Recrutement d’un Consultant International “For Young People’s Skill Development” for 03 Months – Mauritania

Background :

Mauritania continues to face the consequences of the armed conflict in Mali, which has affected thousands of people in both countries since 2012. With over 57,000 Malian refugees (including over 34,000 children) currently living in the M’Berra refugee camp, Mauritania hosts one of the highest Malian refugee population in the Sahel region as of June 2019. Despite the signature of peace accords in 2015, voluntary repatriation of refugees remains limited: new arrivals in M’Berra has been constant since September 2017, with over 5,000 additional refugees have crossed the border since January 2018. The presence of refugees in one of the poorest areas of Mauritania puts an additional pressure on already strained resources available in host communities. Hodh Chargui (hereby HEC), the region where the M’Berra camp is based, faces high pressure on its social basic services. This situation is further aggravated by the impact of climate change and severe drought of 2017 and 2018. The ethnic diversity in the M’Berra camp, mirroring the situation in northern Mali, requires a holistic approach conducive to social cohesion and conflict prevention, not only within various ethnic groups living in the camp, but also with host communities. UNICEF has been at the front line with UNHCR in addressing the educational needs of the M’Berra refugee camp as well as host communities. In 2018, almost 17,000 children accessed to learning opportunities through the supports including distribution of teaching and learning materials, school construction, teacher training, non-formal education, life skills training, etc. UNICEF’s approach proposes not only to address the most immediate needs, but also contribute to community resilience and peacebuilding of the communities affected by the protracted humanitarian situation. In this protracted situation, there have been on-going life skill and peace building activities (e.g. establishment of peace club, conflict management, community dialogue and sensitization with religious leaders, school and community stakeholders, sports and artistic activities) implemented by UNICEF’s partners (national NGOs such as ESD and AED) in the HEC region. However, it was identified through discussions and observation that more technical support and improvement of the training contents and training quality (e.g. training on innovative and creative contents in interactive ways for better learning) as well as assessment and follow up tools are needed to address the complex needs of skill development.  

Also, since April 2018, UNICEF is taking the lead of Generation Unlimited (hereby GenU) – new global partnership initiative to promote young people’s (10-24 years old) education, skills and training, and girl’s empowerment in developing countries with the goal of boosting young people’s prospects. Investment in skills is needed to bring about structural transformation and meet the country’s ambitious socio-economic goals. Building the skills of adolescent girls and boys can empower them to become self-sufficient and active citizens better able to make informed choices about their lives and potential occupation. This is especially important for adolescent girls who face considerable barriers in achieving their full potential from discrimination to and risk of child marriage, violence (including sexual and gender-based) and early pregnancy. In Mauritania, approximately 54 per cent of the population is under 20 years old, while 22 per cent are adolescents (10-19 years old). Adolescent girls make up 12 per cent of the general population. Despite sustained economic growth in recent years, increased wealth has not been equally distributed in Mauritania, nor sufficiently reflected in national budgetary allocations to social sectors. Nationally, 35 per cent of females aged 20-24 are married before the age of 18 and 16 per cent of girls aged 15-19 are married before the age of 15. The root causes of child marriage in Mauritania include gender inequality poverty, cultural and religious factors, low levels of education and lack of necessary skills. At global level, it is estimated that 85 percent of the jobs that today’s learners hold in 2030 have not yet been invented. Investment in Transferrable Skills (hereby TSs, known variously as life skills, soft skills, social and emotional skills, 21^st century skills) – such as communication, dealing with strong emotions, assertiveness, creativity, leadership, decision making, problem solving, basic digital literacy (social media skills) and critical thinking – develops competencies that can be applied in different situations and across multiple situations/jobs and challenges in life. In Mauritania, only 34 per cent of children in secondary school age (11-17) attend school, and more than half of secondary age girls (56 per cent) are out of school (MICS 2015). As a result, girls suffer from a disproportionate level of illiteracy and skills. This also limits their access to decent jobs and economic autonomy, as unemployment rate in 2014 for women was 19,3% as opposed to 9,9% for men, and one out of four young people (less than 25 years old) has no job. Without developing skills at the right age and educational level, young people are excluded from accessing further training and employment opportunities.

UNICEF seeks to contribute to the realization of the rights of all children, especially the most disadvantaged. Since learning and skills development are key areas to achieve this, UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2018 -2021 includes a focus on strengthening education systems to effectively support children and adolescents to learn and to develop skills for personal empowerment, active citizenship, non-violence, gender equality and employability, both in and out of schools, including in humanitarian situations. This is articulated in the relevant Goal areas as well as UNICEF’s Programme Guidance for the Second Decade: programming with and for Adolescents (2018). This is furthermore emphasized in GenU, and UNICEF’s Young People’s Agenda (YPA, 2018) which is centered on finding new ways to ensure that every young person is in school, learning, training or employment by 2030 to support achievement of SDGs. Investing in adolescent’s learning and skills development for the most disadvantaged is a priority that UNICEF has identified for the second decade of a child’s life (one of the UNICEF’s four global advocacy priorities for 2019).

In this context, to strengthen the synergies between humanitarian action and development programmes, and prepare young people for their prospect futures, UNICEF Mauritania is aiming to strengthen the capacity on TSs training among partners, with special attention to Nouakchott and HEC region, the zone of convergence and UNICEF’s target areas on young people in the country.

The overall purpose of the assignment is to diagnosis current situation, needs and gaps on TSs activities among partners with special focus in Nouakchott and HEC region, align those with evidence-based best practices from West and Central Africa Region (WCAR) and outside areas, develop training module/s and assessment tools, carry out and follow up training of trainers for around 25 people from relevant partner organizations (NGOs, government, youth organization, etc.) in Nouakchott and HEC region, and advocate young people’s TSs development in Mauritania.

Under the guidance of the chief of communication / advocacy / C4D (NOC) and in collaboration with education officer / youth focal point (P2), the consultant, based in Nouakchott (full-time basis with frequent travel to the field), will provide technical leadership in cross-sectoral work for and with young people and in integrating skills development across the office and across sectors. The consultant pays a special attention to gender and adolescent girls in complex contexts (early marriage, violence, lack of participation opportunity, etc.) as well as equity considerations and reaching the most vulnerable and marginalized young people.

The consultant will also work closely with national and local education government authorities, local and international NGOs and UN agencies involved in the sector to achieve assigned tasks (detailed below) and provide advice for strategical planning and implementation of the skills development within their area of responsibility.

For every Child, you demonstrate :

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The competencies required for this post are….

View our competency framework at here

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

Remarks :

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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