Consultancy - Local Consultants - Iraq, Venezuela, Nigeria, Pakistan, Independent Evaluation Office (IEO), UNFPA

Duty Station: Remote and stationed in one of the countries of interest (Iraq, Venezuela, Nigeria, Pakistan) with field visits

Hiring Office: UNFPA Independent Evaluation Office (IEO)
Background: The Independent Evaluation of UNFPA’s Approach to the Localization of Humanitarian Action is commissioned as a critical component of UNFPA’s accountability to the global humanitarian system and our key stakeholders including the people affected by humanitarian crises around the World.

As a signatory of the Grand Bargain, UNFPA is institutionally committed to making principled humanitarian action "as local as possible and as international as necessary.

This evaluation serves the dual purpose of accountability and learning.  Specifically, it will:
Assess and report on UNFPA's progress, challenges, and performance in advancing the localization agenda to effectively meet the needs of the most vulnerable populations affected by humanitarian crises (accountability).

Analyze the barriers and enablers to localization within UNFPA's systems and processes and draw lessons for strengthening equitable partnerships and building resilience of local and national actors (LNAs) to improve the delivery of UNFPA's mandate in humanitarian contexts (learning).

Specifically, the evaluation will assess the relevance of UNFPA’s approach to global commitments and local needs, the effectiveness of UNFPA’s partnerships in delivering key outcomes, the efficiency of UNFPA’s internal systems in facilitating or hindering support, and the connectedness/sustainability of UNFPA’s efforts for long-term impact. The overall goal is to identify concrete lessons and actionable recommendations for UNFPA to strengthen and sustain local leadership in humanitarian action.

The evaluation objectives will be implemented under a theory-based approach and contribution analysis. This will be executed using mixed methods, which combine both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods and tools.

Scope of the Work, Description of services, activities or outputs:
Duties and Responsibilities: 

The consultant will serve as the Gender Based Violence (GBV) and/or Sexual and Reproductive health and Rights (SRHR) expert of the evaluation in one of the specified countries.

The GBV and/or SRHR expert will provide expertise on the human rights of women and girls, especially sexual and reproductive rights, the empowerment of women and girls, engagement of men and boys, as well as GBV and harmful practices. S/he will provide technical expertise on reproductive health commodity security (RHCS), integrated SRHR, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, maternal health, family planning, and youth-friendly services.

1.    Key responsibilities:
As the GBV and/or SRHR specialist of the localization evaluation of UNFPA, the consultant is required to contextualize the evaluation process to the local realities. 

Expected responsibilities include:

●    Strategic Integration: Ensure GBV, harmful practices in emergencies, RHCS, and life-saving SRHR in Emergencies (SRHRiE) are embedded into the constructed theory of change, indicators, and sampling strategy, ensuring a robust thematic perspective from the outset.
●    Design & Tool Development: Contribute to the evaluation design by shaping data collection tools (interviews, FGDs, surveys) that specifically target GBV and SRHR programming outcomes, partnerships, and localization efforts.
●    Fieldwork & Evidence Gathering: Lead or support fieldwork (in-person or remote) and desk reviews focusing on but not limited to:
○    The integration of gender equality and support to Women-Led Organizations (WLOs) within the GBV partnership approach.
○    Stakeholders overseeing or implementing SRHR/ GBV programs, including government officials and implementing partners.
●    Country-specific SRHR/GBV workplans, programming data, and financial data related to localization.
●    Analysis & Triangulation: Ensure that the analysis and triangulation of primary and secondary data thoroughly addresses the GBV and SRHR dimensions of the localization evaluation. This includes contributing specifically to the analysis of the five key priority areas (Partnership, Funding, Participation, Coordination, and Capacity strengthening/sharing) as they relate to thematic delivery.
●    Stakeholder Collaboration: Collaborate with stakeholders to produce context-specific, actionable recommendations aimed at:
○    Preventing GBV, eliminating harmful practices, and empowering women and girls before, during, and after humanitarian crises.
○    Ensuring the feasibility of SRHR delivery in alignment with humanitarian principles.

●    Reporting & Deliverables: Contribute to the evidence tables and the detailed PowerPoint presentation which will serve as the primary record of field findings and form the basis for the final evaluation report.
●    Dissemination: support the delivery of key thematic outcomes at the debriefing meeting (at the end of the field mission), highlighting gaps, emerging trends, localization strategies, and engagement strategies via a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation.
●    Quality Assurance: Ensure quality of all deliverables in line with UNFPA quality assurance and assessment guidelines, the UNEG Norms and Standards, and the UNEG Guidance on Integrating Human Rights and Gender Equality in Evaluation.

