Home-based: Early Childhood Development (ECD) expert to support development of a Regional Parenting Support Framework (PSF) for ECD (41 working days with travel as needed) - ECARO

Consultant Programme & Policy

Overview

Support development of a Regional Parenting Support Framework for Early Childhood Development.

You have:

• Advanced university degree in child development, education, psychology, sociology or other field relevant for early childhood development and/or parenting is required.
• A minimum of five years of professional experience in one or more areas related to child development, parenting or related area is required.
• Excellent research and writing skills are necessary.
• Experience working on similar strategic or conceptual frameworks focusing on parenting is desired.
• Fluency in English is required.

Contract

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For every child, an advocate

Purpose of Activity/Assignment

UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia is looking for an Early Childhood Development expert to support development of a Regional Parenting Support Framework for Early Childhood Development to guide holistic and effective parenting support strategies and policies across countries in Europe and Central Asia, and beyond.

Background

Before the events of 2020, more than 5 million children in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) were at risk of not achieving their full developmental potential. There are wide disparities between and within countries in childhood outcomes, as well as in access to care and support. Even many of the wealthiest EU countries do not manage to ensure consistently high child well-being outcomes despite their good economic and social conditions.

Parenting and home environment are key determinants of child’s development and well-being. Parenting is the process of supporting the physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development of a child from infancy to adulthood. It refers to providing nurturing care in a stable environment that is sensitive to children’s needs, protects them from threats, provides opportunities for learning, with interactions that are responsive and playful, emotionally supportive, and developmentally stimulating (nurturing care).

Parenting support can be an effective way to aid parents in providing nurturing care. It refers to a set of services and other activities that strengthen how parents approach and execute their role as parents and increase their child-rearing resources (i.e., parental knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, feelings, and their own well-being). It is directed at parents and designed to improve the overall quality of nurturing care that a child receives, to enhance family well-being and reduce the prevalence of problems later in a child’s life. In the past 10 years alone, more than 100 randomized trials have shown that parent support is associated improved child outcomes, including health, nutrition, early childhood development, learning and academic performance, later productivity and wages etc. At the community level, the provision of parenting supports can enhance the well-being of communities and promote greater social cohesion, while at the societal level, it can ensure a more effective use of resources, can serve to reduce inequalities, decrease the cycle of violence and can develop and promote human and social capital.

Throughout the ECA Region, parenting is influenced by many factors, ranging from the individual experience of parenting in childhood, social and cultural factors, availability of support networks, and stressors in family life including financial insecurity, social exclusion as well as the need to balance work and child rearing responsibilities. With the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, many parents in the Region face far greater challenges in providing nurturing care to their children. Rapid political, economic and social transformations and increased family vulnerability in the ECA Region make support for parents more vital than ever.

The importance of parenting for positive child outcomes has been acknowledged for some time by policy makers. From the 1990s onwards, a growing number of initiatives in the area of parenting support started across the ECA Region. The strong evidence in favour of parenting support has prompted governments and international bodies to encourage their rollout worldwide, including the UNICEF, World Health Organization, the European Commission, Council of Europe etc. There is a comprehensive legal framework for rights-based parenting support in the form of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (General comment 13). Recent Council of Europe and the European Commission’s recommendations further highlight the importance of parenting support. National, regional and local initiatives led to a development of national legislation, strategies, policies, programmes and practices. Today, parenting support services in the Region vary considerably in scope, organisation, models of delivery and funding, as well as delivery platforms. For example, some countries have centralised services organised at the national level, whereas in others services are highly fragmented and locally organized. Evidence also suggests that there is shortage of parenting support programmes in middle-income countries of the Region, and few serve the parents of adolescents. The European Platform for Investing in Children (EPIC) lists evidence-based parenting services implemented in EU member states and provides information on their key characteristics as well as appraisals of the evidence in support of their effectiveness.

Although there is a considerable variation in how parenting support is understood, practiced and experienced within the Region, certain similarities remain. Firstly, there is a trend to organize parenting support in universally accessible services (e.g., counselling, provision of support and information, training programmes) supplemented with targeted services for at-risk populations and intensive multi-dimensional support for the most vulnerable families (Figure 1). This approach facilitates integration of parenting support in systems that deliver routine health, nutrition, education, child protection, social welfare and other services, and is complemented by targeted and intensive interventions for parents in need of extra support. Secondly, there is a trend towards more integrated approach that facilitates collaborative working between practitioners from different sectors such as health, education and social services.

While parenting support has gained prominence in the ECA Region, many challenges remain, including gaps in national parenting support programmes and strategies, the lack of evidence, research and evaluation, the lack of long-term support for services and programmes, and various definitions of parenting support and debates about its scope and remit. Development of a comprehensive Parenting Support Framework (PSF) and an associated self-assessment tool to assist countries, with a focus on the early year, will significantly improve the systematic expansion, quality and effectiveness of parenting support in countries across Europe and Central Asia.

Definitions

‘Parents’ are used to refer to the main caregiver of the child; they are not limited to biological or legal parents, or, indeed, even to parents. This breadth is especially important given that significant numbers of children are reared by people other than their parents. The term ‘parent’ or ‘parenting’ thus extends to any guardian or caregiver providing consistent care to the child. Those caregivers include fathers, mothers, siblings, grandparents, other relatives and young adolescents who are also parents and childcare providers who play a significant role in caring for infants and young children.

‘Parenting’ can be defined as the interactions, behaviours, emotions, knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and practices associated with the provision of nurturing care. Parenting is a process of raising and nurturing a child, including promoting and supporting the development and well-being of the child.

‘Parenting behaviours’ refer to the behaviours and actions that parents take in order to raise and care for their young children. These can include the way parents show love and affection, communication, the way parents nurture child’s learning and curiosity, discipline strategies, support seeking strategies for health or other issues and more.

