UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, Equality

UNICEF works to put the rights and well-being of the most disadvantaged children at the heart of the social, political, and economic agenda, in line with our equity focus, working across our organization and with our partners in government, civil society and the private sector to support shifts in public policy, fuel social engagement, and increase investment for children.

From early 2025 the UNICEF LACRO Gender and Adolescent Development and Participation (ADAP) team will be comprised of nine team members as follows:
• One gender advisor, three gender specialists and one gender officer (expected arrival in March/April 2025) based in Panama.
• One ADAP specialist based in Panama and two ADAP officers (one based in Panama starting January 2025 and another based in Brazil).
• One programme associate based in Panama (working half time for the team).

The team has undergone many changes over the past year, including the ‘merger’ of the Gender and ADAP teams under one leadership since May 2024, as a strategic move to support the growth of the emerging adolescent girl priority agenda. Both teams have grown during the period, with new team members arriving between December 2024 and March/April 2025. The last team retreat was conducted in October 2022, in a very different context.

At the same time, UNICEF is in the process of developing a new global Strategic Plan and a Gender Action Plan (internally known as ‘the GAP’) for 2026-2029, which will be accompanied by a new ROMP for LACRO.

Within this context, the Regional Gender Advisor (RGA) considers it important to conduct a team retreat to strengthen individuals’ sense of team belonging, clarify individual roles and responsibilities and agree on ways of working that are based on collaboration, complementarity, efficiency, empathy, and collective wellbeing. The retreat should also lead to an agreement on clear advocacy and programming priority areas for the team’s focus in 2025 and towards the new ROMP, which the team will contribute to developing during the course of 2025, with a particular emphasis on the adolescent girl agenda.

How can you make a difference?

Under the overall guidance of the Regional Adviser Gender & Development (RAGD), the purpose of this assignment is to design and facilitate a Team Retreat with the UNICEF Latin America & the Caribbean Regional (LACR) Gender and Adolescent Development and Participation team in Panama City in February 2025.

Expected outcomes:
– Shared sense of team belonging, mutual understanding, strengthened empathy, respect within the team.
– Individual roles and responsibilities as well as within sub-teams clearly defined (ADAP, Adolescent Girls, Gender).
– Agreed tools, mechanisms and fora for coordination, communication, and decision making within the team.
– Key team priorities for 2025 and for the new LACRO ROMP identified, including roles and responsibilities of each member towards those priorities.

Key Activities/Tasks
Under the oversight of the RAGD, the consultant will conduct the following tasks, in line with the above objective:
1. Hold briefing meetings with the RAGD to agree on the meeting approach and agenda outline and read background documents as required to deliver on the assignment.
2. Conduct brief, virtual individual interviews with all team members to understand everyone’s role in the team, current challenges and bottlenecks in ways of working and team members’ respective expectations of the meeting.
3. Based on the above, design a first draft meeting agenda with methodological notes to be shared with the team. Based on feedback by the team, produce a final agenda to be signed-off by the RAGD. The methodology is expected to be inclusive, creative, participatory and engaging.
4. Produce, or ensure the production of, all required technical inputs for the delivery of the meeting as per the approved agenda.
5. Support the team’s programme associate on logistical aspects required for the optimal delivery of the meeting at the chosen venue, including defining logistical and stationary requirements beforehand.
6. Facilitate a 2.5-day in-person meeting, working closely with the RAGD to ensure the agenda is evolving as expected, while remaining flexible for any necessary adjustments during the course of the meeting.
7. Produce a brief report outlining the main agreements reached during the meeting (especially regarding division of roles and responsibilities, team priorities and ways of working) and follow-up actions agreed by team members.

The RAGD welcomes the adoption of feminist leadership principles in the conceptualization, design and facilitation of the meeting.

Please refer to the full terms of references for more details here

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

• Bachelor’s degree in social sciences (Gender and Development, Political Science, International Relations or Sociology/Social Work, Human Rights, etc.) and/or business administration and talent management.
• A minimum of 5 of relevant professional experience working in the international development sector, preferably in social justice issues such as human rights, women’s rights, children’s rights, inclusion, gender, youth, development cooperation, etc. in the Latin America and the Caribbean region.
• Demonstrated experience in facilitating participatory and inclusive team building and/or strategic planning meetings, ideally from a feminist perspective.
• Experience facilitating meetings and/or learning processes for international development/aid organizations, preferably UN agencies.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in Spanish is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or English) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit  here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility nearmejobs.eu UNICEF.

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.

Remarks: 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements