UNICEF, guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, works together with partners in 190 countries and territories to promote and advocate for the protection of the rights of every child.

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For every child, a chance.

In Nigeria, UNICEF works in a complex humanitarian and development setting to fulfill and protect children's rights in partnership with the government, civil society, children, and families. UNICEF Nigeria is one of the largest UNICEF Country Offices globally - click the link to learn more about UNICEF in Nigeria: https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/

How can you make a difference?

Learning environments are intended to be safe and inclusive for all children, thereby supporting their wellbeing and learning. However, in Nigeria, the education crisis has become severe due to persistent insecurity, marked by armed conflict, banditry, kidnapping, climate change and weakened institutional structures. Also, other safety concerns, this has resulted to fear, absenteeism and drop-out by parents and learners. The uncertainty of school safety has contributed to the number of children OOS and reduced learning quality.

Despite efforts by the government through commitments such as the Safe Schools Declaration, the national plan on Financing Safe Schools Plan, Development of the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence-Free Schools with its Implementing Guidelines, the Minimum Standards for Safe Schools, and the establishment of coordination mechanisms such as the National Safe Schools Response Coordination Centre. Regardless of this strong policy framework, implementation remains inconsistent across schools, communities, local governments and states. There is therefore a need for a simple, practical and context-responsive Safe Schools Guide and accompanying information, education and communication materials to support government actors, school leaders, teachers, School-Based Management Committees, learners, parents and communities to understand, operate and sustain safe schools’ measures.

Scope of Work:

Under the overall supervision of the Education Manager (Learning), the consultant will report directly to the Education Specialist (Access) and will be responsible for the following:

•Review existing school safety documents, including the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence Free Schools, the National Safe Schools Response and Coordination Centre (NSSRCC) school safety documents, Managing Violence and Early Warning System handbook for schools, minimum standards on safe schools and other related school safety and education-in-emergencies resources.

•Develop a practical user-friendly Safe Schools Guide that provides clear guidance for school level risk, preparedness, early warning, violence prevention, inclusive safety planning and other practical actions in schools, including reporting channels before, during and after safety incidents and emergencies.

•Develop gender responsive, disability and conflict-sensitive culturally appropriate IEC materials such as posters, flyers, child-friendly messages, school safety rules, community awareness messages, early warning prompts and simple referral information, including information within the DNEMIS platform of safe schools.

•Facilitate a stakeholder’s technical review and validation workshop with relevant stakeholders, including the school safety department of the Federal Ministry of Education, Universal Basic Education Commission, National Safe Schools Response Coordination Centre, CSACEFA, state education authorities, EiE partners, teachers, SBMC representatives and learners, as appropriate.

•Finalize print-ready and editable versions of the guide and IEC packages, incorporating feedback from stakeholders.

Work Assignment

1.Inception report, including methodology and timeline for the assignment.

Deliverable:

Inception report submitted.

2.Desk review of existing policies, guidelines, minimum standards and other resources, including the development of a first draft of the safe school’s guide and e-copies of school safety IEC materials.

Deliverable:

Analysis conducted, and a framework for the safe schools’ guide and e-copies of IEC materials produced and submitted for review.

3.Stakeholders review and validation workshop of developed materials.

Deliverable:

Review and Validation workshop conducted, and workshop report submitted.

4.Develop final draft of Safe school guide, and e-copies of the IEC materials following input from the validation workshop

Deliverable:

Final draft safe schools guide and IEC materials submitted.

5. Finalize Safe Schools Guide and IEC materials.

Deliverable:

Consultancy report submitted (summary of process, stakeholder feedback, key recommendations).

Edited, validated, print-ready and editable versions of all materials (Safe School Guide and IEC materials) submitted.

6. Final Consultancy Report

Deliverable:

Consultancy report submitted (summary of process, stakeholder feedback, key recommendations).

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

Minimum requirements:

Education: Advanced degree in education, education in emergencies, development studies, Peace and conflict studies, Sociology, child protection, social sciences, communication for development, public policy or a related field.

Work Experience:

At least 5 years’ experience in developing practical guides, training materials, IEC materials or policy implementation tools for education, child protection, school safety or humanitarian programming.

At least 5 years’ experience producing child-friendly, gender-responsive and disability-inclusive materials is highly desirable.

Demonstrated experience in conducting risk assessments for planning purposes, including school safety risk assessments.

Experience in supporting National initiatives to strengthen safe and inclusive access to education for all.

Demonstrated experience in stakeholders’ engagement across the different government tiers, community leaders and marginalized groups.

Skills:

Strong understanding of Nigeria’s education system, safe schools’ agenda, education in emergencies, child safeguarding, inclusive education and community engagement.

Excellent writing, facilitation and stakeholder engagement skills.

Experience producing child-friendly, gender-responsive and disability-inclusive materials is highly desirable.

Knowledge of diverse government’s initiatives contributing to the national school safety architecture

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English with strong written and oral skills.

Desirables:

Working experience with government across different tiers on addressing education challenges.

Experience working in the UN system agency or UN organization is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

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 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.

National Consultant for the Development of Safe Schools Guide and IEC Materials for Learners and Teachers, 3 Months, Abuja Nigeria