Job Vacancies @ United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) – 3 Positions

United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is recruiting to fill the following positions:

1.) International Consultant to Support Basic Education Programme
2.) Deputy Representative, Operations
3.) Consultant

United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (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.

Job No: 554139
Location: Abuja
Contract type: Consultant
Level: Consultancy
Categories: Education
Duration: 11.5 months

Background and Purpose of the Assignment

• As home to approximately 206 million people1, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, and the population is continuously growing. According to current projections, by 2050, 1 of every 13 births globally will take place in Nigeria
• The country has developed policies that guarantee free and compulsory basic education and has seen increasing access to education. Progress in enrolment, however, is threatened by high out-of-school rates, dropout and persistent inequality as more than 18 million children remain out-ofschool in Nigeria at the primary and junior secondary levels3 , making Nigeria the country with the largest number of out-of-school children worldwide.
• Only 36 per cent of children ages 3-5 attend early childhood education programmes, and just 61 per cent of primary school-aged children regularly attend school
• While 6 million children enter Primary Level 1 each year, only 3.6 million remain in the system by the end of Junior Secondary Level 3, with 11 per cent on average dropping out at each grade level.
• It is thus unsurprising that the transition rate from primary to junior secondary school remains low at 59 per cent. Girls, and especially marginalized populations in the North, remain particularly disadvantaged and increasingly so after primary school. Location, belonging to internally displaced populations, poverty, and disability compound gender inequality. For example, 25 per cent of boys in rural areas complete junior secondary school, compared to 9 per cent of girls.
• On average, boys complete one more full year of school (7.6 years) than girls (6.5 years). Moreover, the gender gap in learning outcomes, measured by gender parity in literacy and numeracy at the end of Primary 2 and Primary 4, is growing wider5
• Recent analyses supported by UNICEF indicate multiple barriers to addressing school dropout and ensuring on-time enrolment, transition, and completion of education for all children in Nigeria.
• On the supply side, these range from insufficient capacity for evidence-based policy and planning, low budget allocation and inefficient release of capital funds to inadequate and unsafe infrastructure, a lack of materials and poor teaching quality.
• On the demand side, barriers include sociocultural beliefs and practices, safety and health concerns, reliance on children for income generating activities and household chores, and especially poverty.
• Particularly in the North, these barriers further marginalize girls, whom social norms relegate to domestic roles, as shown by high rates of early marriage and the lack of female teachers, and for whom inadequate economic power remains a significant challenge.
• Poor maintenance of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities and, especially, the absence of private toilets and sanitary facilities for girls, further increase the likelihood that they will be absent from school or drop out due to a lack of safe menstrual hygiene management.
• On the other hand, school dropout and failure to transition to secondary education has become an area that requires significant attention, particularly in the South of Nigeria, as boys face pressure to join the economy as soon as possible and thus drop out of school to partake in economic and commercial activities
• Prioritizing quality education provision, increasing the volume and efficiency of education financing, and strengthening the system’s capacity to plan, budget, and monitor education delivery is critical for Nigeria to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4, and to uphold its commitment to ensuring equitable and inclusive quality education for all children in the country.
• Accordingly, UNICEF’s 10-Year Programme prioritizes equitable access to learning opportunities; improved learning and skills for all; and improved learning and protection for children in emergencies and fragile contexts.

How can you make a difference?

• UNICEF is seeking a full-time consultant to support the basic education programme in Nigeria for the achievement of these priorities.
• The purpose of this consultancy is to provide technical support for studies, evaluations, reports, concept notes, policy briefs, strategies, proposals, and knowledge products developed by UNICEF Nigeria Basic Education Section.
• In addition, technical support is needed in the areas of skills development, public financing, and alternative learning.
• To achieve this purpose, UNICEF is soliciting the services of a consultant with experience in report writing, skills programming, the development and evaluation of alternative (including remote) learning programmes, and education financing (economics of education, budget analysis, resource allocation, value-for-money analysis).

