National consultant to support coordination and development of the system level documents and MA programme on Child Rights, Tbilisi, Georgia.

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,

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

The purpose of assignment is to support coordination of the work and development of the system level documents for an MA programme on child rights to be accredited and implemented by local university(ies) with the support of international expert(s).

In 2019, the Government of Georgia adopted the Code on the Rights of the Child of Georgia, which holistically addresses the rights of all children, in compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child (CRC). The Code emphasizes the role of the Government in the realization of child rights, outlining the need for specialization of professionals in child rights to support the delivery of child-friendly services. The Code introduced a more comprehensive system of specialization for all professionals working with children, including pre- and in-service trainings for acting and future professionals to raise awareness on child rights and strengthen their capacity to support and deliver services for children.

UNICEF has taken significant first steps to strengthen the child rights culture in the country, as well as to create and disseminate knowledge on child rights locally and nationally amongst the Government, professionals, parents, youth and children themselves.

UNICEF has a long history of working with academia in Georgia. From 2020, UNICEF formalized these partnerships through the signing memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with seven state universities. This collaboration revolved around the establishment of Child Rights Centers in these universities and strengthening the capacities of academic staff on child rights. As part of this initiative, selected academic staff of these universities underwent a series of comprehensive training and capacity development sessions and gained foundational knowledge and expertise in a range of theoretical and practical aspects essential for upholding children’s rights. Child rights topics have been incorporated into some university educational programmes for the pre-service training of future teachers and other education professionals, as well as for social workers and lawyers who work with children and directly influence the situation of children. In 2023, the Child Rights Center model was expanded to a number of private universities across Georgia, with MoUs signed with three private universities.

UNICEF’s partnership with the above-mentioned universities has revealed a significant commitment and strong belief in the importance of child rights amongst the management and academic staff of the universities. However, there is a lack of child rights specialists who will be responsible for ensuring the realization of rights outlined in the CRC and the Code, as there are no focused university programmes in Georgia designed to prepare specialists in child rights and grant them the respective qualifications.

A dedicated inter-disciplinary master’s programme (MA programme) on child rights would provide in-depth knowledge and understanding of the specific legal, social, educational, psychological and policy issues concerning child rights. A curriculum tailored specifically to child rights, covering topics such as protection, welfare, juvenile justice, psychology, education, health, and participation, will equip students with comprehensive expertise and a deeper understanding of the interdisciplinary character, complexities and nuances in child rights.

Scope of Work:

The main objective of the national consultancy is to coordinate the work and support the development of the MA programme on child rights and respective system level documents to be prepared for programme accreditation.

The national consultant is expected to perform the below tasks in cooperation with UNICEF and programme partners:

1. Develop an action plan for the preparation of an MA programme for accreditation.

2. Develop the selection criteria for universities to be partnered to work on MA programmes and system level documents.

3. Participate in the consultation and selection of partner universities, and support in preparation of respective documents for cooperation.

4. Analyse the courses and topics on human/child rights in existing programmes of partner universities.

5. Cooperate with international expert(s) on the analyses of existing international practices on child rights MA qualification programmes.

6. Coordinate the work on MA programme and system level documents, including:

– Development of the structure of MA programme together with international expert(s) and partner universities, including provision of content-based inputs and recommendations,

– Development of system level documents/proposals on revisions needed for introduction of MA in child rights,

– Delivery and moderation of respective trainings, seminars, and workshops for partner universities/team of authors and participation in high level discussions,

– Organization of focus-group discussions with respective experts and youth/university students,

–  Communication and cooperation with the respective department(s) of the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth (MoESY) and the National Center for Educational   Quality Enhancement (NCEQE),

– Coordinate the finalization of all documents and application process for programme accreditation and coordinate the response on the feedbacks received from NCEQE and         re-submission process.  

– Together with partner universities prepare the concept and recommendations for the development/translation of educational resources/textbook/readers

– The finalized MA programme will be submitted to the NCEQE for programme accreditation. The developed MA programme will be public good and accessible to all interested universities in agreement with UNICEF for further development, accreditation and implementation.                                                                                                                             

Duration:  1 March 2024 – 15 December 2024

Travel: Local travel is envisaged

Location: Home-based  

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

Minimum Master’s degree in education, public management, humanities, law, social science, or related fields.                      

• Excellent knowledge and at least 10 years of working experience in higher education sector, including management and/or quality assurance. 
• Intensive working experience and knowledge in developing BA and MA programmes.
• Intensive working experience in programme accreditation procedures. Excellent knowledge and experience in international and national standards and practices of       programme accreditation.
• Experience in developing and conducting trainings and consultations to academia on issues connected to accreditation, programme structure, assessment and other           respective components of BA and MA programmes. Experience in conducting focus-group discussions.
• Knowledge and experience on child rights related topics will be an asset.
• Excellent coordination, communication and negotiation skills.
• Excellent/academic writing skills in Georgian.
• Good knowledge/professional of English.
• Previous experience of collaboration with the UN/UNICEF and other international organizations will be an asset.

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.