Early Childhood Development

Job Description

Description

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If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children in the world's thereby ensuring a better future for every child, this is the chance to make a difference.

Under the general oversight of the Deputy Representative, Programmes, and the direct supervision of the Chief of Nutrition (Level 5), the ECD Specialist supports the coordinated development, planning, implementation, monitoring and documentation of ECD programmes/projects within the Country Programme. The Specialist provides technical guidance and management support across Sections to facilitate the administration and achievement of results on ECD related programmes/projects. S/he assists in the coordination and cross-sectoral work around the ECD beam which links with Nutrition, Health, WASH, Education, Child Protection, Social Policy, Communication for Advocacy and Partnerships and Communication for Development programmes. The Specialist works closely with ECD Core Group (a sub-set of the ECD Task Force) at the national level and ECD focal points in the states and contributes to the achievement of convergent and sustainable results on ECD related programmes/projects according to plans, allocation, results-based management approaches and methodology (RBM) and UNICEF's Strategic Plans, standards of performance and accountability framework.

Major duties and responsibilities:

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:
Promote convergence in development, management and monitoring of cross-sectoral ECD programmes/projectsTechnical and operational support to programme implementationSupport in networking and partnership buildingContribute to evidence base on effective cross-sectoral ECD Programmes/projectsPromote convergence in development, management and monitoring of cross-sectoral ECD programmes:
Strengthen, consolidate and take forward ongoing ECD initiatives by UNICEF India country office Participate in CO programme discussions related to annual work planning as well as developing next Country Programme. Document to determine areas for ECD integration/intervention. Contribute to the formulation, design and preparation of the programme to ensure integration of ECD in a holistic manner across programme areas and to ensure alignment of ECD programmes with UNICEF's Strategic Plans and coherence/integration with UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDF), regional strategies and national priorities, plans and competencies.Support coordination and provide leadership and strategic technical and programming support to UNICEF and UNICEF Filed Offices. Support in coordination and implementation of the UNICEF India ECD programme strategy.Collaborate with internal and external partners to establish monitoring benchmarks, performance indicators and other UNICEF/UN system indicators to assess/strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results on ECD programmes.Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues and partners to discuss strategies and methodologies and to determine national priorities/competencies to ensure the achievement of concrete and sustainable results.Provide technical and operational support at all stages of programming processes to ensure ECD integration, coherence and harmonization with other UNICEF programme sectors and achievement of results as planned.Coordinate with Regional Office on cross- cutting Regional issues.Support to prepare ECD regular/mandated programme/project reports for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of programme progress.Technical and operational support to programme implementation:
Provide technical guidance and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and country office partners/donors on interpretation, application and understanding of policies, strategies, processes and best practices and approaches on ECD to support programme management, implementation and delivery of results.Actively monitor ECD programmes/projects through field visits, exchange of information with partners/stakeholders to assess progress, identify bottlenecks and potential problems and take timely decisions to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for timely resolution.Support in ECD coordination across sectors and state offices through planning and preparation of ECD coordination meetings, monitoring and reviews.Draft ECD policy papers, briefs and other strategic programme materials for management use, information and/or consideration in consultation with programme teams.Support in Networking and partnership building:
Support to sustain effective close working partnerships with relevant government counterparts, UN agencies, national stakeholders, and global partners/allies/donors/academia through active networking, advocacy, and effective communication to build capacity, exchange knowledge/expertise and to reinforce cooperation to achieve sustainable and broad results on ECD programmes.Network with government and other external partners to promote effective coordination and support relevant programme Sections in partnership management.Support and coordinate joint advocacy, partnership and resource mobilization efforts with relevant sections.Work with ECD core team and focal points to share updates, progress and required actions.Participate and/or represent UNICEF in appropriate inter-agency (UNCT) discussions and planning on ECD related issues to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues on UNDAF planning and preparation of programmes/projects ensuring organizational position's, interests and priorities on ECD are fully considered and integrated in the UNDAF process in development planning and agenda setting including emergency preparedness.Contribute to evidence base on effective cross-sectoral ECD Programmes/projects:
Initiate, guide and support documenting of best practices, and promote UNICEF internal and Partners' sharing and cross learning on ECD.Lead UNICEF India knowledge management on ECD.Support the preparation, design and updating of the situation analysis and assessments on ECD related issues to establish evidence-based data to support holistic policy and programme development, as well as coordinated planning, implementation, and monitoring of early childhood development programmes/projects within the country programme.Keep abreast of national, regional and international development priorities to identify opportunities where ECD can enhance inter-sector partnership, integration and linkages.Introduce innovative approaches and good practices to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable programme results on ECD.Keep abreast, research, benchmark and implement best practices on early childhood development. Assess, institutionalize and share best practices and knowledge learned.Contribute to the development and implementation of policies and procedures to ensure optimum efficiency and efficacy of sustainable ECD programmes and projects.Organize and implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders to promote sustainable results on ECD related programmes/projects.To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have...

Education:
An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: child development, education, nutrition, public health, public administration, economics, psychology, sociology, human development, child development, family studies or another relevant technical field. Work Experience:
A minimum of Five (5) years of professional experience in social development planning and management in early childhood development related areas is required.Experience working with Government is considered as an asset.Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.Languages:
Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language or local language of the duty station is considered as an asset. Source:

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