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Scope of Work
Under the supervision of Chief Education, the consultant will be responsible for the following:

• Manage the consultancy to consolidate and improve the scope and quality of skills development programming, specifically on employability skills for in- and out-of-school children, technical and vocational education, and school-to-work transition;
• Support the plan to provide capacity strengthening and technical guidance to the government on public financing of education, including through the planning and coordination of events and development of knowledge management materials (e.g., advocacy, investment cases, reports);
• Strengthen and consolidate the work on alternative learning pathways, including managing a consultancy on the evaluation of alternative learning in Nigeria;
• Support the plan to strengthen learning assessment, education management information system (EMIS), and the use of data for developing early warning systems and costed equity-based education sector plans;
• Support knowledge management through documentation of effective practices, lessons learned and remaining gaps, event preparation (talking points, Ppts, etc.), and supporting knowledge exchange;
• Support quality reporting (review donor reports at a technical level); and
• Support in resource mobilization (drafting of concept notes, grants, etc.)

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have
Qualifications:

• Advanced Degree (minimum of Master’s) in Education Development, Education Policy, Social Policy, International Relations, or related field.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in education research, including quantitative and qualitative methods, in development and/or humanitarian contexts, with demonstrated experience in gender analysis.
• A minimum of 3 years of working experience with using education data to inform evidence-based decision-making to address key barriers to education access for marginalized populations.
• Strong working knowledge of key data sources on education data (MICS, DHIS, UIS, NEDS in Nigeria, and others) is an asset
• Experience in mapping data against key policy and international priorities.
• Strong knowledge of the Nigerian context and understanding of international development issues, including the status of the humanitarian-development nexus nationally and at the state level in Nigeria, particularly as it relates to education for girls and marginalized populations.

Other skills and attributes:

• Experience working with UN agencies or other international development agencies
• Strong knowledge of the Nigerian political landscape and recent developments in education.
• A good understanding of UNICEF’s programmatic areas, namely Education (especially Education in Emergencies), social policy, and child protection
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with experience translating evidence for and communicating with a broad range of actors (including government) on sensitive issues.

Application Closing Date
24th August, 2022 (W. Central Africa Standard Time).

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Click here for more details (PDF)

Note

• 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.

Remarks:

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• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
• Please submit your all-inclusive financial and technical proposal along with the application. Application without these will not be entertained.
• 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.

Job No: 20079
Location: Abuja
Contract Type: Fixed Term Appointment
Level: P-5
Categories: Human Resources, Information Communication Technology, Supply Management, Legal Affairs, Operations, Administration, Financial Management, Facilities Management, Transportation

For Every Child, Dedication

• As a Strategic Business Partner, the Deputy Representative (Operations) will have overall responsibility of overseeing the operational functioning of the country office, specifically responsible for leading for results, drive change, provide risk-informed, solution-focused analysis, advice, and services and contribute to programme and management decisions for delivering results for children in Nigeria.
• In addition, this position serves as a key strategic advisor to their office's leadership in helping implement UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2022-2025.

How Can you Make a Difference?

• In Nigeria, UNICEF works in a complex humanitarian and development setting to fulfill and protect children’s rights. UNICEF Nigeria is one of the largest UNICEF Country Offices globally. In partnership with the government, civil society, children and families, Click here to learn more about UNICEF in Nigeria: https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/
• UNICEF Nigeria is looking for an experienced Deputy Representative (Operations) to become part of a highly motivated and committed team of over 400 staff who work to bring visible changes in the lives of the most disadvantaged children in NIGERIA.

Summary of Key Functions / Accountabilities
The Deputy Representative’s (Operations) key functions and accountabilities include:

• Champion strategic management of resources to achieve organizational goals and ensure Value for Money (VfM)
• Enhance Risk Management to increase organizational performance and strengthen internal control (Valuing Risk Management)
• Ensure further operational centralization and optimization for maximized efficiency gains (Valuing Systems and Structures)
• Strengthening internal and external-facing partnerships and leveraging UNICEF’s oversight and understanding of financial management across all areas of the office (Valuing Partners)
• Valuing People: Together with People Management, manage and develop people resources to promote technical competence and foster career progression and retention of a “fit for purpose”/ agile workforce.

