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Contract Duration: 10.3 Months

Working arrangement: HomeBased

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UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to a future.

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF played a pivotal role in supporting the development of Kenya’s National Safety Net Programme (NSNP), with Government and development partners.

The NSNP includes four cash transfer schemes, of which three under the Inua Jamii programme: the Cash Transfer for Orphan and Vulnerable Children (CT-OVC), the Old Person Cash Transfer, and the Persons with Severe Disability Cash Transfer.A fourth scheme focuses on food security and economic resilience in arid and semi-arid lands (the Hunger Safety Net Programme, HSNP).Evaluations of these programmes demonstrated substantial positive impacts on poverty reduction and wellbeing.Despite these findings, social protection coverage remains limited in Kenya, as less than 15% of the poorest households are currently supported by Kenya’s NSNP.Moreover, there remain concerns about the adequacy of transfer amounts, especially for the Inua Jamii schemes, for which the nominal value has remained unchanged since 2013.Concurrently, child poverty persists in Kenya.

In 2022 an estimated 42.4% of children lived in monetary poverty.The share of children experiencing multidimensional poverty (deprivations in areas such as health, nutrition, education) increased from 45% in 2014 to 55.3% in 2022.In this context, the CT-OVC is of prominent relevance.

Starting in 2004, the programme gradually expanded to about 440,000 households across all counties and constituencies by July 2025.Monthly cash amounts gradually increased from initial KSH 500 to the current amount of KSH 2,000.The main impact evaluation of the CT-OVC, conducted between 2007 and 2011, found that the programme significantly reduced poverty in the short term, with sustained impacts in the medium term; child outcomes improved, including schooling outcomes, as well as health outcomes for young children (in the medium-term).

After about 20 years since the start of the CT-OVC, UNICEF Innocenti and UNICEF Kenya initiated a new study to investigate the long-term and intergenerational effects of the CT-OVC.

The study is part of the broader Transfer Project, a research learning collaborative led by UNICEF, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill.

The study focuses on the original beneficiary children, addressing three main research questions:

• What were the wellbeing trajectories of beneficiary children (infants 0-4 years, and older children 5-17 years) during receipt of the CT-OVC programme and after graduating from it?

• How did the CT-OVC affect long-term human development outcomes for children in recipient households, as they transitioned to adulthood?

• How is the CT-OVC associated with the wellbeing of children born in the new households formed by the original child recipients?

The study will use three qualitative approaches:

1. A Life Histories approach collecting a detailed record of CT-OVC beneficiaries’ life events, during receipt of the programme and after graduating from it.

2. The Qualitative Impact Protocol (QuIP) methodology to assess long-term effects.

3. Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with programme stakeholders and policy makers.

A local firm will be recruited by UNICEF Kenya to implement data collection activities.

Another (international) consultant is being recruited to co-lead the study, with focus on the QUIP component and overall editorial oversight.

The consultancy under this TOR is focused on the first and third components of the study, Life Histories and KIIs.

Life histories:

This method will be used to answer the first research question, while also contributing to answering the other questions.

It examines the personal experience of individuals by collecting detailed information on key life events.

This allows gaining a deeper understanding of the life trajectory of CT-OVC beneficiaries, including the impact of various events and experiences.

KIIs:

These interviews will be conducted with staff who worked closely with participating families (e.g., community representatives, members of the Location OVC Committees, LOC).

These informants can shed light on their personal experiences working with selected beneficiaries and share their observations on changes in the wellbeing and the life trajectory of families, contributing insights to all five research questions.

Responses from key informants can especially cover the operational aspects of the CT-OVC.

The CT-OVC study sample will include 24 Life Histories and 14 KIIs across two counties in Kenya.

Objective of the consultancy:

The State Department of Children Services, UNICEF Innocenti and UNICEF Kenya are seeking to hire a qualitative research consultant based in Kenya, to co-lead the research study described above, particularly analysis and writing from Life Histories (LHs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs).

The selected consultant will closely collaborate with the consultant in charge of the QuIP study component (QuIP consultant).

Major areas of work and responsibility:

• Inception: Review programme documents and related literature. In collaboration with the QuIP consultant, prepare the inception mission, including observation checklist for field observation in the pre-selected study locations and methodology for the inception workshop (mission of approximately 5 working days).

• Study design: Co-develop the final study design and protocol, in collaboration with the QuIP consultant. Prepare the guides for LHs and KIIs; review the QuIP guide, as drafted by the QuIP consultant. Coordinate the ethical review process, addressing the Board requests as needed.

• Training and support in data collection (LH, KIIs): Conduct training of the local data collection team, in collaboration with the QuIP consultant and the local data collection firm. Supervise the data collection for LHs and KIIs, accompanying the field team during the first week of the operation and supervising remotely afterwards; conduct transcription monitoring for quality assurance (with the data collection firm). Training and data collection support requires a mission to the study area of about 7 working days.

• Analysis and writing (LH, KIIs, triangulation): Conduct coding and analysis of transcripts from LHs and KIIs; conduct triangulation with the QuIP findings. Draft the report sections describing results from LHs and KIIs and co-draft other chapters of the report (introduction/programme description/methodology/conclusions and recommendations), collaborating with the study team.

• Validation and dissemination: Present the triangulated findings during the validation workshop with UNICEF Kenya and Government partners. Co-draft the final version of the report, based on all feedback received (validation workshop, internal and external reviews). Prepare one policy brief and one presentation (ppt), in collaboration with the QuIP researcher. Deliver presentations as required.

• Manuscript: Co-draft manuscript for journal submission, in collaboration with the QuIP consultant and the broader study team.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here: Terms of Reference TMC0007331.pdf

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have...

Minimum requirements:

Education:

Sociology, anthropology, public/social policy, public health, education or related field.

Work Experience:

• At least 5 years of professional experience in qualitative research and evaluation in Kenya.

• Demonstrated experience with fieldwork and qualitative data collection in Kenya.

Language Requirements:

• Ability to speak and write fluently in English and Swahili.

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills:

• Excellent qualitative analytical skills and writing skills.

• Expertise in designing, conducting and analysing Life Histories interviews.

• Ability to organize own work and to carry out a research project with limited supervision according to deadlines.

• Ability to work as part of a research team in a multi-cultural environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships both within and outside the organization.

• The consultant will be based in Kenya.

Desirables:

• Expertise in triangulation of results from multi-method study design.

• Research experience on social protection, including in Kenya.

• Research experience on child and adolescent health, education, protection outcomes.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)
Cover letter
A separate financial proposal (only acceptable in the format of the linked template) Financial Proposal TMC0007331.docx
Sample of written work - co-authored published report, working paper or journal article relying on a Life Histories approach.

Remarks: If the TOR or financial proposal documents are not downloadable on certain recruitment platforms, please visit our official page Vacancies | UNICEF Careers.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

National qualitative research consultant, Florence, Italy, 10.3 Months, Remotely with travel (Open For Nationals of Kenya Only) Req#596419