Consultant on Social and Educational Issues (Early Childhood)

Result of Service The Consultant on Social and Educational Issues (Early Childhood) will produce an analysis of early childhood development in the State of Alagoas - Brazil, based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the New Urban Agenda (NUA), the Public Policy Observatory of Alagoas and other good practices in Brazil and Worldwide. The deliveries will contribute to support the Observatory as a tool to monitor and evaluate its public policies, and this topic was chosen to initiate a series of different technical reports. The purpose of this research is to diagnose early childhood situation and their caregivers to help improve and expand the ongoing programme in the Alagoas (CRIA). It also aims to analyse the applicability of the observatory’s data.

The Consultant will work in close collaboration with the operational and technical teams of UN-Habitat offices in Alagoas and Rio de Janeiro.

Work Location Home based

Expected duration The consultancy has an expected duration of two (2) months.

Duties and Responsibilities Background

The main mandate of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is to promote sustainable development of human settlements and policies conducive to adequate housing for all. Within this framework, UN-Habitat supports central and state governments, as well as local authorities and other partners for the implementation of the Habitat Agenda, the 2030 Agenda with the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda.

UN-Habitat helps the urban poor by transforming cities into safer, more inclusive, compact, integrated, resilient and connected places with better opportunities where everyone can live with dignity. It works with organizations at every level, including all spheres of government, civil society and the private sector to help build, manage, plan and finance sustainable urban development.

The Regional Office for Latin American and the Caribbean – ROLAC – is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Agency puts emphasis in developing and managing activities in the host country. Indeed, for the past years, UN-Habitat has expanded its portfolio in Brazil by working with the three tiers of government in order to support the formulation and implementation of more effective, sustainable, participative and socially fairer urban economic, social and environmental policies.

Through a partnership with the Government of the State of Alagoas to improve institutional and technical capacities of State and municipal stakeholders on sustainable territorial and urban development, UN-Habitat is now setting up the second phase of the project named “Sustainable and inclusive urban prosperity in the State of Alagoas”. This second phase shall lead to enhance State of Alagoas engagement toward sustainable and inclusive urban prosperity, through a better understanding of the urban setting, and the establishment or improvement of its public policies, plans, and actions.

In order to properly implement this project, a Consultant on Social and Educational Issues (Early Childhood) is required to ensure a good execution of the work programme.

Report to UN-Habitat Manager

The Consultant on Social and Educational Issues (Early Childhood) will report to the National Officer for Brazil and to the Project Coordinator, who will evaluate him/her.

Outputs/Work Assignment

The Consultant will deliver the following products:

Product 1: Work plan and Sampling design report Description: Work plan including: (i) main attributes, objectives, and concepts of the analysis and the report; (ii) schedule/work plan; (iii) preliminary list with best practices about early childhood development in Brazil and worldwide. Expected delivery date: 15 days after contract signature.

Product 2: Analyses Report of Early Childhood Development and its Caregivers in the State of Alagoas Description: The deliveries are (i) a Report on Early Childhood Development and its Caregivers in the State of Alagoas; (ii) a report with the data used; (iii) an Executive Summary to synthesize the report. Expected delivery date: 60 days after contract signature.

The definition of the Work Plan for the implementation of this Consultancy may include other activities beyond those indicated in this Term of Reference.

The Consultant on Social and Educational Issues (Early Childhood) shall assist in the implementation of the above-mentioned project according to the responsibilities indicated in the Responsibilities.

Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the National Officer for Brazil and the Project Coordinator, the Consultant on Social and Educational Issues (Early Childhood) will:

The Consultant will be expected to carry out the following tasks: I. Deliver a work plan for the consultancy process. II. Learn about the Public Policy Observatory of Alagoas. III. Participate in meetings with the UN-Habitat and other partners. IV. Discuss with technical team members of the project the guidelines and expected results of the sampling designs. V. Develop a report analysis for early childhood development and its caregivers in the State of Alagoas, including the concepts, references, and adopted methodologies. VI. Propose recommendations to change the scenario and align with the 2030 Agenda and NUA. VII. Deliver detailed documentation used to produce the report organized. VIII. Create content for theoretical and practical presentation materials about the insights produced.

The consultant will be responsible for completing all courses and training activities that are indicated to him/her by his/her supervisor. The security course BSAFE is required to be accredited during the first month of employment.

