Early Childhood Development (ECD) Programme Specialist

UNICEF work in Egypt is focused on promoting sustainable development with multidimensional equity for children, embodying the fair chance for every child principle. In line with national priorities, UNICEF work in Egypt focuses on Early Childhood Development bridging the first 1000 days through the first years of formal education, as a key means by which multiple threats to children may be addressed through cross-sectoral linkages. The expected results of UNICEF’s work in Egypt will contribute to national efforts and priorities and the 2030 National Sustainable Development Strategy; as well as the United Nations Partnership for Development Framework (UNPDF 2018-2022). UNICEF’s programme in Egypt contributes to strengthen the knowledge base for more child-sensitive social protection, and improve three fundamental elements of the early childhood years (health, nutrition and development). UNICEF’s work on learning and protection covers all children of all ages, focusing on the most vulnerable children, children with disabilities and adolescent girls.

This UNV assignment is part of UNICEF Egypt's Early Childhood Development (ECD) Programme, which supports the Government of Egypt in ensuring that young children survive, thrive, and achieve their full developmental potential. The programme promotes integrated ECD interventions across health, nutrition, early learning, child protection, and parenting support systems. The ECD Programme contributes to national priorities and UNICEF's Country Programme through policy development, systems strengthening, capacity building, service delivery improvements, developmental monitoring, caregiver support, and evidence generation. UNICEF collaborates with key government partners including the Ministry of Health and Population, Ministry of Social Solidarity, Ministry of Education and Technical Education, National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, academic institutions, civil society organizations, and development partners. The UN Volunteer will support the planning, implementation, monitoring, coordination, and reporting of ECD interventions, contributing to strengthened developmental outcomes for young children in Egypt.

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the ECD Manager or his/her designated representative, the UNV Early Childhood Development (ECD) Programme Expert will: 1. Support the planning, implementation, and monitoring of UNICEF-supported ECD interventions and activities in accordance with annual work plans and programme objectives. 2. Contribute to the development and review of technical documents, concept notes, implementation plans, training materials, operational guidelines, and reports related to ECD programming. 3. Support coordination and engagement with government counterparts, implementing partners, academic institutions, and other stakeholders involved in ECD programming. 4. Monitor programme implementation, track progress against planned indicators and targets, and support data collection, analysis, and reporting. 5. Participate in field monitoring visits, technical missions, stakeholder consultations, and training activities to assess programme performance and identify implementation challenges. 6. Assist in documenting lessons learned, best practices, evidence generation, and knowledge products related to ECD interventions. 7. Support knowledge management activities and facilitate information sharing among UNICEF sections and external partners. 8. Assist with programme management processes including work planning, partner engagement, budget monitoring, activity tracking, and follow-up implementation. 9. Perform any other related duties as assigned by the supervisor. Responsibilities:- - Support the development and refinement of the MOSS profile for ECD, ensuring alignment with national standards and programmatic priorities; - Coordinate closely with Hayat Kareema Foundation and internal UNICEF teams to strengthen collaboration and integration of ECD interventions; - Support the scaling up of the ECD centers model, including documentation of approaches, lessons learned, and replication strategies; - Work closely with two consultants to ensure timely delivery of key outputs, providing coordination, feedback, and technical inputs as needed; - Facilitate internal coordination across sections (e.g., Health, Nutrition, SBC, Education, Social Protection) to ensure integrated programming; - Contribute to the preparation of briefing materials, presentations, and concept notes related to ECD initiatives; - Support field engagement and monitoring visits linked to ECD scale-up and Hayat Kareema activities.