Project Officer (ECE)

Contract

This is a UNV National Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as National UN Volunteer. It is normally only for nationals. More about UNV National Specialist contracts.

UNICEF works in partnership with the Government, other UN agencies, development partners, community-based organizations and civil society partners, to enable children and their families to realize their rights, fulfil their potential. The UNICEF Country Programme is fully aligned with the United Nations Development Assistance Framework, which reflects the global, national and United Nations priorities. More information about the work of UNICEF in Timor-Leste can be found here: https://www.unicef.org/timorleste/what-we-do.

UNICEF’s current Country Programme Document (CPD) extends from 2021 to 2025 and within the CPD, learning is one of the outcomes. Under the learning outcome, supporting Early Childhood Education and School Readiness to improve the quality of Early Leaning is one of the key strategies of education programme.

The National Education Strategic Plan (NESP) 2011-2030 lays out the Government of Timor-Leste’s vision to expand access to preschool education for all 3-5-year-old children by having good quality preschools in each of the 442 sucos (villages) by 2030. The Education Sector Plan (ESP) clearly states the country’s vision for preschool education: ‘At least 80% of children aged 3 to 5 years have opportunities to receive quality preschool education before entering basic education by 2030’.

While significant progress has been made in the preschool education sector, access to preschools is still limited in Timor-Leste. According to Education Management and Information System (EMIS) data for 2021, Timor-Leste’s Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) for preschool, public and private preschool combined, stood at 27 percent of children 3-5 years old. Amid the slow progress of enrolment growth, UNICEF supports community preschools and school readiness programmes by providing quality early learning opportunities for children in remote areas in Timor-Leste.

In 2015, UNICEF introduced community-based preschools (CBPS) in two municipalities, Ermera and Viqueque, and currently, UNICEF supports 90 CBPS in these two municipalities. These CBPS are implemented in partnership with Alola Foundation and the Ministry of Education (MoE). UNICEF is also about to start a new Early Childhood Education project funded by KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) in two municipalities, Baucau and Bobonaro, in 2024 to support public and community preschools in remote areas in the target municipalities.

UNICEF-supported School Readiness program is another alternative approach for supporting early childhood Education. The programme has been running since 2019 and is currently expanded to 71 basic education schools in 7 municipalities. (Dili, Liquica, Ermera, Oecussi, Ainaro, Covalima, Manatuto) The School Readiness programme targets children in grade 1 who did not have the opportunity to attend preschool, supporting a smooth transition to formal schooling and progress through Grade 1. The main activity of the programme is a child-to-child peer mentoring activity, in which grade 5 and 6 children support the learning of grade 1 students by reading and playing together on weekends.

Within this context, UNICEF Timor-Leste is seeking to hire a National UNV Specialist to support the implementation and coordination of preschool and school readiness programmes in the education section in the following areas or work;

I. Support implementation and coordination of preschool programme

• Support preparation of preschool licensing process based on GALA (Gabineta Avaliasaun, Lisensiamentu, Akreditasaun) standard in close collaboration with the Education officer and the implementing partner (especially field officers) for UNICEF-supported community preschools. • Support monitoring of the UNICEF-supported community or public preschool construction projects with the UNICEF engineer and the Ministry of Education (national/municipality) engineers including joint monitoring, follow up progress for each activity per milestones and review the site reports.
• Work closely with the UNICEF education team and Ministry of Education to coordinate with municipality authorities to develop municipality preschool network plan in four target municipalities (Ermera, Viqueque, Baucau and Bobonaro) • Support preparation and facilitation of UNICEF-supported community preschools facilitator's training in target municipalities (Ermera, Viqueque) • Support a launching of KOICA Early Childhood Education project and work closely with target municipality education authorities (Bobonaro and Baucau) to build partnership for the planned activities. • Engage with municipal and suco levels stakeholders to support community preschool and KOICA ECE programmes.

II. Support implementation and coordination of School Readiness / Parenting programmes • Support coordination between the UNICEF education team and implementing partners (Ministry of Education, municipality focal points and the schools) to ensure school readiness programme implementation. • Help monitoring and collecting the school readiness data including students’ attendance list ensuring schools are confident on filling it in correctly. • Support coordination, implementation, review of parenting program including pilot parenting program mid-term review, mapping for the new communities, Training of Trainers and delivery of the activities.
• Support the coordination of distribution of learning materials, the school readiness effectiveness study, document translation, and other tasks related to school readiness programme.
III. Communication, Networking and Knowledge sharing • Facilitate effective networking through partnership and collaboration with relevant ministries, especially Ministry of Education (National / Municipalities), NGOs and communities.
• Participate in relevant meetings/events on preschool and Early childhood Education programming to collaborate with partners and colleagues. • Conduct regular monitoring visits and provide inputs to project documentation such as Human Interesting Story or field visit report. • Actively monitor programmes/projects and exchange information with stakeholders to assess progress, identify bottlenecks and challenges, and suggestion and discuss with relevant partners for timely resolution.

• Accountability • Adaptability and flexibility • Creativity • Judgement and decision-making • Planning and organising • Professionalism • Self-management

Core Values (Required) • Commitment • Diversity and Inclusion • Integrity Core Competencies (Required) • Communication Skills • Working with People • Drive for Results Functional Competencies (Required) • Formulating Strategies and Concepts • Analyzing • Applying Technical Expertise • Learning and Researching • Planning and Organizing

education, preschool education and early childhood education and development.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset. • Excellent oral and written skills in English; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills. • Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for development. • Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel. • Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment. • Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines. • Sound security awareness. • Have affinity with or interest in education area, volunteerism as a mechanism for durable development, and the UN System.

As it is a national UN Volunteer's assignment, the UN volunteer shall organize his/her accommodation by themselves.

Entitlements of National UN Volunteer (Specialist)

The contract lasts for the period indicated in the vacancy with the possibility of extensions subject to availability of funding, operational necessity, and satisfactory performance. This is a full-time contract.

Allowances: • Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA): A Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) USD 762.58 is provided monthly to cover housing, utilities, and normal cost of living expenses. • USD 400 entry lump sum, one-time payment. • USD 63.54/month exit lumpsum, paid at the completion of the assignment

Medical and life insurance: • Medical insurance: The UN Volunteer and eligible PFU dependents will receive UNV provided medical insurance coverage. Coverage for UN Volunteers begins from the Commencement of Service and normally ceases one month after the last day of the UN Volunteer Contract date. • Life Insurance: UN Volunteers are covered by life insurance for the duration of the UN Volunteer assignment. If a UN Volunteer dies during the UN Volunteer assignment, the eligible designated beneficiaries will be entitled to receive a life insurance lump sum.

Leave entitlements: • Annual leave:  UN Volunteers accrue an entitlement to 2.5 days of Annual Leave per completed month of the UN Volunteer assignment. Unused accrued Annual Leave up to a maximum of 30 days is carried over in case of a contract extension within the same UN Volunteer assignment. Unused accrued Annual Leave may not be carried over in case of reassignment or a new assignment. • Learning leave: Subject to supervisor approval and exigencies of service, UN Volunteers may request up to ten working days of Learning Leave per consecutive 12 months of the UN Volunteer assignment, starting with the Commencement of Service date, provided the Learning Leave is used within the contract period. • Certified Sick Leave: UN Volunteers are entitled to up to 30 days of certified sick leave based on a 12-month cycle. This amount is reset every 12-month cycle. • Uncertified Sick Leave: UN Volunteers receive seven days of uncertified sick leave working days in a calendar year. This amount will be reset at the established interval period.