International Consultant for technical support in capacity building of speech and language therapy specialists working with bilingual and multilingual children in Abkhazia.

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

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

       Since early 2016, UNICEF has been engaged in evidence-based advocacy with local decision makers and education experts, district boards of education, as well as relevant civil society organizations in Abkhazia, Georgia on the introduction of mother tongue based multilingual education (MTB MLE). The aim has been to increase the knowledge and understanding of local decision makers and education experts on international best practices in MTB MLE and the positive impact MTB MLE could have in Abkhazia on the quality of education, learning achievements of children, and social cohesion. Since then, a number of capacity building activities and awareness raising events such as round tables, workshops and study tours, have been organized to sensitize local decision makers and education and language specialists on MTB MLE practice. Also, work with parents has been conducted to promote understanding of the benefits of MTB MLE programmes and overall positive impact on child development and student learning outcomes.

        Children’s academic and future professional achievements are known to depend, among other factors, on successful language acquisition. Therefore, being able to detect and address atypical language development as early as possible has become increasingly crucial. In Abkhazia, there seems to be a gap between the speech and language therapists’ knowledge about the specific requirements for providing Speech Language Therapy (SLT) for multilingual children and their common practice, which points to insufficient awareness and a lack of materials and resources, and a need for special training.

        Moreover, lack of understanding among the language and speech specialists in Abkhazia that, even though multilingual language acquisition differs from monolingual language acquisition, multilingualism per se is not to be regarded as a factor endangering language development. It has been repeatedly reported that due to the lack of knowledge and understanding, local specialists continue to believe that bilingual and multilingual children are prone to speech and language disorders. As a result, the parents of bilingual/multilingual children are recommended to use only one language.

Scope of Work:

The selected consultant or a group of consultants will support UNICEF in conducting an assessment in the field of speech and language development of preschool bilingual and multilingual children and will map the training needs for specialists in this area. The consultant/s will develop a situation analysis report with recommendations for possible future action. Based on the SitAn, the selected consultant or a group of consultants will develop a training programme and conduct a 5-day training workshop for speech and language specialists who work with bilingual and multilingual children with language and speech difficulties. It is also expected that the selected consultant/s will develop a manual for speech and language specialists who work with bilingual and multilingual children with language and speech difficulties and also develop materials for parents of preschool children on how to support their speech and language development.

In case of groups of experts, each group member should apply individually referencing all other members of the group in the application and specifying which components of the TOR each of the members of the group will be covering (with estimated number of days), so that together they cover the entire scope of the TOR. Daily fee and the lump sum for relevant components should be indicated. 

Most of the work will be implemented remotely. A 5-day visit to Abkhazia will be considered depending on the situation with entry procedures.  Thus, applicants need to include two financial proposals: one with travel costs and one without travel costs.

Duration: 1 May- 31 July

Location: Home based

Travel: It is planned to organize one international travel to Abkhazia to conduct meetings and workshops with local stakeholders. Airfare economy flight ticket (round-trip).

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

• Advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: speech/language pathology or therapy, sociology, child development, public health, family health, health or educational research, special needs education or other relevant fields;
• More than 8 years of experience in the field of speech/language therapy with a focus on bilingual and/or multilingual children;
• Demonstrated experience in capacity building of speech and language therapists and multidisciplinary teams including conduction training for speech and language specialists, psychologists and language experts;
• Experience working in multilingual settings;
• Excellent English language skills. Knowledge of Russian language is an asset;
• Ability to work in sensitive situations and under tight deadlines;
• Familiarity with UNICEF’s work in the area of education;
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills; ability to work with minimum supervision in a multi-national environment with team members from different cultural backgrounds;
• Good knowledge and use of Microsoft package and relevant software for remote work.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please visit  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.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

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 also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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. 

Remarks:  

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

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.