Background:

UNFPA works across the Asia-Pacific region to ensure adolescents and youth have access to age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education in and out-of-school settings. Doing so equips young people with essential information and skills to have healthy relationships, promote gender-equitable social norms (including positive masculinity), and make informed decisions about their body and rights. 

Young people increasingly turn to online spaces, technologies, and social media/digital content creators for information about sexual and reproductive health, gender equality, and other issues. However, the rise of technologies has created a ‘double-edged sword’: it can accelerate access to comprehensive content 24/7 and offer tools to create high-quality content, but also increases risks of misinformation and biases, harmful content, deep fakes, and other forms of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TfGBV). There is an urgent need to equip young people with more advanced digital literacy skills, a stronger grasp of how technological advances influence their access to sexuality education content, and safe/ethical ways they themselves can amplify reliable content for other young people, while staying safe online themselves. Moreover, in a climate of SRHR pushback, youth voices and perspectives are crucial for shaping what is at stake for their rights, choices, and bodily autonomy.

How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled.  UNFPA’s strategic plan (2022-2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to “build forward better”, while addressing the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.

Purpose of consultancy:
The purpose of this international consultancy is to develop, launch, and facilitate a virtual and interactive capacity-building effort that equips youth-led entities and content creators to connect, develop and amplify reliable comprehensive sexuality education content with their online communities. 
 

Scope of work:

The consultant’s work will help empower youth-led entities and creators to access digital comprehensive sexuality education, to critically assess misformation vs. accurate content, to create relevant and reliable youth-oriented digital CSE content, to use technology and digital platforms ethically, and stay safe from online harassment. 

Specifically, the consultant will be responsible for developing, launching and facilitating a virtual, interactive capacity building initiative that will foster a community of youth-led entities and content creators for SRHR/CSE. This work will be an important component of a broader portfolio that leverages innovative CSE models and approaches for SRHR and GBV prevention (especially TfGBV), builds young people’s digital literacy and skills for SRHR, and sparks needed conversations on young people’s rights and bodily autonomy.

Detailed tasks include:

• Lead the conceptualization and development of a virtual short-course on the intersections of young people’s SRHR, GBV (including TfGBV), and digital literacy and technological advances
• Develop the needed curriculum, modules, communications assets, and/or adapt relevant content to create the bespoke programme and learning journey for the youth participants
• Within the curriculum, emphasize skills building for young people to develop engaging CSE content and messages for their audiences, focusing on gender equality, positive masculinities, and healthy relationships
• Incorporate youth empowerment within the course to develop their online voice and presence, and to advocate for change.
• Incorporate key tenets of safety by design and ways to prevent, mitigate, and seek support from experiencing TfGBV
• Introduce basic digital literacy and tools for developing content and navigating online spaces safely
• Design and implement the outreach, launch, and onboarding of the first cohort, including the relevant communications assets
• Serve as lead instructor/facilitator for the online modules, utilizing interactive and engaging pedagogy to attract, upskill and retain young content creators
• Collaborate with relevant UNFPA colleagues and partners to tap and mobilize existing networks of young content creators for the digital capacity building effort
• Provide guidance and mentorship to participants to take content and skills forward through optional capstone projects if requested
• Summarize the learning journey of the 2026 cohort, documenting lessons learned and recommendations to expand and scale-up the effort

Duration and working schedule:

The total duration of the consultancy will be from April  - 15 October 2026.   It is estimated that this consultancy requires 45 workdays during April to 15 October 2026.

Place where services are to be delivered:  

This is home-based work and travel on mission is not expected.

Expected Deliverables :

Deliverable 1: Inception report, including workplan and outline for the draft curriculum and pedagogical approach. Timeline: By 30 April 2026 (indicative).

Deliverable 2: Conceptualization and development of curriculum and modules, including checklists for ethical use of technology, online safety and relevant topics.  Timeline: By 30 June 2026 (indicative).

Deliverable 3: Launch, recruitment and implementation of the virtual course for youth-led entities and young content creators, including communications outreach and course package.  Timeline: By 15 Sept 2026 (indicative).

Deliverable 4: Final package of course materials, with short summary after action review and recommendations for scaling up the effort.  Timeline: 15 October 2026.

While the type of deliverables is mentioned below, the exact nature of the work will also be dependent on and refined based on consultations.
 

Monitoring and progress control:

A work plan/delivery monitoring schedule will be determined by APRO and the Consultant at the outset of the consultancy.   

Supervisory arrangements: 

The international consultant will directly report to the UNFPA APRO Technical Advisor, Adolescent and Youth.

Inputs / services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner:

The consultant will use their personal laptop/computer. The consultant will closely coordinate with APRO and other relevant colleagues and partners to design and implement the interactive online capacity building effort

UNFPA APRO will link the consultant to relevant partners, country offices, and other key stakeholders as necessary. 

Professional Experience and Required Skills:

• A minimum of 7 years’ experience working in the intersection of youth, digital technologies, SRH, gender equality, including issues related to TfGBV, positive masculinities
• Demonstrable experience and expertise in developing interactive online learning modules, learning materials, and resources on the above-mentioned topics, especially geared for young people in all their diversity
• Demonstrated expertise in the ethical use and applications of digital technology, especially for gender equality, SRHR/CSE, and other topics of concern for youth
• Proven track record of facilitating high-engagement, virtual trainings with young people, especially on gender equality, SRHR/CSE, and GBV prevention
• Excellent written and oral skills in English is mandatory.

UNFPA Work Environment:

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA's workforce - click here to learn more.

Disclaimer:

Selection  may be subject to background and reference checks, and education credentials verification and other administrative requirements. 

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts.