UNICEF Romania Roster of Consultants: Experts in Education

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

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Background

UNICEF supports the Government of Romania to strengthen the national education system with design and implementation of rights-based legislation and policies, budgets and operational structures for quality inclusive education.

Overall, UNICEF’s agenda in education prioritizes the following areas for the period 2023 – 2027:

• Reducing school segregation and fostering inclusion of the most vulnerable children affected by deep-rooted discrimination, wealth and income inequality, and social exclusion – specifically: Roma children, children from rural areas and low-income rural and urban households, children with disabilities, refugee children.
• Strengthening integration of socio- emotional abilities, life skills personal development and mental health into the national curriculum and daily teaching practices.
• Strengthening the role of parents, communities and wider society in education.
• Strengthening early childhood education and care system.
• Strengthening child participation in education.

To meet the need for expertise in education, UNICEF Romania is creating a roster of specialists in education.

The roster will serve as a human resources repository from which UNICEF Romania can quickly draw pre-vetted, qualified specialists for assignments.

Scope of work and responsibilities

UNICEF Romania invites qualified candidates to express their interest to be included in the roster of education specialists. The experts will be responsible for supporting UNICEF in evidence generation, policy and legal analyses, policy advocacy, policy and programme planning, implementation, and monitoring to support quality inclusive education in Romania. They will be called to work in the following areas:

1. Research and situational analyses in education
2. Teacher education and school capacity building
3. Curriculum development and instructional design
4. Social and emotional learning and school well-being
5. Digital transformation in education
6. Policy, programming and financing in education

The selected experts will work closely with UNICEF Romania’s Programme team. When necessary, a close collaboration and interaction with state institutions and Civil Society Organizations will be required. 

Collaboration with state institutions implies working together with the Ministry of Education and other national level institutions as well as the county and local governments. The specialist may also be requested to work closely with development partners and humanitarian agencies, including the EU, United Nations agencies and other international organizations.

The selected specialists may be required to travel across the country to gather evidence and to collaborate with local actors, for which they are expected to make their own arrangements for travel and lodging. Official travel will be specified in the TOR developed separately for each assignment.

The selected specialists are required to use their own equipment necessary for undertaking the assignments.

Key responsibilities of the Education Consultant(s) may include:

• Undertake comprehensive analyses based on data evidence generation and desk research.
• Design, plan and organize activities in the field of teacher education and professional development, curriculum development and application, teaching and classroom management.
• Provide technical support and coordinate capacity building with UNICEF and Ministry of Education to enhance schools’ capacity to promote quality inclusive education, safe and supportive schools and inclusive through adequate programmes, policies, and resources.
• Undertake policy, strategy, and legislation analyses and reports, especially on the roles and authorities with regard to education and educational service provision for children, both at the national and sub-national levels.
• Undertake cost estimation analyses for plans, policies, strategies, and other budget analyses, at national, sector and sub-national level.

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.