Education Officer (ECED)

Contract

This is a UNV International Youth contract. This kind of contract is known as International UN Volunteer. It is normally internationally recruited only. More about UNV International Youth contracts.

UNICEF began operations in Nepal from its New Delhi office in 1964 and established the Nepal Country Office (NCO) in 1972. Over five decades of partnership, UNICEF in Nepal has contributed towards many strides the country has taken. The focus of programmes has continuously changed over the years to meet the changing needs of children, adolescents and women in Nepal. UNICEF has been a key partner for Government of Nepal in meeting its commitments towards women and children against global agendas and goals. The NCO supports the country in the areas of education, health, water and sanitation, nutrition, child protection and social policy. Besides this, the NCO also provides cross sectoral expertise on early childhood development, communications for development and planning, monitoring and evaluation. The NCO education section works closely with the Nepal Ministry of Education, Science and technology and its line agencies, as well with International/ Non-Governmental Organizations (I/NGOs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).

NCO is closely working with Education Review Office (ERO), Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MOEST) to develop national assessment of children based on Early Learning Development Standards (ELDS) (48-60 month).

For this placement, the volunteer will be stationed in ERO in Kathmandu, with the expectation that s/he will support the ELDS based assessment to be more rigorous and results to be informative for planning and implementation of programme and policies. S/he will be also responsible to closely work with ECD sections in Ministry and Center for Education and Human Resource Development (CEHRD) for better implementation of ELDS. Furthermore, the volunteer is expected to support the data management of Early Childhood Education and Development sector.

Under the direct supervision of the education section ECED (Early Childhood Education and Development) output manager, International UN Youth Volunteer will:

• Support the ERO to analyze and improve the ELDS assessment tool, especially for its psychometric properties, to validly and reliably capture children's holistic development and its different domains. • Assist the ERO in tasks related to the selection, training, evaluation, and monitoring of enumerators for high quality data collection work. • Support the ERO for developing and implementing transparent data management system: e.g. documentation of processes for data collection (sample size calculation, sampling methods), data cleaning, and data analysis. • Support the ERO to generate empirical evidence, using the ELDS assessment data, to inform policy makers for effective and sustainable ECED policies and program quality improvement. • Coordinate with other experts for technical assistances for assessment analyses and large scale research work when necessary. • In coordination with CEHRD, support ERO to develop professional development activities for school leaders (i.e. school principals and administrators) to develop their capacity to support ECE facilitators and school teachers so that children can be instructed in developmentally appropriate learning environment. • Assist parent engagement activities with a special attention to align the understanding of developmentally appropriate practice between ECD workforce and parents so that any ECD interventions will be more comprehensive and sustainable. • Manage ECED related data from EMIS and other relevant sources for broader analysis • Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities:

• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day); • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Provide annual and end of assignment self- reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities. • Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

Professionalism: demonstrated understanding of operations relevant to UNICEF; technical capabilities or knowledge relevant or transferrable to UNICEF procedures and rules; discretion, political sensitivity, diplomacy and tact to deal with clients; ability to apply good judgement; ability to liaise and coordinate with a range of different actors, especially in senior positions; where appropriate, high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; resourcefulness and willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented.

Integrity: demonstrate the values and ethical standards of the UN and UNICEF in daily activities and behaviours while acting without consideration of personal gains; resist undue political pressure in decision-making; stand by decisions that are in the organization’s interest even if they are unpopular; take prompt action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behaviour; does not abuse power or authority.

Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; excellent interpersonal skills; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, mixed-gender environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity; sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age; commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of UN operations; ability to achieve common goals and provide guidance or training to colleagues.

Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment.

Planning and organizing: effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities.

Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups.

Flexibility: adaptability and ability to live and work in potentially hazardous and remote conditions, involving physical hardship and little comfort; to operate independently in austere environments for protracted periods; willingness to travel within the area of operations and to transfer to other duty stations within the area of operations as necessary.

Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance; and commitment towards UNICEF’s mission and vision, as well as to the UN Core Values.

Early Childhood Education and Development; Have skills and experience to analyze developmental and/or leaning assessments, at least at basic level of psychometrics (eg. Item analysis, reliability analysis); Have skills and experience to conduct large scale quantitative research (survey development, sampling design, and data analysis; Motivated to contribute towards peace and development and to serve others; Good interpersonal, networking and communication skills; Willingness to contribute and work as part of a team; Flexible and open to learning and new experiences; Respect for diversity and adaptability to other cultures, environments and living conditions; Previous experience as a volunteer and/or experience of another culture, (i.e. studies, volunteer work, internship) would be highly regarded; Computer skills (i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, social media, and others). Working knowledge of data analysis applications like SPSS, Stata, R will be considered as asset.

Nepal is a country with population of 29.1 in 2021 and with annual growth rate 0.93 per cent. It is in the middle of “demographic window of opportunity” with 40 per cent under the age of 18 years. GDP per capita is US$ 853 as of 2017 which categorize the country as a Least Developed Country. It is planning to graduate to a Middle-Income Country by 2030. In terms of poverty reduction, the country reduced the percentage of population below poverty line from 42 per cent in 1995 to 21.6 per cent in 2015.

A key feature of Nepal is its diversity. There are over 126 ethnic groups and castes and 92 different languages spoken in 3 distinctively different ecological zones, i.e. Terai (plain area bordering India), Hills and Mountains. Another key word is vulnerability. The country has been regularly affected by a wide range of natural disasters including landslides, floods, earthquakes and impact of climate changes. The country is in the middle of transition and from a unitary state to a federal state with substantial devolution of powers to local governments after the promulgation of the constitution in 2015 and multiple rounds of local election in 2017.

Nepal offers many places of natural beauty and people that are welcoming and interested to engage with foreigners. Kathmandu is rapidly catching up with the 21st century and has become a fragrant mix of heritage sites and modern life. Kathmandu is a safe place to live for foreigners, however traffic and seasonal air pollution are recognized hazards. Living conditions should expected to be basic and although commodities like water and electricity have vastly improved over the last years, these are not at all times guaranteed. It is relatively easy to get out of the city into the hills around it through which you can access some of the national parks like Shivapuri. This makes Nepal a unique country and the UNV placement a unique opportunity in terms that the volunteer will be placed within one of the institutions (The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology) that is at the centre of the current ongoing federal transition. Given the state of flux in which daily radical changes in the country’s institutional structure are a reality, flexibility and the ability to keep an eye on the goal at the horizon, while frequently changing direction are prerequisites to make a meaningful contribution to the larger process at hand.