Nat Indiv Consultant to support MER in the coordination of the Refugee Response to ensure the inclusion of refugee children in the Moldovan education system

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

Two years into the conflict in Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova (hereinafter referred to as Moldova) has seen an influx of over 970,000 individuals seeking refuge from the crisis. Of this staggering number, approximately 120,000 refugees, 44 percent of whom are children, currently reside in Moldova, constituting nearly 4 percent of the country’s total population (Source: UNHCR Data Portal).

In response to this crisis, several sector coordination working groups were established under the Inter Agency Refugee Coordination team including for the Education sector. An Education Refugee Sector Working Group, under the leadership of MER, was established to enhance and strengthen the coordination of partners’ education interventions devoted to support the Government of Moldova in providing access to quality and inclusive education in safe and protective learning environments for refugee children living in Moldova. 

Despite all collaborative efforts, Moldovan schools are still witnessing a low enrolment rate of Ukrainian children.  An estimated 37,000 school-age refugee children residing in the Republic of Moldova, and only 2,314 Ukrainian children are enrolled in kindergartens and schools according to MER data in March 2024.

How can you make a difference? 

1. Purpose of the individual consultancy

This consultancy aims to support the coordination and management of emergencies at the MER, including the ongoing process of capacity strengthening and institutionalizing emergency response within the ministry. The consultancy aims to extend the technical assistant (TA) that will be placed within the MER as a team member.

2. Specific purpose of the individual consultancy

The specific purposes of the consultancy a to:

(i) work closely with the MER management, relevant Heads of Directorates, Education Refugee Working Group and partners to support the MER in planning and responding to Education in Emergencies (EiE), and act as a focal point for refugee response and emergency at the MER. The consultant is also expected to work with the Ministry of Education and Research to strengthen the EiE functioning and liaising with the of Education Refugee Working Group.

(ii) Strengthen capacity of MER staff managing emergency response and coordination at national and district level including monitoring activities, data collection, assessments roll-out and information sharing.  

3. Details of how the work should be delivered

Under the direct supervision of the UNICEF Education Specialist, the consultant will be integrated within the MER and will collaborate with the State Secretary at MER and work closely with the Education Refugee Working Group co-chairs (UNICEF and UNHCR), as well as partners and all relevant Heads of Directorates (HDs) at the MER.

4. Deliverables and delivery dates

Activity	Deliverables	Timeframe	Percentage of payment
Support the MER in planning and coordinating the activities of the Education Refugee Working Group	6 Education Sector Working Group meetings are conducted every month with clear meeting minutes developed and action points closely followed up by MER.	Last Thursday of each month.	10%
Conduct capacity development of relevant MER staff on EiE	At least 1 MER staff capacitated on different EiE components.	June – July 2024	15%
Support planning and roll out of assessments conducted by partners and under the leadership of MER whenever needed.	At least 1 assessment conducted in coordination with MER.	August – September 2024	10%
Support the MER staff in information management and data collection sharing regarding refugee children enrollment and attendance in schools.	Provision of 6 monthly disaggregated data reports on refugee children enrolled in schools by age, sex, education level and geographic location and provide trend analysis.	June – December 2024	5%
Support MER in the development and roll-out of an Action Plan based on the Road map for the Full Inclusion of Refugee Children in the Education System in Moldova by 2027.	Action plan developed based on the MER Road Map as well as monitor action plan implementation.	June 2024	40%
Submit Final Report to UNICEF covering: The enrollment procedure updates. Key achievement and bottlenecks. Support to UNICEF and the Implementing Partners (IPs) IPs in coordinating EiE projects and activities within the MER. Assessments conducted. Reports will be developed using a template to be shared by UNICEF	1 Final Narrative Report.	December 2024	20%

* Exact deadlines will be mutually agreed upon contract signature.

5. Reporting requirements

The consultant will report to UNICEF Education Specialist who will regularly communicate with the consultant and provide feedback and guidance on his/her performance and all other necessary support to achieve objectives of the consultancy, as well as remain aware of any upcoming issues related to consultant’s performance and quality of work.

All activities and deliverables undertaken by the consultant shall be discussed and planned in consultation with UNICEF Moldova Country Office. The consultant is expected to deliver each component of the workplan electronically (in Word format) in Romanian and English. At each stage, the deliverable shall be sent to UNICEF Education Specialist by email, with the Deputy Representative and Emergency Coordinator in copy.  

6. Work location and official travel involved

The consultant will work within the MER premises in Chisinau. MER will secure an office and other work equipment.

The work might require local travels to conduct meeting, assessments, in-person visits and interviews with the different government authorities and partners.

To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, UNICEF will facilitate the contact with the MER and other relevant stakeholders and will provide timely feedback to all deliverables to be presented by the consultant. If need be, UNICEF will provide support in contacting other relevant stakeholders during the assessment process.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have

• Advanced University Degree in Education, Social Sciences or related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in education policy development.
• Proven experience in leading cross-sectoral education teams or another social field.
• Proven experience of displaying very good analytical skills (copies of previous strategic, analytical works involving multidisciplinary teams to be provided).
• Demonstrated strong knowledge of the education system in Moldova.
• Familiarity with international, EU and European Commission policies and benchmarks in education and best European practices in the field of education.
• Demonstrated experience of work with the Government of the Republic of Moldova in developing education strategies or another social field.

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. 

For more details on the consultancy assignment and requirements, please refer to attached Terms of reference (ToR)

 2024_TOR_Nat Indiv Consultant_MER support for Refugee Response_VA.docx

HOW TO APPLY: Your online application should contain the Technical Offer and Financial Offer (templates below). Please secure the Financial Proposal *.pdf document with a password on document view; the password will be requested only from technically qualified candidates.  

 Technical Offer_MER support for Refugee Response.docx

 Financial Offer_MER support for Refugee Response.xlsx

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 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.