2.    Phases and activities:
Inception Phase:
The Inception Phase is a comprehensive preparatory stage that begins with a document review across all relevant UNFPA headquarters, regional, and country office materials. Key conceptual and planning activities follow, including 
○    Stakeholder mapping, 
○    Construction of the Theory of Change  
○    Development of the final evaluation matrix
○    Development of data collection and analysis strategy 
○    Detailed Evaluation timeline. 

All these components are brought together in the draft inception report, which is then presented to the Evaluation Reference Group (ERG) for discussion and feedback. The phase concludes with the finalization of the inception report and detailed planning for the subsequent data collection phase, including field missions. 

Data collection Phase:
The Data Collection phase involves a multi-pronged approach starting with an in-depth document review and analysis. This is followed by conducting a series of interviews with key informants, both internal to UNFPA (at Headquarters, regional, and country levels) and external stakeholders. The national consultant will support the data collection in the specified Country Office (CO). 

At the end of the field phase, the national consultant and the co-team leader will hold a debriefing meeting with the CO to present the initial analysis and emerging findings from the data collection in a PowerPoint presentation. The debriefing meeting presents an invaluable opportunity for the evaluation team to expand, qualify and verify information as well as to obtain feedback and correct misperceptions or misinterpretations.

Reporting Phase:
One of the most important tasks in drafting the evaluation report is to organize it into three interrelated, yet distinct, components: findings, conclusions, and recommendations. Together they represent the core of the evaluation report. The national consultant will support this phase by contributing in the drafting of a detailed country Powerpoint presentation and populating the country evidence table. These outputs will follow the guidelines prescribed by the IEO and will form part of the overall evaluation report and will be included as annexes. The reporting phase includes:
●    Brainstorming on feedback received during the debriefing meeting with CO
●    Additional data collection (if required)
●    Consolidating the country evaluation matrix
●    Drafting country specific findings and conclusions
●    Identifying tentative recommendations using the recommendations worksheet
●    Drafting a detailed country powerpoint presentation
●    Quality assurance of powerpoint by the IEO co-team leader and CO focal point.

Dissemination and Facilitation of Use Phase:
This phase focuses on strategically communicating the evaluation results to targeted audiences and facilitating the use of the evaluation to inform decision-making and learning for programme and policy improvement. It serves as a bridge between generating evaluation results, and the practical steps needed to ensure evaluation leads to meaningful programme adaptation. This phase is largely the responsibility of the IEO co-team leader. However, key responsibilities of the national consultant in this phase include:
●    Taking photographs during primary data collection and during the evaluation process (as possible considering ethical and security aspects).
●    Adhering to the editorial guidelines of the United Nations and the UNFPA Evaluation Office to ensure high editorial standards

Duration and working schedule: The consultancy will require a level of effort of 30 days between March 2026 and September 2026.

Place where services are to be delivered: Home based/remote while stationed in one of the countries, specifically: Iraq, Venezuela,Nigeria, Pakistan.

Expected travel:  A 5-8 days in-country field mission during the data collection phase.

Delivery dates and how work will be delivered:
The national consultant is expected to support the production of the following deliverables:
●    Lead/support field data collection under the supervision of co-team leader
●    Populate evidence matrix with country primary field data and secondary data from documents.
●    Develop a detailed PowerPoint presentation for CO debriefing. 
●    Support the different activities and phases of the  Evaluation 

All the deliverables will be developed in English language and in accordance with the timeline and deadlines indicated by the co-team leader. 

Supervisory arrangements:  Reporting to the Evaluation Co-team Leader, with matrix reporting to the UNFPA IEO Evaluation Co-team Leader (evaluation advisor).

Required expertise, qualifications and competence, including language requirements:

1. Core Evaluation Competencies (Shared)
All candidates, regardless of their specific thematic focus, must possess the following foundational qualifications:

●    5–7 years of experience in conducting evaluations, reviews, assessments, or M&E work within the field of international development.
●    Solid knowledge of evaluation approaches and the demonstrated ability to apply both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods.
●    Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to work effectively within multidisciplinary teams.
●    Proven ability to ensure the ethics and integrity of the evaluation process, including confidentiality and the "Do No Harm" principle.
●    Demonstrated ability to consistently integrate human rights and gender perspectives into all phases of an evaluation.
●    Fluency in written and spoken English and the specific country language, paired with work experience or deep knowledge of the national development context.
●    Familiarity with the mandates and activities of UNFPA or other United Nations organizations is considered a significant advantage.
●    Knowledge of UNFPA’s specific work in SRHR or gender programming/GBV within the specified country or region.
●    Fluent in written and spoken English and the language of the country of interest (Iraq, Venezuela,Nigeria, Pakistan). 

