General

Description of assignment title: Programme Management Assistant

Assignment country: Paraguay

Expected start date: 09/01/2023

Sustainable Development Goal: 17. Partnerships for the goals

Volunteer category: International UN University Volunteer

DoA reserved for persons with disabilities: No

Host entity: UNICEF

Type: Onsite

Duration: 12 months

Number of assignments: 1

Duty stations: Asuncion

Details

Mission and objectives

La misión fundamental del UNICEF es promover los derechos de todos los niños, en todas partes, en todo lo que hace la organización: en los programas, en la promoción y en las operaciones. La estrategia de equidad, destacando los niños y las familias más desfavorecidos y excluidos, traduce este compromiso a los derechos de los niños en la acción. Para UNICEF, la equidad significa que todos los niños tienen la oportunidad de sobrevivir, desarrollar y alcanzar todo su potencial, sin discriminación, prejuicios ni favoritismo. En la medida en que cualquier niño tiene una oportunidad desigual en la vida — en sus dimensiones sociales, políticas, económicas, cívicas y culturales — se violan sus derechos.

Context

UNICEF has been working in Paraguay for over 50 years and has supported education since 1950. Recently, initiatives have promoted equity and inclusion in education, including evidence on out-of-school children (OOSC) and “children at high risk,” developing inclusive learning materials and a comprehensive intercultural teacher training program In 2022, Paraguay had a school-age population of 1,468,728 students from pre-primary to upper-secondary education. The latest Out of School Children Study in Paraguay highlighted 457,000 children and adolescents out of school, and 75,000 students were at risk of dropping out. The main barriers identified in the survey preventing school attendance and dropout include poverty (25.2%); family reasons intertwined with gender norms (18.3%), low perception of the importance of schooling (17.3%); and school-related reasons (14.1%). Moreover, structural barriers include a need for more investment in quality education, poor infrastructure, and the growing digital divide. Thus, UNICEF, with the Ministry of Education and with co-funding from Education Above All is implementing the Quality Education for Out-of-School Children in Paraguay, with the aim to support the enrolment of 30,000 OOSC located in six selected departments1, reaching boys and girls aged 7-14 in basic education from urban and rural areas, including overaged students, children with disabilities and indigenous population. Multiple strategies will be implemented to address educational exclusion from the community, schools, and municipalities to achieve success: Outcome 1 – Increased family’s perception of schooling allowing OOSC enrolment and retention in 6 selected departments. This will be done through increasing demand for education, with emphasis on strengthening the education committee’s (or EGIEs’) capacities in planning and developing strategies and interventions for enrolment and retention. Outcome 2 – 300 Schools across 6 departments have the capacity to implement alternative learning programs for OOSC, with an emphasis on a training programme and materials of the Open Basic Education (EBA) and Learning Reinforcement Spaces (ERA) programmes to be developed for teachers, strengthening their skills and knowledge. Outcome 3 – Improved capacity of 6 Departmental Education Councils and 15 District Education Councils to promote the enrolment and retention of OOSC in 6 selected departments. This would be accomplished by advocating for comprehensive social programmes for OOSC and their families, with an emphasis on the design and implementation of solutions for local problems, prioritizing education and assisting the distribution of school kits for 30,000 OOSC

Task description

Under the direct supervision of Education the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: Planning and Monitoring

•  Assist the Education Specialist to monitor levels of programmatic and budgeting activities and key results of the Quality Education for Out-of-School Children in Paraguay project aligned with UNICEF and implementing partners´ workplans;
•  Support regular information update on progress related to the Quality Education for Out-of-School Children in Paraguay project to inform stakeholders;
•  Contribute to the elaboration of program-related documents (Programme Documents, Terms of Reference, etc.), including UNICEF and EAA/EAC biannual reports, and do-nor proposals. Programme Management
•  Support Quality Education for Out-of-School Children in Paraguay project workshop’s planning, implementation and monitoring activities;
•  Contribute to a smooth articulation between UNICEF and the project´s implementing partners;
•  Support logistics to implement Quality Education for Out-of-School Children in Paraguay project activities in the field. Communications and Knowledge Management and Sharing
•  Support the Education Specialist and the Communications team in disseminating in-formation about the Quality Education for Out-of-School Children in Paraguay project internally at UNICEF and with counterparts;
•  Contribute to regular update and management of the project´s online repository of files;
•  Participate in meetings with other programmatic areas to strengthen information and knowledge exchange.

