National Consultancy : PSNP ECD Pilot Assessment, 30 days, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

UNICEF is looking for a seasoned consultant who can assess the ECD centers pilot in four PSNP regions with a focus on documenting the best practices and lessons learned and generating practical recommendations to strengthen implementation and inform ECD scale-up in PSNP 6 programme implementation manual. If you have the required profile, you are highly encouraged to apply. Taking up this assignment is motivating and rewarding.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture., coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to learn

Ethiopia is situated in the Horn of Africa and is the second most populous country on the continent, with an estimated population of 115 million. It borders six African countries: Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan, and covers 1,104,300 square kilometers. Approximately 85 percent of the population lives in rural areas. Ethiopia represents a melting pot of ancient cultures, with Middle Eastern and African cultures evident in the religious, ethnic, and language composition of its peopl

How can you make a difference? 

Early Childhood Development (ECD) is essential for children’s cognitive, social-emotional, and physical growth, with lasting benefits for education, health, and well-being. In vulnerable settings, quality ECD services help reduce inequalities and prepare children to succeed in school.

Under the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP), ECD centers were piloted in five regions to integrate social protection with child-focused services. The centers provide safe and stimulating environments for young children, support caregivers’ participation in PSNP and livelihood activities, and strengthen links to health, nutrition, WASH, education, and child protection services.

As the pilot progresses, there is a need to document implementation experiences, identify best practices, and capture lessons learned across four regions. The assessment will generate evidence to inform the PSNP6 Program Implementation Manual (PIM), ECD operational guidance, and future resource requirements.

Scope of work: 

The main objectives of the assessment are to: 

• Map the pilot design and implementation arrangements, including governance, financing, staffing, infrastructure, handing over, service package, operation, and coordination and linkages with PSNP and other relevant sectors. 

• Assess the relevance, effectiveness, and inclusiveness of the pilot model for vulnerable households and children (including girls, children with disabilities, and hard-to-reach communities). 

• Document best practices and enabling factors that contributed to successful implementation across regions and sites. 

• Identify implementation bottlenecks, sustainability risks, and unintended effects, and capture lessons learned from stakeholders at different levels. 

• Provide actionable recommendations and options (minimum standards, operational modalities, costing considerations, and sustainability and scalability requirements) to improve quality and support potential scale-up and sustainability. 

Work Assignment

• Desk review, stakeholder mapping, development of research instruments and tools
• Collect primary data in four of the five regions
• Data cleaning, analysis and synthesis
• Draft the first report version synthesizing the findings from the desk review, field data collection, structured observation, and ECD centre records
• Prepare the presentation and facilitate the validation workshop with LASS-TC member and other relevant government stakeholders
• Incorporate the feedback from the validation workshop in the draft report 

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education:
  • Masters Degree in Social policy, public policy, economics, development studies, gender/human rights, or related field.
• Work Experience: At least 5 years) in supporting the PSNP programme design, implementation and monitoring with focus on              human capital development, gender equality, and social development and nutrition provisions.
• Skills (optional): [Insert technical and non-technical skills]. 
• Language Requirements: [Insert the primary UN language you need for the fluency requirement]

Desirables:

• Knowledge/Expertise/Skills:
  • Demonstrated experience in conducting programme assessments/evaluations using mixed-methods, and strong skills in data collection, analysis, synthesis and translating them into actionable recommendations. 
  • Extensive knowledge of Ethiopia’s social protection system (5+ years), including key policies, delivery mechanisms, and federal-regional implementation dynamics.
  • Solid understanding of social protection and human capital development approaches and linkages, with focus on ECD.
  • Demonstrated experience in gender-responsive, disability-inclusive and child-sensitive programming. 
  • Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts. 
  •  

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others 

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, in line with applicable organizational measures. Candidates selected for appointment are required to formally confirm their willingness to comply with any current or future vaccination requirements mandated by UNICEF, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Failure to comply with such requirements, where applicable and without a duly approved medical exemption from the relevant UN authority, may result in the cancellation of the selection or other administrative measures including separation from service

Remarks:  

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates and persons with disability are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions 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. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.