Consultancy services for ensuring coordination of all activities carried out at county and local level in the field of early education and care (ECEC)

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.

How can you make a difference?

Context

As outlined by the programmatic framework of the Country Programme Document (CPD) agreed upon for the 2018-2022 cycle, the UNICEF Romania Country Office (CO) and the Government of Romania cooperate in the field of education, promoting the right of all children to quality inclusive education. The technical assistance provided by UNICEF is expected to lead to more inclusive and equitable outcomes in the field of education, contributing inter alia to the reduction and prevention of early school leaving. Based on past research, UNICEF will model new interventions aiming to inform public policies in education, so that all children have access to quality inclusive education from an early age.

In fact, research has highlighted that the skills needed in today’s age (critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, communication and creativity) are built in the early years, and without a solid foundation, these skills are harder to acquire later on. There is a need to make a stronger case for funding early years services to bring long term benefits to individual children, their families and society at large. The power of early education and care to transform the lives and future development of very young children is highly dependent on the quality of the services provided. Early childhood professionals are critical to universally accessible, high-quality early childhood education and care provision.

Considering the above, UNICEF is implementing a new programmatic initiative in the field of early childhood education and care, aiming to collect accurate and real-time evidence to inform educational policies at national, county and local level. The initiative is focused on empowering communities to devise and implement local strategies that are looking at the real needs of services for children aged 0-6 in a cross-sectoral and integrated manner. At the same time, the initiative is testing a capacity building program targeting ECEC professionals, so that the services they provide are considering quality standards at national and international level.

The new ECEC intervention covers 4 years (2019-2022) and is implemented jointly with CEDP Step by Step, International Step by Step Alliance, Bacau County Council, Bacau County School Inspectorate and Bacau County Center for Educational Resources and Assistance in 11 urban and rural communities from Bacau County under the framework of “Romania Grows with You” model.

As the model is focused on creating the right premises for sustainability, the intervention requires careful planning and overview of overall activities carried out at county and local level in Bacau County. The 11 communities selected for testing this model are the following: Bacău, Blăgești, Comănești, Buhuși, Moinești, Poduri, Tg. Ocna, Berești-Tazlău, Dărmănești, Dofteana, Onesti.

As UNICEF education team (in charge of implementing the model) is based in Bucharest, necessary support is needed to ensure the proper planning, coordination and monitoring of the model, while respecting quality standards and paying proper attention to continuous normative development that may influence model’s implementation.

In line with the current framework of the “Romania Grows with You” model, the implementation at local and county level will be carried out with the support of 3 facilitators and 1 coordinator.

Consultancy – (one of the 3 facilitators positions)

UNICEF Romania is currently looking for a contractor to ensure overall coordination of all activities to be carried out in the following communities: Bacău, Blăgești, Comănești under the framework of “Romania Grows with You” model in Bacau county.

The consultant will have the following responsibilities (up to 40 hours per mont):

1. Ensure overall coordination of local teams working for the implementation of the “Romania Grows with You” model in the communities allocated (Bacău, Blăgești, Comănești);
2. Support for transposing the findings from the situation analysis performed in each community into the local development strategies and action plans focused on ECEC, so that all the programmatic and strategic documents developed under the umbrella of the “Romania Grows with You” project are complementing educational strategies developed at county level and are integrated into future programmatic initiatives endorsed by county stakeholders;
3. Provide technical support and methodological guidance on ECEC for all school units covered by the model;
4. Organize meetings (online/field visits) with county coordinators every 2 months in order to discuss progress and monitor results, based on a grid of indicators previously discussed;
5. Ensure a proper communication flow between all partners at local/county level and UNICEF team;
6. Participate in training, workshops and events organized under the umbrella of the “Romania Grows with You” project;
7. Ensure follow up of the capacity building program involving school units covered by the model;
8. Dissemination of information related to the ECEC intervention at local, county level and national level;
9. Support for identifying and involving new partners and supporters (local level) in order to continue to develop the best ways to keep the community engaged in supporting ECEC.

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

University studies in the field of educational sciences or social sciences;

Minimum 10 years of professional experience are required;

Solid experience in the field of early education and care policies development and implementation at county level;

Proven experience in the field of capacity building programs in education;

Solid understanding of educational processes and working experience with tools and methodologies currently used in early education at the level of Bacau County;

Proven ability to work harmoniously with different external institutions and to incorporate different viewpoints;

Similar completed assignments are an advantage.

Fluent Romanian required; knowledge of English is an advantage.

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.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

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.

General conditions

Working conditions. The consultant will work outside UNICEF premises, except for meetings convened by the direct supervisor.

Reporting

Within UNICEF, the contractor will report to the Education Officer. The contractor will also collaborate with the relevant public authorities and civil society. UNICEF will facilitate all the initial contacts with county and local authorities.

Payment calendar

This contract includes no other benefits. Travel costs to project sites and attending project meetings (situations when consultant is authorized to have access to UNICEF transport) will be covered by UNICEF outside this contract. Payments will be made upon approval of UNICEF supervisor and submission of invoice.

Note: consultant will sign health statement prior to taking the assignment and the designation form will be completed. The Consultant will be responsible for paying income taxes and any other due taxes as per applicable national legislation.

The consultant will sign a health statement prior to taking the assignment and the designation form will be completed. UNICEF Terms and Conditions (attached) will apply.

Application procedure:

The application will be made in the dedicated UNICEF platform and it must include:

1. an updated CV focused on the skills and experience requested by the current consultancy;
2. a cover letter underlining the motivation for applying for the position and how the candidate’s experience, skills and experience match the requirements of the position;
3. a financial offer Financial template_consultant_Bacau.docx, specifying the requested GROSS monthly fee in RON.

Selection procedure:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Applications which do not include the financial offer will not be considered.

The contract will be awarded based on the best combination of expertise and fee.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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.