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 ADAP Emergencies and Peacebuilding Consultant
Duty Station: ADAP/ Education Section, PG, NYHQ
Duration: 01 Nov 2025 – 31 Mar 2027
Home/ Office Based: remote
BACKGROUND
Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:
The consultancy will support the facilitation and implementation of UNICEF's Adolescent Development and Participation (ADAP) team’s Peacebuilding, Social Cohesion, Disaster Risk Reduction, Nexus, Recovery and Emergency Response efforts. This entails supporting the rollout, communications, knowledge management, and reporting of the team’s flagship initiatives, such as the IASC Youth Guidelines, the Adolescent Kit for Expression and Innovation, the Young Humanitarians Handbook, and Peacebuilding and Social Cohesion efforts. The consultant will also support the team in preparing for UNICEF’s active engagement in inter-agency platforms such as the Youth Compact (inter-agency platform for youth-humanitarian partners), IASC and clusters, and the Global Coalition on Youth Peace and Security (inter-agency platform for youth, peace and security partners).
The consultancy will be supervised by UNICEF's ADAP team, in close collaboration with the Conflict Prevention Fragility & Peace (CPFP) and Climate, Environment, Energy & Disaster (CEED) teams.
*Funding is not currently available to cover all planned deliverables. Certain deliverables will only be completed if additional resources become available
Scope of Work:
Support the Adolescent and Youth (ADAP) Team’s efforts in humanitarian and peacebuilding-related activities in line with revised CCCs and Peacebuilding Framework:
- Provide Technical Assistance for Nexus (Humanitarian-Peace-Development) Initiatives Across Countries
- Deliver technical assistance for the ADAP on UNICEF’s CCCs, including humanitarian, peacebuilding and social cohesion, ensuring smooth delivery and continuity of strategic partnerships with CPFP and CEED teams and advancing integrated approaches across the humanitarian–peace–development nexus.
- Design, deliver, and scale training initiatives to strengthen peacebuilding and social cohesion with young people at country and regional levels — covering curriculum development and adaptation, facilitation, capacity-building, and robust monitoring and reporting of results, with attention to humanitarian, development and peace linkages.
- Provide strategic input to the partnerships including the PROSPECTS Opportunity Fund II and other UNICEF commitments on global peace and security frameworks, such as the Youth Peace and Security Agenda, the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, climate, peace and security frameworks, and the Sendai Framework on DRR and resilience.
- Support ADAP’s response to ongoing and emerging emergencies by providing timely technical assistance, resources, and coordination to ensure continuity of youth engagement, peacebuilding, and resilience efforts in crisis contexts, aligned with nexus-based approaches.
- Strengthen and expand youth partnerships, supporting ADAP in deepening collaboration with the Global Refugee Youth Network (GRYN) and forging new alliances with youth-led organisations to advance the YPS agenda and broader global commitments on peacebuilding, WPS, climate and security, DRR and resilience, such as through the Adolescent Kit.
- Develop and Maintain Resources on Youth in Peacebuilding, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), and Humanitarian Action
- Develop and maintain core resource materials on adolescents and youth in Peacebuilding, DRR, and Humanitarian Action, including the Adolescent Kit.
- Design, update, and deliver training and communication resources to support the rollout of the IASC Youth Guidelines, the Young Humanitarians Handbook, Youth Resilience/DRR initiatives, and the Adolescent Kit in humanitarian and peacebuilding contexts.
- Produce and maintain knowledge resources (presentations, briefs, communication products, and webinars) under the Dutch-funded PROSPECTS initiative, focusing on youth peacebuilding, DRR, and humanitarian action.
- Develop and update evidence-based resources, including case studies, technical reports, human-interest stories, and country examples, to inform and support UNICEF’s interagency partnerships (Youth Compact, IASC, Global Coalition on Youth, Peace and Security).
- Support Resource Mobilization and Partnerships for the YPS and DRR agenda
- Support partnership opportunities and resource mobilization efforts for the YPS and DRR agenda under the PROSPECTS Opportunity Fund II technical facility, in close collaboration with PFP, PPD, private sector partners, and donor networks.
- Support the ADAP team by preparing donor-facing resources, including briefing notes, reports, and updates, on the Adolescent Kit to strengthen visibility and engagement with partners.
- Strengthen collaboration with country governments and key stakeholders to promote long-term systems strengthening, institutional capacity, and national ownership of YPS and DRR initiatives.
