Individual Consultancy to design a Gender-Transformative Childcare Model

The consultant will design a gender-transformative childcare model integrating feminist and gender frameworks, aligned with UNICEF's Gender Policy and Action Plan. The role involves literature review, stakeholder engagement, risk assessment, and model design with a focus on gender-responsive elements and targeted investments in adolescent girls' wellbeing.

Responsibilities

• Conduct literature review and contextual analysis relevant to gender-transformative childcare models.
• Engage stakeholders through participatory research, co-creation, and consultations including caregivers, adolescents, and communities.
• Perform risk assessment and develop safeguards for the childcare model.
• Design a gender-responsive childcare model integrating feminist and gender frameworks such as the 5R model.
• Align the childcare model with UNICEF's Gender Policy 2021-2030 and Action Plan 2026-2029, emphasizing adolescent girls' health, nutrition, education, skills, protection, norms change, and male involvement.

Requirements

• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in childcare, early childhood development, social protection, gender programming, child rights, public policy, or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience in the design, implementation, evaluation, or strengthening of childcare, parenting, family support, or community-based care programmes.
• Strong understanding of childcare systems, care economy, unpaid care work, nurturing care, and child wellbeing frameworks.
• Experience integrating childcare interventions within social protection, education, health, livelihoods, or gender equality programmes.
• Demonstrated experience applying gender-transformative, disability-inclusive, and child rights-based approaches in programme design and implementation.
• Experience facilitating participatory research, co-creation, and stakeholder engagement processes involving caregivers, adolescents, and communities.
• English and Kiswahili language proficiency.
• Advanced degree in Gender Studies, Social Policy, Development studies, Child Development, Public Policy, or related field.
• Experience in designing gender-responsive social protection or childcare programmes or feminist economics or unpaid care work, preferably in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Experience working with adolescent populations, including adolescent mothers and disability-inclusive programming.
• Strong analytical, research, and facilitation skills.
• Familiarity with Kenyan social protection system is an asset.
• Excellent communication skills; ability to engage diverse stakeholders, including males in gender dialogues.
• Experience working with UNICEF, UN agencies, or similar organizations is an asset.
• Experience in East Africa or comparable contexts is strongly preferred.
• Experience in designing community-based childcare models and care services.
• Experience integrating childcare within social protection, education, health, or livelihoods programmes.
• Experience working with adolescent mothers, young caregivers, and marginalized populations, including persons with disabilities.
• Experience developing costing frameworks, investment cases, financing strategies, or scale-up roadmaps for social services.

Skills

• Childcare Programme Design
• Early Childhood Development
• Social Protection Programmes
• Gender Programming
• Child Rights-Based Approach
• Policy Analysis
• Programme Implementation
• Programme Evaluation
• Care Economy Knowledge
• Unpaid Care Work
• Nurturing Care Frameworks
• Child Wellbeing Frameworks
• Gender Transformative Approaches
• Disability Programming
• Participatory Research Methods
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Community-Based Care Models
• Gender-responsive Social Protection
• Feminist Economics
• Adolescent Programming
• Costing Framework Development
• Investment Case Development
• Financing Strategy Design
• Scale-Up Roadmaps
• Facilitation Skills
• Research Skills
• Communications Skills
• Kenyan Social Protection System
• UNICEF Experience

Languages

English, Kiswahili