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
(1) 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;
(2) 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;
(3) 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
Delivery dates and how work will be delivered
Timeline: 30 October 2026 (indicative)
Timeline: 15 December 2026 (indicative)
Timeline: 1 February 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.
Education
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
Languages
Proficient in English
UNFPA Work Environment
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.