Closing date: 13 Nov 2009 -- (CLOSED)
Location: Guinea-Bissau - Bissau
Background:
Recognizing the vital role of the education sector in national responses to HIV/AIDS, the UNAIDS Committee of Cosponsoring Organizations (COO) launched EDUCAIDS, the global initiative in Education and HIV/AIDS, in March 2004. This UNAIDS initiative, led by UNESCO, seeks to promote, develop and support comprehensive education sector responses to HIV/AIDS.
In the framework of EDUCAIDS, UNESCO’s Regional Office for Education in Africa (BREDA), supports countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to develop, or where relevant, update & improve their HIV & AIDS education plans. Currently a specific group of countries, those having Portuguese as the official language (PALOP) is targeted. These countries have received little attention in the past for the development of their HIV & AIDS education sector policies and plans.
As a PALOP country Guinea-Bissau is one of the focus countries for the UNESCO project “Supporting country level education sector engagement in HIV/AIDS through the development/updating of HIV and AIDS sector plans and policies in SSA”. In September 2007 a joint mission was undertaken by UNESCO BREDA, UNESCO Brasilia and the Brazilian Ministries of Education and Health to Guinea-Bissau to launch the policy process with relevant local stakeholder, after which a draft policy was produced by the National Institute for Educational Development (INDE). From March to May 2009 a local consultants were engaged to work with INDE to update and deepen the content of this draft document.
At this time a short term consultant (3 or 4 months) is needed to work with INDE and the Ministry of Education to coordinate in-country efforts to finalize and validate the HIV & AIDS and Education policy document and move the Education sector toward implementation planning of the key strategies. The final policy document will serve as the key stepping stone for the education sector’s action on HIV & AIDS and should be a document that comprehensively reflects the needs of the education sector.
Job Responsibilities:
Acting upon the instructions of the Director General of UNESCO, and in consultation with the HIV & AIDS focal point, the PALOP Coordinator and different program specialists at UNESCO BREDA, the consultant shall:
1. Become familiar with the existing document “Política Nacional de Luta Contra o VIH e a SIDA no Sector da Educação” and the history of the policy process, providing technical support to fill any gaps in existing draft document, in consultation with INDE;
2. In partnership with INDE, engage the Minister of Education for advocacy of the policy together with principal partners of the Ministry of Education;
3. Lead an interactive process between INDE, National Secretariat in the Fight Against AIDS (SNLS) and the National Technical Team for the Development of an Education Sector Strategy, to ensure that the existing draft policy document (May 2009) is aligned with the National Education Sector Strategy and the National AIDS Strategy;
4. Identify and establish contact with all relevant stakeholders (including Joint UN Team on HIV & AIDS, civil society partners and concerned Ministry of Education services) for the process of reviewing the policy document; propose a format and lead a structured process of stakeholder review of the document (i.e. via electronic dissemination);
5. In partnership with INDE, consolidate stakeholder feedback into a finalized document to be shared with the Ministry of Education;
6. Following the review process, support INDE to present the policy to the Ministry of Education for finalization and validation;
7. On the basis of the finalized document work with INDE and a working group of relevant stakeholders to develop an implementation plan that includes activities of policy dissemination (following validation) and plans for decentralization;
8. Explore possibilities for mobilizing financial resources for implementation of the plan; explore national funding possibilities; meet with bi- and multilateral donors and UN Agencies in-country for funding of certain project components; source potential for assuring resources from Global Funds channeled to education sector;
9. Collaborate with UNESCO BREDA and UNESCO Brasilia for technical support and resource mobilization advice;
10. Provide UNESCO BREDA with bi-weekly progress reports via email or phone;
11. Consultant will return to UNESCO, at the end of the contract, the final version of the Education Policy Plan and a final report stating the progress of all the other activities undertaken;
Desired Qualifications:
- Master’s Degree in a relevant area, preferably Education, with background (academic or practical) in policy development;
- Minimum 8 years of professional experience in a pertinent field, preferably with exposure to national level politics; and some experience in the field of international development or cooperation;
- Experience in the areas of partnership building and funds mobilization for implementation of national level programming.
- Knowledge of the UN system and/or experience in the system would be an advantage;
- Knowledge of HIV & AIDS and related issues is strongly desirable
- Fluency in Portuguese is essential, with strong working knowledge of English. French language skills would also be an asset.
Competencies:
- Excellent coordination and facilitation skills;
- Strong written and verbal communication skills; strong interpersonal skills;
- Computer Skills (current practices and use of standard software);
Additional Information:
- Nationals of Guinea-Bissau are particularly encouraged to apply, as well as internationals with residency and working permits for Guinea-Bissau
- Candidates must be able to provide their own computer
Salary:
- According to candidate’s profile
Reference Code: RW_7XGD84-89
