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, survives and thrives.  

Quality inclusive education | UNICEF Turkmenistan 

How can you make a difference? 

The international consultant will develop a parenting curriculum, i.e. a manual for kindergarten teachers and a toolkit for parents, develop training materials and conduct trainig of trainers (ToT), provide follow-up supervision with the aim of increasing capacity of specialists of the pre-primary education establishments to provide information and guidance to parents, and promote positive parenting (caregiving, support-seeking, self-care).

Based on developed parenting curriculum, the international consultant delivers a ToT on designing and facilitating parenting sessions, supporting parents to establish a rich and stimulating learning environment for children at home that complements learning and development in early childhood care and education (ECCE) settings, establishing platforms where parents can share ideas with teachers and other parents, and receive information and build communities of support. Further, this group of kindergarten teachers are provided with supervision when they conduct sessions with parents. The international consultant analyzes the outcome and develops recommendations for a nationwide scale up. 

The international consultant will work under the supervision of the ECD Specialist of the UNICEF and in consultation with specialists of the Preschool Department of the MoE and Preschool and Primary Education Department of the NIET.

Specific tasks: 

1.  Develop outline of parenting curriculum: a manual for kindergarten teachers and a toolkit for parents;

2.  Draft the parenting curriculum (manual and toolkit);

3.  Design, develop training materials and conduct ToT;

4.  Supervision to parent support facilitators;

5.  Final version of parenting curriculum

For more information, see the attached TOR.  ToR_International_Parenting Curriculum_Early learning.pdf

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

• Master’s degree in early childhood education, education, pedagogy, psychology, or other relevant fields is compulsory. PhD. degree in these areas will be an advantage. 
• A minimum of 7 years of professional work experience in pre-primary and/or primary education system, early childhood education and care areas. 
• Proven experience in capacity building of pre-primary education professionals, developing relevant materials and conducting trainings. 
• Experience in working for relevant projects of UN agencies will be an advantage. 
• Knowledge of early childhood education and care in Central Asia will be an advantage. Knowledge of teaching methods in accordance with age-specific features of the child’s early learning and development is required. 
• Knowledge of priorities and trends in parental support. 
• Fluency in written and spoken English or Russian. 
• Proven analytical and report writing skills in English or Russian. 

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 committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

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.