Consultancy - Thematic Expert, Independent Evaluation Office (IEO), UNFPA

Purpose of consultancy:
UNFPA’s Independent Evaluation Office (IEO), together with UNICEF Evaluation Office, is cochairing the Fourth Inter-Agency Meta-Synthesis of the UN Youth Strategy, focused on the priority area on youth and health. The synthesis will generate system-wide evidence and insights to inform United Nations inter-agency action, global policy dialogue, and youth health programming.
This exercise incorporates a human supervised, AI assisted approach to support specific tasks such as evaluation mapping, coding and extraction, pattern identification, and preliminary synthesis. AI tools will be used to enhance efficiency, but all AI-supported outputs will undergo rigorous review, validation, and contextual interpretation by the co-chairs, a data scientist, and the thematic expert.
To support this work, UNFPA is seeking a Thematic Expert on youth and health. The consultant will provide technical guidance, quality assurance, and interpretive analysis across all phases of the exercise, ensuring the synthesis is aligned with global evidence, policy frameworks, and UN inter-agency commitments.
The consultant will ensure that findings are technically robust, appropriately contextualized, and translated into policy-relevant insights for UN system actors.
The Thematic Expert will play a technical advisory and quality assurance role across all stages of the exercise.
Specific responsibilities include:

1. Technical and conceptual guidance
 Provide technical guidance on the framing and interpretation of “youth and health” as an integrative area throughout the exercise

 Adapt and finalise the conceptual framework and coding library to ensure coherence with global youth health priorities, SDGs, and UN inter-agency commitments.
 

2. Quality assurance

 Provide overall quality assurance from a technical perspective throughout the exercise
 Provide technical reviews of interim outputs (e.g., data and extraction matrices, analytical summaries, analytical outputs, draft findings, etc.) to ensure technical accuracy and completeness.

3. Analysis interpretation and synthesis
 Support the interpretation of emerging AI-enabled analysis and findings and ensure nuanced analysis linking results to global and regional policy contexts.

 Contribute to identifying cross-cutting lessons and promising practices on youth health programming and inter-agency coordination.

 Ensure that issues of gender equality, equity, and inclusion (including marginalized youth, youth with disabilities, migrant and displaced youth) are systematically integrated into analysis and interpretation.

4. Reporting and dissemination
 Contribute to the drafting and review of the synthesis report, particularly the sections related to thematic findings, lessons, and policy insights
 Participate in relevant meetings and presentations with the management group to discuss findings and implications.

Deliverables:
Deliverables will undergo UNFPA -UNICEF quality assurance and payments will be issued upon approval by the co-chairs of this exercise.

Key deliverables include:

 Conceptual Framework – December 2025 (30%)

 Quality Assurance of Inputs – February 2026 (50%)

 Final Synthesis Report – March 2026 (20%)

Expected Travel: None

Required Expertise and Qualifications:
Education:
Advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in public health, global health, social sciences, or related field.
Knowledge and Experience:
 10 years of progressive experience in youth and health programming, policy, or research, including adolescent and young adult health; SRHR; mental health and psychosocial wellbeing; in development and humanitarian contexts.

 Demonstrated understanding of inter-sectoral determinants of health, including nutrition,
WASH, protection, livelihoods, and humanitarian health.

 Proven experience providing technical advice or quality assurance to evaluations, research, or meta-synthesis exercises in the UN system or international organizations.

 Excellent analytical, writing, and synthesis skills; ability to translate evaluative evidence into policy-relevant messages.

 Strong familiarity with gender equality, equity, and inclusion approaches in youth health.

Languages:
● English and knowledge of another UN language (preferably Spanish or French) is an asset

How to Apply:
Please send your CV and a short letter of motivation with subject line:
“Thematic Expert –Meta-synthesis on UN Youth Strategy” to Faith Nsanshya Chilupula at chilupula@unfpa.org by Friday 19 December 2025.