National Consultant - Early Childhood Education in Tbilisi, Georgia

Consultant Teaching & Training Programme & Policy

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

BACKGROUND

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. UNICEF established its office in Georgia in 1993 and has been working since then to support Georgia in accelerating the uuniversal realization of child rights by fostering greater social inclusion of the most deprived children and by reducing disparities and inequities affecting children and their families.

UNICEF is supporting the Government of Georgia and municipalities in improving equitable access to quality preschool education for all young children in Georgia. The Government of Georgia, with support from UNICEF, is implementing the Law on Early and Preschool Education and Care (EPEC), which was adopted in 2016, as well as National Preschool Education Standards. UNICEF has been supporting the Government and municipalities to improve the quality and accessibility of preschool education including through support for pilot programmes for continuous professional development systems for preschool staff and through improved pre-service training programmes for future preschool educators. Support also includes assisting municipalities, relevant ministries and state universities to improve information management systems for inclusive preschool education, strengthening of policies and standards, and diversification of service delivery especially during and after COVID-19.

To provide technical support for the implementation of the UNICEF education programme and respective activities in early childhood education, UNICEF is seeking a qualified and experienced national expert for a full-time consultancy of 6 months, with a possibility of extension.

OVERALL GOAL OF CONSULTANCY

Overall, the goal of this consultancy is to support implementation and monitoring of the UNICEF Georgia education programme and respective activities in early childhood education (ECE). Key functions and responsibilities are:

Support to programme development and planning

Contribute to programme management, monitoring and delivery of results

Technical and operational support to programme implementation

Networking and partnership building

Emergency programming

SPECIFIC TASKS

Specific tasks under the consultancy are:

Support to programme development and planning

Support preparation of technical reports and provide inputs for programme preparation and documentation ensuring accuracy, timeliness and relevancy of information.

Contribute to the development/establishment of sectoral programme goals, objectives, strategies, and results-based planning through research, collection, analysis and reporting of ECE and other related information for development planning and priority and goal setting.

Provide technical and administrative support throughout all stages of programming processes by preparing materials and documentations, and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support programme planning and monitoring and evaluation of results.

Contribute to programme management, monitoring and delivery of results.

Work closely and collaboratively with internal colleagues and partners to collect, analyze and share information on implementation issues.

Suggest solutions on routine programme implementation and submit reports to alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and/or decisions. Keep record of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.

Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual sectoral reviews with Government and other counterparts and prepare minutes/reports on results for follow up action by higher management and other stakeholders.

Monitor and report on the use of sectoral programme resources (financial, administrative and other assets), verify compliance with approved allocation, organizational rules, regulations/procedures and donor commitments, standards of accountability and integrity. Report on issues identified to ensure timely resolution by management/stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.

Prepare draft inputs for programme/donor reporting.

Technical and operational support to programme implementation

Undertake field visits and surveys and share information with stakeholders to assess progress and refer to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks and potential problems for timely action to achieve results.

Provide technical and operational support to Government counterparts on ECE.

Networking and partnership building

Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with Government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate programme implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve and sustain results on ECE.

Draft communication and information materials for programme advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnerships and alliances, and support fund raising for ECE.

Research information on potential donors and prepare resource mobilization materials and briefs for fund raising and partnership development purposes.

Emergency programming

Support emergency responses that enable continuity of ECE or alternative early child development (ECD) platforms

Provide updates on programming as required for situation reports or other reports

Support the development of communication materials for ECE/ECD and/or positive parenting

Support data collection related to ECE/ECD

DURATION AND MODE OF CONSULTANCY

The consultancy service is required for the duration of six (6) months - from 1 October 2020 until 31 March 2021, with a possibility of extension. The service is mainly based in Tbilisi but may involve occasional travel to other regions in Georgia. The consultant has entitlement for annual leave of 1.5 days per month (accrued by the end of each month). However, the consultant has no entitlement for sick leave, maternity, adoption or paternity leave or any other kinds of special leave. UNICEF also does not provide or arrange any health insurance coverage for consultants. A Health Statement must be submitted to UNICEF prior to signing the contract.

SUPERVISION

The consultant will work under the supervision of UNICEF's Education Officer (Education Section Head).

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES

Qualifications and experience required are:

Advanced degree in Education;

A minimum of one year of professional experience in programme planning, management, and/or research in education is required;

A minimum of three years of professional experience in early childhood education policy/programmes;

Advanced knowledge of EPEC law, National Preschool Education Standards;

Fluency in written and spoken Georgian and English;

Excellent presentation and reporting skills.

Competencies required are:

Core Values

Care

Respect

Integrity

Trust

Accountability

Core Competencies

Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)

Works Collaboratively with others (1)

Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)

Innovates and Embraces Change (1)

Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)

Drive to achieve impactful results (1)

Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

Functional Competencies

Analyzing (2)

Applying technical expertise (2)

Learning and researching (2)

Planning and organizing (2)

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The consultant's performance will be evaluated against the following criteria: timeliness, responsibility, initiative and quality of the products delivered. Specific tasks will vary depending on ongoing programme activities. Consultant will need to develop monthly reports on completed tasks and deliverables.

PAYMENT TERMS

The monthly consultancy fee will be negotiated between UNICEF and the consultant on the basis of an initial offer from the consultant. The consultancy fee will be paid to the consultant on a monthly basis upon submission and approval of relevant reports and quality deliverables.

TERMINATION OF CONTRACT

The contract may be terminated by either party before its expiry date by giving 14 days' notice in writing to the other party. However, in the event of termination on the ground of misconduct, UNICEF will be entitled to terminate the contract immediately, without earlier notice. In case of early termination of the contract, the Contractor will be compensated on a pro-rata basis for no more than the actual amount of work completed to the satisfaction of UNICEF.

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.

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.

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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.

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Added 3 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: unicef.org