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, Education

Quality pre-primary education is the foundation of a child’s journey, such that every stage of education that follows relies on quality early learning. UNICEF research indicates that in low-income countries, the picture is bleaker, with only 1 in 5 young children enrolled . Children from poor families are the least likely to attend early childhood education and development programmes. Failure to provide quality early childhood education limits children’s futures by denying them opportunities to reach their full potential . It also limits the futures of countries, robbing them of the human capital needed to reduce inequalities and promote peaceful, prosperous societies.

Children enrolled in at least one year of pre-primary education are more likely to develop the critical skills they need to succeed in school and less likely to repeat grades or drop out. As adults, they contribute to prosperous economies with economically significant returns . Evidence of the ways in which pre-primary education advances development exists around the world. An end-line study in 2023 to evaluate the impact of UNICEF support on children participating in ECD centres in Kupang City and TTS showed that children who attend quality ECD programs experience better literacy and numeracy outcomes in primary school. However, there are worrying gaps in early childhood education participation and school readiness in NTT province.

The 2024 statistical data for education indicates NTT province has a net enrolment rate for early childhood education of just 33.86 per cent (representing an enrolment gap of a staggering 66.14 per cent). Similarly, the school readiness rate across NTT province of 60.76 per cent is lower than the national rate of 77.47 per cent (with a gap of 17 per cent). Regarding the quality of student learning and development in ECD centres, a recent assessment conducted by UNICEF across several districts in NTT, using an instrument that measures five domains of children learning outcomes, found low levels of development in executive functions (37 per cent) and early mathematics (39 per cent) among ECD centre students. The issue continues in the upper level based on the current national assessment that 51.84 per cent of primary school students failed to achieve minimum competencies in literacy and 57.8 per cent failed to achieve minimum competencies in numeracy (Source: Rapor Pendidikan Indonesia 2024).

While ECD centres have proven to be a key platform to connect diverse dimensions of children needs, in particular health and nutrition, education and child protection, a recent UNICEF study presented that the holistic integrated early childhood development (HI-ECD) approach is still challenging. Teachers’ capacity in managing holistic integrated services at ECD centres and governments’ planning and budgeting system to enforce HI ECD needs further improvement in NTT.

Current data indicated there are several outstanding issues that need to be tackled, including children’ access to ECD centres; teachers' capacity for play-based approaches; parents' and caregivers' nurturing skills, and governments' cross-sector collaboration to improve HI-ECD. A focus is therefore needed on expanding quality HI-ECD services, including learning interventions, promoting school readiness and transition, parenting programmes to cover children essential services (including nutrition, health, immunizations and child protection) and practices by caregivers, including teachers, are important investments that will help to achieve meaningful results for children in NTT.

Given this context, UNICEF is seeking to recruit a national consultant to work with district governments and ECD educators to promote a quality, healthy and safe ECD learning environment, and to support the replication and scale-up of quality ECD across districts in NTT. This consultant will work under the management of UNICEF Kupang Field Office, with a direct supervision from UNICEF’s Education Officer based in the Kupang Field Office.

How can you make a difference? 

Under the supervision of Education Officer based in Kupang, the national consultant will be requested to:
• Provide technical expertise to enhance HI-ECD programme quality in Rote Ndao and West Manggarai districts by developing a monitoring framework, conducting assessments, and ensuring service delivery meets technical standards. This includes offering technical guidance to Implementing Partners, establishing data-driven monitoring mechanisms, and providing strategic inputs for HI-ECD joint monitoring, scale-up planning, and integration into local systems.
• Provide technical expertise and assistance in teacher’s training in introducing the implementation of updated curriculum, play-based methodology, joyful transition from pre-primary to primary education, children’s essential needs, parent and caregiver engagement, and assistance in developing a contextual ECD teacher training module.
• Provide technical expertise to promote the sustainable provision of ECD services, and their scale up, through the development of guidelines of replication and good practices documentation, include HI ECD scale-up technical guidance and Human Interest Stories.

Please refer to the Term of Reference attached for the detailed tasks and deliverables.

 TOR Nat Consultant ECD Kupang for TMS.pdf

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

- A University Degree in education, psychology, sociology, or other social science field is required.
- Minimum of 3 years of professional experience in early childhood development, social development planning and management in education and related areas at the international and/or in a developing country.
- Practical expertise on capacity building including module development and training facilitation; good communication.
- Relevant experience in education and related areas, program/project development and management in East Nusa Tenggara Province and in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.
- Fluency in English and Bahasa Indonesia.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS) and core competencies: 

• Builds and Maintains Partnerships
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
• Drive to achieve results for impact
• Innovates and embraces change
• Manages ambiguity and complexity
• Thinks and acts strategically
• Works collaboratively with others

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.