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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/
Background:
Nigeria is home to approximately 206 million people, 43 per cent of whom are below 14 years of age. By 2030, there will be close to 126 million children in Nigeria. The growing child population places significant pressure on the provision of schooling and the delivery of education services. Despite the progress made in the past years, 10.2 million children of primary school age and 8.1 million children of junior secondary school age remain out of school. Due to the limited access to schooling and poor quality of education, about 75 per cent of children aged 7–14 do not develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills, which are critical building blocks for continued learning and acquisition of advanced skills. Insecurities such as armed conflicts and natural hazards in North East and North West of Nigeria poses additional challenges in securing and expanding access to quality, inclusive education for children in Nigeria.
State governments in Nigeria have leveraged partnerships with development partners to build resilient education systems to provide education and learning in both development and humanitarian context. For instance, Kaduna State partnered with the Islamic Development Bank (ISDB), Global-Partnership for Education (GPE), Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), and Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, to initiate the Reducing Out-of-School Children (ROOSC) project. Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) States developed a new partnership with Education Cannot Wait (ECW) to launch the Multi Year Resilience Programme (MYRP) Phase II project to strengthen the states’ capacity to respond to emerging educational needs of vulnerable children in humanitarian contexts. In these projects, multi-stakeholder education coordination is key to mobilizing coordinated, harmonized actions to address the education challenges effectively and efficiently.
How can you make a difference?
purpose of Activity/Assignment:
Provide technical assistance to the state governments in Kaduna, Borno, Yobe and Adamawa in strengthening education sector coordination with improved capacity to develop, implement and evaluate data-informed, result-oriented, gender-sensitive, disability-inclusive, crisis-responsive education sector plans.
Specific Tasks:
Component 1: Evidence-based sector planning, budgeting, and performance monitoring in Kaduna state (ISDB project)
- Review existing education data, sector analyses, sector plans, and sector performance evaluation in Kaduna state. Collect and review existing and past education data (e.g., Annual School Census; Education Finance Studies), sector analyses, and state/local sector policy, strategies and plans, and sector performance review/evaluation to identify gaps in the sector planning, implementation and performance assessment. Attention will be paid to the inclusion of key themes (i.e., evidence-based, result-oriented, gender-sensitivity, disability-inclusion, emergency-responsive) in sector plans as well as other attributes (e.g., relevance, completeness, effectiveness, feasibility, timeliness). The exercise includes review of ongoing state initiatives in developing a new state sector plan and other development partners’ support in sector planning and evaluation. (Corresponding to Activity 4.3.1 and 4.3.2 in ISDB project).
Expected number of days: 10 days
Collection of data/documents: 2 days
Review of documents: 5 days
Summarizing the findings: 3 days
- Hold an inception meeting and develop joint workplans to support the development, implementation and evaluation of state and local sector plans in Kaduna state. Organize an inception meeting with the state government officials, local government officials from 23 LGAs, and other partners. Present the findings from the review, discuss gaps in sector planning, implementation and evaluation, identify needs for technical support, define the scope of work, agree on strategic approaches and modalities of support, and develop workplans to develop, implement and evaluate state/local sector plans. (Corresponding to Activity 4.3.1 and 4.3.2 in ISDB project).
