International consultant to support Early Childhood Development implementation, Bujumbura, Burundi , 6 months

TOR Consultant ECD final.pdf

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, a champion 

The main purpose of the assignment is to provide strategic and technical support on ECD to the Burundi CO. The consultant is expected to support key expected results on ECD for 2024.

This includes support to the Government in the operationalization of the national multisectoral strategy for early childhood development in Burundi, covering the period 2021-2027 developed under the leadership of the Ministry of Public Health and the Fight against AIDS, in collaboration with its partners, including UNICEF, WHO, WFP, WB and others.

How can you make a difference?

The consultant is expected to bring in experiences from the region and beyond to strengthen ECD in Burundi and to support the preparation and organization of a national ECD dialogue planned in August as well as the high-level women leader’s Forum to be held in early October which will focus on ECD with the following theme: Invest in ECD to build human capital across the life cycle.

The incumbent will contribute to the achievement of concrete and sustainable results on ECD as well as capacity building, advocacy and resource mobilization for ECD. Key tasks to be undertaken by the international consultant include:

• Develop a consultancy work plan including key milestones developed and validated by stakeholders.
• Support coordination of ECD interventions by UNICEF Burundi, with a focus on the implementation of the ECD package at national and decentralized levels: technical guidance to the development /refinement of the workplan for ECD, support the work on ECD baseline, implementation of key family practices, document the work on ECD and provide updates to be shared regularly with UNICEF management and stakeholders,
• Ensure strategic guidance, capacity building and technical assistance on ECD to lead sectoral ministries and other sectors engaged in the implementation of the national ECD strategy: review/support for the finalization of the operational plan; support the development of integrated monitoring tools and training manuals for implementation of ECD multisectoral – assist in identifying effective coordination/governance structures based on other relevant country experiences; support advocacy and required documentation on costing to support increased investments for ECD;)
• Support the organization of key fora on ECD and participate/support others as relevant, with a focus on a national ECD dialogue and a High-level Forum: support in the preparation and organization of the national dialogue including preparation of background notes, presentations, identification of speakers etc.) and the high-level women leaders’ Forum around ECD as well as contributions on ECD for other dialogues/meetings; support for the organization of an exchange visit on ECD with other countries.

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

• Master’s degree in social sciences and /or professional background in Early Childhood development or any other related technical field (public health, nutrition etc).
• Minimum five years of relevant professional experience in the field of Early Childhood Development
• Previous experience in developing strategies, plans and costing of the plan;Involvement in policy development, research and analysis related to ECD, programme design and implementation;Experience in conducting similar assignments, with samples of own work to be submitted upon request;Familiarity with Burundi or similar contexts an asset.
• Strong interpersonal skills and, experienced facilitating multi-stakeholder workshop including high level national dialogues; Previous experience with multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder program planning, development, review, and evaluation; Sound research and analytical skills
• Fluency in written and spoken French and English is required.

How to apply  

Interested candidates should submit:

• A cover letter
• An updated CV
• A financial proposal: The financial Proposal comprises the costing of the consultancy (consultancy fees, travel and visa fees, communication fee, daily allowances…)
• A technical proposal that should contain the context, the purpose of the work, the methodology to develop the multisectoral operational plan, the expected results…)

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.