Executive Coordinator, Global Task Force on Education

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering a home-based consultancy within the Division of International Protection, Resettlement and Complementary Pathways Service.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. Every year, millions of men, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and persecution. At the end of 2019, an unprecedented 79.5 million people around the world have been forced from home. Among them are 26 million refugees. We are in 135 countries, using our expertise to protect and care for millions.

Title : Executive Coordinator, Global Task Force on Education

** Complementary Pathways

Duty Station : Home based

Duration : 4 months

Contract Type : Individual Consultant

Contract Level : Level B

Fees : US$ 38,000 (Paid in instalments based on deliverables)

Closing date : 22 October 2020

Start date : ASAP

Organisational context

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering a home-based consultancy within the Division of International Protection, Resettlement and Complementary Pathways Service.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. Every year, millions of men, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and persecution. At the end of 2019, an unprecedented 79.5 million people around the world have been forced from home. Among them are 26 million refugees. We are in 135 countries, using our expertise to protect and care for millions.

Since 2016, commitment by the international community has increased to expand resettlement and complementary pathways for admission through instruments such as the New York Declaration, and the annexed Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF). The Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), which was affirmed by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2018, is a strong signal that the international community remains determined to strengthen solidarity with refugees and the communities that host them. Recognising that third country solutions are tangible tools for solidarity and responsibility sharing, their expansion is one of the four objectives of the GCR[1] and the Three-Year Strategy (2019 – 2021) on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways** (the Strategy), launched in the summer of 2019 as the key vehicle to increase the number of resettlement spaces, expand the number of resettlement countries and improve the availability and predictability of complementary pathways for refugees, including that of education complementary pathways.[2]

The Strategy envisages the creation of pathway-specific Task Forces to drive such expansion. With this background in mind and in support of the Strategy, a group of committed stakeholders, including UNHCR, has partnered together in June 2020 to launch the Global Task Force on Education Complementary Pathways.

The position

The Task Force, which is currently in the final stages of finalizing their TOR, requires a solid and motivated Secretariat with a defined full-time Coordinator, who would manage its day-to-day work, suggest direction and priorities, organize meetings and support the co-Chairs of the Task Force and its members in implementing the activities the Task Force was set up to accomplish.

While a more solid structure of the Secretariat is being built through the support of various stakeholders, including the CRISP initiative, a temporary position for an Individual Consultant to perform the functions of the Coordinator is necessary to make the Task Force fully operational and effective.

Duties and responsibilities

The Executive Coordinator will be responsible for the following tasks:

· Map the Task Force priority areas/countries/initiatives and coordinate concrete proposals for the Task Force activities for 2020-2021;

· Support the Task Force members in finalising the structural setup of the Task Force, including the TORs, membership criteria, the work plan, and other relevant activities;

· Provide background expertise and support in drafting the minimum standards for complementary pathways in education and other guiding documents as required;

· Facilitate the creation of the Community of Practice and develop and implement an outreach Strategy for the CoPs membership;

· Liaise with the Task Force members and other relevant entities to support the Task Force and implementation of its workplan;

· Finalise and implement the outreach strategy to attract potential new members in coordination with the Task Force co-Chairs and membership;

· Conduct a mapping on potential funding sources and initiate fundraising including concept and proposal drafting.

Deliverables

Deliverable 1 (apx. 15 days, by November 24): Conduct an assessment of priority areas/regions and put together the work plan/priorities for the Task Force’s, present the proposals to the co-Chairs and Membership and ensure their endorsement.

Deliverable 2 (apx. 5 days, by 1 December): Draft, discuss with the members and finalise the outreach strategy to attract new members; develop an implementation plan.

Deliverable 3 (by 9 December): Identify funding needs, conduct a mapping of potential funding sources and draft the fundraising plan for the consideration and endorsement of the Task Force. Draft communications/proposals as necessary (ongoing)

Deliverable 4 by January 15: Convene the Refugee Steering Committee via establishing the guidelines for membership through focal group discussions and liaison with the Task Force co-Chairs and members.

Deliverable 5 (by February 15): Draft and seek the endorsement of the Membership Guidelines

Deliverable 6 (ongoing): support the work of the Task Force by facilitating meetings, prepare notes with decisions taken, action points and timelines. Working closely with the co-Chairs and UNHCR ensure administrative and content support is fully provided for the duration of the consultancy. (ongoing)

Deliverable 7 (by March 8, 2021): develop a concept and preliminary structure of the Community of Practice (CoP), including membership criteria, dissemination structure, role of the CoP, etc

Essential minimum qualifications and professional experience required

Education

· Basic university degree in higher education, law, social sciences and in particular refugee studies, migration, asylum, political science, international relations or similar.**

Work Experience

· 8 years demonstrated experience working in higher education context, particularly as it relates to refugee education;

· Demonstrated experience in higher education and managing refugee programmes or policies with UNHCR, government or non-government organization;

· Demonstrated experience with partnerships including working with government and/or civil society organizations involved with complementary pathways, higher education, resettlement, asylum, or integration;

· Experience in working with governments and international agencies/organizations on policy, programme and operational issues in both field and HQ or capital contexts;

· Excellent written and spoken English. Knowledge of other languages an asset.

Location

The successful candidate will be home-based.

Conditions

• This is a task-based consultancy, with payment in installments upon completion of deliverables as indicated in the timeline.

• Should there be a workshop, the consultancy could involve travelling to Geneva or another location where the Task Force membership will decide to convene, if the situation allows.