‘Parenting programmes’ are operationally defined as interventions or services aimed at supporting parenting interactions, behaviours, knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and practices. Parenting programs may include classes, workshops, or other educational activities that teach parents specific skills and strategies for supporting their children's development.

‘Parenting support’ refers to a broader set of services, programs and other activities/resources available to parents to help them in their role as caregivers and to increase parents’ child-rearing resources and competencies (including information and advice on child development, access to professional services such as home visiting and counseling, support groups in the community of as a part of services, social and emotional support). The goal of parenting support is to help parents be more effective in their role and to promote the wellbeing of both parents and children.

Scope of Work

In collaboration with the SBC expert, consultant will work to develop a regional Parenting Support Framework, including a draft self-assessment tool as a practical resource for countries. The primary objective of the Parenting Support Framework (PSF) is to provide a systematic perspective of the programmatic elements and principles that can guide policy makers, civil society partners and agencies in their efforts to develop effective national and sub-national parenting support strategies for early years. The framework will seek to connect key aspects of national parenting support:

1. Programmatic frame outlining key platforms and services across different sectors that can deliver parenting programs and support in a complementary manner based on different intensity of support that depends on families’ need (Figure 1), and highlighting the recommended parenting programmes/activities best suited for each of the platforms and services
2. Policy and coordination frame that connects programs / services to national policies and coordination mechanisms between sectors and government stakeholders (supported by SBC expert)
3. Self-assessment tool (draft) to assist countries in assessing on-going parenting support programmes and initiatives and to chart priorities for further action across sectors (e.g., guiding questions to drive country-level reflections) and proposed approaches on how parenting support can be quantified at the country level based on the PSF (supported by SBC expert)

The ECD consultant (Team Lead) is expected to carry out the following specific tasks:

a. Lead the development of the Parenting Support Framework (PSF) and self-assessment tool in collaboration with and with inputs from the SBC consultant, coordinate and integrate the programming ECD with the SBC inputs, and develop a comprehensive and cohesive regional framework focused on the early years.

b. In consultation with the UNICEF Regional office, review existing literature on relevant national (Europe and Central Asia), regional and global frameworks/strategies (e.g., UNICEF parenting strategy, parenting guidance note for violence prevention, technical field note, WHO Global parenting framework, GISP initiative etc.). Map available approaches, models, programmes and coordination strategies for parenting support of children aged 0 – 8 years across the pyramid of parenting support, including considerations or the most marginalized groups, such as caregivers of children with disabilities.

c. Develop an outline of the PSF and self-assessment tool together with the proposed approaches for quantifying parenting support against the PSF coordinating with the SBC consultant and with inputs from UNICEF. The outline should cover the scope and contents of the PFC and should be finalized in consultation with the UNICEF Regional Office.

d. Develop the PSF draft and draft of the self-assessment tool (including proposed approaches for quantification) and send for review (two rounds if needed) to UNICEF Regional Office.

e. Finalize the PSF and self-assessment tool based on received feedback and validate with a technical group of experts and UNICEF colleagues as well as in consultation with selected countries (potential travel for in-person consultations/workshops to at least two pilot countries).

f. Facilitate consultation meetings with UNICEF regional and country offices, to validated draft deliverables and proposed approaches.

g. Present the PSF and self-assessment tool in a webinar or other agreed event.

h. Develop a note on value proposition for investing in parenting, to support fundraising and implementation of the regional framework (in consultation with the SBC expert).

Work Assignment Overview

Tasks / Milestone******Deliverables / Outputs******Timeline / DeadlineDesk review on parenting support (policies, strategies, approaches and programmes) in the early years, focusing on the parenting pyramid of support and key entry points for parenting programmes in Europe and Central AsiaReport with key findings and mapping of the parenting programmes in the region10 working days;

By July 2023

Development of the outline for the Framework on Parenting for ECD (scope and contents) and self-assessment tool (including approaches to quantify parenting support against the PFC), in close collaboration with the SBC consultantOutline presented to UNICEF ECARO and finalized based on feedback6 working days;

Between July and August 2023

Draft Framework on Parenting for ECD & self-assessment tool (with quantification approaches to PFC), with coordinated SBC inputs, sent for review and consultations (2 rounds)First draft ready for review by UNICEF ECARO11 working days;

Between August and September 2023

Final framework drafted and sent for a review to countriesFinal version available for review by COs and ECARO;

Limited number of interviews with selected countries to validate the framework

10 working days;

Between September and October 2023

Presentation of the frameworkWebinar presentation or similar1 working day;

By October 2023

Development of a value proposition document, defining the key areas for investment to support implementation of the regional frameworkValue proposition note3 working days;

By October 2023

Estimated Duration of the Contract

41 working days (between July and December 2023)

Consultant's Work Place and Official Travel

The assignment will be home-based.

Estimated Cost of the Consultancy & Payment Schedule

Payment will be made on submission of an invoice and satisfactory completion of the above-mentioned deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs are incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines. All materials developed will remain the copyright of UNICEF and UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future.

Please indicate a financial offer in your application, with an all-inclusive professional fee in USD to undertake this TOR based on 41 working days. Please do not include travel fees as this will be reimbursed as and when they take place.

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

• Advanced university degree in child development, education, psychology, sociology or other field relevant for early childhood development and/or parenting is required.
• A minimum of five years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: child development, parenting or another related area.
• Excellent research and writing skills.
• Experience working on similar strategic or conceptual frameworks focusing on parenting is desired.
• Fluency in English is required.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS), and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most marginalized children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family 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:

Please include a full CV and Financial Proposal in your application. Additionally, indicate your availability and professional fee (in USD) to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without a professional fee will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

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.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants 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.

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Potential interview questions

Added 3 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org