Early Childhood Development (ECD) Specialist, P4 FT - Geneva, Switzerland PN

Contract

This is a P-4 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 7 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 168,113 USD and 216,746 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

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, Early Development

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

The ECD Specialist supports the Regional Office (RO) on key aspects of the regional ECD portfolio, with a strong focus on integrating ECD into health systems and leading the scale up of key digital ECD innovations across the region. This position is under the supervision of the Early Childhood Development Advisor and will also routinely liaise with the Health Regional Advisor responsible for the overall Thrive portfolio, the Child Protection, Education, Social Policy and C4D Advisors on cross sectoral coordination issues, as well as work closely with the T4D Specialist on all digital innovations. The Specialist will also network with key partners and subject matter experts externally (e.g., European Union, child rights organizations, universities).

How can you make a difference?

The ECD Specialist reports to the Chief of ECD Section for general guidance and direction. In close collaboration with relevant sectors, the Specialist is responsible for coordinating the design, development, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of ECD programmes within the Regional Programme. The position is particularly focused on contributing towards results under the Thrive Regional Outcome area, but is also expected to provide critical guidance and support to ECD initiatives that cut across outcomes and sectors.

The Specialist is also responsible for the provision of timely and effective advocacy and technical support to Country Office counterparts for the design, implementation and monitoring of ECD policies, promoting the rights of the younger children as established under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, international treaties/framework and UN intergovernmental bodies.

The Specialist contributes to the achievement of concrete and sustainable programme/project results on ECD related programmes/projects according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM) and UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Technical leadership in ECD programming
2. Strategic management, monitoring and delivery of results on ECD programmes
3. Advisory services, quality oversight and technical support
4. Advocacy, networking and partnership building

5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

   Impact of Results:

The strategic and effective advocacy, planning and formulation of holistic ECD programmes/projects and the achievement of concrete and sustainable results from ECD programmes contributes to the achievement of UNICEF goals for care and protection of children from the early stages of their life and promotes/protects their rights to survival, development and well being in society. Achievements in programmes and projects in turn contributes to maintaining/enhancing the credibility and ability of UNICEF to provide programme services for mothers/caregivers and children that promotes greater social equality in the country.

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

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: education, public administration, public health/medicine, nutrition, economics, psychology, sociology, human development, child development, family studies or another relevant technical field.
• A minimum of eight years of professional experience in human or social development programme planning and implementation in early childhood development related areas is required.
• Experience should include ECD policy development across key sectors, with particular focus in the health system, monitoring and evaluation in early childhood development and/or related areas, and ECD programming experience at the national and/or regional levels in middle income and lower middle-income countries.
• Prior experience with digital innovations in support of parents, children or front-line professionals is required
• Proven experience with successful national, regional or global partnerships and networking for ECD is required
• Successful experiences at the mid-career level or higher with project management, monitoring and reporting is required Knowledge of EU social policies, and funding mechanisms, particularly in relation to childcare, early childhood development, healthcare and social protection is an asset.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another language relevant to ECAR (Russian, or another Western Balkans language) is an asset.

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.

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are...

Core Competencies (For Staff with Supervisory Responsibilities) *

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (1)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

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.

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.