Eligibility criteria

Age: 18 – 26

Additional eligibility criteria

ELIGIBILITY – Candidates must be Korean nationals between 18 and 29 years of age at the time of application. – You must be enrolled in a bachelor’s or master’s degree or have recently graduated (no longer than 12 months ago at the time of application). – Candidates who already served on a UN Volunteer assignment funded by KOICA are not eligible. APPLICATION – If you are currently enrolled in a university and have not yet obtained a university degree, indicate in the section ‘Academic qualifications’ under ‘diploma/degree obtained’ that you are still studying and towards which degree. In the ‘to’ field, enter the current date, as the system does not allow you to enter a future date. Instead of the degree certificate, upload any evidence of your enrollment, for example a transcript. – You may apply to a maximum of three assignments and indicate the order of preference in the ‘Additional remarks’ field when filling in the application form. – If you are above the age of 26, a notification will be displayed that you are not eligible to apply. You may ignore this and proceed with submitting your application. – Application deadline: 1 May 2022 SELECTION – Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. The selection will be done by the UN Host Entity at the level of the country of assignment. Interviews will be conducted by the UN Host Entity between 19 May and 9 June. – Selected candidates will be invited to attend a mandatory online preparation training on 21 and 24 August. +++ UN Volunteer entitlement calculator: https://app.unv.org/calculator +++

Nationality

Candidate must be a national of a country other than the country of assignment.

Donor priorities

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Requirements

Required experience

0 years of experience in and/or demonstrated interest in clerical work or similar o assistance work.

•  Strong organizational, planning and prioritizing skills and abilities.
•  High sense of confidentiality, initiative and good judgment.
•  Ability to work effectively with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
•  Training and experience using MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint
•  Enrolled in bachelor’s degree or recent graduate in Education or related fields

Area(s) of expertise

Administration, Development programmes

Driving license

–

Languages

Spanish, Level: Working knowledge, Desirable English, Level: Fluent, Required

Required education level

Bachelor degree or equivalent in (currently enrolled or recent graduate) in education or related fields.

Competencies and values

☒ Accountability ☒ Adaptability and Flexibility ☒ Building Trust ☒ Commitment and Motivation ☒ Commitment to Continuous Learning ☒ Communication ☒ Creativity ☒ Ethics and Values ☒ Integrity ☒ Knowledge Sharing ☒ Planning and Organizing ☒ Professionalism ☒ Respect for Diversity ☒ Self-Management ☒ Technological Awareness ☒ Vision ☒ Working in Teams

Other information

Living conditions and remarks

Location of the workplace Workplace is located at Asuncion, Paraguay. Housing Different types of long-term accommodation are available in Asunción: standalone houses, houses in gated compounds, apartments. These could be furnished and/or fully serviced, or unfurnished. Cost of living Applicants can find more information about cost of living in Asuncion in this link https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Asuncion Security and Safety Security Level for Departments of San Pedro and Concepcion: Moderate (3) and for the rest of the country: LOW (2) Threats to UN staff are considered Low at this time in the capital area. There are restrictions to travel out of Asunción and special security clearance procedures in place to the Departments of San Pedro and Concepcion. Housing for international staff is recommended in the area close to the UN premises (Carmelitas, Manorá, Villa Morra, Mburucuyá, Mcal. Estigarribia neighborhoods). The most likely threats are related to common crime activities and are focused in Asunción Capital City and other large cities of the country. Visitors are strongly advised to practice personal security awareness when moving around in public areas, especially in Asunción downtown. Taxi services are strongly advised to take only related with well-known and identified companies (at the office, hotel) Required visa type and Issuance Process For visa issuance, please visit Paraguay Embassy office in South Kore website http://www.embaparcorea.org

Inclusivity statement

United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme that welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, care protected characteristics. As part of their adherence to the values of UNV, all UN Volunteers commit themselves to combat any form of discrimination, and to promoting respect for human rights and individual dignity, without distinction of a person’s race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.

Reasonable accommodation

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for UN Volunteers 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 recruitment process and afterwards in your assignment.

Note on Covid-19 vaccination requirements

In addition to duty station-specific vaccine requirements, appointments 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 appointment. It does not apply to UN Volunteers 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 contracts.