Support the preparation of the EU proposal Climate Resilient Sheltering Schools, Port Vila, Vanuatu, 2.5 Months

UNICEF Pacific is in search of a dedicated and proactive international Consultant. The consultant will be supervised on a day-to-day basis by the Education team of UNICEF Pacific, Suva, and Vanuatu office. Technical guidance and supervision will be provided by the UNICEF Pacific, Suva office by Chief of Education and other programme specialists. The consultant will be responsible for the drafting, developing, refining, and consolidating inputs from various colleagues and/or stakeholders for the EU funding proposal, ensuring the final document is aligned with EU requirements.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, education.

UNICEF Vanuatu and the Country office in Fiji are preparing a proposal to present to the European Union Climate Resilient Sheltering Schools (CRSS) initiative aimed at enhancing the direct response to the needs and improve community resilience.

Vanuatu and the Pacific region are increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, particularly the heightened intensity and frequency of tropical cyclones. These natural disasters severely disrupt education and damage school infrastructure, further impacting community resilience. Recognizing the critical need for climate-resilient infrastructure, UNICEF Vanuatu and its regional office in Fiji are leading the development of a proposal to present to the European Union (EU) under the Climate Resilient Sheltering Schools (CRSS) initiative.

This initiative is a direct response to recurring natural hazards. The proposal will request funding of US$ 10 million to system support the adaptation and strengthening of school infrastructure and community in Vanuatu to make it more resilient to natural hazards.

Aligned with the EU Neighborhood Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) and the Pacific multi-country indicative programme 2021-2027, the CRSS initiative emphasizes sustainability, disaster risk reduction, and the integration of community-driven approaches.

How can you make a difference? 

The consultant will be responsible for the drafting, developing, refining, and consolidating inputs from various colleagues and/or stakeholders for the EU funding proposal, ensuring the final document is aligned with EU requirements. The consultant will work closely with UNICEF staff in Vanuatu and the Pacific regional office, the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), and other partners as needed.

1. The scope of the technical assistance includes:

• Develop the CRSS Proposal: Draft and structure a complete proposal following EU guidelines, ensuring clarity, logical flow, and compliance with the funding criteria. The proposal should clearly articulate the problem, the theory of change, and proposed interventions, with well-defined objectives, activities, outputs, outcomes, and impact.
• Integrate Strategic Priorities: Ensure the proposal aligns with Vanuatu’s National Development Plan, the EU’s climate action objectives, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Incorporate elements related to climate change adaptation, disaster preparedness, resilience building, and sustainable development.
• Address Cross-Cutting Themes: Include comprehensive approaches to gender equality, inclusion of vulnerable groups (women, children, people with disabilities), disaster risk reduction, and community resilience.
• Incorporate Financial Details: Develop detailed and realistic budget estimates for project implementation, ensuring financial transparency and accountability. The budget should reflect capital costs (e.g., school construction and retrofitting), operational expenses (e.g., capacity-building and training), and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) components.

2. Stakeholder Engagement and Consultations:

• Organize Consultations: Facilitate virtual consultations with key stakeholders, including UNICEF staff, government agencies, community representatives, and education sector stakeholders in Vanuatu, to gather input and align the proposal with local needs and realities.
• Synthesize Input: Gather and consolidate inputs from stakeholders, particularly around the needs of the education sector in Vanuatu, the current challenges with school infrastructure, and the envisioned role of schools as community hubs and shelters during disasters.

3. Research and Evidence Gathering:

• Review Existing Documents: Conduct a thorough review of key reports, data sources, and strategic documents related to climate resilience and education in the Pacific region, including post-disaster needs assessments (PDNA), national policies, UNICEF reports, and other relevant documents.
• Data Analysis: Integrate relevant data and evidence into the proposal to substantiate the rationale for the CRSS initiative. This may include data on cyclone impacts on schools, community vulnerabilities, and the effectiveness of resilience-building strategies.

4. Proposal Review and Refinement:

• Draft Refinement: Continuously refine the draft proposal based on feedback from UNICEF, the Vanuatu government, EU reviewers, and other relevant partners. Ensure that the final document is well-structured, coherent, and addresses all EU proposal requirements.
• Final Submission: Ensure the proposal is submitted to the EU by the agreed-upon deadline with all supporting documents (e.g., budget breakdown, log frame, theory of change, etc.).

Please refer to the  TOR_Vanuatu.EU proposal Climate Resilient Sheltering Schools (CRSS) in Vanuatu.pdf for further information on the deliverables and the timelines. 

 

GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS:  

Please submit a separate financial offer along with your application. The financial proposal should be a lump sum amount for all the deliverables but should show a break down for the following:

Monthly / Daily fees– based on the deliverables in the Terms of Reference. Miscellaneous- to cover communications costs.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

Education:

• At least 8 years of experience in developing and drafting proposals for international development projects, with a focus on climate resilience, disaster risk reduction, or education.

Experience & Skills:

• Demonstrated experience in managing multi-stakeholder consultation processes and synthesizing inputs from diverse teams.
• Familiarity with EU funding mechanisms and proposal requirements.
• Experience working in the Pacific region or similar climate-vulnerable contexts, particularly with Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
• Proven track record of developing successful proposals for large international organizations or donors, specially the EU funding mechanisms and in the climate adaptation or disaster risk reduction.
• Strong writing and analytical skills: Ability to write in a clear, concise, and structured manner, producing high-quality documents that meet donor requirements.
• Research and data integration: Proficient in gathering and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data and incorporating it into proposal documents.

Language:

• Fluency in English is required, with demonstrated ability to produce high-level written documents.

 

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors 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 selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check. 

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates 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 assignment. It does not apply to consultants 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 consultancy contracts.