Consultancy: Technical Assistance in Skills for Employment, Education Section, PD - NYHQ, Requisition# 510688

The consultant will provide technical advice for scale up of country office programming on skills for employment and transitions to the workplace. The consultant will bring an understanding of existing evidence and multi sectoral interventions in the area of adolescent skill development and employability, including social inclusion, and apply a participatory and consultative process to the development of products and programs.

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.

Background & Rationale

UNICEF seeks to contribute to the realization of the rights of all children, especially the most disadvantaged. Since learning and skills development are key areas to achieve this envisaged impact, UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2018 – 2021 in its goal area 2 includes a focus on strengthening education systems to effectively support children and adolescents to learn and to develop skills for personal empowerment, active citizenship,  and employability, both in and out of schools, including in humanitarian situations.  Please see annex 1 for full length TOR with further information on the background and rationale.  

Purpose
The consultant will provide technical advice for scale up of country office programming for adolescents on skills for employment and transitions to the workplace.  

Key Tasks:

• Strengthen partnerships with key organizations leading global work on skills development for adolescents
• Provide regular updates on recent literature and evidence on models and approaches for supporting adolescents’ skills development and employability;
• Identify existing and planned interventions (by UNICEF and other agencies and organizations) that contribute to learning and employability of adolescents;
• Identify potential entry points for UNICEF to collaborate with technical agencies to strengthen CO programming and partnerships on skills for employability;
• Support UNICEF in its outreach to organizations to discuss potential deepening of cooperation (e.g. UNICEF focusing on second decade of life and transferable skills, World Bank Group focusing on skills, learning and employment, and ILO focusing on vocational skills and employability);
• Work with UNICEF colleagues both at the global, regional and country levels from various sections including education, social inclusion, child protection and adolescent development to design and improve programming on skills development and to identify proposed strategies and interventions both at the global regional levels;
• Draft concept notes in line with UNICEF guidelines and in consultation with colleagues from relevant sections at UNICEF HQ and regional offices;
• Contribute to program design and evaluation on skills for employment.
• Support learning across UNICEF HQ, RO and CO on evidence programing for skills for employability (webinars, briefings, case studies)

Expected results: (measurable results)

Partnerships

• Engage with the World Bank team leading Solutions for Youth Employment to share learning and evidence between agencies, including providing technical input to UNICEF Kosovo evaluation as a S4YE partner (monthly updates)
• Identify, agree and monitor commitment for Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth through dialogue with ILO (monthly updates)
• Liaise with PFP to identify new partnership opportunities and identify suitable Country Offices with which to engage on design of new programs.  At least 5 concept notes developed in line with UNICEF and donor guidelines.
• In collaboration with CO, develop two proposals (for private sector donors) in line with UNICEF and donor guidelines, including analysis of the problem, strategic orientations for program design, stakeholder assessment, and implementation strategies (theory of change)

Evidence Generation and Knowledge Management

• Provide updates on emerging evidence base on effective strategies and interventions to offer opportunities for skills development for the most marginalized adolescents (monthly briefing)
• Disseminate UNICEF Guidance on skills development and employability, including at least two Regional Network meetings (in person or online) and team site updates.
• organize webinars to communicate strategic initiatives on skills development led by key stakeholders
• produce communication brief for building capacity across the organization

Program Design and Implementation

• Lead Education Section engagement with the ING Bank Funded Skills for Employment program across Kosovo, Montenegro, China and Philippines.
• Provide technical advice to program design, results framework and quality assurance of the annual report and capture lessons learned through case studies and advice to evaluation.
• Plan and coordinate Global Event on Skills for Employability and Citizenship Education, in collaboration with ADAP, to profile learning from the ING country programs.
• Provide technical input when required to HQ and CO documents on skills for employment (including Education Strategy Notes, Annual Results Report).

 The consultant will report to the Senior Education Advisor in the Gender Equality in Education team, Education Section, Programme Division, NYHQ.

Duty Station

UNICEF HQ in New York City.  Should the consultant need to reallocate to New York, UNICEF will cover one return individual economy fare from home location through reimbursement to the consultant.

Timeframe

Start date: 2 April 2018
End date: 20 March 2019  

Key competences, technical background, and experience required Deadline

• An advanced university degree (Master's) in social studies, education or a related field (Master or above);
• At least eight years (8) of experience in the design, implementation and/or evaluation of education and/or training programmes in a low or middle income country context.
• Experience in the design and/or implementation of programs to develop the skills of children and/or adolescents, to improve their employability, including engaging the private sector and initiatives to ease the transition to the work place.
• Understanding of the evidence base on youth employment, including skills for employability.
• Strong programme design skills, including capacity to prepare logical, coherent and consistent documents including evidence, theories of change/results frameworks, log frames and budgets.
• Evaluation and/or research skills an asset, including use of mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative).
• Ability to work efficiently and effectively with project members in various locations and from different disciplines, including remotely writing and revising proposal documents.
• Excellent English speaking/writing skills required, another UN language an asset.

Please indicate your ability, availability and daily/monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above (including travel and daily subsistence allowance, if applicable). Applications submitted without a daily/monthly rate will not be considered.

Remarks

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.   
At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

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.

Note: detail ToRs are attached here:  TOR 11 month consultancy Skills for Employability 3 February 2018.docx