Qualifications

• • An Advanced University Degree (Master's and above) in one of the following areas is required: Business Management,; Financial Management, Accounting, Public Finance or related Operations function (Supply Chain, Human Resources, Information Technology, International Business, Project management, etc.) or a full professional Accounting Designation (CA, ACA, ACCA, CPA, CIMA, CPFA, Expert Comptable) from an internationally recognized institute/body of accountancy with valid membership in good standing is required.
  • A minimum of 10 years of professional experience at the national and international level is required, specifically in advocating and implementing strategic organizational initiatives in one or more operations management areas, including budget; financial management and reporting; facilities management; administration; supply and logistics management; information and communication technology; human resources.
  • Prior experience in the development sector or UN system/ international NGOs would be an asset.

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• Additional experience in one or more of the following areas would be desired:
  • Audit and investigations
  • Safety and Security
  • Grant Management
  • Enterprise Risk Management
• Experience in a UN system agency, large private or public company, or experience working in a developing country and/or humanitarian/ emergency context is an asset.
• Experience in working with corporate ERPs (Enterprise Resource Planning) and IPSAS (International Public Sector Accounting Standards) is highly desirable.
• Experience in Results Based Management is a requirement.
• Experience in managing successful client-oriented work units is an asset.
• Experience in co-creating policy is desirable.
• Prior experience working with diverse stakeholder groups or multi-stakeholder partnerships is highly desirable.
• Previous hands-on experience in strategic and managerial leadership is required.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office applications is required.

For every Child, you demonstrate:

• UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) underpin everything we do and how we do it.

UNICEF Competencies Required for this Post are:

• Nurtures, Leads, and Manages People (III)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (III)
• Works Collaboratively with others (III)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (III)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (III)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (III)
• Drives to achieve impactful results (III)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (III)

(Functional) Competencies:

• Deciding and Initiating Action (II)
• Following Instructions and Procedures (III)
• Entrepreneurial Thinking (III)
• Analyzing (III)

Other Skills:

• Emotional Intelligence
• Managing complexity and change.

Application Closing Date
29th August, 2022.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note

• This position is classified as “rotational” which means the incumbent is expected to rotate to another duty station upon completion of their tour of duty.
• 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.
• For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates are encouraged to apply.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
• 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.
• UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions.
• Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment without compensation if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained or necessary inoculation requirements are not met within a reasonable period for any reason.

Job No: 553830
Location: Abuja
Contract type: Consultant
Level: Consultancy
Categories: Education

Purpose of this post

• UNICEF Nigeria uses capacity building as one amongst two other strategies of advocacy and innovation to support the government of Nigeria in increasing equitable access to quality early learning to achieve school readiness.
• At the core of the capacity building strategy are interventions focused on strengthening access and quality of public pre-primary education.
• To support the Nigerian government in addressing some of the barriers to effective implementation of one year of quality pre-primary education, UNICEF is seeking to engage an experienced international early learning consultant with extensive knowledge and experience working in pre-primary education and teacher training to provide technical support in the review of the existing curriculum and training documents and provide strategic recommendations for policy dialogue, implementation and action by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) responsible for pre-primary implementation.

Scope of Work
Reporting to the Education Specialist-ECD, and working closely with the Special Programmes team of the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), the consultant will:

• Review the one-year pre-primary curriculum: The consultancy will review and analyse the curriculum to identify it is consistent with effective, evidence-based or innovative practices, and the challenges and opportunities in the Nigerian context. The consultant will also edit and revise the curriculum to include key recommendations across content and approaches paying particular attention to cross-cutting issues including gender, inclusion and use of technology.
• Support the NERDC and the ECE technical committee to develop the one year pre-primary curriculum implementation teacher’s guide and teacher’s training manual. This will include leading the national consultations and writing workshops.