The Consultant will be responsible for his/her own security, so the person should get familiarized with United Nations security mechanisms and comply with them according to the Framework of Accountability for the United Nations Security Management System.

Qualifications/special skills Qualifications

Academic Qualifications:

Required ¿ Graduation in one of the following fields is required: education, public administration, public health, nutrition, economics, psychology, sociology, human development, child development, social work, social sciences, family studies or another relevant technical field, or additional 3 (three) years of relevant experience to the post beyond the requirement.

Desirable ¿ Academic experience in research or publications related to this position.

Experience:

¿ A minimum of six years of professional experience in social development planning and management in early childhood development related areas is required. ¿ Previous experience within the UN System will be an asset.

Skills:

¿ Good handling of technological tools, such as Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office, is required. ¿ Professional or academic experience with data analysis and georeferencing is required. ¿ Previous experience in research aligned with the 2030 Agenda and NUA will be an asset.

Knowledge Management

¿ The person must know the processes, procedures, and norms of UN-Habitat, in order to guarantee an adequate quality of the activities described above, following the standards of the organization. ¿ The person will propose formats and procedures that allow the efficient implementation of the activities related to the project development. ¿ The person must know the files of the Office, work with it and ensure its proper maintenance, accessibility for all staff and due updating. ¿ The person will prepare databases related to the project. ¿ The person will make sure that all relevant technical information will be adequately shared with the correspondent staff. ¿ The person will ensure that all produced material will be fit-for-purpose and delivered, in an organized way, for posterior consultation and use of the Agency. ¿ The person will share the information produced exclusively with UN-Habitat, assuring the privacy of the content.

Competencies

¿ Professionalism: Experience working in inter-institutional environment, project management, monitoring-evaluation; approaches and strategies regarding good urban governance and local and regional development. ¿ Planning and organization: Professional approach to work, strong sense of responsibility, operate with minimal supervision; proven organizational skills and ability to manage a workload efficiently and within set deadlines. ¿ Communication: Ability to write clearly and effectively; listen to others, interpret messages correctly and respond appropriately; show openness in information sharing and keep everyone informed; solid abstract reasoning skills together with a proven capacity to write documents for diverse audiences. ¿ Teamwork: Ability to work with teams, demonstrate leadership, conflict management and consensus facilitation skills; ability to work in a multicultural and multi-ethnic environment, and to respect diversity; sensitivity to the mainstreaming of vulnerability; willingness and ability to work in difficult environments.

Languages ¿ Fluency in Portuguese is required; ¿ English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat, and Spanish is the working language of the Regional Office. Good command in oral and written Spanish and English will be considered an asset.

Additional Information Remuneration

SB-3/5 (UNDP Brazil Salary Scale) The consultant will receive a total amount of BRL 15.010,84 according to the following schedule: ¿ Payment 1 (50%): Upon delivery and approval of Product 1 (BRL 7.505,42); ¿ Payment 2 (50%): Upon delivery and approval of Product 2 (BRL 7.505,42).

Travel details

The consultant must be available to travel to the places related to the activities in the country, if requested by the National Officer for Brazil and/or the International Officer. Travels will be coordinated and financed by UN-Habitat, according to the United Nations travel rules and guidelines.

Notes

Appointment against this post is on local basis and only nationals from Brazil or external candidates who hold a permanent visa in Brazil may apply.

It is required for all the curricular information to be inserted in the system, which may take a few hours. Only complete applications in English will be considered.

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. Due to the volume of applications received, receipt of applications cannot be acknowledged individually. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted.

Applications should be submitted through INSPIRA and must include all documents required at the system, please be ready to include the following information at the “Personal History Form” (PHP) at Inspira:

1. Cover memo (maximum 1 page) 2. Educational Background (incl. dates) 3. Professional Experience (assignments, tasks, achievements, duration by years/ months) 4. Expertise and preferences regarding location of potential assignments 5. Other Experience and Expertise (e.g. Internships/ voluntary work, etc.)* * Please note that Internships, self-employment and part-time count as 50%. In addition to it, note experience not relevant to the position will not be considered.

All applications should be submitted to: Inspira Deadline for applications: UN-HABITAT does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process. If you have any questions concerning persons or companies claiming to be recruiting on behalf of these offices and requesting the payment of a fee, please contact: [email protected]

No Fee THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.