Senior Consultant (Crisis sensitive educational planning, Caribbean SIDS)
OVERVIEW
Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED)
Duty Station: Paris
Job Family: Programme Coordination
Type of contract : Non Staff
Duration of contract : From 7 to 11 months
Recruitment open to : External candidates
Application Deadline (Midnight Duty Station Time) : 31 - Mar - 2025
UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism
OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST
One billion children – nearly half of the world’s children – live in ‘extremely high risk’ countries on account of climate and environmental shock and stress. Nearly 40 million children a year have their education interrupted by climate-induced disasters and subsequent disease outbreaks following extreme weather events. Climate change is also linked to multiple indirect effects on children’s education, increasing risks of malnutrition, disruption of livelihoods, increased child marriage and child labor, which keep children out of school. Teachers are often not prepared to teach about climate change and environmental subjects, and schools are often not well-equipped to prepare students to become empowered to both find and apply solutions and mobilize their communities for climate action. The foundations of a just transition to green livelihoods and lifestyles depend on the ability of education systems to provide relevant, quality, equitable learning opportunities to all children. GPE partner countries as a whole are particularly vulnerable to climate change; out of the top 60 countries ranked by UNICEF as having the highest children’s climate risk in the world, 55 are GPE partners. In a survey of all GPE Partner countries in February 2023, 88.5% of survey respondents (23/26) indicated their demand for this type of support. The Climate Smart Education Initiative aims to enhance countries’ capacities to mainstream climate change adaptation and environmental sustainability into education sector plans, budgets and strategies as well as to enhance education ministry capacity for cross-sectoral coordination on climate and environment-related policy and programming.
CSESI inception and implementation process at country level
The implementation process for the Climate Smart Education Systems Initiative follows a cycle with the following steps: (1) Inception phase : identification of country need and demand,) identification of country priorities and validation by the LEG ; (2) Development of costed technical workplan; (3) Endorsement by the Ministry of Education; (4) Implementation of capacity support; (5) Monitoring, adaptation and learning; (6) Close out and evaluation.
Purpose of the Assignment
The assignment for this consultancy is to support the implementation of the Climate Smart Education Initiative on behalf of IIEP in five Caribbean SIDS: Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Guyana.
DUTIES AND EXPECTED OUTPUT
The consultant will be tasked to lead the implementation of the CSESI in the Caribbean SIDS on behalf of UNESCO IIEP. This includes the implementation of three activities:
1: Supporting Ministries of Education to develop climate-sensitive education data systems to inform educational planning
2: Enhancing Ministries of Education capacities to conduct education sector risk analyses on the expected impacts of climate change on education services and students’ learning
3: Identifying and supporting climate change adaptation and environmental sustainability measures
More specifically, this would include the following tasks:
- Coordination of the preliminary assessment of data needs, gaps and existing tools, including through liaising with the ministries in each country to collect data tools and drafting the consolidated analytical report.
- Development of materials for three regional workshops bringing together the Caribbean SIDS on: a) data mapping and tools enhancement, b) using data to analyze risks, c) developing climate change adaptation strategies.
- Co-facilitation of the above-mentioned regional workshops with IIEP and national consultants.
- Coordinate and assure quality of in-country technical support provided after each workshop including through supporting the recruitment of local consultants and coordinating their work
- Work in close collaboration with IIEP staff to contribute to the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning activities for the programme.
INDICATIVE TIMETABLE AND DELIVERABLES
- Submission of consolidated report assessing data needs, gaps and existing tools, Month 1
- Submission of concept note and draft materials for regional workshop (a), Month 2
- Submission of report for regional workshop (a), Month 4
- Submission of consolidated action plans for improving mobilization and use of data across 5 Caribbean SIDS countries, Month 5
- Submission of concept note and draft materials for regional workshop (b), Month 6
- Submission of report for regional workshop (b), Month 8
- Submission of consolidated climate risk analyses across 5 Caribbean SIDS countries, Month 9
- Submission of concept note and draft materials for regional workshop (c), Month 10
- Submission of report for regional workshop (c), and submission of consolidated climate adaptation plans across 5 Caribbean SIDS countries, Month 11
COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)
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REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Academic qualifications
- Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in the field of education, international development, social sciences or economics.
Work experience
- At least ten years of experience in the field of education planning technical cooperation projects, in particular in the area of crisis-sensitive planning, of which preferably seven years acquired in the Caribbean.
Competencies
- Excellent knowledge of the issues surrounding education in the context of developing and/or emerging countries, in particular of those related to educational planning and management in the Caribbean.
- Confirmed understanding of contemporary developments in the global education arena and of effective strategies for improving educational planning and management, in particular in crisis-affected contexts.
- Ability to design, manage and implement development programmes/projects with considerable autonomy, related to climate change and education.
- Proven competencies to advise Member States on questions related to the role of education in preventing crisis and mitigating its effects.
- Ability to design, implement and lead training programmes and capacity development workshops.
- Ability to work with and lead multicultural teams.
- Ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
- Excellent ability to build and sustain effective partnerships inside and outside of the Organization.
- Excellent communication skills (oral and written).
- Excellent IT skills, including knowledge of MS software (Word, Excel etc.)
Long Description
Language requirement
- Excellent knowledge of English.
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS
Work Experience
- Experience in developing training materials.
- Experience in facilitating high-level workshops with diverse education stakeholders.
ADITIONAL INFORMATION
Supervisory arrangements
- Under the overall authority of IIEP Director and the Technical Cooperation Team lead, the consultant will report to the lead of the Equity and Resilience Cluster and will lead on the implementation of the CSESI programme in the Caribbean SIDS as outlined above on behalf of the UNESCO-IIEP.
Additional information
- This Consultancy is home-based with frequent travel to partner countries.
- IIEP will cover all travel costs as and when travel to partner countries are needed.
- Travel expenses will be covered by IIEP according to UN travel rules including the visa required.
Payment is conditional on the completion of the tasks and the satisfactory submission of the deliverables within the deadlines defined above, unless otherwise agreed with the project leader.
Application process
Candidates who meet the required qualifications are invited to apply before 10 days from when the RFP is sent by submitting:
- An updated CV (maximum five pages) via UNESCO CAREERS
- A technical and a financial proposal (maximum 3 pages) to: consultancytc@iiep.unesco.org
NOTE : The CV together with the technical and financial proposal must be sent to the email address consultancytc@iiep.unesco.org for the file to be eligible.
The technical and financial offer should briefly outline:
- The consultant’s appreciation of the mission, its scope, and the challenges for its implementation.
- The consultant’s understanding of the assignments, highlighting his/her relevant experience.
- The consultant’s proposed remuneration is based on the deliverables requested.
- Applications that do not include this information will not be considered for the following phases of the counting process.
- Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The consultant may be selected before the date indicated above.
Only retained candidates will be contacted.
SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the UNESCO careers website. No modifications can be made to the application submitted.
The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as an interview.
UNESCO uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates.
Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided.
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