UNFPA Opens International Consultancy Opportunity for Experts in Comprehensive Sexuality Education and Humanitarian Response

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has announced an exciting international consultancy opportunity for experienced professionals passionate about humanitarian response, youth empowerment, gender equality, and Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE). The consultancy, titled “International Consultancy – Develop Programmatic Guidance and Essential Content for CSE in Humanitarian Settings,” offers qualified experts the opportunity to contribute to global humanitarian and development efforts that directly impact adolescents and young people affected by crises.

The consultancy will support the development of evidence-based and field-ready guidance for delivering Comprehensive Sexuality Education in humanitarian settings, especially in fragile and crisis-affected regions where young people face heightened risks related to sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence, child marriage, and lack of access to critical information and services.

This opportunity comes at a time when humanitarian crises worldwide continue to increase in scale and complexity, particularly in regions affected by conflict, displacement, climate shocks, and social instability. Adolescents and youth often make up a significant proportion of affected populations, yet access to age-appropriate sexuality education and life-saving reproductive health information remains severely limited.

UNFPA aims to bridge this gap by developing practical and operational guidance that can help humanitarian actors deliver gender-transformative, trauma-informed Comprehensive Sexuality Education in emergency contexts.

About the Consultancy Opportunity

The consultancy is being coordinated under the supervision of the UNFPA Arab States Regional Office in collaboration with the Global CSE Programme Team and other UNFPA regional and country offices.

The selected consultant will work closely with:

• Technical Working Groups (TWGs)
• Youth leaders
• Humanitarian experts
• UNFPA regional offices
• Country offices
• Strategic development partners

The assignment will focus on creating a Technical Guidance Document that can support country offices and humanitarian teams in implementing effective CSE programming in refugee camps, host communities, conflict zones, displacement settings, and other humanitarian environments.

The consultancy is expected to run for six months and will involve extensive collaboration, research, stakeholder consultations, validation workshops, and technical writing.

Why This Consultancy Is Important

UNFPA continues to champion global access to sexual and reproductive health rights and youth empowerment. In humanitarian settings, access to reliable sexuality education is often disrupted, leaving adolescents vulnerable to:

• Gender-based violence
• Early and forced marriage
• Sexual exploitation
• Unintended pregnancies
• Limited healthcare access
• Poor mental and emotional well-being

Traditional education and health systems frequently collapse during emergencies, creating an urgent need for innovative and adaptable programming approaches.

This consultancy seeks to develop practical tools and implementation models that can work even in highly unstable environments where access to schools, healthcare, and community services may be limited or interrupted.

The resulting guidance will help humanitarian actors:

1. Deliver age-appropriate sexuality education
2. Strengthen youth protection and empowerment
3. Improve referrals to SRHR and GBV services
4. Support young people’s rights, dignity, and bodily autonomy
5. Build safer and more inclusive humanitarian responses

Key Responsibilities of the Consultant

The selected consultant will be responsible for several major deliverables throughout the consultancy period.

1. Inception Report

The consultant will prepare a detailed inception report outlining the proposed methodology, workplan, participatory processes, and collaboration strategies for the assignment.

2. Conducting a Scoping Review

The consultant will carry out a rapid review of:

• Peer-reviewed literature
• Humanitarian education materials
• Existing CSE resources
• Global best practices
• Youth-centered approaches

The review will identify:

• Existing gaps in humanitarian CSE programming
• Challenges affecting vulnerable populations
• Promising interventions and implementation models

3. Developing Programmatic Guidance

One of the most critical aspects of the consultancy is creating practical operational guidance for humanitarian teams.

The guidance document will include:

• Strategies for implementing CSE programs in emergencies
• Decision-making frameworks
• Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms
• Service referral pathways
• Trauma-informed and gender-transformative approaches
• Adapted lesson plans and essential educational content

4. Facilitating Collaboration and Validation Workshops

The consultant will co-facilitate validation workshops with UNFPA regional offices in:

• Arab States
• East and Southern Africa
• West and Central Africa

These consultations will help ensure the final guidance is contextually relevant, evidence-based, and operationally effective.

Skills and Experience UNFPA Is Looking For

UNFPA is searching for highly experienced professionals with deep technical expertise in:

• Humanitarian programming
• Sexual and reproductive health rights
• Youth engagement
• Comprehensive Sexuality Education
• Curriculum development
• Policy and technical guidance writing

Candidates should also demonstrate:

• Strong communication skills
• Stakeholder coordination experience
• Analytical thinking
• Cross-cultural collaboration abilities
• Commitment to gender equality and inclusion

Experience working with UN agencies, governments, NGOs, or international development organizations will be considered an added advantage.

Work Environment and Inclusion

UNFPA strongly promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and gender equality within its workforce. The organization encourages applications from:

• Women
• Persons with disabilities
• Indigenous populations
• Minority groups
• Underrepresented communities
• LGBTQIA+ individuals

The organization remains committed to building an inclusive work environment where professionals from diverse backgrounds can contribute meaningfully to global humanitarian and development goals.

Application Deadline

The deadline to apply for this consultancy opportunity is 4 June 2026. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply as early as possible due to the highly competitive nature of UN consultancy opportunities.

How to Apply

Applications can be submitted through the official application portal

Explore full details about the opportunity here.

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