Education Consultant, Prague, Czech Republic

Contract

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Education Consultant, Prague, Czech Republic

Type of contract: full-time, consultant contract Duration: from 18 July 2022 - 13 January 2023 Workplace: hybrid: office-based and home-based

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, a fair chance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=E1xkXZs0cAQ

Background

On 24 February, the Russian Federation announced a military operation in Ukraine that is having a significant impact on the lives of young children and their families. Almost 5 million refugees are recorded in Europe, with 3.2 million registered for temporary protection or similar national protection schemes in the continent (e.g., 366,490 refugees registered in the Czech Republic, 4 111,259 registered in Italy, 114,877 in Bulgaria, 24,452 in Hungary, 14,258 in Croatia, 13,147 in Greece. Over 2 million refugees are children (many separated or unaccompanied). Data show that one out of five refugees in neighbouring countries is a young child under 5 years of age.

UNICEF is working closely with UNHCR and other key humanitarian partners under the interagency Refugee Response Plan (RRP) to respond to the humanitarian needs in most neighbouring countries, expanding its programmatic and advocacy support for refugee children and their families. The immediate support in neighboring countries includes ensuring child-friendly and responsive-learning environments at the border crossings and supporting basic services for mothers and children. Child-friendly spaces provide caregivers and young children with a protective environment that promotes their development and well-being and can link them to other ECD services. These spaces can also provide immediate psychosocial support to caregivers, which is crucial in emergency contexts.

A holistic approach is crucial to mitigate the current and long-term impact of the crisis, and UNICEF aims to support national and local partners to deliver coordinated interventions for children across education, health and social protection sectors, including early childhood education and care, health services, early detection and intervention services for children with disabilities and developmental difficulties, referral systems, support to parents (e.g. Bebbo app, mental health and psychosocial support etc.) and others.

UNICEF is working with national systems and institutions in the Czech Republic to welcome and integrate Ukrainian children, through (1) ensuring supportive school environments in pre-primary, primary and secondary education (including provision of learning supplies; capacity building of teachers around inclusive, safe and intercultural learning environments; capacity building aimed at psychosocial support to students and teachers; acquisition of Czech language; learning support, etc.); (2) improvement of social inclusion and peer relations through organisation of summer camps, buddy programmes, etc; (3) increasing institutional capacities to plan, implement and monitor the integration of Ukrainian learners in education systems (including developing an integration action plan for inclusion of refugee children); and (4) supporting the expansion of preschool capacities and introduction of diversified early learning provisions in affected/selected municipalities.

UNICEF ECARO Education section is seeking an Education consultant with experience in Education systems strengthening to provide advisory, technical support on the education refugee responses in the Czech Republic. The candidate will be based in Czech Republic and will report to the Education/ECD lead and National Coordinator in Czechia as well as to the Regional Education Adviser in ECARO. The consultant will work in close coordination with Education and ECD colleagues of the UNICEF Czech team, as well as with other country colleagues in child protection, health, education and social policy, develop and implement a comprehensive approach to education, as well as develop medium to longer term plan for supporting learners (including young children) through partnerships with national and local authorities, UNHCR and other UN entities, academia, Common Service Center organizations and other stakeholders.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment

Increased capacity needed due to ongoing crisis in the region. The consultant will provide advisory, technical support on the education refugee responses in the Czech Republic. More specifically, the consultant will: 1. Advise the UNICEF team on strengthening national institutions, municipalities and other partners’ capacities to plan, coordinate and monitor equitable education responses for refugee population in formal and non-formal education; 2. Support the UNICEF team to provide technical advice to relevant ministries, agencies and local authorities for inclusive learning approaches for Ukrainian children (from preschool to secondary), including scenarios for the new school year; 3. Support the UNICEF team with aggregated data collection (age, sex, disability etc.) and mapping of specific needs, access barriers and opportunities for integration of refugee learners (including pre-schoolers) into the education system with focus on the most vulnerable sub-groups of refugee children from Ukraine, e.g. children with disabilities, children evacuated from institutions in Ukraine, Roma children and other. 4. Support with formulating advocacy strategies to influence national and local policies for equitable learning for affected population; 5. Support UNICEF with strengthening coordination structures in education response; 6. Support the management and monitoring of UNICEF-supported activities related to education provided by NGO and other partners of UNICEF in the response. 7. Monitor and advise on the trends and emerging evidence of refugee education and ECD concerns and the response by the Government and partners, including conducting monitoring visits to project sites and analysing this information to advise on the education responses across the country; 8. Support the UNICEF team to provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and other partners/donors on the application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes and best practices on education related issues to support implementation and delivery of results. 9. Support education team in organising meetings, training, translating related materials, developing communication materials, etc. (as needed).

Scope of Work:

The refugee response has two main streams of work, consisting of (1) immediate response to refugees who are still on the move or based in temporary accommodation, and (2) the longer-term integration and accommodation of the new population into national systems and services, while using this as an opportunity to also further strengthen service access, quality and equity for the local population as well as for refugee families.

Written assignment overview Education Consultant.docx

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

• University degree in education or social science

• Competencies: - technical knowledge and expertise - working with people - communication - formulating strategies and concepts - relating and networking.

For every Child, you demonstrate… UNICEF’s core values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability (https://www.unicef.org/about/unicef-culture) View our functional competencies framework Functional Competencies.pdf

Remarks: • Completion of the UN/UNICEF mandatory trainings is obligatory upon commencement of the contract. • Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. • 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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. • 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. • All materials developed will remain the copyright of UNICEF and UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future. • The Individual contractor or Consultant will perform his/her duties in line with UNICEF standards and procedures. • 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. • Payment upon completion of each deliverable according to schedule. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant. • The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (if applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. The candidate may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid).