Ukraine: Early Childhood Development (ECD) Specialist

Job no: 560760
Contract type: Temporary Appointment
Duty Station: Kyiv
Level: P-4
Location: Ukraine
Categories: Early Childhood Development

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, education. 

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

Job organizational context: The ECD Specialist GJP is to be used in a Country Office (CO) where ECD is a programme component of the Country Programme (or UNDAF).

How can you make a difference?

Purpose for the Bob:

The ECD Specialist reports to the Chief or Deputy Representative for general guidance and direction. In close collaboration with relevant sectors, the ECD Specialist is responsible for coordinating the design, development, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of ECD programmes within the Country Programme.

The Specialist is also responsible for the provision of timely and effective advocacy and technical support to national counterparts for the design, implementation and monitoring of ECD policies, promoting the rights of the younger children as established under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, international treaties/framework and UN intergovernmental bodies.

The Specialist contributes to the achievement of concrete and sustainable programme/project results on ECD related programmes/projects according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM) and UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework.

Summary of Key Functions/Accountabilities:

• Technical leadership in ECD programming
• Strategic management, monitoring and delivery of results on ECD programmes
• Advisory services, quality oversight and technical support
• Advocacy, networking and partnership building
• Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

Technical Leadership in ECD Programming: 

• Design and update the situation analysis and assessments on ECD related issues to establish evidence-based data to support holistic policy and programme development, as well as coordinated planning, implementation and monitoring of early childhood development programmes/projects within the country programme.
• Keep abreast of national, regional and international development priorities to identify opportunities where ECD can enhance inter-sector partnership, integration and linkages.
• Participate in CO programme planning to determine strategic areas for ECD integration/intervention. Contribute to the formulation, design and preparation of the Country Programme to ensure integration of ECD in a holistic manner across programme areas and to ensure alignment of ECD programmes with the MTSP, UNICEF’s Strategic Plans and coherence/integration with UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), regional strategies and national priorities, plans and competencies.
• Establish specific goals, objectives, strategies and implementation plans for the ECD programmes/projects using a results-based planning terminology and methodology (RBM). Prepare required documentations on ECD related issues for programme review and approval.
• Promote and provide technical expertise to major monitoring and evaluation exercises, programme reviews and annual reviews with government and other counterparts to assess ECD progress and to engage stakeholders to take required action/interventions to achieve results
• Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues and partners to discuss strategies and methodologies and to determine national priorities/competencies to promote inter-sector partnerships and holistic approach to ECD.
• Provide authoritative technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes to ensure ECD integration, coherence and harmonization with other UNICEF sectors and achievement of results as planned and allocated.    

Strategic Management, Monitoring and Delivery of Results on ECD Programmes: 

• Plan and/or collaborate with monitoring and evaluation initiatives to establish benchmarks, performance indicators and other UNICEF/UN system indicators, to assess/strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results on ECD programmes/projects.
• Prepare/assess monitoring and evaluation reports to identify gaps, strengths/weaknesses in programme management, identify lessons learned and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely intervention to achieve goals.
• Monitor ECD programmes/projects to assess progress, identify bottlenecks and potential problems and take timely decisions to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for timely resolution.
• Plan, monitor and control the use of ECD programme resources (financial, human, administrative and other assets) certifying/verifying compliance with organizational rules, regulations and procedures, donor commitments and standards of accountability and integrity. Ensure timely reporting and liquidation of resources.
• Submit/prepare ECD programme/project reports to donors and other partners to keep them informed on programme progress and critical issues.

Advisory Services, Quality Oversight and Technical Support: 

• Provide technical advice and/or written guidance to key government officials, NGO, UN system and other country office partners on policies, strategies, best practices and approaches on ECD issues to support programme development planning, implementation and delivery of results.
• Participate in strategic discussions, meetings and other international/national meetings and workshops to provide ECD evidence based papers and inputs to influence policy and agenda setting on ECD.
• Prepare ECD policy papers, briefs and other strategic programme materials for management use, information and consideration in programme development discussion and planning.

Advocacy, Networking and Partnership Building: 

• Build and strengthen strategic partnerships through networking and advocacy with local/national governments, UN system agency partners, donors, internationally recognized institutions, NGOs, funding organizations, research institutes, universities, private sector and communities to reinforce cooperation and/or pursue opportunities to promote goals and achieve sustainable and broad results on ECD.
• Prepare communication strategies and implementation plans and activities for ECD initiatives for maximum communication impact and outreach to promote awareness, establish partnership/alliances and promote increased investments in ECD interventions.
• Participate and/or represent UNICEF in inter-agency (UNCT) discussions and planning on early childhood development to ensure organizational position, interests and priorities on early childhood development are fully considered and integrated in the UNDAF development planning and agenda setting process. Collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues in the UNDAF planning and preparation of programmes/projects including emergency preparedness.

Innovation, Knowledge Management and Capacity Building: 

• Promote critical thinking, innovative approaches and good practices for ECD programmes/projects initiatives through advocacy and technical advisory services.
• Keep abreast, research, benchmark, introduce and implement best and cutting edge practices on ECD. Institutionalize and disseminate best practices and knowledge learned to support development planning and implementation.
• Contribute to the development of policies and procedures and introduce innovation and best practices to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable programmes and projects.
• Organize/plan/implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of a wide range of internal and external partners/stakeholders to promote sustainable results on ECD programmes/projects.
• Impact of results

The strategic and effective advocacy, planning and formulation of holistic ECD programmes/projects and the achievement of concrete and sustainable results from ECD programmes contributes to the achievement of UNICEF goals for care and protection of children from the early stages of their life and promotes/protects their rights to survival, development and well being in society. Achievements in programmes and projects in turn contributes to maintaining/enhancing the credibility and ability of UNICEF to provide programme services for mothers/caregivers and children that promotes greater social equality in the country.

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

Education:  

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: education, public administration, public health, nutrition, economics, psychology, sociology, human development, child development, family studies or another relevant technical field.

Experience: 

• A minimum of eight years of professional experience in social development planning and management in early childhood development related areas is required.
• Experience working in a developing country is considered as an asset.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

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.
8. Nurtures, leads and manages people

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework 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.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

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 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.

How to Apply: 

Application link: https://jobs.unicef.org/cw/en-us/job/560760/early-childhood-development-ecd-specialist-p4-ta-kyiv-ukraine

Remarks:

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. 

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service. 

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government 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.

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

Eligible UNICEF International Professional (IP) Staff Members on fixed-term, continuing or permanent contracts applying to a Temporary Appointment, which is dedicated to L3 (or L2) Response, may be able to retain a lien and their fixed-term entitlements. The conditions of the temporary assignment will vary depending on the status of their post and their current tour of duty, and relocation entitlements may be limited as per the relevant policies.

The VA is open to all (internal and external candidates).