International Jobs and Roles in the ECE Community

Looking for International organizations in the Early Childhood Field was an exciting adventure. I was fortunate enough to grow up overseas and know the joys of working internationally. When I was in High School, I was a part of the Junior United Nations team where we traveled to the Netherlands to meet at the actual United Nations and do a mock meeting. It was a once in a lifetime experience. I was first exposed to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the beginning of this Master’s program in my foundations course. UNICEF is the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized. UNICEF believes that nurturing and caring for children are the cornerstones of human progress. I believe that UNICEF is such an admirable organization because they really focus on the child as a whole. From education, to sickness prevention, they focus on it all. There were several open vacancies on the UNICEF website that were short term positions. One specifically was an Education Specialist in Sierra Leone. The position will be used for the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the national education sector systems strengthening component of the Basic Education program. The qualifications for this position include an advanced university degree in any of the following: Social Sciences, Public Administration, Business Administration, Education, or other fields related to the work of UNICEF. Knowledge of Rights-based and Results-based approach and programming in UNICEF, knowledge of UNICEF program policy, procedures and guidelines in the Manual, knowledge of Mid-Term Strategic Plan (MTSP), five years progressively responsible professional work experience in social development, project administration, monitoring and evaluation, some at the international level, fluency in English and another UN language as required and knowledge of local working language of the duty station an asset.

            I also looked into the Save the Children organization. This organization is the leading independent organization creating lasting change in the lives of children in need in the United States and around the world. The position I found interesting within this organization was the Information and Documentation Specialist, Education and Child Development. The Information and Documentation Specialist is the point person for Education and Child Development program documentation and dissemination.  S/he writes, edits and designs promotional and informational materials for internal and external audiences; coordinates reporting on specific projects; acts as liaison to the Resource Mobilization Department; updates education information on the external / internal websites; coordinates information sharing within headquarters and with the field; and provides technical content support for proposals, reports, and surveys.  The position is based in Washington D.C. Requirements for this position include a Master’s Degree, with at least 5-8 years’ work experience in education and/or child development, a background in communications, strong writing, editing, and analytical skills, strong publication design and layout abilities, flexible and able to effectively manage multiple tasks among subsectors, with frequently competing deadlines, strong willingness to learn new skills and commitment to Education for All, and PC skills including MS Office, Excel, PowerPoint, and Publisher (SharePoint is a plus).

            Lastly, I looked into the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO strives to build networks among nations that enable this kind of solidarity by mobilizing for education: so that every child, boy or girl, has access to quality education as a fundamental human right and as a prerequisite for human development. One position I found particularly interesting was the Director of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development. Qualifications for this position include an advanced university degree in education and/or social sciences, experience in administering and developing research and training programs in fields related to peace education and education for sustainable development (ESD), and experience in resource and partnership mobilization.

 

References

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.unicef.org/

Save the Children. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm

United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2011). Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/introducing-unesco