United States: Consultant - Parenting in Crisis Technical Advisor, ECDAN
Tracking Code: 12256
Job Description:
Start Date: As soon as possible
Period: 100 Days
PATH is a global nonprofit dedicated to achieving health equity. With more than 40 years of experience forging multisector partnerships, and with expertise in science, economics, technology, advocacy, and dozens of other specialties, PATH develops and scales up innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing health challenges.
ECDAN Overview:
Hosted by PATH, the Early Childhood Action Network (ECDAN) is a global network that connects, gathers, disseminates, and advocates for cross sector solutions to improve the overall wellbeing of young children and families, so that every young child is safe, well-nourished, healthy, happy and learning. Since its inception in 2016, hundreds of members of the early childhood development (ECD) community have contributed recommendations for the type of network needed by the ECD community to advance the goals of its agenda — moving from science to scale and accelerating progress towards achieving the relevant Sustainable Development Goals for early childhood development.[1]
GISP Overview:
The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the pivotal role parents and caregivers play at the frontlines of protecting their children from stress, and promoting their development, health, and well-being. Disrupted child and family services and social isolation from lockdown measures led to a vacuum of support around overburdened and stressed parents and caregivers and created a global parenting crisis.
To urgently increase awareness and action in support of parents, ECDAN in partnership with UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the Global Partnership to End Violence, and Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH) launched the “Global Initiative to Support Parents” to urgently increase awareness and action in support of parents and caregivers. Through the GISP, partners are calling for three collective goals, to:
- Protect children and adolescents, and support families to cope with the multiple stressors, including those resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Enable parents to nurture their children’s development across the life course, in the context of reduced child-related services and increased parental responsibilities.
- Build the foundation for mainstreaming the uptake and implementation of evidence-based parent and caregiver support initiatives in all countries.
The coalition is working with implementers, researchers, policymakers, and donors to scale parenting support worldwide through taking the following collective actions:
- Scale: Invest in proven, cost-effective parenting interventions while building capacity to sustain delivery of the services.
- Innovate: Design new digital and hybrid approaches that leverage technology to lower costs, increase uptake and reach underserved populations.
- Generate Evidence: Test innovation through real-world trials, optimization studies on core components, and implementation research across contexts at scale.
- Advocate: Investing in advocacy for the uptake of parenting interventions through policy advocacy and public and private financing.
Purpose:
Recognizing the essential role that parents and caregivers play in strengthening children’s capacity to cope with stressful situations, particularly in humanitarian contexts, this aim of this position is to provide parenting support in a set of protracted and sudden-onset humanitarian situations and use the resources developed in preparedness for upcoming crises. The work focuses on health, conflict and climate-related crises – in both refugees and internally displaced persons (IDP) settings - when it is often not safe to deliver in-person programmes, and where high numbers of families are at extreme risk. Multiple approaches are used to deliver evidence-based resources, including social media, printed media, television and radio, some examples can be found here:
- Parenting programs in post-conflict Colombia, Palestine, Afghanistan and Lebanon (UNODC).
- Positive Parenting tips during the Pakistan Floods
- Positive Parenting tips during the Ukraine Conflict
- Positive Parenting tips during COVID-19
While remaining nimble and responsive, the work will be carried out in close collaboration, at global and country level, with the key UN agencies (incl. UNICEF, WHO, UNHCR, UNODC) as well as with the IASC Cluster System (Protection, Health, Education Clusters, Child Protection Area of Responsibility, Child Protection Alliance and the IASC Reference Group for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support).
Responsibilities:
The GISP Adviser on Parenting in Crisis will work on the following responsibilities in close collaboration with the core partners, the humanitarian partners.
Objective 1. Bring together key partners and provide strategic leadership to provide parenting support in humanitarian crisis situations:
- 1.a. Partnership-building: develop strong working relationships with key IASC, Cluster, UN, government and INGO partners working in the humanitarian realm
- 1.b. Strategy-building: support in the articulation of a strategy and a standard operating procedure (SOP) to co-adapt and deliver resources in a timely and reliable manner.
- 1.c. Preparedness: stay informed of ongoing crises and monitor trends in the crisis response
- 1.d. Landscape analysis: Develop a landscape analysis of parenting in crisis to support ongoing and future work, including through reviews of academic literature, grey literature, and discussions with partners
- 1.e. Knowledge resources: Develop templates and resources on parenting in crisis for use by GISP agencies and partners
Objective 2. Provide immediate support, in-country and/or remote, to two countries that are facing a protracted emergency (e.g., Nigeria and DRC) and sudden onset emergencies as they occur (i.e. Iran, Bangladesh):
- 2.a. Logistics coordination: manage the project stages from adaptation of tools, gaining feedback and endorsements from UN and local agencies, translation, monitoring and evaluation.
- 2.b. Team leader: Bring together short-term teams of volunteers and staff with local expertise, manage volunteer translators, and lead a team to disseminate via government, NGOs and civil society.
- 2.c. Build capacity: Lead in organising training for both internal and external volunteers.
- 2.d. Knowledge: Support monitoring of reach of parenting in crisis initiatives with national partners, support impact evaluations through translation of pre-post tools for context, and document knowledge during implementation
Objective 3. Map current donors and support the development of a funding proposal:
- 3.a. Donor mapping: In close collaboration with the Moving Minds Alliance and other existing donor consortia map donors that are potentially interested in this area of work (bilateral and philanthropy)
- 3.b. Proposal writing: In collaboration with core partners develop an audacious funding proposal (for end of 2023) to provide universal parenting supporting in the 20 most affected humanitarian crises
[1] Relevant SDG targets: 2.1, 2.2, 3.2, 4.2, 16.2, and 17
Required Experience:
- Technical knowledge, understanding, and experience with the international humanitarian landscape and architecture and with the Humanitarian Programme Cycle, particularly as it related to supporting children, parents, and families in crisis.
- Strong analytical, research and writing skills with previous experience in conducting landscape analyses.
- Previous experience in management within a charitable, social venture, and/or philanthropic organisation.
- Demonstrated experience working cross-functionally and with external partners.
- Demonstrated experience and knowledge of the development, implementation, evaluation, and scale-up of parenting programmes in crisis contexts in the Global South.
- Outstanding and dynamic communication, interpersonal and leadership skills.
- Ability to work closely with a diverse team of individuals in varied cultural, political, and religious environments doing intense and dynamic work.
- Experience of coordinating and managing effective stakeholder relationships to work in unison towards a clear goal and the ability to drive outstanding performance and gain commitment.
- Excellent time management skills and ability to organise workload efficiently.
- Commitment to GISP’s mission and core values.
- Master’s in a related field, PhD preferred.
COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement:
PATH has instituted a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all employees, interns, consultants, and temporary staff based in the United States. Individuals selected for job opportunities in the United States must be fully vaccinated, and show proof of vaccination status, upon hire. Individuals are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as Pfizer or Moderna, or 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson. Individuals with medical issues or sincerely held religious beliefs that prevent them from getting the vaccine may request an exemption from the vaccine requirement.
PATH is dedicated to building an inclusive workforce where diversity is valued.
PATH is an equal opportunity employer. Every qualified applicant will be considered for employment. PATH does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, age, national origin, marital status, disability status, political ideology, military or protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
How to Apply:
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