UNICEF Pacific Consultancy: Early Childhood Education Curriculum, Honiara, Solomon Islands, 120 days over 17 months

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For every child, Education.

The Solomon Islands’ early learning system provides educational programs for children aged three to five. It includes Early Childhood Education (ECE) services for three- and four-year-olds, delivered primarily through community and faith-based centers, and government-managed and privately owned institutions. Additionally, there is the Primary Preparation Year (PPY) programme for five-year-olds, which is part of the formal basic education system and currently has a 71% enrollment rate.

MEHRD has made significant strides in enhancing the early learning system, notably through the Primary Preparation Year (PPY) program. This program aims to provide all children with at least one year of quality education before entering Grade 1. The PPY was developed and led by the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development (MEHRD), with support for curriculum and learning materials development and training from UNICEF, support to roll-out, and multiple supports through the Pacific Regional Education Framework (PacREF) programme, including a government-led evaluation of the PPY programme, yielding findings and recommendations for further enhancements.

With the PPY programme well-established, MEHRD is now prioritizing strengthening ECE for three- and four-year-olds. This renewed focus follows the enactment of the Education Act (2023), which formally recognized ECE as a key component of the education system.

The Early Childhood Education (ECE) sector has been established in the Solomon Islands since the 1980s, but continues to encounter significant challenges, particularly in delivering quality and inclusive education. The current curriculum, Valium Smol Pikinini blong iumi Curriculum Framework, developed in 2010, is deeply rooted in the cultural context of the Solomon Islands and emphasizes creative, play-based learning methodologies. However, it needs to be updated to integrate climate and environmental elements and recent research findings and respond effectively to evolving national, regional, and global educational priorities.

The Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development (MERHD) is focused on enhancing Early Childhood Education (ECE) services. It requires technical support to review and revise the curriculum for children aged 3- 4, develop aligned teaching and learning materials, and design teacher development support and training for curriculum rollout. The scope of work below describes this further.

The ECE curriculum review will be conducted under the \"Climate Action for the Last Mile: Reaching the Most Vulnerable Children in Solomon Islands\" program. This program focuses on delivering climate-smart social services and infrastructure to the most vulnerable children in Guadalcanal Province, ensuring they receive support before, during, and after climate-related disturbances and stresses. The ECE curriculum review and materials will benefit all children in the Solomon Islands.

How can you make a difference? 

You will work closely with the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development (MEHRD) to:

This consultancy is part of the “Climate Action for the Last Mile” initiative, aiming to deliver climate-smart education to the most vulnerable children in Guadalcanal Province and beyond.

 Key Milestones

Refer to the Terms of Reference for full details ( TOR ECE Curriculum Development.pdf).

GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS: 

This consultant is for individual consultants only. Candidates are requested to submit a brief technical proposal and CV. In your technical proposal please include how you will integrate teaching at the right level approach, climate education and gender equity and social inclusion.

Candidates are asked to submit a separate financial offer along with their application. The financial proposal should be a lump sum amount for all the deliverables and should show a breakdown for the following as applicable:

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

Education:

Experience & Skills:

Language:

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about children’s rights and making a lasting difference on children’s lives, one of the global leading entities on children’s rights would like to hear from you.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, Sustainability (CRITAS), and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

UNICEF is also proud of a diverse workforce who are profoundly committed to supporting the full realization of children’s rights, and in uplifting a rights-based approach in all that we do.

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others 

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

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 is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. 

All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Remarks:  

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

Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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. Consultants 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.