Education And Human Rights Consultant

Requisition ID: req32031

Job Title: Education and Human Rights Consultant

Sector: Education

Employment Category: Consultant

Employment Type: Full-Time

Open to Expatriates: Yes

Location: IRC Global

Summary

INEE as a founding member and co-chair of the Steering Group of the Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies (EiE Hub) is recruiting a consultant to analyse and outline the existing and potential linkages between EiE and human rights to help leverage political action to favour EiE. The consultant will lead the development of a EiE-human rights desk review, a human rights-focused workshop to take stock of how EiE is being mainstreamed in human rights work and vice-versa as well as the drafting of a report on findings and recommendations.

Background

Faced with the under-prioritisation and underfunding of education in emergencies (EiE), and given the magnitude of the challenge, the members of the EiE Hub -with INEE being one of the original co-signatories and IPNEd also having joined as member in 2021- have come together to form a strong alliance of like-minded states and organisations to step up visibility, political and operational commitment, and funding for EiE. Without concerted action, including more and better funding directed at reaching and those affected by crises, the world will fall far short of the SDG4. By working globally with other sectors to leverage EiE, break down sectoral silos and mainstream EiE, the EiE Hub will unlock new opportunities for joint action and improved coherence and scale.

Through its members, the EiE Hub embraces the humanitarian principles and affirms that human rights are universal and inalienable, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. It seeks to promote respect for the laws that govern emergencies and crises, including international human rights law, international humanitarian law, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, refugee law, international disaster law and any other body of law which protects EiE.

The EiE Hub 2022 – 2025 Strategy envisions to catalyse joint action and to strengthen integrated approaches across the nexus, and with other sectors, by facilitating increased collaboration for EiE between International Geneva actors and beyond. The strategy aims at humanitarian, development and peace actors and from sectors, including human rights, recognising EiE as a priority and making it a central element of their agendas. Further, it envisions to break down silos between sectors, which have detrimental effects on EiE, to enhance the coordination of efforts across sectors and across the nexus, which will help leverage political action to favour EiE.

Being located at the heart of International Geneva enables the EiE Hub to access a broad range of actors from the international EiE community and from other sectors relevant to EiE, many of whom have offices in the city. As the world’s humanitarian and human rights capital, Geneva allows members of the EiE Hub to benefit from the presence of the United Nations’ second headquarters, and to connect with governments through the more than 180 Permanent Missions to the United Nations Office at Geneva. Yet, the possible synergies between EiE and human rights, i.e. how human rights mechanisms can leverage action for EiE, are not sufficiently analysed and known yet to ultimately strengthen action for EiE.

Scope of Work

The consultant will lead the development of a EiE-human rights desk review, a human rights-focused workshop in 2023 (Q2 or Q3) to take stock of how EiE is being mainstreamed in human rights work and vice-versa as well as the drafting of a report on findings and recommendations. The consultant will work with the support of the EiE Hub Secretariat and in consultation with the Technical Working Group, members, and additional EiE and human rights stakeholders.

Deliverables

• A succinct inception report to ensure mutual understanding of the consultant's plan of action and timeline for conducting the consultancy.

• Building on existing material and with research support from the EiE Hub Secretariat, the consultant will carry out a desk review of how EiE is reflected in human rights mechanisms’ processes and outputs such as from the Human Rights Council, treaty bodies, special procedures, etc.

• Draft agenda for an exploratory human rights-focused workshop to take stock of how EiE is being mainstreamed in human rights work and vice-versa as well as to jointly reflect on the human rights-related recommendations from the March 2022 Protecting Education workshop and the way forward. The in-person workshop aims to assess the inclusion of EiE in HR mechanisms, and how it can be improved. The workshop will allow participants to exchange among Geneva based experts, agencies, human rights mechanisms and the humanitarian affairs and human rights officials in Permanent Mission to the UN.

• Lead the preparation and facilitate the exploratory human rights-focused workshop (logistical support will be provided by the EiE Hub Secretariat)

• One invitees list (work with the Secretariat ahead of the workshop in the reach out to ensure relevant stakeholders will participate in the workshop (EiE Hub members, human rights focal points of EiE Hub members as well as of Permanent Missions)

• Succinct final report (max. 10 pages) which will include an executive summary of the workshop and previous findings, analysis, key findings and recommendations aimed at the target audience (diplomatic community, policy-makers and governments, the Permanent Missions of the UN Member states and non-Member States, intergovernmental organizations, UN agencies, human rights mechanisms, civil society, private sector entities, and organisations, networks and coalitions from the human rights, protection, peace, displacement, climate and health sectors)

Qualifications

Requirements for consultant - skills & qualifications

• Advanced university degree (Masters or above) in human rights, international relations, (humanitarian and/or development) or relevant first-hand experience.
• Strong command of human rights law and basic understanding of international humanitarian law
• A strong understanding of human rights mechanisms, including the overall landscape and architecture, recent developments, emerging challenges and opportunities, and how they relate to EiE.

• Experience in structuring and implementing results-oriented workshops.

• Excellent writing skills and proven ability to synthesize complex ideas into user friendly formats.

How to Apply:

Please email [email protected] with a copy of your CV, a cover letter describing your experience relating to this consultancy, and a 1-page technical proposal for this work.

Please also indicate the dates you will be available to start the consultancy and the rate of your daily fees.

The deadline for applications is Tuesday, 18 October.