RE-ADVERTISEMENT | German-speaking Home-based Individual Contractor (173 working days): Lead Early Childhood Education Consultant for Development of strengthening ECEC staffing quality and c

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UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund

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CH Home-based; Geneva (Switzerland)

Application deadline 1 year ago: Wednesday 7 Sep 2022 at 21:55 UTC

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Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

**This is a re-advertisement in order to expand the candidate pool. Previous applicants need not reapply as their original application will be duly considered.**

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, an education

Background and Scope of Work

In Austria the provision and oversight of early childhood education and care (ECEC) is split according to the Austrian constitutional law. The federal government (“Bund”) - in particular the Ministry for Education, Science and Research - is responsible for the standardised training of ECEC professionals at Training Institutes for ECEC; the financing of childcare facilities as well as the organization (e.g. the definition of framework conditions) are primarily the responsibilities of the “Länder” (provinces) and the municipalities.

There is currently a very high demand for ECEC and a shortage of provision. With an 89.9% ECEC participation rate of children between 3 years and compulsory schooling age in 2019, Austria was below the EEA target of 96% by 2030. The Austrian participation rate for 4 year-olds is at the EU average, above average for 5 year-olds, but considerable lower for 3 year-old children (-11.3 pps). The share of children under the age of 3 attending formal childcare increased considerably from 9% in 2009 to 22.7% in 2019. Meeting this growing need is a challenge due to low numbers of ECEC staff. The reasons for this lack of staff are various, and due to missing profound data, also not fully understood. However, anecdotal evidence suggests:

  • There are differing staffing and employment conditions for ECEC staff across Länder (provinces) and the municipalities including differences in salaries and salary schemes (Austria has over 60 different schemes), group sizes, the professional staff-child ratio, and service-related matters such as preparation time without direct child services.
  • There is persistent gender inequality in the sector. In 2020/21 only 3% of employees in ECEC services were men.
  • The qualification is not perceived to be attractive, especially for male students, which is certainly also strongly influenced by the low level of recognition of the profession in society and the low salary.

ECEC services face a clear shortage of professional staff, which was made more profound due to the COVID-19 pandemic which increased uncertainty and educator stresses. Due to this shortage, a competition between public and private employers takes place to the disadvantage of children. Salary differences between private and public employers and the high demand for ECEC professionals applicants can choose their employer based on salary and other indicators like framework conditions. If one of these employers enhances its conditions, ECEC staff switches the work place, causing a high fluctuation in less attractive ECEC services. This situation will worsen as more than a quarter of current employees will retire in the next 10 years. Austrian studies (such as ÖIF) forecast that by 2025, 860 managers, 2,450 qualified elementary teachers (educators) and 2,000 assistants will be needed in the ECEC sector. Staff struggled with oversized groups, lacking coordination with colleagues, administrative challenges and keeping a reasonable work-life balance. To counteract to this trend Austria foresees higher investments in ECEC within the National Recovery and Resilience Plan for the development of elementary education.

The EU Commission and UNICEF are supporting the Austrian authorities in addressing some of these challenges through a technical support project which seeks to strengthen ECEC workforce quality and conditions.

This will be achieved through the following outcomes:

  • Outcome 1: The Austrian authorities have gained extensive knowledge of the current status of the ECEC sector and implications for staffing.
  • Outcome 2: The Austrian authorities at federal and province level have jointly developed a Model Framework for ECEC Staffing Quality and Conditions, to serve as a template/best practice for adaptation and adoption at the province, as well as a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for quality control and coordination of ECEC.
  • Outcome 3: Austrian authorities (federal and province level) agree on a detailed implementation strategy on the improvement of framework conditions and recruitment in ECEC, including a nationwide action plan and a roadmap for implementation.
  • Outcome 4: Based on concepts and recommendations developed by the project, the Austrian authorities (federal and province level) conduct a national communication and advocacy campaign aimed at increasing uptake of the ECEC profession.

UNICEF is seeking an ECEC expert with experience in workforce development to support this programme in Austria.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities

1. Support to programme development and planning

Working closely with the ECARO ECE specialist:

  • Develop inception report and work plan for the programme.
  • Coordinate the project steering committee and expert working groups of the programme.
  • Coordinate with the ministries on the operational arrangements for the implementation of the programme.
  • Develop and manage communication tools for use throughout the programme span.
  • Lead and oversee the impactful implementation of the programme, together with steering committee.

2. Lead the provide technical inputs to the assessment of the status of the ECEC system in Austria with a focus on ECEC workforce

Working closely with a local junior consultant:

  • Conduct a desk review of ECEC workforce conditions in Austria using existing data and studies assessing the current workforce conditions in Austria and the legislative, policy and normative frameworks governing these conditions at different levels.
    • Develop a set of recommendations for strengthening workforce quality and conditions, as well as data availability.

