Closing date:

Technical Consultant: Disaster risk reduction, climate change and education

City/location:
Paris
Organization:
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - Headquarters

This job posting has closed

Overview of the functions of the post

Echoing the core commitment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to ‘leave no one behind’, Sustainable Development Goal 4 calls for ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. Realizing this goal means taking immediate and concerted action to eliminate all forms of exclusion and marginalization, address disparities and inequalities in access, participation, and learning outcomes, and build education systems that are resilient and responsive to contemporary challenges.

UNESCO’s commitment to the achievement of the SDG 4 implies focusing on those at most significant risk of being left behind, among which are the communities affected by disasters resulting from natural hazards and climate change, of which many live in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Over the past twenty years, more than 4 billion people have globally been affected by disasters, of which at least 26% are children under the age of 15 (World Bank, 2021). It is estimated that 58% of deaths from disasters occur in the top 30 most fragile states (ODI, 2018).

Climate change, environmental degradation, urban pressure, insufficient understanding of risk drivers, and lack of preparedness and mitigation measures are increasingly transforming natural hazards, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, heavy rains, or tsunamis, into disastrous events. Meanwhile, the climate crisis is escalating. All of these may lead to displacement, severe disruption of essential services, loss of life and investments, and maybe drivers of social tensions and conflict.

Disaster risks and climate change are a major concern for the education sector, considering the ever-increasing intensity and frequency of disasters and the severity of their impacts on the access to continuous quality and safe education for vulnerable communities. Between 2000 and 2019, at least 60 major disasters disrupted education for more than 11 million children. In this timeframe, nearly 35,000 children lost their lives in schools in 16 events. Well over 30,000 schools have been destroyed in these disasters, while close to 50,000 suffered significant damage (GADRRRES, 2021).

As the lead UN Agency for SDG 4, UNESCO is strongly committed to building the resilience of Education Systems worldwide, thus limiting the effects of disasters on the physical, emotional and social well-being of the most vulnerable learners and educators.

Working closely with governments, civil society, research institutions, other UN agencies, and international organizations, UNESCO has been a catalyst for international, interdisciplinary cooperation in many aspects of disaster risk reduction and emergency response. More specifically in the education sector, UNESCO is acting across the board in efforts of advocacy, research, risk-sensitive education policy and planning, technical support for risk assessment and mitigation, coordination, as well as capacity building for more effective prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery at the global, regional and national level.

Considering the contemporary challenges that education systems face, the multiplicity of crises that affect them, and their extension over time, risk reduction and risk management within the education system has been recognized as a priority by the Section of Migration, Displacement, Emergencies and Education (EME Section) at global, regional, and national levels. This is also aligned with the institutional commitments reported in UNESCO’s new Medium-Term Strategy (2022-2030) and its Programme and Budget (2022-2025).

As a response, the EME Section has progressively integrated disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change among its workstreams. In 2022, the Section commissioned a comprehensive mapping of UNESCO’s work on DRR, climate change and education, which coincided with the resumption of UNESCO’s chairmanship of the Global Alliance on Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in the Education Sector (GADRRRES), as of October 2022. Various activities were also initiated to formulate UNESCO’s strategic approach to DRR, climate change and education at all levels, and provide on-demand technical support to Field Offices.

Scope of the assignment:

Under the authority of the ADG for Education, the direction of DIR/E30 and the supervision of the Chief/E30/EME and direct supervision of the DRR, Climate Change and Education workstream lead, within the framework of UNESCO’s statutory documents, 41C/4 and global strategic framework on education in emergencies and protracted crises, the incumbent will serve as Technical Consultant for DRR and Education and support UNESCO’s engagement in DRR at global, regional, and national levels. Concretely, the Technical Consultant will undertake the following tasks and deliver corresponding outputs:

Tasks:

  • Update the comprehensive mapping of UNESCO activities related to DRR and education, focusing on preparedness and response to natural hazards and pandemics, and extracting lessons learned from them.
  • Support the provision of on-demand technical guidance to Field Offices, including capacity development, program design and resource mobilization, strategy development,
  • Elaborate key strategic documents on the link and impact of DRR and Climate Change on the SDG4, and other related topics to support UNESCO – wide engagement at all levels.
  • Contribute to inter-section and inter-sectoral coordination processes, including collaboration and synergy building within/between the Education and Science Sectors.
  • Support participation in relevant global/regional/national coordination mechanisms as requested by the direct supervisor, especially, UNESCO’s role as chair of the Global Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in the Education Sector.

Deliverables:

  • Updated UNESCO Education DRR/Climate Change Mapping document.
  • Field support and intersection/intersectoral reports.
  • 2 Proposals and policy papers on SDG4, DRR, Climate Change and related topics.
  • Technical reviews of GADRRRES products.
  • Documented strategic and technical engagement in relevant events and coordination mechanisms as requested by the supervisor.

Core competencies

  • Accountability (C)
  • Communication (C)
  • Innovation (C)
  • Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement (C)
  • Planning and organizing (C)
  • Results focus (C)
  • Teamwork (C)

Required qualifications

Academic qualifications

  • Completed full-time advanced degree (Master's degree or equivalent) at a university or equivalent institution in education, social sciences, natural sciences, or a related field, before commencing the assignment

Professional experience and skills

  • Minimum of 7 years of international relevant professional experience, including operational experience in the field
  • Familiarity/working directly with UN/multilateral organizations and professional networks related to DRR
  • Proven track record of successful development and delivery of training programme related to DRR and education
  • Excellent knowledge (written and spoken) of English.
  • Excellent knowledge of computer systems and office-related software.
  • Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including interacting with various actors and working effectively and respectfully in a multicultural environment.

Desirable qualifications

Knowledge of another official language of UNESCO, for example, French.

Selection and recruitment process

Please note that all candidates must submit their proposal by email to the following email address: pv.klenner-forttes@unesco.org and provide complete and accurate information. The application should comprise:

  1. A Technical Proposal consisting of
    1. an up-to-date curriculum vitae, and
    2. an approach and methodology for the assignment, a workplan and comments on the Terms of Reference if any (in brief).
  2. The amount to be charged for the assignment, which should be quoted in US dollars or in euros only (monthly rate).

Your proposal and any supporting documents must be in English.

UNESCO places great emphasis on ensuring that the objectives of the work assignment, as described in the Terms of Reference, are met. Accordingly, in evaluating the proposals for the assignment, attention will focus first and foremost on the technical elements. From those proposals deemed suitable in terms of the criteria in the Terms of Reference, UNESCO shall select the proposal that offers the Organisation the best value for money.

UNESCO uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates.

Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided.


UNESCO applies a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of harassment.

UNESCO is committed to achieve and sustain gender parity among its staff members in all categories and at all grades. Furthermore, UNESCO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities, as well as nationals from non-and under-represented Member States (last update here) are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the highest level of confidentiality. Worldwide mobility is required for staff members appointed to international posts.

UNESCO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process

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