Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED)
Duty Station: Paris
Classification of duty station: [[filter12]]
Standard Duration of Assignement : [[filter13]]
Job Family: Education
Type of contract : Non Staff
Duration of contract : From 7 to 11 months
Recruitment open to : External candidates
Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 28 June 2024
UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism
This consultancy contract is for a period of 11 months and is home-based with frequent travels to partner countries.
Background and rationale
One billion children – nearly half of the world’s children – live in ‘extremely high risk’ countries on account of climate and environmental shock and stress. Nearly 40 million children a year have their education interrupted by climate-induced disasters and subsequent disease outbreaks following extreme weather events. Climate change is also linked to multiple indirect effects on children’s education, increasing risks of malnutrition, disruption of livelihoods, increased child marriage and child labor, which keep children out of school.
Teachers are often not prepared to teach about climate change and environmental subjects, and schools are often not well-equipped to prepare students to become empowered to both find and apply solutions and mobilize their communities for climate action. The foundations of a just transition to green livelihoods and lifestyles depend on the ability of education systems to provide relevant, quality, equitable learning opportunities to all children.
GPE partner countries as a whole are particularly vulnerable to climate change; out of the top 60 countries ranked by UNICEF as having the highest children’s climate risk in the world, 55 are GPE partners. In a survey of all GPE Partner countries in February 2023, 88.5% of survey respondents (23/26) indicated their demand for this type of support.
The Climate Smart Education Initiative aims to enhance countries’ capacities to mainstream climate change adaptation and environmental sustainability into education sector plans, budgets and strategies as well as to enhance education ministry capacity for cross-sectoral coordination on climate and environment-related policy and programming.
CSESI inception and implementation process at country level
The implementation process for the Climate Smart Education Systems Initiative follows a cycle with the following steps: (1) Inception phase : identification of country need and demand,) identification of country priorities and validation by the LEG ; (2) Development of costed technical workplan; (3) Endorsement by the Ministry of Education; (4) Implementation of capacity support; (5) Monitoring, adaptation and learning; (6) Close out and evaluation.
Purpose of the Assignment
The assignment for this consultancy is to support the inception and implementation of the Climate Smart Education Initiative on behalf of IIEP in up to three countries, including Pakistan, Cambodia. The third partner country is yet to be confirmed.
Duties and Expected Outputs
Specifically the consultant will be tasked to:
Lead the implementation of the Pakistan inception phase on behalf of UNESCO IIEP by: 1) reviewing the inception report developed by the Initiative’s partners and relevant documents on planning and data for climate change in Pakistan, 2) conducting virtual stakeholder consultations to complement the findings and have an initial contact with the key stakeholders in the four provinces, 3) participating in a scoping mission at federal level to validate the findings and define priority areas of work based on the inception report in the four provinces of Pakistan, and 4) developing a workplan and budget for a regional programme for the four provinces based on the inception report analysis and stakeholder consultations. Lead the implementation of the initiative’s activities in Pakistan, including through facilitation of regional workshops bringing together the 4 provinces, as determined by the inception process. Lead the implementation of the initiative’s activities in Cambodia including: 1) the development to of a national risk analysis and operational plan for climate change adaptation and environmental sustainability, 2) the development of a survey tool on the impact of climate change on education. Lead the implementation of the inception phase in one additional country by liaising with and coordinating inputs from the global initiative team, the technical teams, and country-level colleagues for: 1) the development and implementation of scoping missions, and 2) the development and finalization of country-specific programme documents in up to one additional country, to be determined, Support coordination with administrative and finance colleagues to support disbursement of funds to implementing entities including UNESCO FOs and sub-contractors as relevant Work in close collaboration with the technical teams and the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning officer for the programme to monitor implementation.Timetable and deliverables
Submission of Pakistan scoping mission report and inputs for final workplan and budget for a regional programme, 30 September 2024 Submission of Cambodia risk analysis, 30 December 2024 Submission of scoping mission report and inputs for final workplan and budget for a third country, 1 March 2025 Submission of Cambodia operational plan, 30 June 2025Academic qualifications
Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in the field of education, international development, social sciences or economics.
Years of relevant work experience
At least ten years of experience in the field of education technical cooperation projects, in particular in the area of crisis-sensitive planning, of which preferably seven years acquired at international level.
Competencies
Excellent knowledge of the issues surrounding education in the context of developing and/or emerging countries, in particular of those related to educational planning and management in Pakistan and Cambodia. Confirmed understanding of contemporary developments in the global education arena and of effective strategies for improving educational planning and management, in particular in crisis-affected contexts.
This vacancy is archived.