Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)

A (least hardship)

Family

CONS Local

2024-07-01

July 2, 2024

General Background of Assignment:

The escalation of conflict in Ukraine, which started on 24 February 2022, has resulted in civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, forcing people to flee to surrounding countries such as Moldova seeking safety, protection, and assistance. As of 15 April 2023, over 1,000,000 refugees had crossed from Ukraine into Moldova, primarily women and children, with over 118,000 refugees currently present in the country, nearly half of whom are children. The Government of Moldova has the primary responsibility for the refugee response, including ensuring access to services and assistance and serves as the overall coordinator for the refugee response. In the education sector, the Ministry of Education and Research (MER) leads the response, with the support of the co-leads UNICEF and UNHCR.

Currently, there are a number of challenges related to the education of Ukrainian and other refugee children in Moldova. Enrollment of Ukrainian children in Moldovan schools remains extremely low, with the majority of children believed to be studying the Ukrainian online curriculum. While recent initiatives of the Ministry of Education have made school enrollment easier, enrollment rates have not risen significantly. Children’s absence from a school setting raises concerns about their social emotional health, learning outcomes, and child protection risks. Additional challenges exist for specific groups of children, such as children with disabilities and Roma children.
According to several assessments, one of the reasons for the low enrollment of Ukrainian children in Moldovan schools is the lack of communication flow and information sharing with the Ukrainian caregivers regarding the enrollment procedures in Moldovan schools and information regarding available spaces within schools to enroll new students.

The Ministry of Education and Research has requested support in their Communications Department to support with information provision related to education for refugee children in Moldova, including outreach to Education directorates, education staff, local schools, donors, and NGOs, as well as general communication tasks. This consultant will work within MER’s Communications Department and report to MER for daily tasks, with overall reporting, in coordination with MER, to UNHCR and UNICEF, which will share the cost of this consultancy.

Duration of Assignment:
3 months with UNHCR (Subject to performance and availability of funds, an additional possible 3 months consultancy with UNICEF under a different contract)
Location: Chisinau, Moldova
Full time: 40 hours/week

Overall Purpose and Scope of Assignment:
The communication consultant will be based in the MER Communications Department to support MER’s overall communications activities related to the education of refugee children. The consultant will also work closely with UNICEF and UNHCR to ensure the coordination needed for the main tasks of the consultancy including:

· Serve as a link between MER, UNICEF and UNHCR and local schools to maintain communication flow with local preschools, schools, and Departments of Education regarding education for refugee children.
· Support MER in drafting media press-releases, FAQs, media briefs and other media materials related to the education of refugee children in Moldova, and follow-up on their delivery and receipt.
· Support MER with keeping education information for refugee caregivers and materials up to date (ex: MER website).
· Support MER in organizing and moderating public events and activities.
· Support awareness campaigns conducted by MER with other UN agencies and partners, such as the Back-to-School campaign. Support includes elaborating social media posts: identifying topics, developing key messages, selecting relevant photos and developing content, and follow-up on engaging the audience.
· Other tasks, as defined by MER, UNHCR, and UNICEF both within and outside of Chisinau, as required.

The specialist will work closely with UNICEF and UNHCR Education, Social Behavioural Change and Communication teams, who will provide guidance and feedback in the implementation of the communication activities.
The assignment envisages a full-time engagement from the contractor for six months. The contractor is expected to work 20-23 full working days per month.
The consultant is expected to submit a progress report jointly to UNHCR and UNICEF every two weeks outlining their main activities during that period and their progress toward achieving the above listed activities.
Qualification and experience required:
· University Degree in Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, Education, Social Sciences with a minimum one year professional work experience in the communication or education area;
· Or Secondary Degree with a minimum of 2 years of relevant professional experience in the communication or education area;
· Fluency in Romanian, good command of English, both oral and written;
· Ukrainian or Russian language skills are an asset;
· Experience in utilizing appropriate communication methods to reach different target audiences, especially young people;
· Experience in communicating with communities and at different levels of government;
· Ability to organize and moderate public events and write communication materials;
· Knowledge of video editing, design and layout tools will be an asset;
· Willingness to learn and adapt to the imposed working conditions;
· Experience working with the Government of the Republic of Moldova on education related topics is an asset;
· Willingness to sign and abide by UNHCR’s Code of Conduct.

Remuneration and benefits: MDL 27,306.67/month
Subject to eligibility, mandatory medical insurance coverage may be provided

Standard Job Description

Required Languages

English

,

,

Desired Languages

,

,

Additional Qualifications

Skills

Education

Certifications

Other information

This position doesn’t require a functional clearance

Home-Based

No