Location: Istanbul (Home-based/Remote), Turkey
Job Purpose: The purpose of this consultancy is to map and document social and gender norms change interventions aimed at preventing and addressing Gender-Based Violence (GBV) within the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) region. The consultant will develop a comprehensive "What Works" documentation framework, regional guidance, and a practical Social Norms Assessment Tool to support UNFPA Country Offices in designing, implementing, monitoring and measuring social and gender norms change interventions for GBV prevention.
Under the direct supervision of the Regional Gender Adviser, the consultant will: conduct a comprehensive literature review of global, regional and country-level documents and publications, both internal to UNFPA and external, assessing and providing guidance on "what works" in social and gender norms change to prevent and address GBV; identify and document specific tools, indicators and methodologies that have demonstrated effectiveness; map existing social and gender norms change interventions at Country Office (CO) and Regional Office (RO) levels, including developing an inventory of active and past CO/RO social norms change programmes, analysing thematic focus areas and challenges, identifying regional best practices and critical programmatic gaps; draft a comprehensive regional guidance document on social norms change for GBV prevention; develop guidance to support Country Offices in designing, implementing and scaling contextually relevant interventions; formulate standards for monitoring and measuring effectiveness; and develop a user-friendly, actionable Social Norms Assessment Tool measuring qualitative and quantitative shifts in norms over time, with core indicators, ethical and safety standards, and practical instruments such as rapid assessment scorecards, baseline/endline survey templates and community dialogue tracking guides.
Duration: approximately 50 working days over three months. Place of delivery: remote / home-based. Deliverables: Inception Report (5 days); Global & Regional Evidence Review on "What Works" (15 days); EECA Regional & Country Office Interventions Mapping Report (25 days); Final Regional Guidance & Tool (5 days). The consultant will provide short monthly email updates; all drafts and final deliverables are reviewed and approved by the UNFPA Regional Gender Adviser. No travel is foreseen.
Qualifications and Experience: Advanced university degree (Master's or Ph.D.) in Gender Studies, Sociology, Social Anthropology, Public Policy, International Development, or a related social science field. Minimum of 7–10 years of relevant professional experience in programming and evaluating gender equality, social norms change, or harmful practices initiatives. Demonstrated experience in designing programmatic assessment tools, monitoring frameworks, or minimum standards for social change. Strong familiarity with the Eastern Europe and Central Asia regional context and UN/UNFPA programmatic frameworks. Excellent research, analytical, writing and communication skills; ability to work independently and deliver high-quality outputs within strict timelines. Fluency in written and spoken English is required; working knowledge of Russian is a distinct advantage.
Staff grade/level: Consultant. Contract type: Consultancy. Duty station: Istanbul. Job category: Programme/Development.
Closing date 03 September 2026
HOW TO APPLY:
Apply online via the UNFPA candidate portal (Job ID 36187): https://estm.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_2003/job/36187/ Closing date 26 August 2026 10:00 (America/New_York). UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process.