COSULTANCY: Zero Out Of School Campaign, WCARO Dakar, Senegal, 11.5 months

The UNICEF WCARO is looking for consultancy to: • Supporting country office deep dives to define the design, planning, and implementation of advocacy strategies. • Providing a menu of options to support (media and content, visibility, strategic partnerships) and oversee the creation of media products. • Creating a community of practice among countries who have identified similar challenges • Establishing a dashboard to monitor progress via dashboard and regular forums. • Organizing a regional meeting on Out of School Children

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, Hope

Purpose and background of Activity/Assignment:

To lead the regional Zero Out of School Campaign for WCAR

The region of West and Central Africa is facing a dual education crisis: an extremely high number of out-of-school children (OOSC) and poor learning outcomes among those who are able to go to school. More than 57 million children and adolescents are currently out of school, while those enrolled are not acquiring basic literacy and numeracy skills. The learning poverty rate for the region is 85%. At the start of primary school, only about 7 in 10 children reached minimum competency levels in mathematics and 4 in 10 in reading. Alarmingly, by the end of primary school, only 1 in 10 children meet the minimum standard in mathematics, and only 2 in 10 in reading. This is a regional emergency that, in the long run if left unaddressed, will undermine social cohesion and jeopardize long-term economic growth.

Key barriers to school attendance and learning include demand-side factors such as the direct and indirect costs of education, societal perceptions of the value of schooling, gender-based violence in and around schools, and a preference for religious education (e.g., Koranic schools). Supply-side barriers also play a role, including an insufficient and inequitable distribution of schools and qualified teachers, lack of schools or learning centers close to home, lack of textbooks and overcrowded classrooms.

Across West and Central Africa, the education crisis is further deepened by the exclusion of children in informal learning settings, limited inclusion of children with disabilities, persistent gender disparities that disproportionately affect girls' access to education, and low learning outcomes among boys. These challenges are widespread across the region and underscore the urgency of coordinated action.

In response, the Regional Office is launching the Zero OOSC Campaign, building on the African Union Continental Education Conference held in Mauritania in December 2023, and the endorsement of the Nouakchott Declaration by African Union Members States, which sets the ambitious goal of eradicating learning poverty by 2035. It also builds on the strong foundation of UNICEF and UNESCO’s Global Out-of-School Children Initiative (OOSCI), which offers a comprehensive framework for identifying, analyzing, and addressing the barriers that prevent children from accessing quality education. While OOSCI plays a critical role through data, research, and policy guidance, the context in West and Central Africa calls for an even more proactive and visible approach. Despite the availability of tools and evidence, progress in the region has been uneven, in part due to limited political momentum and public engagement needed to translate policy recommendations into concrete action. The campaign aims to bridge this gap by generating stronger political will, increasing social demand for education, and ensuring that proven solutions are prioritized and implemented.

How can you make a difference? 

Scope of Work:

The consultant will work closely under the supervision of the Partnerships, Advocacy and Communications Unit (PAC) and in close contact with the Senior Advisor (Gender, Equity and Inclusion) in the Nairobi Center of Excellence to support the regional office and country offices in WCAR with the zero out-of-school campaign.

Specific tasks include:

• Supporting country office deep dives to define the design, planning, and implementation of advocacy strategies.
• Providing a menu of options to support (media and content, visibility, strategic partnerships) and oversee the creation of media products.
• Creating a community of practice among countries who have identified similar challenges
• Establishing a dashboard to monitor progress via dashboard and regular forums.
• Organizing a regional meeting on Out of School Children

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

• Advanced university degree in • Education, Public Policy, Communication, Media, Journalism, Behaviour Change Communications or Public Relations
• Strong expertise in advocacy strategy development, stakeholder engagement, and policy influencing.
• Demonstrated ability to facilitate coordination, strengthen communities of practice, and organize cross-country learning events.
• Good understanding of education systems, challenges related to out-of-school children
• Solid skills in monitoring and reporting, including developing dashboards or other tools to track progress and results.

Other Requirements

• Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system /Most updated CV
• Academic credentials/certificates
• Consultancy proposal;
• Financial proposal that will include:
  • Costs for each deliverable and total all-inclusive (lump sum) fees for the whole assignment
  • Travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required (as per ToR)
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable
• Previously relevant consultancy products & final evaluations (if available)
• Indicate your availability
• At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.
• Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

 To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

 UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

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. 

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.