Consultancy for supporting cities in the Gulf in the next phase of the CFCI planning cycle, 10 months

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, Dignity. 

The key objective of this consultancy is to provide technical support to cities in the Gulf at different phases of the Child Friendly City Initiative cycle, consolidating and strengthening results achieved for children over the period of the consultancy.

How can you make a difference? 

UNICEF Gulf Area Office (UNICEF GAO) supports the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and their line ministries and authorities to advance the rights of children under the framework of a Gulf Area Programme (2019-2025). 

The Child Friendly City Initiative (CFCI) is an initiative that brings together a wide range of partners, advocates for governance approaches and participatory urban management promoting the realization of the rights of the youngest citizens. The CFC approach is one of the ways through which UNICEF addresses issues of child rights and protection in an urban setting.  On the 2nd of May 2018, the Emirate of Sharjah was recognised as a Child-Friendly City, marking it as the first city in the UAE to be recognized by the new UNICEF CFCI guidelines. Time has now come to take stock of progress made so far in the current plan, in order to ensure that Sharjah continues to meet the standards of a Child Friendly City.

The recent UNICEF CFCI Guidance Note and other related programme tools will provide the direction necessary to ensure that Sharjah CFC planning fits coherently in the global CFC Initiative as it is expected to further develop in the future. Complementarily, the work carried out in Sharjah CFC over many years of commitment to children will provide the basis on which to complete the implementation of the current CFC Action plan and frame the next one to make Sharjah and the emirate overall increasingly responsive to the needs and rights of their children and young people.

UNICEF is seeking a consultant to support Sharjah and Al Ahsa in this process of reviewing progress and developing a new action plan to meet the criteria for continuing to be a child friendly city. The consultant will also support the GAO in engaging with other interested cities such as Jubeil and Yanbou’.

Given that UNICEF’s process for recognizing Child-friendly Cities has become more rigorous as the programme has evolved, it will be crucial for participating cities to prepare child rights assessments and action plans that are evidence-based and draw on a ‘whole of government’ approach. Sharjah’s leadership as a CFC in particular, both in the region and globally, requires the highest standards be applied to both the monitoring and planning exercises that should be carried out in 2025.

In the case of Sharjah, the progression from the current Action plan to the next can be divided into three phases:

Phase 1 – The CFC Sharjah Office, in coordination with the Sharjah CFC Executive Committee, will carry out an internal end term review to assess progress made by the current action plan against set objectives and define how to move forward, both in terms of completing the present programme cycle and preparing for the next one. An element requiring special attention is evidence generation, especially in the form of gathering, organising and analysing data available in relevant monitoring information systems (MIS). UNICEF will guide the CFC Sharjah Office in conducting the review of the existing action plan and developing a new action plan, in line with global guidelines and available evidence.

Phase 2 – In moving forward, gathered data will be utilised to develop a rapid situation analysis or summary of monitoring and evaluation results and a baseline as foundations for developing the future CFC plan, starting from identifying key priority strategies and actions. A series of participatory, multi-stakeholder consultations, involving also young people, will be held to ensure validation and ownership of the decision-making process accompanying the planning exercise. UNICEF will continue to support Sharjah CFC Office and Committees across a range of evidence. 

To View the full terms of reference/ Job description: hold on Ctrl & double click the following link:

 TOR-Consultant-CFCI Gulf-Feb2025.pdf

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UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

  

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UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility jobs-near-me.org UNICEF.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract 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 and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors 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.