Under the leadership of the UNICEF ECE specialist and working closely with expert working group:

  • Conduct a comprehensive analytical diagnosis of the ECEC sector workforce covering the relevant domains of the European Quality Framework for ECEC, and based on the ECE Sub-sector Analysis Tool https://www.ece-accelerator.org/toolkit/section-2/tool-2-2
    • Adapt the sub-sector analysis tool to address the full ECEC sector (within the parameters of the workforce).
    • Collect initial desk review of status of ECEC sector workforce, building from the data and results of the desk review, and identify key documents and resources.
    • Hold a set of working sessions with ECEC steering committee for deeper-dive analysis of components of the sector relevant to the workforce.
    • Develop and validate report detailing current status of the ECEC sector workforce, with key recommendations for reforms.
  • Building on a European good practice report being developed concurrently, coordinate country peer exchange opportunities from European countries who have undertaken ECEC workforce reforms.
    • Organise online peer exchange of 2 half days with experts from 2-3 countries.
    • Organise study visit for an Austrian delegation (7-8 persons/2 days on site) to another European country with relevant examples of good practice.

3. Consolidate recommendations from the desk review, workforce analysis and European good practice report as well and study visits and peer exchanges into a consolidated recommendations report.

4. Lead the development of a Model Framework for ECEC Staffing Quality and Conditions and associated M&E framework

This should be an ideal framework that can be adopted/adapted by the Lander to help to regulate quality and conditions of ECEC staffing

Working closely with ECE workforce expert consultant and local expert working group:

  • Ensure co-creation in framework development through hosting series of working group meetings, with minimum of 5 working group sessions.
  • Develop M&E Framework that includes key indicators related to staff-child ratios, staff composition (demographics), wages and benefits, schedules and workloads, qualifications, training and promotions, staff turnover, leadership and classroom conditions.
  • Develop a draft guidance document on indicator definitions, data collection processes, data sources and data gaps.
  • Validate the frameworks with the expert working group.

5. Develop and implementation strategy for improving ECEC Framework conditions and recruitment

Based on the finding from the research and the development of the Frameworks develop a national implementation strategy

  • Develop action plan of measures for strategy implantation.
  • Develop strategy roadmap.
  • Undertake extensive consultation on the strategy, action plan and roadmap with the expert working group.

6. Develop end-project report

  • Hold end-project meeting with expert working group with emphasis on sharing of results, recommendations and next steps.
  • Consolidate key actions taken, findings, next-steps and recommendations into summary end-project report.
  • Ensure focus on sustainability in report and end-project meeting.

7. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results

  • Manage and follow-up on the implementation of all program components related to the ECEC programme ensure their progress in accordance with the established goals, plans and strategies.
  • Ensure roles and responsibilities are clearly defined across the programme and ensure all components are being implemented in sequence with concrete linkage between programme activities and streams of work.
  • Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues and partners to discuss operational and implementation issues, provide solutions, recommendations and/or alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and/or decisions.

8. Networking and partnership building

  • Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders across relevant sectors through active sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate programme implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to achieve and sustain results on ECD programmes.

9. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

  • Identify, capture, synthesize and share lessons learned for knowledge development and to build the capacity of stakeholders.
  • Apply innovative approaches and promote good practice to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results.

Work Assignment Overview

Tasks / Milestone******Deliverables / Outputs******Timeline / DeadlineSupport to programme development and planning, knowledge management and partnership building.1. Inception report including detailed project workplan and develop communication toolkit10 working days2. Project coordination tasks including supporting kick-off meeting, briefing stakeholders, sequencing activities with other service providers, sharing briefings and updates, communication with stakeholders, development of brief PPT overviews, document reviews.13 working daysLead and provide technical inputs to status assessment of ECEC work force in Austria3. Completion of desk review of status of ECEC sector workforce10 working days4. Organization and hosting of working sessions with ECEC steering committee, online peer exchange and study visit for Austrian delegation15 working days5. Sub-Sector Diagnosis Workforce Report32 working daysDevelop ECEC Staffing Quality and Condition framework6. Draft ECEC staffing quality and condition framework, M&E Framework and guidance30 working days7. Organization and hosting of minimum 5 working group sessions20 working days8. Final, validated quality framework and M&E Framework20 working days9. ECEC workforce strategy, implementation roadmap and action plan.13 working daysProgramme and knowledge management, monitoring and results delivery10. Consolidated recommendation report and associate communication documents, PPTs for end project meeting10 working daysEstimated Duration of the Contract

173 working days (between September 2022 and August 2023)

Individual Contractor's Work Place and Official Travel

The assignment will be home-based in Austria.

Estimated Cost of the Consultancy & Payment Schedule

Payment will be made on submission of an invoice and satisfactory completion of the above-mentioned deliverables. Please indicate a daily fee based on 173 working days to undertake this assignment.

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

  • Master’s degree or higher in education, social studies and development, public health and/or medicine, nutrition, psychology, human development, child development, families' studies or another relevant technical field.
  • Seven years minimum of relevant professional experience in early childhood education and care, social development planning and management in early childhood development related areas is required.
  • Experience managing national programme implementation essential.
  • Extensive experience of the Austrian ECEC context.
  • Experience working with EU funded grants, and Ministry reform programmes.
  • Experience working on ECEC workforce development.
  • Experience working on M&E for ECEC.
  • Understanding of ECEC staffing and service conditions, teacher training and mentorship and tools/processes for measuring ECEC quality.
  • Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
  • Fluency in English and German is essential. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

View our competency framework at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

Remarks:

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

It should be noted that selected candidate will be responsible for arranging for their own health and medical insurance. This consultancy does not provide any other benefits other than the consultancy fee and 1.5 days leave entitlement per month and the UN official holidays. Selected consultant will be responsible for complying with local tax requirements and any tax liabilities that may arise as a result of the consultancy with UNICEF.

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.

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