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The Gender & Adolescent Development Section, UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO) is seeking an individual consultant to design all aspects related to the research into adolescent girls and STEM careers, including designing methodology, tools, collaborating with an adolescent-friendly peer review group, writing the report and coordinating a virtual report launch with partners.

Purpose of Assignment: 

East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) is home to 277 million adolescents accounting for 23.1% of the world’s adolescent population and 13% of the region’s total population. Yet young people face various challenges to access quality and relevant education, to transition into decent work opportunities, and to meaningfully participate in community and political processes.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, adolescents and youth in the region have been impacted by lengthy school closures and economic downturns, both of which have had compounded impacts on young people’s mental health, learning, social development, safety, and employment prospects. The pandemic also accelerated the digital transformation of economies and education systems as companies and governments rapidly designed and deployed digital services. According to one McKinsey report, the speed at which companies and customers are turning to digital-first solutions has effectively served as a leap frog into digitalization for Asia Pacific, a shift that pre-pandemic would have taken 10 years. For young people, this means businesses and jobs are increasingly applying digital technologies across sectors and at a much faster rate than just 2 years ago, thereby accelerating the urgency for young people to develop Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) skills.

It is therefore necessary to invest in advancing adolescent girls’ aspirations in STEM and supporting integrated approaches to STEM skills development, career exploration and pathways to employment that are responsive to adolescent girls and young women’s needs and unique contexts. 

Through global partnerships with private sector leaders, such as SAP, Dove and others, UNICEF has designed focused programmatic responses to reach adolescent girls with digital and life skills; however, many programmes in the region do not yet extend to career guidance, mentoring at-scale, and other potential activities that would spark interest, exploration, and ambitious aspirations for adolescent girls to continue education or pursue employment within STEM industries.

Building on UNICEF’s 2020 research into barriers to girls’ leadership, the existing evidence base on STEM gender gaps, and evaluations of approaches to career guidance and transitions to work, the proposed research would aim to understand the entry points, role of private sector partners, regional examples, and potential models for promoting adolescent girls’ awareness and aspirations around STEM careers with a focus on the ASEAN region.

UNICEF EAPRO proposes to conduct the research in partnership with the World Association of Girl Guides (WAGGs) and the EU-ASEAN Business Council, as the organizations have identified a shared goal in developing gender-responsive STEM opportunities for adolescent girls. The proposed research would be a complementary piece to ongoing research led by WAGGs that aims to understand the demand for STEM-related activities among their adolescent girl members to inform their global programming.

The Consultant is requested to design all aspects related to the research into adolescent girls and STEM careers, including designing methodology, tools, collaborating with an adolescent-friendly peer review group, writing the report and coordinating a virtual report launch with partners. Specific deliverables are detailed further below.

By developing a deeper understanding of existing models for career guidance and pathways to STEM in ASEAN and by leveraging existing ASEAN and global partnerships, the research will help UNICEF shape country and regional programming through:

Providing regional programmatic guidance on approaches to advancing adolescent girls STEM career aspirations, drawing on successful models either in the region or led by UNICEF in other geographies.
The research responds to regional recommendations from UNLIMITED ASEAN and the Gendered Barriers to Leadership report
The research would be showcased at a joint virtual event developed with adolescent girls and with regional partners. The launch would bring together ASEAN business leaders and girl-focused organizations that would be in the position to take action on the recommendations.

Work Assignment: 

The Consultant is requested to design all aspects related to the research into adolescent girls and STEM careers, including developing an inception report, conducing desk review, designing methodology and research tools, collaborating with an adolescent-friendly peer review group, writing the report and coordinating a virtual report launch with partners.

The research aims to respond to 3 questions:

• What models have proven effective to support adolescent girls to transition to STEM careers in different contexts across ASEAN?
• Who are the stakeholders that should be engaged to positively influence adolescent girls’ STEM career ambitions?
• How might governments, UNICEF and partners do things differently to support adolescent girls to pursue STEM fields?

The methodology should include:

• Desk research into gender-responsive career aspiration models and programmes for adolescent girls in STEM, including programmatic evaluations and global research frameworks;
• At least 20 stakeholder interviews representing diverse voices, such as education sector stakeholders, parents or parent support groups, selected organizations leading STEM-career path solutions for girls in the region and girl-led organizations;
• At least 10 stakeholder interviews with selected private sector partners to understand their interest and capacity to engage in this area. Partners fitting the profile will be determined with UNICEF and interviews should target CSR, Social Impact, HR, or Partnership Managers to understand appetite for private sector to engage on this issue.
• 3 consultation-style virtual workshops with adolescent girls and young women to validate findings and recommendations. One workshop to be held on International Day of the Girl in October.
• Coordinate input and feedback from a peer review group, including adolescent girls and young women leaders from the region.

The interviews can be conducted virtually and there is no travel anticipated.

• In addition to conducting the consultations and interviews and writing the report, the Consultant is requested to develop copy for a 2-page brochure or infographic to highlight the findings that is easy to read and youth-friendly. This brochure will then be shared by UNICEF and partners on social media and will complement the longer report.
• Finally, the Consultant is expected to develop with the peer review group and partners a virtual launch event to disseminate the findings, ideally with meaningful participation of adolescent girls themselves and various private sector partners. The Consultant can leverage UNICEF, WAGGS and EU-ASEAN Business Councils related networks for this aspect of the assignment, and the event will be co-hosted by the partners.

Work Schedule: 

• The Consultant is required to report on progress bi-weekly through brief conference calls with UNICEF counterparts and collaborate closely with a diverse peer review group, including adolescent girls. In lieu of conference calls, written progress reports are acceptable should both parties agree.
• The Consultant is required to prepare an Inception Report, Summary of Findings, Draft Report, Final Report, editorial copy for a 2-page brochure/summary and PowerPoint or similar presentation of results for the virtual launch. All documents to be prepared in Word format or similar, electronically, and in English.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Education:

• Advanced degree in the social sciences (sociology, anthropology, development studies), Economics/Statistics or related fields relevant for the assignment. In lieu of an advanced degree, Bachelors degree and 10 years experience can be accepted.

Skills and Experience:

• 5 years relevant work experience in international development, research or other relevant fields.
• At least 3 years experience leading structured, analytical research in the areas of gender, education and skills, empowerment, employment with a focus on girls or young women.
• Experience designing research methodologies and tools.
• Diverse experience leading stakeholder interviews across a range of sectors (government, business, youth groups, education sector), with at least some experience doing so in Southeast Asia.
• Previous experience leading participatory consultations for the purpose of research with adolescents or youth (in lieu of research consultations, participatory skills trainings for adolescents and youth may also be accepted, such as entrepreneurship, digital skills or employment-oriented trainings for adolescents and youth).
• Previous experience leading research for UN, international development organizations or non-profit organizations.
• Knowledge of major systematic barriers for girls empowerment, skills development, digital literacy, employability and similar related themes.
• Proven experience of high-quality report writing and documentation.
• Resourcefulness, flexibility, and the ability to prioritise large amounts of work while under pressure.
• Good analytical, facilitation, communication and presentation skills.
• Politically and culturally sensitive, awareness of gender issues, with qualities of patience, tact and diplomacy.
• Fluency in English (verbal and written).  

Source: https://jobs.unicef.org/cw/en-us/job/553623