KNOWLEDGE GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT, WITH FOCUS ON EDUCATION IN EMERGENCIES AND CONTEXTS OF VIOLENCE 2017

The purpose of this consultancy is to support the ongoing “Strong Schools and Communities Initiative” in the Regional and Country Offices of UNICEF Latin America and The Caribbean (LAC), and their link to the Education program of LACRO and its partners of the private sector. The consultant will also continue to support the work on the ongoing programs and previously selected countries, and support the EiE and DRR activities of the Regional Education group. On the other hand, the consultant will support the Education area of LACRO to consolidate the use of the Share Point platform as a tool to exchange knowledge and share documents between the Country Offices and LACRO, as well as, to support the development of visual and graphic materials to share key messages and tools related to education and ECD programs.

 BACKGROUND:

UNCEF LAC RO contributes to ensuring that every girl, boy and adolescent in LAC benefits from policies, programs and interventions that guarantee their access to education and learning opportunities from early childhood, through primary and secondary education, prioritizing the most vulnerable groups like out of school children, children with disabilities, and those affected by armed violence and emergencies.

In 2014, UNICEF LACRO with the support of the “Global Business Coalition for Education” and the “A World at School”, launched the “Strong Schools and Communities Initiative” to raise awareness within the private sector about the impact of arm violence in the Education sector, and to promote flexible education strategies that guarantee the right to education in contexts of violence.The initiative has been implemented in countries such as Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, and it is expected to scale up in other countries where the right to education has been affected by violence.

The ongoing initiative have shown important progress at the national level:

Guatemala: The Ministry of Education, in partnership with UNICEF Guatemala CO and Ciudades Seguras, coordinated the development of the mobile application “VOCES”, an early warning system to prevent violence in schools and communities. VOCES is a call for institutions, organizations, counties and citizens to actively participate in guaranteeing a protective and safe environment for children. Guatemala is currently working to engage the local private sector to support this initiative during the second phase of the program.

Honduras: A document on the analysis of the impact of violence in the education sector was developed to highlight the causes and forms of violence, as well as, the strategies for prevention and intervention against violence in schools. This document aims to contribute in the construction of a national strategy on prevention of violence in the education sector.

El Salvador: The campaign “Hagamos nuestra la escuela” is being implemented by UNICEF and the MoE in the municipality of Ciudad Delgado to develop strategies that will guarantee educational continuity of children and adolescents. On the other hand, the national security strategy embodied in the "Plan El Salvador Seguro" (Plan El Salvador Safe) has been implemented in 15 schools with approximately 7,000 children and adolescents. The municipality of Ciudad Delgado is also part of this strategy. In 2017, a communication strategy, as well as resources will be design and validated, to implement in selected schools.

In the framework of the “Strong schools and communities’ Initiative”, some important advocacy and knowledge documents have been produced at the regional level. Some of these documents are the following: Working together to build safe schools and protective learning environments; How can business make a difference?; Good practices and innovative initiatives in Education. These documents will be disseminated among CO and partners during the last trimester of 2017.

The lessons learnt and materials already produce in the framework of this initiative will be disseminate across the region between the partners and country offices, as well as, through social media and digital channels. In the framework of this initiative, the advocacy messages and communication strategies will be shared during high-level meetings, at the regional and national levels.

UNICEF LACRO, as part of the inter-agency Regional DRR and EiE group, work with the Ministries of Education to improve the impact of disaster risk reduction and emergency response actions in the education sector under a human rights-based approach. In the framework of the Regional plan, DRR capacity building and knowledge development activities will take place during the last quarter of the year.

Therefore, a consultant is needed to provide technical assistance in the Education and ECD areas of UNICEF-LACRO, as well as, to support in the implementation of the initiatives mentioned above in a timely and efficient manner.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this consultancy is to support the ongoing “Strong Schools and Communities Initiative” in the Regional and Country Offices of UNICEF Latin America and The Caribbean (LAC), and their link to the Education program of LACRO and its partners of the private sector. The consultant will also continue to support the work on the ongoing programs and previously selected countries, and support the EiE and DRR activities of the Regional Education group.

On the other hand, the consultant will support the Education area of LACRO to consolidate the use of the Share Point platform as a tool to exchange knowledge and share documents between the Country Offices and LACRO, as well as, to support the development of visual and graphic materials to share key messages and tools related to education and ECD programs.

EXPECTED RESULTS (measurable results): 

The major activities of this consultancy are: 

1. To support the ongoing Strong Schools and Communities Initiative in the Regional and Country Offices of UNICEF Latin America and The Caribbean (LACRO) and their link to the Education program of LACRO and partners in the private sector.
2. To support the main areas in LACRO Education/ECD to complete their space in the Share Point and make it fully operational.
3. To create a manual on “how to upload and use the Share Point” for the country offices to be able to operate the Share Point, share documents, information and main events.
4. To support the Education regional area to development, update and disseminate tools and advocacy messages related to Education and ECD (Visual and graphic materials, newsletters, Infographics, brochures, presentations.
5. To support the education specialist with the activities of the regional group of disaster risk reduction in education.
6. Provides support to follow up the development of Disaster Risk Reduction and ECD and DRR related tools.

DELIVERABLES:

KEY QUALIFICATIONS, TECHNICAL BACKGROUND, AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: 

1. Advanced university degree in Education, Human Rights, Social Sciences or other related fields.
2. Five years of working experience in development countries or humanitarian environments.
3. Proven experience in graphic design, production and publication.
4. Good understanding and experience in the use of new developing technologies and digital platforms.
5. Previous work experience with UNICEF is desirable but not a requirement.

6. Additional skills: Fluent in oral and written English and Spanish. French and/or Portuguese will be an asset.

    

WORKPLACE:

The consultant will work remotely. If travel is required, travel costs will be covered by UNICEF as per travel guidance.

The consultant may be asked to work weekends and holidays as required.

FEES:

Qualified candidates are requested to submit a financial proposal. Proven past experience and financial proposal will be taken into consideration during selection process. Travel will be covered by UNICEF as per policy. Costs of known trips should be included in the financial proposal.

HOW TO APPLY

The deadline to receive applications is 27/Aug/2017.

The pre-selection of candidates will be done after closing date.  Please note only selected candidates will be contacted.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.