2. Thematic Expertise (Distinct Areas)
Candidates must demonstrate substantive knowledge in one (or both) of the following specialized areas:

Sexual and Reproductive Health & Rights (SRHR)
●    Master’s degree in Pharmacy, Public Health, Medicine, Epidemiology, Biostatistics, or Social Sciences.
●    Substantive knowledge of Reproductive Health Commodity Security (RHCS) and SRHR in Emergencies (SRHRiE).
●    Expertise in MISP programming, including HIV/STIs, maternal health, family planning, and obstetric fistula.
●    Proven experience evaluating programs targeting the SRHR needs of marginalized women and youth/adolescent populations.
●    Good knowledge of the international humanitarian architecture, coordination mechanisms, and humanitarian law/principles.

Gender-Based Violence & Gender Equality (GBV)
●    Master’s degree in Women/Gender Studies, Human Rights Law, Social Sciences, or Development Studies.
●    Expert knowledge of gender equality, the empowerment of women and girls, and harmful practices (e.g., FGM, early/child/forced marriage).
●    Understanding of issues surrounding masculinity, gender relationships, and sexuality within humanitarian contexts.
●    Experience in supporting and partnering with Women-Led Organizations (WLOs) to enhance participation in decision-making and GBV programming.
●    Substantive knowledge of humanitarian strategies, international humanitarian law, and the specific architecture of GBV coordination.

Other relevant information or special conditions, if any:

●    The consultant must have their own laptop.
●     All selected candidates are strongly recommended to attend the Evaluation Capacity development course, organized by UNFPA, which will take place online on 9-12 March. Registration for the webinar is free. Participants who attend all 4 days of the webinar and do all the assignments will get a certificate of attendance after the webinar. Please note that this free training will not be counted towards the 30 days of Level of effort for this consultancy.
Remuneration:
 The consultancy fee will be deliverable-based as follows:
●   50% upon IEO approval of the draft 1 final evaluation report
●   30% upon IEO approval of the draft 2 final evaluation report
●   20% upon IEO approval of the final evaluation report (designed and formatted, in English), and powerpoint presentation
It is to be noted that finalization of each deliverable is an iterative process which includes many versions before IEO approves each deliverable.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Evaluation Office workAI technologies cannot be used in the framework of this contract unless a prior written agreement is obtained from EO. Upon this prior agreement, the consultant is obligated to disclose the utilization of AI tools in evaluation and commits to upholding ethical standards and accuracy in the application of AI tools.
1.    Prior approval for utilization of AI tools: The use of AI tools must be explicitly agreed upon and approved in writing by the EO Director.
2.    Declaration of the utilization of AI tools: If the use of AI tools in evaluation is agreed upon with EO, the consultant must be transparent and declare the use of AI tools in evaluation work and other work-related tasks, specifying the nature of AI usage. The AI tools utilized in work-related tasks must include only those tools that are vetted by EO. 
3.    Verification of accuracy: The consultant commits to diligently checking the accuracy of AI-generated results and assumes full responsibility for its reliability and validity.
Ethical and responsible use: The consultant is obligated to uphold ethical principles in the use of AI in work-related tasks, as well as relevant regulations that govern the use of AI in the UN system. This includes the Digital & Technology Network Guidance on the Use of Generative AI Tools in the UN System,  Principles for the Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in the United Nations System, and UNFPA Information Security Policy. The consultant commits to employing AI tools that adhere to principles of non-discrimination, fairness, transparency, and accountability. The consultant will adopt an approach that aligns with the principle of ‘leaving no one behind’, ensuring that AI tool usage avoids exclusion or disadvantage to any group.

To apply to this consultancy, please submit your: (1)  CV, (2) a cover letter highlighting your experience in conducting evaluations and expertise in GBV/SRHR and stating the country of interest. Please submit your application to Steva Nyawade in English at nyawade@unfpa.org.  In the subject of the application email, please state the consultancy you are applying for and for which country (Iraq, Venezuela, Nigeria, Pakistan). The deadline to submit an application is 23 February 2026

Moreover, if you are not registered on the UNFPA Consultant Roster, please make sure to register https://www.unfpa.org/unfpa-consultant-roster.

Women are highly encouraged to submit an application