Thematic Writer: Life Skills in the Real World

In today’s complex, fast-changing, global, digitalized and often challenging environment, life skills are widely considered a necessity so that children and young people, regardless of their background, can survive and thrive. For that reason, the UNICEF regional Life Skills and Citizenship Education (LSCE) framework has been developed to provide a holistic, lifelong and rights-based vision of education that maximizes the potential of all children and youth in the region. The framework aims at better equipping learners to create meaning out of knowledge, and to face the transitions from childhood to adulthood, from education to work, and from unreflective development to responsible and active citizenship. The LSCE Conceptual and Programmatic Framework (CPF) identifies a set of twelve core life skills, most essential in the regional context, using the four-dimensional learning model: ‘Learning to Know’, ‘Learning to Do’, ‘Learning to Be’, and ‘Learning to Live Together’. Targeting higher-order life outcomes, life skills and citizenship education aims to equip individuals with a set of skills allowing them to learn, to work, to be personally empowered, and to be active citizens.

The assignment for this role is to develop and write a 10-page Thematic Insight Piece (TIP) on the following theme: “Life Skills for sustainable impact: what it takes to embed Life Skills in education systems at scale while empowering local communities and nurturing more equitable societies”

The piece needs to combine a global ethos with local voices and experience, be grounded in evidence but also be accessible, relevant and engaging for a diverse range of audiences. All TIPs will be translated into Arabic and French by Cambridge Education.

In addition, to writing a TIP, we would also expect the person selected for this role to contribute to the dissemination, visibility and uptake strategy for the piece they are authoring and deliver a webinar and blog piece to be hosted on a UNICEF resource page.

#LI-REMOTE

Candidate Specification

Professional qualifications and experience
Essential

A degree (bachelors) in the social sciences or comparable work experience (10+ years)
Experience working in the MENA region, with demonstrated understanding of socio-cultural contexts.
Experience working within the education sector, across different levels of education delivery.
Experience implementing and/ or delivering life skills, including curriculum development and implementation in the field with a variety of different target groups, including learners, school teachers or facilitators of non-formal programmes, community members and local authorities.
Experience working with local communities and leading locally-driven and/or culturally-responsive programmes.
Experience organising, facilitating and analysing insights from key informant interviews and focus group discussions virtually with a wide range of stakeholders.
Experience analysing data from a wide range of sources, both qualitative and quantitative.
Experience designing and facilitating webinars and other similar dissemination platforms at regional and international levels.

Desirable

Experience working in the humanitarian sector, including in conflict affected contexts and natural disaster-prone environments.
Experience working with UNICEF

Required competencies include:

Sound knowledge of applied aspects of international development, education programming and delivery, and life skills education at school and community level.
Good understanding of development and education issues in the MENA region. • Good understanding of rights-based approaches and theories of intersectionality and exclusion.
Excellent analytical skills including data analysis using data sets.
Excellent writing skills and experience of communicating complex concepts and research findings to different audiences in mediums such as reports, policy briefs, academic journal articles and blogs.
Ability to use online technology and platforms such as Zoom and Teams.
Proficient in using Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Ability to engage diplomatically with a range of stakeholders, build cooperation and negotiate compromises while meeting tight deadlines.
High degree of self-motivation, communication and organisational skills.
Willingness and ability to work in a fast-paced team.
Strong attention to detail.
Fluent in English and ability to write in plain English. Fluency in Arabic and/or French would be desirable.
Strong understanding of women and girls' issues and related programming in the MENA region.
Good understanding of ecological theories and experience in designing and/or implementing programmes targeting different levels and multiple groups and influencers.

Job Profile

The selected candidate will be required to:

Develop methodology and workplan for TIP; methodology is likely to include a literature review and KIIs with key stakeholders across the MENA region.
Write and finalise TIP using the agreed TIP Framework; this will include responding to two rounds of feedback within an agreed time period.

They will also support the communication and uptake of TIP by:

Contributing to the dissemination, visibility and uptake strategy for TIP
Development and delivery of TIP Webinar
Writing and finalising of TIP Blog