Individual Contractor

**Job no**: 556133

**Contract type**: Consultant

**Duty Station**: Bangkok

**Level**: Consultancy

**Location**: Thailand

**Categories**: Education, Early Childhood Development

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 fulfilling 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 better future**

UNICEF works to ensure the rights of all children in the East Asia and Pacific Region. This means the rights of every child living in this country, irrespective of their nationality, gender, religion or ethnicity, to:

- **survival** - to basic healthcare, peace and security;
- **development** - to a good education, a loving home and adequate nutrition;
- **protection** - from abuse, neglect, trafficking, child labour and other forms of exploitation; and
- **participation** - to express opinions, be listened to and take part in making any decisions that affect them

**How can you make a difference?**

The Education Section, UNICEF East Asia Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO) is seeking an individual consultant to support the ECE initiatives as well as the COVID-19 recovery agenda fosucing in foundational learning from the earliest years. More specifically: a) map the delivery of ECD programmes by COs in the region and come up with recommendations on how EAP COs could better support the delivery of integrated ECD; b) the early learning agenda, in particular the innovative financial mechanisms such as the Five Million Futures Initiative to scale up ECE; c) early learning and development assessments such as the use of formative assessment approach and tools for assessing the learning and development needs of preschool-aged children; d) advance in the region the ECE Accelerator Tool Kit and other global guidelines; e) the family-friendly policies and programming agenda mainly focusing on child care; f) support the agenda of early literacy and multi-lingual education in the region; g) promote the use of early learning and development recovery guidelines in the countries across the region for building the capacities of preschool/ECE teachers in planning quality teaching and learning practices; h) support in the development of the agenda related to financing for ECD policies and programmes including early learning and; i) development of regional goods for ECE and ECD.

The consultant will also contribute to EAPRO technical support on ECE to country offices; and support the preparation of EAPRO ECE and ECD annual report(s) and indicators.

**Work Assignments**:
The selected consultant will support the Education Regional Advisor and the ECD Regional specialist in the following:

- Support the mapping of ECD programmes delivery by COs in the region. This needs to include - a) the mapping of different approaches/models which are being applied by the COs to deliver ECD; and b) come up with recommendations on how COs could better support the delivery of integrated ECD.
- Support the country offices participating in the Five Million Futures Initiative to expand ECE in the EAP Region with the development and submissions of concept notes, revisions and analyses of documents for quality assurance. Lead the activities that the RO will have to implement based on models and guidelines from HQ. Follow up with HQ in the implementation of actions needed from RO and CO for process roll out during phase 1.
- Support the Regional Education Advisor and the ECD Specialist in the development of an overall regional position on early learning and development assessments where quality of services is also a key component. This activity entails desk review of existing development, early learning and quality measurements and assessments in the region, followed by strategy development to guide COs. This position will leverage current efforts existing in the region for development of these tools and motivate other countries to start working towards these measurements, advancing the agenda of the early years towards achieving SDGs.
- Support the development/adaptation of regional ECE formative assessment package and plan its rollout (technical support to country offices with adaptation, capacity development etc.)
- Support the Regional Education Advisor and the ECD Specialist in the effective roll out of the ECE Accelerator Toolkit, in particular in advancing actions to support interested COs in adapting and using the toolkit in their contexts, including design as well as support to deliver the in-country trainings.
- Support the Regional ECD Specialist, in its collaboration with Social Policy and the Children’s Rights and Business sections, in leading the Family-Friendly policies agenda, including the development of a regional mapping, the provision of technical advice to country offices, and