- Support UNICEF’s active engagement in interagency partnerships — particularly the Global Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action, the Global Coalition on Youth, Peace and Security, and the IASC — by contributing technical inputs and youth-focused resources, including around HNPW, the Global Platform for DRR, the Second Progress Study on YPS, and the YPS@10 anniversary
Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:
Work Assignment Overview/Deliverables and Outputs/Delivery deadline
1. Provide Technical Assistance for Nexus (Humanitarian-Peace-Development) Initiatives Across Countries
- Two technical resources on the nexus (Humanitarian-Peace-Development) across CCCs and sectoral partnerships
1 by 31 March 2026
1 by 30 September 2026 to be completed if funding becomes available
- Three training resources to strengthen emergencies and peacebuilding with young people at the country and/or regional levels (especially for PROSPECTS Opportunity Fund II countries)
1 by 30 June 2026
2 by 30 March 2027 to be completed if funding becomes available
- Four capacity-building workshops delivered for UNICEF staff, partners, and youth networks (country/regional level), emphasising nexus linkages across programming
2 by 31 March 2026
2 by 30 March 2027 to be completed if funding becomes available
- Four strategic briefs/report inputs on PROSPECTS Opportunity Fund II, Humanitarian Action, Youth Peace and Security, Women Peace and Security, and other UN Global Peace Agendas.
2 by 31 March 2026
2 by 31 March 2027 to be completed if funding becomes available
- Minimum two emergency response technical notes to strengthen UNICEF’s ADAP humanitarian and social cohesion programming to ongoing and emerging humanitarian crises
2 by 30 March 2027 to be completed if funding becomes available
- Two key global YPS and humanitarian initiatives (such as film/video, advocacy, webinars, training) with GRYN and youth-led groups, advancing nexus-aligned youth leadership and engagement
1 by 1 February 2026
1 by 1 February 2027 to be completed if funding becomes available
2. Develop and Maintain Resources on Youth in Peacebuilding, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), and Humanitarian Action
- Six updates of the ADAP SharePoint site with curated and updated resources on Youth in Peacebuilding, DRR, and Humanitarian Action
3 by 31 March 2026
3 by 30 December 2026 to be completed if funding becomes available
- Minimum three training and communication packages for IASC Youth Guidelines, Young Humanitarians Handbook, and Youth Resilience/DRR initiatives
1 by 31 March 2026
2 by February 2027 to be completed if funding becomes available
- Two knowledge and communications products (presentations, webinars, or social media) for the Dutch-funded PROSPECTS initiative
1 by 30 September 2026 to be completed if funding becomes available
1 by 28 February 2027 to be completed if funding becomes available
- Three evidence-based resources (case studies, reports, video production, stories, or databases) for UNICEF’s interagency partnerships focusing on youth peacebuilding, DRR, and humanitarian action.
1 by 31 March 2026
3 by 31 March 2027 to be completed if funding becomes available
3. Support Resource Mobilization and Partnerships for the Emergencies, YPS and DRR agenda
- Minimum two partnership briefs to advance the YPS and DRR agenda through PROSPECTS and stakeholder engagement
1 by 30 November 2025
1 by 28 February 2027 to be completed if funding becomes available
- Two donor reports on the Adolescent Kit (including methodology)
1 by 15 December 2025
1 by 15 December 2026 to be completed if funding becomes available
- 1 donor resource mobilization effort implemented
By 31 December 2026 to be completed if funding becomes available
- Minimum five engagement activities (such as webinars, contributions to global reports, interagency resource development, joint advocacy) on YPS, humanitarian action, and DRR.
1 by 26 March 2026
4 by 9 December 2026 to be completed if funding becomes available
Qualifications
Education: Advanced University degree in Peace and Conflict Studies, Community Development, International Relations, Youth Participation and Engagement, Humanitarian Emergencies, DRR
Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *:
- Eight or more years of relevant professional experience in humanitarian action, peacebuilding, and DRR for adolescents and youth is required.
- Three or more years of demonstrated relevant work experience and comprehensive knowledge of youth peacebuilding, humanitarian, and DRR policies, frameworks, and guidelines is required. Specific experience on the Global Compact on Young People in Humanitarian Action, the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) Agenda, UNICEF Core Commitments for Children (CCCs), and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction is highly desirable.
- Direct work experience of training on and working on the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on Working with and for Young People in Humanitarian Settings and the Youth Peace and Security Agenda is preferred.
- Demonstrated experience in research and developing communication materials, such as case studies, reports, newsletters or social media updates, is highly desirable.
- Demonstrated experience as a trainer, facilitating peer-to-peer learning, knowledge exchange and sharing is required.
- Strong IT skills and fluency with Microsoft Office Suites, Zoom, and other programs is required.
- Experience with developing materials, reports for donors and external partners is preferred.
- Fluency in English is required.
Requirements:
Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and
- Upload copy of academic credentials
- Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :
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- 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.
