Vacancy Announcement: Consultant

Section/Division/Duty Station:, Education-ADAP Section, New York HQ 

Duration: May 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025

Home/ Office Based: REMOTE

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment: 

This consultancy aims to strengthen UNICEF’s capacity to deliver effective education in emergencies (EiE) responses, ensuring the continuation of learning for crisis-affected children. The consultant will support emergency preparedness, response, and recovery efforts through regular deployments, while also contributing to the EiE program at the HQ and global levels, especially by supporting integration of EiE into national education systems to enhance resilience and long-term sustainability.

Under the direct supervision of the EiE Senior Education Advisor, the consultant will provide technical and operational support to UNICEF’s emergency education responses globally, focusing on Level 3 and 2 emergencies. The consultant will provide direct emergency response support through deployments, make strategic and technical contributions to EiE programming with a focus on mainstreaming EiE into national education systems, and contribute to other EiE initiatives upon request.

The consultant will engage in the following: 

• Emergency response to crisis-affected countries (L3/L2) to support UNICEF country offices in coordinating, implementing, and monitoring emergency education responses.

• Ensure high-impact EiE interventions are aligned with UNICEF’s Core Commitments for Children (CCCs) and global technical guidance.

• Provide technical assistance for the delivery of education/learning, including safe learning spaces, teacher support, and learning continuity strategies in emergencies.

• Support EiE programming, especially the mainstreaming of EiE into national education systems, by providing technical assistance to ROs/COs and contributing to Thought Leadership in consultation with key donors and partners.

• Support the development of tools, guidance, and capacity-building initiatives to integrate EiE into national education policies and systems.

• Contribute to the design and rollout of strategies that enhance education system preparedness, resilience, and risk reduction.

Contribute to other EiE initiatives and programs.

• Support UNICEF’s engagement in global EiE coordination platforms and inter-agency working groups.

• Contribute to knowledge products, advocacy efforts, and technical reports on EiE.

• Provide recommendations for strengthening UNICEF’s emergency education response based on field experience.

The consultant will work closely with HQ, regional, and country offices to ensure the effective delivery of emergency education responses and the integration of EiE into education systems for sustainable impact.

Emergency response support (deployments)

- 3 missions deployment reports with analysis, recommendations, and follow-up actions.

30 June 2025

30 September 2025

28 November 2025

Mainstreaming EiE into national education systems

- Develop an analysis of existing guidance documents and training materials for integrating EiE into national education systems and have one report ( max 20 pages)ready to be shared with key donors, partners and global networks and alliances.

31 December 2025

- Conduct a mapping exercise with at least five L3/L2 affected countries’ education sector plans and policies with a focus on emergency preparedness, response and recovery.

31 December 2025

- In collaboration with key partners produce a guidance on integrating EiE preparedness and recovery interventions into sector plans and strategies for resilient education systems.

31 December 2025

Contribution to other EiE Initiatives

- Participate and contribute to at least 3  global and regional EiE strategy discussions and at least 3 policy documents as required by the supervisor

30 June 2025 

30 September 2025 

31 December 2025

(1) Education

Advanced university degree (master’s degree) in Education, Economics, Social Sciences, or a field relevant to international development assistance..

• Fluency in English (oral and written) is required. Knowledge of French is considered an asset. Knowledge of an additional UN Language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish) is desirable.

(2) Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required: 

• A minimum of eight years of professional experience in programme management or advisory/technical support in education policies, programming and implementation program work at a national level, and at least three years at the international level.

• Experience in emergency settings (preparedness, recovery and response), including a solid understanding of humanitarian architecture, procedures, and funding mechanisms.

• Relevant experience in education programme/project development and management at the UN, a UN agency or a related organization is an asset.

• Experience with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Cluster approach is desired.

Requirements: 

Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and 

- Upload copy of academic credentials 

- Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :

o the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.

o travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR. 

o Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.

o Indicate your availability 

- Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.

- At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.

- Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant. 

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process 

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: Here

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:  

Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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. Consultants 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.