Background:

UNFPA works across the Asia-Pacific region to ensure adolescents and youth have access to age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) 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.

Out-of-school CSE serves as a valuable complement to in-school programmes. They enable non-formal and flexible learning environments, diverse and innovative curriculum tailored to specific out-of-school vulnerable adolescent and youth populations (e.g., young migrants, youth with disabilities, those living with HIV), and increased learning interaction. These approaches can tackle challenging topics that may not always be feasible within the national curriculum.

To ensure out-of-school CSE efforts are evidence-based, contextually-responsive to the real-life constraints of vulnerable youth, and genuinely interactive to equip youth with real knowledge and skills, there is a critical need to assess existing efforts and directly involve vulnerable youth in co-creating, adapting and refining existing curriculum and delivery models for their emerging needs.

Purpose of consultancy:

The purpose of this international consultancy is to conduct a rapid review of existing out-of-school CSE curriculum for vulnerable youth in peri-urban areas, and lead a human-centered or participatory learner-led design process with vulnerable youth to refine the content and delivery models to their unique circumstances.

Scope of work:

The consultant will be responsible for refining the essential CSE components being delivered for vulnerable, out-of-school youth. It will involve:

• leading and conducting a rapid review of the current out-of-school CSE curriculum used for reaching youth in peri-urban areas to identify emerging needs and propose new content accordingly;
• Based on identified needs, facilitating a human-centered or participatory learner-led design process to rapidly prototype and co-create select content modules and pedagogy to strengthen the existing out-of-school CSE curriculum and implementation strategies to be reflective of the young people’s realities;
• Documenting and packaging the approach for adaptation and dissemination with other countries.

It will serve as a flexible, innovative approach used to strengthen and roll-out existing out-of-school CSE curriculum, with potential replication in other countries. The approach can benchmark and expand existing out-of-school CSE content for stronger alignment with international guidance, leveraging design thinking and rapid prototyping approaches to integrate new content based on evolving youth needs (e.g., digital literacy, online safety, positive masculinities, TF-GBV) that may not be fully covered in international CSE guidance.

Key components will include:

• Inception phase and rapid assessment: Design a methodology and workplan to complete the consultancy, including briefings, desk reviews of existing curriculum, key informant interviews with stakeholders, and a rapid assessment of strengths and areas of growth for the OOS CSE programme (with attention to these emerging youth needs: digital literacy, online safety, positive masculinities, TF-GBV). A safe and ethical framework for engaging vulnerable youth will be required.
• Human-centered or participatory learner-led design process: Facilitate participatory approaches and HCD sessions with diverse out-of-school youth to map their lived experiences, needs, emerging SRH knowledge and life skills gaps, and preferred learning platforms and channels. This will involve leading a co-creation process with youth to ideate, prototype, iterate updated curriculum modules and delivery approaches.
• Curriculum and implementation strategy revisions: Integrate new and relevant HCD findings into a refined, innovative and flexible CSE curriculum for the target out-of-school youth population, including tailored guidance for facilitators, community engagement protocols, and adaptation strategies for different subgroups and situations.

Duration and working schedule:

The total duration of the consultancy will be 1 October – 31 March 2027.

Place where services are to be delivered:

Home based.

Delivery dates and how work will be delivered:

• Deliverable 1: Inception report, including workplan and outline for the rapid assessment and HCD approach. Timeline: 30 October 2026 (indicative).
• Deliverable 2: OOS CSE rapid review framework with initial findings from the curriculum review, HCD synthesis of key findings and assets (eg personas, user journeys, prototyping steps, etc). Timeline: 15 December 2026 (indicative).
• Deliverable 3: First draft updated and revised curriculum modules, implementation guidelines and protocols, based on the HCD process. Slide deck to document the approach. Timeline: 1 February 2027.
• Deliverable 4: Final versions. Timeline: 15 March 2027.

Basis of payment:

Payment will be paid in 2 instalments upon completion of specific deliverables.

• 1st installment: 50% of the total fee will be paid upon the deliverable 1 and 2 are satisfactorily accepted by UNFPA APRO.
• Final installment: 50% of the total fee will be paid upon the deliverable 3 and 4 are satisfactorily accepted by UNFPA APRO.

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.

Expected travel:

Travel to one programme country (to be determined). UNFPA will bear the admissible costs, including an economy class air ticket.

Qualifications and Experience:

Education:

• Master’s level in Education, Public Health, Social Sciences, Psychology, or other interdisciplinary disciplines, with training in human-centered design.

Professional Experience and Required Skills:

• A minimum of 10 years’ experience working in education including CSE and life skills, ASRH, gender, and youth development alongside participatory approaches and/or human centred design. Technical expertise on CSE curriculum and international guidelines required.
• Experience with youth SRHR and the intersection with online safety, TfGBV types and approaches, digital and AI literacy, and mental health is an asset.
• Demonstrated experience working with vulnerable youth in the Asia-Pacific region is strongly preferred, with prior work applying ethical frameworks and safeguarding protocols with vulnerable youth in communities.
• Demonstrated experience in applying human-centered design or participatory design methodologies with vulnerable youth, especially in low-resource contexts.

Languages:

• Proficient in English.

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 and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, 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.