OVERVIEW

Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED)

Duty Station: Multiple

Classification of duty station: [[filter12]]

Standard Duration of Assignement : [[filter13]]

Job Family: Education

Type of contract : Non Staff

Duration of contract : From 1 to 6 months

Recruitment open to : Internal and external candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 03-July-2023

UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

I. Background:

Adolescents around the globe report perceiving school as a source of self-esteem, a place that fosters greater awareness of the world at large, an environment for spending time with friends, a venue for emotional support and an escape from unhealthy and adverse home environments. At the same time, school is a setting where they can experience violence, abuse and extreme academic pressure. Although the need to support the mental health and psychosocial well-being of children and young people was already urgent before the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on learning and inequalities has increased.
Despite these challenges, schools and other learning environments, including those in conflict and emergency contexts, can be equipped to address children and young people’s mental health and psychosocial well-being needs. A supportive learning environment that safeguards mental health, is one where all learners and education professionals feel included, supported and valued. Effective integration of mental health in schools can improve educational outcomes, increase learners’ mental health literacy. promote learners’ social and emotional learning, help identify at-risk learners and provide support, including through referral pathways to health and social welfare sectors, and reduce the likelihood of mental health concerns developing into more severe mental health problems and risk behaviours.

Long Description

Background:

As part of the processes related to the Transforming Education Summit, UNESCO, UNICEF and WHO have sought to highlight the important role of the formal education sector in promoting and protecting the mental and psychosocial well-being of all learners. A policy brief developed by this interagency group identified the following essential pillars for promoting and protecting mental health and psychosocial well-being in schools and learning environment:
• Create an enabling learning environment for positive mental health and well-being, through developing and implementing school-based mental health and psychosocial support policies informed by learners’ needs, voices and capacities; and embedding mental health literacy and social and emotional learning in the curricula, from early childhood through to adolescence.
• Guarantee access to early intervention and mental health services and support. Depending on the context, this could include mental health and psychosocial support services provided by a dedicated health practitioner or trained and supported education sector professional in every school, such as a school counsellor; or ensuring that every school has a well-defined process to guide learners and teachers concerned about the mental health of a learner or teacher, including up-to-date information about locally available in-person or tele-health mental health services provided by the health or social service sectors.

Long Description

Background:

• Promote teacher well-being. Ensuring that there are policies, strategies and services in place to support the mental health and well-being of teachers and that of non-teaching staff and all involved in the care and support of learners in schools (including caregivers). This also includes ensuring sufficient additional human resources to ensure teachers are not expected to take on the role of trained mental health staff.
• Enhance MHPSS capacity in the education workforce. School-based mental health programmes should be built on a solid foundation of local, national and regional education professionals, including school administrators, teachers and mental health workforce professionals (e.g., school psychologists, school social workers, school counsellors, school nurses and doctors, etc.) that work in partnership with children, families and community-based mental health services.
• Ensure meaningful collaboration between the school, family, and community to build a safe and nurturing learning environment that creates a sense of belonging for every learner.
This intensified concern for the mental health of learners, educators and other education sector workers is resulting in an expanding range of UN agencies, cooperation partners, and Member States developing plans and activities in this area. The recent launch of a major international report, Ready to Learn and Thrive: School health and nutrition around the world by a coalition of UN agencies and partners emphasizes the importance of mental health within its definition of well-being in the school context, the role of school climate and its socioemotional environment, and the functions of health education and school health and nutrition in both educational outcomes and overall wellbeing.

Long Description

II. The assignment:

As part of internal planning, coordination and potential efforts to mobilize resources for expanded work in this area, UNESCO seeks to document the extensive work in issues related to mental and psychosocial services (MHPSS) already being undertaken by UNESCO as well as other international actors such as UNICE, WHO, international NGOs (Save the Children, EDC among others) and academia with a view to identifying strategic gaps and recommending actions for UNESCO to develop its role and comparative advantage in this field. As work related to mental health is often undertaken by partners focused on the health sector, child and social protection, child and adolescent development, UNESCO specifically seeks to identify opportunities to support the formal education sector in its comprehensive response to longstanding and emerging challenges.
Under the supervision of the Safe and Healthy Environment Team within the Section of Health and Education, Division of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development, the Consultant shall conduct a scoping exercise to identify and document activities and partnerships currently underway by UNESCO and other stakeholders around the role of, and support to, the formal education sector in issues related to mental health within school health or other programmes, as well as psychosocial support for learners, teachers and other education workers. The scoping will include initiatives and activities (ongoing or planned) that address mental health issues within existing school health programmes, specific services and policy exercises, support to improvement of school socioemotional environments, and/or local assessments and research. Activities and plans documented through this scoping exercise should also include initiatives led by Ministries of Education, Health or Youth or related line Ministries. Existing activities or partnership outside of the formal education sector will also be identified, where informants see the potential for growth or complementarity with formal education efforts which are not yet in place.

