Early Childhood Development Specialist, P3, Temporary Appointment, ECARO, O/P Bratislava, Slovakia Refugee Response (8 months) with support to Hungary RRO Post#128406 REQ#571270

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For every child, A Future

In the context of the Refugee Response Plan and in alignment with UNICEF’s Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action, the incumbent will be responsible for managing and supervising implementation of early childhood development (ECD) programmes of the refugee response in Slovakia and Hungary, including coordination with ECARO around strategy and plans across Refugee Response Offices (RROs)

This includes strategic planning and formulation, as well as delivery of results on strengthening national systems to ensure the integration of refugee children, access to quality, equitable and inclusive early childhood education, and development, especially for children who are marginalized, disadvantaged, and excluded in society.

How can you make a difference?

1. Provide leadership, management, and quality technical guidance for the timely and effective implementation of ECD programmes in Slovakia and Hungary, and coordination for the Education Section in Slovakia

•  Provide technical guidance to the ECD programmes and provide clear guidance to the team for effective and efficient programme implementation.
•  Keep abreast of national, regional, and international development priorities on education to leverage UNICEF’s position and competencies with donors, national governments, communities, and constituents to advocate and promote education initiatives and policies.
• Quality management (e.g., funding management, including budget planning, allocation, monitoring and tracking funds utilization) to ensure timely use of programme resources, certifying and verifying using organizational rules, regulations and procedures, donor commitments and standards.
• Participate in programme meetings including programme implementation and contingency planning to provide technical and operational information, advice and support.
• Draft ECD policy papers, briefs and other strategic programme materials for management use, information and/or consideration.
• Coordinate with the Regional Office around strategy, plans and effective implementation of ECD programmes in response offices – active participation and information sharing.
• Provide leadership and coordination for the Education Section in Slovakia (which comprises of ECD, Education and ADAP programmes) and, in cooperation with team members, ensure the timely, effective implementation of relevant programmes.

2. Advisory services, technical support, Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building in Slovakia and Hungary

• Apply/introduce innovative approaches and good practices to build the capacity of partners and stakeholders and to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results on ECD.
• Provide technical advice to key government partners, NGOs, UN system and other partners on strategies and best practices to influence approaches and policies aiming at inclusion of refugee children and other children from vulnerable groups (as per request for technical assistance from the Government);
• 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, and implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of stakeholders to promote sustainable results on ECD programmes in Slovakia and Hungary.

3. Coordinate with the Regional Office around strategy, plans and effective implementation of ECD programmes in response offices 

•  Organise information-sharing meetings with RO staff
•  Active contribution to technical discussions of RO ECD team – preparation of materials and presentations
• Coordination with the RO team around strategy, plans and implementation of ECD response across response offices

Deliverables:

1. Leadership, management and quality technical guidance for the timely and effective implementation of ECD programmes in Slovakia and Hungary, and coordination of the Education Section in Slovakia

• ECD and ECEC-related partnerships managed as per HACT requirements
• All work plans with government partners (including municipalities) in Slovakia and Hungary and all programmes with COS partners in Slovakia involving residual humanitarian ECD components implemented and completed;
• Overall technical leadership for monitoring and implementation of ECD programme (weekly)
• Supervision of staff and consultants working on different aspect of the ECD programmes in Slovakia and Hungary; and coordination of Education Section in Slovakia
• Plan, approve, monitor, certify, and control the use of 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.
• Review of expiring grants and KPIs (weekly);
• Ensure that all related humanitarian partnerships are closed as planned;
• Provide inputs for all donor reports and Sit Reps;

2. Advisory services, technical support, Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building in Slovakia and Hungary

• Technical advice to partners and national teams in Slovakia and Hungary working on technical support to national authorities in the area of ECEC&ECD –  preparation of materials, briefs, presentations etc. (based on needs);
• Cross-sectoral work on ECD coordinated to advance ECD efforts in a coherent manner
• Support provided for communications plans and advocacy strategy for ECD and ECEC

3. Coordination with Regional Office on strategy, plans and implementation/completion of ECD programmes in response offices

ECD work is coordinated with the Regional Office in order to advance the ECD efforts across response offices in an efficient and effective

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

The following minimum requirements:

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, humanities, or another relevant technical field.

Work Experience

•  At least (5) years of relevant work experience in social development planning and management in early childhood development related areas is required.
• Experience working in an EU 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.

The following desirables:

 Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

The 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) competency (Nurtures, leads and manages people) for a supervisory role]. 

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is: a role with direct contact with children, works directly with children, or is a safeguarding response role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) apply.

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 does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will 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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions 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. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.