Climate Change and Environmental Education

The purpose of this consultancy is to provide technical leadership to a committee which will comprise key stakeholders from MBSSE, Ministry of Environment and other relevant ministries, UN agencies and CSOs (NGOs/INGOs), children, youth advocates and climate activists, and teachers to review the existing curriculum against international guidance and standards to develop a set of curriculum standards and material for climate change and environmental education. The consultant will work under the supervision of UNICEF Education Specialist, ADAP, and with support from regional office staff (education and climate) and the afore-mentioned committee.

The climate change and environmental education curriculum standards developed will complement the ongoing effort to strengthen the disaster risk reduction and resilience of the education system. By collaborating closely with the committee responsible for the DRR consultancy, the consultant will ensure that the curriculum standards align with the broader goals of building resilience and promoting sustainable development. system.

Methodology and Technical Approach:

• Through remote and face-to-face consultations/workshops with UNICEF education staff and the committee, the consultant will deliver the tasks listed below.

Specific Tasks

• Lead the desk review of national policies and curriculum frameworks, regional best practices, and international guidance on climate change and environmental education and draft an inception report based on the findings.
• Based on this review and the existing framework for climate literacy education, draft a set of curriculum standards for basic education (pre-primary, primary, and junior and senior secondary school), conduct a review process with the committee, collate all inputs and effect necessary changes to the standards, and finalize the standards with a set of expert recommendations for their implementation.
• Lead the development of criteria/checklist based on the curriculum standards to be used for reviewing climate change and environmental education content and share with the committee for feedback and validation before finalizing the checklist.
• Lead the committee in collating existing climate change and environmental education content (including examples of child-, youth- and student-led practical climate actions) from local CSOs and NGOs, UN agencies, other development organizations, and government agencies and map the content against the developed criteria to curate a set of materials which can be used by teachers and learners to implement the standards across basic education levels.
• Lead a workshop with the committee to validate, revise and finalize the curated packages and identify remaining gaps in available content.
• Develop, with input from the committee—especially MBSSE technical teams and teachers— brief guidance notes for each package by education level (pre-primary, primary, and junior and senior secondary school) to guide teachers and school personnel on how to use them.
• Piloting of the curriculum standards in pre-primary/primary/secondary schools. The number of schools to be engaged in the pilot will be agreed on at the inception of the consultancy.

Management, Organization and Timeframe:

• The Consultant will work under the overall guidance and oversight the UNICEF Education Specialist, ADAP. In delivering the tasks, she/he will work in close coordination with Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), the Ministry of Environment and other relevant national stakeholders. The consultant will operate from home with travels to Sierra Leone as required (at least two travels – 5-6 weeks in total). The need for travel in the field will be discussed with the Consultant at the inception of the work.
• Please see attached ToR for detailed information.

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

• Masters Climate Change; Environmental Science; Environmental Education; Science Education or other related field.
• A minimum of 8 years of experience in environmental science and/or environmental education
• A minimum of 5 years of experience advising government and other education stakeholders on the integration of climate change and environmental science into education policies or curricula.
• At least 5 years of experience translating environmental science into practical and actionable content for education stakeholders, specifically teachers and children.
• Demonstrable experience supporting the development or review of climate- and environment-related education content.
• A minimum of 5 years working experience working in or as a direct consultant for UN organizations and/or Ministries of Education and/or Ministries of Environment.
• Strong working knowledge of key international guidance on climate change and environmental education, curriculum and teaching/learning content development
• Strong knowledge of the Sierra Leone (or at least other developing countries) context and understanding of international development issues, including the status of the humanitarian-development nexus nationally and at the state level in Sierra Leone, particularly as it relates to education for girls and marginalized populations.
• Strong working knowledge of Sierra Leone education curriculum.

Other skills and attributes:

• Experience working in Sierra Leone, West and Central Africa region, or other similar development contexts. Excellent written and oral communication skills, with experience translating evidence for and communicating with a broad range of actors (including government and children/young people) on various issues including sensitive ones.
• Ability to present ideas concisely for diverse audiences and to give practical, actionable advice grounded in evidence.

Language requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.

Source: https://jobs.unicef.org/en-us/job/571668/international-consultancy-climate-change-and-environmental-education-ccee-curriculum-standards-freetown-sierra-leone