Early Childhood Development (ECD) Consultant, Honiara, Solomon Islands, 6 months

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Application deadline 11 months ago: Sunday 9 Apr 2023 at 12:55 UTC

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Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

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.

In the Pacific we work in Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu: These 14 Pacific island countries are home to 2.3 million people, including 1.2 million children and youth, living on more than 660 islands and atolls stretching across 17.2 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean, an area comparable to the combined size of the United States of America and Canada. Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu are classified as Fragile States according to World Bank/OECD criteria.

All 14 Pacific Island countries and territories have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, but only a third are on track with reporting obligations. Explore the different areas of our work in the link provided here www.unicef.org/pacificislands.

Background of Assignment:

With UNICEF support, Solomon Islands has finalized and endorsed its national and multi-sectoral Early Childhood Development (ECD) Policy and costed action plan, with plans to finalize an M&E framework that would support the government’s timely implementation of the policy. Simultaneously, Guadalcanal Province has recently finalized a provincial action plan, incorporating and supporting ECD activities across its overall plan. The government has established a multi-ministry coordination mechanism, chaired by the Ministry of Education and including relevant social sector ministries and the ministry of finance. Both streams of work at the national and provincial level have been supported by two UNICEF grants – Building Better Brains from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade (MFAT) and ECD in Guadalcanal from UNICEF Australia, both of which end on 30 June 2023. This consultancy helps UNICEF and Solomon Islands government in laying the groundwork for proper implementation of the recently developed policy tools for ECD and facilitating multi-partner dialogues to help shape the next phase of support for ECD in the country.

How can you make a difference?

The objective of the consultancy is to support the strengthening of Solomon government’s institutional capacity to develop and implement multi-sectoral ECD policies, which is the main output focus of ECD in the current Multi-Country Programme (MCP) and is in line with all activities in the Annual Work Plan (AWP) with government. The consultant will provide technical support to Solomon Islands government in implementing the national and multi-sectoral ECD policy, and simultaneously support Guadalcanal province in taking the necessary steps to institutionalize ECD activities into its regular provincial activities. The consultant will be supervised on a day-to-day basis by the Education Specialist of UNICEF Solomon Islands, with additional technical supervision by the ECD Specialist of UNICEF Pacific in Suva.

Please refer to the TOR below to view the activities, deliverables, timelines and payment schedule:

2023.ED.SOLS.ECD Consultant TOR VA.pdf

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

  • Education: A post-graduate qualification (Master's) in education, health, development or a related field.
  • Experience: A minimum of 8 years of relevant experience in policy and service delivery in the early years, with knowledge of Solomon Islands and similar projects considered an advantage.
  • Proven experience engaging a range of stakeholders on social sector issues and fulfilling complex deliverables promptly.
  • Previous experience with UNICEF or the UN an asset
  • Languages: Good written and oral communication skills in English, knowledge of local language an asset

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates should submit an online application through the Talent Management System (TMS) that consists as a minimum of the following:

  • Profile/ CV
  • A financial proposal. The financial proposal should be a lump sum amount for all the deliverables, showing a break down for the following:
    • Fees– based on the deliverables in the Terms of Reference
    • Travel (economy air ticket where applicable to take up assignment if in country support is required, as well as any in country travel)
    • Living allowance for international consultants
    • Miscellaneous- to cover visa, health insurance (including medical evacuation for international consultants), communications, and other costs.

Regret emails will be sent only to shortlisted/contacted candidates. Applicants who have not been contacted within two months of the closing date, may accept that their application was unsuccessful.

Remarks:

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

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.

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.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

Added 1 year ago - Updated 11 months ago - Source: unicef.org