Expected number of days: 8 days
Preparation for meetings: 3 days
Organization of meeting: 2 days
Follow-up: 3 days
Component 2: Education sector coordination and planning in BAY states (ECW Phase II project)
- Review education sector coordination, planning, implementation and evaluation mechanisms and practice, including identification of data collection/use and mapping of development partners’ education projects, in BAY states. Conduct a desk review and filed surveys to assess current regional and state education sector coordination and practices for education sector planning, implementation, and evaluation, including education emergency responses, in BAY states. The exercise includes review of existing education data collection practice (i.e., what data is collected, analyzed, and used by whom and when to develop/revise/evaluate sector plans) and identification of emergency education data and indicators, which should be recommended to be added to the existing data collection mechanisms. Mapping of development partners’ education initiatives in BAY states will be also conducted to understand how multi-stakeholder partnerships contribute to coordinated action on education challenges in BAY states. Based on the review, identify challenges and potential solutions, and develop recommendations to improve relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, and timeliness of education coordination, planning and evaluation to enable the states to better respond to short-term and mid-term educational needs in both development and humanitarian contexts, with special attention to gender, minorities, refugees and persons with disabilities. (Corresponding to activity 4.1.2, 4.4.1 and 4.4.6 in ECW II project)
Expected number of days: 24 days
Collection of data/documents: 3 days
Preparation for field surveys: 3 days
Conduct of field surveys: 15 days
Summarizing the findings: 3 days
- Hold an inception meeting and develop joint workplans to support the sector coordination and the development, implementation and evaluation of state and local sector plans and emergency responses in BAY states. Organize an inception meeting with the state government officials, local government officials from 18 LGAs, and other partners. Present the findings from the review, discuss gaps in sector coordination mechanisms and sector planning, implementation and evaluation, identify needs for technical support, define the scope of work, agree on strategic approaches and modalities of support, and develop workplans to improve the sector coordination and the development, implementation and evaluation of state/local sector plans and emergency actions. (Corresponding to Activity 4.4.1 in ECW II project).
Expected number of days: 18 days
Preparation for meetings: 3 days
Organization of meeting: 3 days x 3 states (including travel days)
Follow-up: 6 days
Work Assignment Overview
Task/work area
1. Review existing education data, sector analyses, sector plans, and sector performance evaluation in Kaduna state.
Deliverable/Outputs
- Report on existing education data, sector analyses, sector policy, strategy and plans, sector performance evaluations, and DPs’ initiatives in Kaduna state, with gaps and recommended actions identified.
2. Review education sector coordination, planning, implementation and evaluation mechanisms and practice, including identification of data collection/use and mapping of development partners’ education projects, in BAY states
Deliverable/Outputs
- Report on existing regional/state sector coordination including DPs’ initiatives, data collection mechanisms and use, sector analyses, sector plans and emergency responses, and sector performance evaluations in BAY states, with gaps in sector coordination and responses and recommended actions identified
3. Hold an inception meeting and develop joint workplans to support the development, implementation and evaluation of state and local sector plans in Kaduna state
Deliverable/Outputs
- Report on inception meeting in Kaduna state.
- Joint workplan to support the sector planning, implementation and evaluation in Kaduna state
4. Hold an inception meeting and develop joint workplans to support the sector coordination and the development, implementation and evaluation of state and local sector plans and emergency responses in BAY states
Deliverable/Outputs
- Report on inception meeting in BAY states.
- Joint workplan to support the sector coordination, planning/responses, implementation and evaluation in BAY states.
5. Organize training and coaching sessions to support the development and revision of state and local sector plans and sector performance evaluation tools in Kaduna state.
Deliverable/Outputs
- Record of training on data collection and use, and sector planning, implementation and evaluation.
- State sector plan and sector operational plan in Kaduna state.
- Local sector plans and sector operational plans in 23 LGAs in Kaduna state.
- Education sector performance assessment tools (ESPAT).
- Template for local government education scorecards
If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: 
Sector Coordination Planning Consultant International Consultant.pdf
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements
Advanced university degree in education, international development, social sciences or other relevant fields.
At least five years of experiences in supporting multi-stakeholder education sector coordination.
At least five years of experiences in conducting and supporting education sector analysis including collection and review of education data.
At least five years of experiences in supporting government in developing, implementing and evaluation education sector plans and emergency responses.
Demonstrated expertise and experiences in providing training and coaching to government officers in low-income and middle-income countries on education planning and management.
Fluency in English with strong written and oral skills.
Desired skills and experiences
Experiences in supporting education sector development and coordination in emergency context.
Experiences in working with UNICEF or international organizations.
Experiences in working for development projects funded by international donors.
Experiences in working in Nigeria or other sub-Saharan African countries.
For every Child, you demonstrate...
UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, Sustainability (CRITAS), and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.
UNICEF is also proud of a diverse workforce who are profoundly committed to supporting the full realization of children’s rights, and in uplifting a rights-based approach in all that we do.
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.
