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, an advocate.

Please access UNICEF Sierra Leone information here and here

How can you make a difference? 

Purpose and Objectives:

The purpose of this consultancy is to provide technical leadership to a committee which will comprise key stakeholders from MBSSE, Ministry of Environment and other relevant ministries, UN agencies and CSOs (NGOs/INGOs), children, youth advocates and climate activists, and teachers to review the existing curriculum against international guidance and standards to develop a set of curriculum standards and material for climate change and environmental education. The consultant will work under the supervision of UNICEF Education Specialist, ADAP, and with support from regional office staff (education and climate) and the afore-mentioned committee.

The climate change and environmental education curriculum standards developed will complement the ongoing effort to strengthen the disaster risk reduction and resilience of the education system. By collaborating closely with the committee responsible for the DRR consultancy, the consultant will ensure that the curriculum standards align with the broader goals of building resilience and promoting sustainable development. system.

Methodology and Technical Approach:

Through remote and face-to-face consultations/workshops with UNICEF education staff and the committee, the consultant will deliver the tasks listed below.

Specific Tasks

• Lead the desk review of national policies and curriculum frameworks, regional best practices, and international guidance on climate change and environmental education and draft an inception report based on the findings.
• Based on this review and the existing framework for climate literacy education, draft a set of curriculum standards for basic education (pre-primary, primary, and junior and senior secondary school), conduct a review process with the committee, collate all inputs and effect necessary changes to the standards, and finalize the standards with a set of expert recommendations for their implementation.
• Lead the development of criteria/checklist based on the curriculum standards to be used for reviewing climate change and environmental education content and share with the committee for feedback and validation before finalizing the checklist.
• Lead the committee in collating existing climate change and environmental education content (including examples of child-, youth- and student-led practical climate actions) from local CSOs and NGOs, UN agencies, other development organizations, and government agencies and map the content against the developed criteria to curate a set of materials which can be used by teachers and learners to implement the standards across basic education levels.
• Lead a workshop with the committee to validate, revise and finalize the curated packages and identify remaining gaps in available content.
• Develop, with input from the committee—especially MBSSE technical teams and teachers— brief guidance notes for each package by education level (pre-primary, primary, and junior and senior secondary school) to guide teachers and school personnel on how to use them.
• Piloting of the curriculum standards in pre-primary/primary/secondary schools. The number of schools to be engaged in the pilot will be agreed on at the inception of the consultancy.

Management, Organization and Timeframe:

The Consultant will work under the overall guidance and oversight the UNICEF Education Specialist, ADAP. In delivering the tasks, she/he will work in close coordination with Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), the Ministry of Environment and other relevant national stakeholders. The consultant will operate from home with travels to Sierra Leone as required (at least two travels – 5-6 weeks in total). The need for travel in the field will be discussed with the Consultant at the inception of the work.

Please see attached ToR for detailed information. 

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

• Masters Climate Change; Environmental Science; Environmental Education; Science Education or other related field.
• A minimum of 8 years of experience in environmental science and/or environmental education
• A minimum of 5 years of experience advising government and other education stakeholders on the integration of climate change and environmental science into education policies or curricula.
• At least 5 years of experience translating environmental science into practical and actionable content for education stakeholders, specifically teachers and children.
• Demonstrable experience supporting the development or review of climate- and environment-related education content.
• A minimum of 5 years working experience working in or as a direct consultant for UN organizations and/or Ministries of Education and/or Ministries of Environment.
• Strong working knowledge of key international guidance on climate change and environmental education, curriculum and teaching/learning content development
• Strong knowledge of the Sierra Leone (or at least other developing countries) context and understanding of international development issues, including the status of the humanitarian-development nexus nationally and at the state level in Sierra Leone, particularly as it relates to education for girls and marginalized populations.
• Strong working knowledge of Sierra Leone education curriculum.

Other skills and attributes:

• Experience working in Sierra Leone, West and Central Africa region, or other similar development contexts. Excellent written and oral communication skills, with experience translating evidence for and communicating with a broad range of actors (including government and children/young people) on various issues including sensitive ones.
• Ability to present ideas concisely for diverse audiences and to give practical, actionable advice grounded in evidence.

Language requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

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

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

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:  

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.