2026 – 31 December 2026
Home/ Office Based: Remote
BACKGROUND
Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:
The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does - in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life - in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions - her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens - addressing inequity - not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.
Related to this mission, UNICEF is directly involved in addressing gender-based violence (GBV) in some of the world’s most intense and complex conflicts and disasters. GBV in its various forms constitutes a global crisis which undermines social and economic progress; as one of the world’s greatest human rights violations, GBV must be addressed to ensure universal rights and principles with regard to equality, security, liberty, integrity and dignity of human beings. Addressing gender-based violence in emergencies (GBViE) is recognized as a life-saving measure and an essential component of humanitarian action. UNICEF has made GBViE (prevention, risk mitigation and response) one of its targeted priorities in its Strategic Plan and Gender Equality Action Plan 2026-2029, as well as in the Child Protection Strategy.
In 2019, UNICEF’s Executive Director issued a call to innovate to fill gaps in accessibility and availability of services at the Oslo Conference on Ending GBV in Emergencies. Since 2020, UNICEF has embarked in developing new technologies for gender-based violence programming. One of these innovative solutions is Laaha, a Virtual Safe Space platform for women and girls. Laaha is also one of UNICEF’s gender equality commitments (Beijing +25), in collaboration with other strategic partners.
Safe spaces for women and girls have been established as a key approach for reaching and providing them with key information, links to services, skills-building, peer connection, and support. Yet, access to physical safe spaces is often limited for adolescent girls and women especially during COVID-19. UNICEF has developed an online platform, Laaha, a Virtual Safe Space for them to find GBV and SRH information and services. Since its inception, the Laaha’s design and content have been developed using a human-centered design (HCD) methodology. The content modules have been developed based on the information needs and priorities women and adolescent girls have expressed throughout the research phase in the various deployment countries. As of today, Laaha offers a total of 140 modules on SRHR, GBV, mental health and digital literacy and reaches almost 1.5 million women and girls in 13+ languages across 12 countries.
Additional topics and issues are continuously identified by women and adolescent girls and collected by UNICEF with the aim of enriching the content and meeting their information needs. Similarly, the platform content requires contextualization to be adapted to the priorities and/or sensitivities of new deployment contexts. Furthermore, to implement Laaha’s scaling strategy, additional resources are required related to monitoring, evaluation and learning as well as mapping approaches to government engagement in Laaha.
This consultancy will help develop a more structured articulation of how technology and technology-facilitated GBV fit within the broader GBViE portfolio, including adapting the GBV risk mitigation approach (generally used with other programmatic sectors in humanitarian response) to technology products. During the period of the contract, the Consultant will support the GBViE workstream to deepen its investment in technology-products like Laaha and articulate a strategy for the use of technology and addressing TFGBV in its programming. More specifically, the consultant will contribute to the development of new modules on SRHR, GBV, mental health and parenting to be adapted for multimedia content, the contextualization of the existing modules for new languages/countries, support the development and implementation of a monitoring, evaluation and learning framework for Laaha, and develop an addendum to the GBViE operation guide that focus on TFGBV and the use of technology in service delivery.
Scope of Work:
Under the supervision of the GBViE Specialist, the consultant will be responsible for the following areas of work (specific deliverables further outlined in the table below):
Support the development of additional content modules to be added on Laaha based on the request from country offices, partners and women and girls and quality control of existing content. Support monitoring, evaluation and learning for Laaha. Develop guidance through a consultative process on engagement with governments Develop an addendum to GBViE Operational Guide on addressing TFGBV and how to safely incorporate technology into UNICEF-supported GBViE programming. Develop draft brief focused on GBV risk mitigation in technology (in alignment with UNICEF’s existing work on GBV risk mitigation in other programmatic sectors). Develop a facilitator’s guide on using Laaha in service delivery.The consultancy will be home-based with travel to emergency-affected contexts relevant to the above tasks, as feasible
Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:
Work Assignment Overview/Deliverables and Outputs/Delivery deadline
1. Support the development of additional content modules to be added on Laaha based on the request from country offices, partners and women and girls
- At least 7 new modules developed and tested
31 Dec 2026
2. Support monitoring, evaluation and learning for Laaha
- Laaha M&E framework developed
31 Jul 2026
- 6-8 consultations with country offices on dissemination approaches conducted
30 Mar 2026
- 3-5 page Learning brief on Laaha dissemination approaches drafted
30 Sept 2026
- 1 webinar with with 7-8 COs implementing Laaha to disseminate learning brief
31 Oct 2026
- Provide technical inputs into impact evaluation through at least 5 calls, and review of 5 documents
31 Dec 2026
3. Develop guidance through a consultative process on engagement with governments
- 1 workshop with at least 10 country offices to get inputs on draft guidance and associated tools on government engagement in Laaha
31 Mar 2026
- 1 webinar held to disseminate final guidance with at least 10 country offices
31 Jul 2026
4. Develop addendum to UNICEF GBViE operational guide on addressing TFGBV and how to safely incorporate technology into programming
- At least 10 consultations held remotely with COs on ongoing work related to TFGBV
30 Sept 2026
- Draft Addendum developed
31 Dec 2026
5. Develop brief for GBV Risk Mitigation in technology (in alignment with UNICEF’s existing work on GBV risk mitigation in other programmatic sectors
- 3-4 remote consultations with at least 15 GBV actors and GBV Guidelines reference group members held and inputs collected
30 Jun 2026
- 1 (3-5 page) technology brief drafted and submitted for review
31 Jan 2027
6. Develop a facilitator’s guide on using Laaha in service delivery
- 6-8 remote consultations with COs and/ or partner organizations implementing Laaha
31 Dec 2026
Qualifications
Education:
Advanced University Degree (Masters) in Social Work, Psychology, Sociology, Women’s Studies, Political Sciences, Human Rights and International Law, Public Health, other related degree or equivalent programming experience
Language Proficiency:
Fluency in English is required.
Working proficiency of another official UN language is highly desirable.
Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *:
8-10 years relevant experience, preferably including GBV and/or MHPSS, and/or SRH programming in humanitarian contexts, including at field level. Demonstrated experience in developing resources and tools related to GBV prevention and response, MHPSS, and/or SRH(R). Good knowledge on the social inclusion, with a focus on how to increase the accessibility of programmatic interventions for persons with disabilities. Deep understanding of GBV guiding principles and what it means to provide a survivor-centered response. Demonstrated organizational skills, including the ability to work independently and productively with multiple stakeholders in a fast-paced environment. Flexible work attitude: the ability to work productively in a team environment and independently, and to handle requests or issues as they arise. Demonstrated understanding of issues related to confidentiality, data safety/security, and other ethical concerns related to the sharing of sensitive data. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills: the ability to successfully and effectively liaise with people in a wide range of functions in a multi-cultural environment, including women and girls. Excellent Computer skills, including MS Word and Excel. Excellent drafting skills and capacity to efficiently channel complex or sensitive messages to a varied audience. Creative, innovative thinker who can also translate ideas into practical applications Strong understanding of UNICEF programmes, communication, technology, user-centered design, youth participation, and partnership goals is an assetRequirements:
Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and
- Upload copy of academic credentials
- Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :
the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference. travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR. Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable. Indicate your availability- Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.
- At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.
- Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.
U.S. Visa information:
With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process
For every Child, you demonstrate…
UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: Here
UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.
UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.
Remarks:
Individuals engaged under a consultancy will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants. Consultants are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.
The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.