Senior Consultancy – Education in Emergencies Expert for Safe to Learn - Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children- New York REQ

Contract

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Safe to Learn is a global initiative seeking to embed violence prevention in education systems worldwide. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that heightened both the learning crisis and the children’s rights crisis, Safe to Learn partners decided to renew their commitment for collective action through a new Safe to Learn Strategy (2021-2024). The new Strategy aims to build on synergies between partners and main financers in the education space to maximize impact at the country level, including in humanitarian and emergency settings. As part of this renewed commitment, Safe to Learn (STL) and Education Cannot Wait (ECW) agreed to strengthen the enabling environment to mainstream a violence prevention lens in education in emergency responses, so that children and youth affected by conflicts, natural disasters and forced displacement can be included in education systems and learn in environments that are safe.

As enabling the environment requires a set of actions, incentives and accountability mechanisms, STL and ECW decided to build on their comparative advantages and prioritize developing operational guidelines for ECW and STL partners operating in emergency settings. They also agreed to jointly capture progress towards the prioritization of violence prevention and response in education in emergency responses by setting the target of having 80 percent of the ECW grants approved between 2021-24 with at least one indicator on safe learning environments in their results framework by 2024. It is expected that this target and the operational guidelines will send strong signals and incentives to partners to include a safety? lens (with a gender and inclusion perspective) in their response proposals to deliver education to the most vulnerable children and youth.

To deliver on these objectives, Safe to Learn will be funding a short-term consultancy to develop guidelines on mainstreaming violence prevention in education in emergencies projects and programmes.

ABOUT SAFE TO LEARN

Safe to Learn is hosted by the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children (End Violence Partnership), which has guided its progress to date and engaged key education organizations and funders in its development. To deliver on its full ambition, Safe to Learn partners launched a new 3-year strategy, which builds on the unique strengths of the partners to develop an ecosystem for at-scale change at the global, regional and country levels.

Safe to Learn is hosted by the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children (End Violence Partnership), which has guided its progress to date and engaged key education organizations and funders in its development.[1] To deliver on its full ambition, Safe to Learn partners launched a new 3-year strategy, which builds on the unique strengths of the partners to develop an ecosystem for at-scale change at the global, regional and country levels.

ABOUT EDUCATION CANNOT WAIT

ECW is a key Safe to Learn partner and major financer in the education space. It is a global fund, hosted by UNICEF, dedicated to education in emergencies and protracted crises. ECW has three investment windows:

1. First Emergency Response, which supports education programmes immediately in sudden-onset or escalating crises,
2. Multi-Year Resilience, which addresses longer-term needs through multi-year joint programmes in protracted crises, and
3. Acceleration facility, which supports research and data collection to advance best practices and innovative solutions.

In response to the education crises inflicted by COVID-19, ECW has reached a total of 29.2 million children and 89,000 teachers. To read more about ECW, visit here.

KEY DELIVERABLES WITH TIMEFRAME

Consultations and Outline - Undertake consultations with relevant partners to develop an overview of the specific threats that children and youth endure in emergency settings

• • Estimated # days – 7 days
  • Time Frame – November 2021

Develop Guidelines - Draft a detailed operational guideline that provides step-by-step guidance on how to integrate violence prevention in EiE proposals and programmes

• • Estimated # days – 15 days
  • Time Frame – November 2021 – January 2022

• Result Framework - Develop a complimentary Results Framework, which provides indicators and guidance on M&E

• • Estimated # days –8 days
  • T****ime Frame – November 2021 – January 2022

  The key deliverables will follow the proposed timeline:

• Onboarding of Consultant: 10 November

• Submission of proposed outline: 30 November
• First draft of guidance note: 30 December
• Second draft of guidance note: 17 January
• Submission of final guidance note: 31 January

MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION OF ASSIGNMENT

The Education in Emergencies Senior Consultant will report to the Safe to Learn Director and will work closely with the Safe to Learn Portfolio and Partnership Specialist and the Education Cannot Wait focal point. The consultancy is expected to commence on 10 November 2021 and end on 31 January 2021, for a total duration of up to 45 working days during the three- month period. The consultant will be home-based and s/he will contribute to a culture of professionalism that emphasizes teamwork, curiosity, learning, collaboration and delivery.

PAYMENT PLAN

Payment will be processed upon timely submission of final deliverables, approved by the supervising unit. Consultant is responsible for their own life, health and other insurance.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Seasoned professional in the field of fragility, conflict and violence (FCV), violence prevention and/or education with a minimum of 15 years of experience in FCV settings, education in emergencies, violence prevention and/or humanitarian development.
• In-depth knowledge of the context of being a child or youth in emergency settings, as well as challenges and opportunities in delivering education responses in emergencies settings, including context-driven solutions to ensure as much sustainability as possible.
• Experience in developing and implementing programmes and projects at both the national and local levels.
• Updated knowledge on the literature and practice to prevent violence in and through schools at different levels of the education system.
• Good understanding of education sector plans and policies, including in humanitarian settings. Familiarity with ECW and its grant mechanisms an advantage.
• Strong writing skills. Previous experience in developing guidelines is highly desired.
• Strong communication skills to establish and develop close and effective working relationships with diverse stakeholders. .
• Strong understanding of gender, human rights, equity and inclusion frameworks and best practices in EiE settings.
• Experience working with youth in fragility and emergency settings.
• Experience working with global mutli-stakeholder partnerships, CSOs, UN agencies or other international organizations, at both the global and national level.

LANGUAGES

• Fluency in English (both oral and written) is required.
• Knowledge of another UN language is an asset

Competencies and level of proficiency required (based on UNICEF Competency Profile) on UNICEF's core values - Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and 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)
• Drives to achieve impactful results (1)

• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

  Functional Competencies

• Persuading and Influencing (1)

• Applying Technical Expertise (1)

• Entrepreneurial Thinking (1)

  TO APPLY

  Applications must be submitted by 29 October 2021

• Your application must include a cover letter and CV, with your indicated availability and daily rate (in USD)

• Applications submitted without a daily rate will not be considered.

PAYMENT PLAN

Payment will be processed upon timely submission of final deliverables, approved by the supervising unit. Consultant is responsible for their own life, health and other insurance.

NOTE

As a UNICEF-hosted partnership, End Violence 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.

End Violence 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. End Violence 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.

UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. This position is not considered an elevated risk role. However, UNICEF reserves the right to conduct further vetting/ assessment within the scope of child safeguarding as appropriate.

[1] Partners include UNESCO, UNICEF, UK FCDO (formerly DFID), UNGEI, the End Violence CSO Forum, World Bank, Education Cannot Wait, Global Partnership for Education, WHO, Global Affairs Canada, Global Business Coalition for Education, Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, and the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children.

If selected for this consultancy, the resulting appointment will be limited to EVAC, a UNICEF hosted fund.