Under the management supervision of the Chief Basic Education and guidance of the Education Specialist-ECD, as well as inputs from other relevant government partners, the consultant shall carry out the tasks outlined below:

Review the one-year Pre-primary Curriculum:
UNICEF has recently supported the development of a one year pre-primary curriculum. Here the consultant will answer the following questions (based on previous discussions had and identified priorities/ objectives the curriculum is supposed to be achieving):

• How aligned and age and developmentally appropriate is the content of the pre-primary curriculum in addressing skills children need to be ready for school? How inclusive, gender-responsive and culturally relevant is the content of the revised curriculum?
• To what extent does the curriculum mirror the national policy and priorities for pre-primary education, to what extent is it aligned with needs for early learning identified in other research especially towards achieving SDG4.2?
• Are the key competencies clearly and consistently integrated across the curriculum? Are they clearly defined for the users (i.e., the teachers and school leaders) to know when children have demonstrated these competencies?
• To what extent does the curriculum (or does the curriculum sufficiently) meet international standards for quality pre-primary education (i.e., child-centred, play-based, differentiated, etc.)?
• Is the pre-primary curriculum coherently linked both in itself (i.e., across developmental domains and does it progressively built on itself to reinforce the learning already achieved on students’ readiness and needs) and with the primary one curriculum? What linkages are strong and which others are needed? What revisions and improvements should be made to align, simplify and improve the one year pre-primary curriculum?
• What revisions and further guidance are needed for teachers to effectively implement the curriculum, especially for teachers with very limited training and support? This will form the basis for the teacher’s guide to be developed.
• What inputs should be considered for improved use and application of these documents at the school level?

Support the development of the teacher’s guide (TG) and teacher’s training manual (TM) for the one year pre-primary curriculum:

• Develop an inception report to document the desk review and initial consultation - Conduct desk review of existing documents and data, carry out an inception consultation with the ECE technical working group to draw up the proposed approach, review framework and other tools, process and timeline, the expected engagement of the TG and TM development process.
• Conduct review and develop first draft of the TG and TM- Conduct a series of writing workshops with the ECE TWG to develop the TG and TM which should clearly present all relevant details in easy-to-read charts, tables, and annexes. The structure of the TG should be agreed with the ECE TWG and a draft will be reviewed by the TWG. The consultant will participate in consultations to gather and document the feedback on the draft including validation of findings of the review.
• Second draft of TG and TM- Based on the feedback provided in the first draft, revise and develop a second draft. The consultant may be expected to present the second draft to all stakeholders for final review and feedback.
• Final TG and TM- Based on the feedback received on second draft, finalize the TG and TM for submission. The TG and TM will be finalized with endorsement from the ECE TWG.
• Dissemination - The consultant will be expected to support the planning for, facilitate and actively participate in a national workshop for the dissemination of the TG and TM.
• The consultant will be expected to create an online shared folder of all documents reviewed, minutes of consultations, and the draft and final versions of all deliverables and share them with UNICEF.

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To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have

Qualifications or specialized knowledge / experience required:

• Advanced Degree in Early Childhood Care and Education.

Experience:

• At least 8 years of experience and expertise in ECE, curriculum development and implementation, early learning assessment, teaching and learning
• Deep familiarity and understanding of pre-primary context and culture in developing context, especially sub-Saharan Africa. Knowledge of same in West Africa will be an advantage.
• Technical Knowledge about Early Childhood Development and Education
• Substantial experience in conducting reviews, analysis of ECE and primary curricula and producing user-friendly syntheses and presentations for a range of different audiences
• Experience in developing technical user-friendly and easy-to-understand guidance documents to be used by ministries of education.
• Excellent workshop facilitation and training skills, especially with teachers and government officials.
• Diplomatic skills to liaise with government counterparts and different stakeholders.

Language requirements:

• Excellent oral and written communication in English is required.

For every Child, you demonstrate:

• UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

Application Closing Date
24th August, 2022 (W. Central Africa Standard Time).

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note

• 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.

Remarks:

• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
• Please submit your all-inclusive financial and technical proposal along with the application. Application without these will not be considered.
• 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.