III. Products and dates:

The Consultant will engage in the following tasks:

1. Participate in online initial meeting with the Section of Health and Education to confirm the parameters of the consultancy, define core questions for key informant interviews and possible survey(s), discuss suggestions of possible key informants, and define parameters for documentation review. (July 2023)

2. Draft the methodology for the scoping exercise for UNESCO review that includes:
• Overview of approach to scoping process and workplan
• Preliminary list of key informants to be contacted
• Approximately 5-7 questions (one page) to be used during key informant interviews
• List of 12 questions (max) for survey exercises with internal and external partners, aimed at regional and field staff in various sectors (education, health, child and social protection, etc).
The questions targeting participants in both the interviews and surveys will include, inter alia: their current, strategic policy and programmatic priorities related to MHPSS; actions are they engaged in or supporting at global/regional/national levels; and, what operational or policy school health frameworks that guide their work in this area; and their views and expectations with regard to UNESCO’s role and added value in MHPSS. The consultant shall deliver the final draft interview/survey questions for key informants, incorporating feedback from UNESCO. (July 2023)

3. Conduct and document key informant interviews (approx. 15). As mentioned in point 1 above, the initial list of key informants to be interviewed and the questions will be developed in consultation with UNESCO. The Section of Health and Education will dispatch a notification email to the interviewees to inform them of the purpose of the interviews, introduce them to the consultant and invite their participation. (August 2023)

Products and dates:

4. Identify and review key documents identified in searches of UNESDOC, the Health and Education Resource Centre, main partner websites or other global repositories, and those recommended by key informants and prepare brief summaries (max 350 words) and links to each. (August 2023)

5. Based on the findings of the key informant interviews, surveys and documentation review, prepare a summary of main findings, which will include options for consideration on how UNESCO’s Education Sector can best engage in this important area. It will include findings on the nature and extent of work related to MHPSS within UNESCO as well as that being undertaken and planned by partners. The report will include concrete recommendations for actions that UNESCO could undertake at global, regional or national level that take into consideration different socio-economic contexts and in particular schools in resource constrained settings, highlighting how UNESCO’s possible work will be complementary and not duplicative. Recommendations should include practical and tangible ideas for what schools can do, building on UNESCO’s mandate and strategic advantage. Incorporating feedback from PSD/HAE, the summary should also be presented in the form a PowerPoint presentation of no more than 20 slides, with speaker notes. (August – September 2023)

6. Prepare an annotated model agenda for up to 4 four two-hour (max) virtual meetings to be conducted at HQ and regional levels to share initial findings with interviewees, UNESCO staff and other interested parties, and consult participants for feedback and recommendations. (September 2023)

Products and dates:

7. Provide support to programme staff, Regional Health and Education Advisors and/or designated team members to organize and participate in meetings. These gatherings will be the main opportunities to share survey results and draft recommendations, receive input and incorporate feedback into definitive findings. (September 2023)

8. On the basis of the activities described above, plans and opportunities identified during the scoping, summarize the findings and recommendations in the form of recommended priority areas of work for UNESCO to consider. The final report (approximately 15 pages or 6.000 words in English, plus annexes) should include specific recommendations for UNESCO that account for ongoing work, planned activities, opportunities, and challenges in MHPSS in the education sector, and against a clear understanding of what other partners are doing or plan to do in this space. These recommendations should center on the identification of useful knowledge products, communications materials, programme support, guidance for interagency collaboration to be developed, and resource mobilization opportunities relevant to the various levels engaged in MHPSS work. (October 2023)

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)

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REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

– Advanced university degree (equivalent to Masters) in education, social sciences, public health, development studies or related field

Work experience:

– Minimum 4 years of relevant professional experience, acquired at national and international level, in one or more of the following domains: education, school health, mental health
– Relevant professional experience in the UN system, or direct participation in scoping or evaluation exercises conducted by a UN agency.

Skills/Competencies:

– Strong understanding of UNESCO’s mandate in education and its strategy on education for health and wellbeing
– Strong understanding of mental health and psychosocial support in education settings
– Demonstrated understanding of development work and of the education sector
– High level of technical writing skills on issues related to education, health, school health
– Excellent networking skills
– Strong communication and presentation skills in English

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Work experience:

– Professional experience at UNESCO or a UNESCO-supported education project is an asset.

Languages:

– Excellent knowledge (oral and written) of English

SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

To apply:

Interested candidates should submit CV(s) and a writing sample, together with a brief proposal on the approach to and estimated costs (expressed as a lump sum) for the assignment, to Mary Guinn Delaney ([email protected]) and Yongfeng Liu ([email protected]) by COB 3rd of July 2023.

Please note that only pre-selected candidates will be contacted.

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