Consultancy- Early Childhood Education Programme Management, ECW, New York

Contract

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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, Education.....

Education Cannot Wait (ECW) is the first and only global fund dedicated to inclusive and equitable quality education in emergencies and protracted crises. It was established in 2016 during the World Humanitarian Summit by international humanitarian and development aid organizations, along with public and private donors, to help reposition education as a priority on the humanitarian agenda, usher in a more collaborative approach among actors on the ground and foster additional funding to ensure that every crisis-affected child and young person is in school and learning. Embedded within the multilateral system, and with a mandate to help implement the third pillar of Agenda for Humanity, Leave no one behind, ECW ensures that children impacted by human made conflict and natural disaster have access to and complete inclusive and equitable quality education.

ECW recognizes that achieving SDG target 4.2 by 2030 ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education will remain a challenge if early intervention strategies and investments are not deployed to address this issue. This is particularly of concern in the context of crises where the needs of children of pre-primary education age are side-lined by humanitarian appeals and programs. Furthermore, where available, in these contexts, limited early childhood learning spaces serve to accommodate large numbers of children with scant attention to safeguarding spontaneous and free play, thereby impacting children's holistic development as well as specific developmental areas such as social, emotional, cognitive and linguistic as well as the foundation for later learning. Children with different levels of ability are particularly challenged by such limitations.

In response to these concerns, and recognizing the interwoven nature of play and learning, its potential for addressing stereotyping and discrimination along gender, disability and displacement status, ECW is seeking to both strengthen investments in early childhood education (ECE) and improve, through advocacy and creation of community of practice, the integration of Learn to Play (LtP) in the pedagogy of early learning.

More specifically, in partnership with LEGO Foundation, ECW will: (1) increase the number of children benefiting from ECE and LtP interventions in Ethiopia and Uganda; (2) Triple ECW investment in ECE to 10% of its number of beneficiaries reached; (3) Improve organizational capacity to design and implement ECE and LtP more systematically; and (4) Increase advocacy for play-based ECE resulting in greater future investments. The services of a Consultant are required to address these expected outcomes.

How can you make a difference?

The Consultancy will advance progress in the following areas: (1) strengthening integration of LtP in early learning pedagogies for conflict/crisis affected populations in Uganda and Ethiopia; (2) improve policy dialogue on adoption of LtP as a yet unrealized potential for holistic learning in the context of crises on global and in-country levels; (3) increase visibility and outcome for better financed for ECE in the context of crises; and (4) to support the alignment and connectedness of various resource flows toward the Multi-Year Resilience Programme plans s in Uganda and Ethiopia.

Key Activities and Expected Deliverables:

Under the supervision of the New York based Chief Advisor/ECE Liaison and advise from M&E specialist, the Consultant will:

(1) Coordinate all aspects of project management thereby implementing the financing of LEGO Foundation in country including interactions with partners and stakeholders in Ethiopia and Uganda and reporting to donor;

(2) Support and provide guidance on the design and implementation of the learning agenda of the project;

(3) Support ECW Advocacy and Communications Team in its efforts to formulate messaging regarding ECE and play based learning;

(4) Support the ECW Resource Mobilization Team in its overall efforts for donor prospecting and putting together grant proposals associated with increasing funding for ECE investments.

(5) Support ECW in aligning other investments with Multi-Year Resilience Plans in Uganda and Ethiopia as needed.

Duty Station

The consultancy will be home-based. A Consultant located in Ethiopia or Uganda will be preferred. The consultant will be expected to participate in regular phone calls and virtual meetings with the ECW Secretariat and will be expected to provide his/her own IT equipment and arrange office workspace.

Estimated duration of the contract: The consultant will work for 11 months period on the above work assignment , from 15 December 2020 to 15 November 2021.

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

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: Education, International development, Child development, Sociology, Psychology, Human development or another relevant technical field. Specialization in education in emergencies is an asset.
• Minimum of 5 years of professional work experience as a program manager at the national and international levels in the education development field, with an emphasis on early learning and early childhood development.
• Excellent understanding of early childhood education programming including play-based approaches and proven expertise in the coordination of Early Childhood Education programs and training.
• Familiarity with the context of early childhood policy and programming in the context of emergencies and protracted crises in Africa and especially Ethiopia and Uganda.
• Full familiarity and engagement with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Pillar 3 (Leave No One Behind) of Agenda for Humanity and specific areas of concern including mainstreaming and targeting of gender and disability in education programming in contexts of crises.
• Excellent organizational and coordination skills including but not limited to facilitation skills proven with workshops and meetings, especially with partners in Government.
• Excellent writing skills; experience writing reports for donors strongly desired.
• Excellent command of English (oral and written); working knowledge of another UN language is an asset.
• Ability to work independently and effectively through email, phone, and other means of communications against tight deadlines.
• Affinity with monitoring and evaluation

Desirable

• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or another international organization
• Experience in and knowledge of UNICEF' s activities supporting early childhood education

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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.

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.