Week 6: Job Roles in the ECE community: Internationally

In my past post I discussed my interest in UNICEF, I did not look ahead for this post when I originally posted.  So I have included what I wrote there here because I still feel that UNICEF would be an amazing place to work.  So much opportunity and experiences.

UNICEF:  http://www.unicef.org/

UNICEF is a world wide force that helps realize the rights of all children.  The group tries to influence decision makers, and many grassroots movements.  Their focus is on nurturing and caring for children as an important factor in child's development, and human progress.  UNICEF works with other groups to overcome obstacles that poverty, violence, disease, and discrimination place in a child's path.  They believe that proper care at the youngest of ages will help create a strong foundation for a child's future.  They do education for communities, promotion of education for girls to be able to become strong members of their community, they support immunizations for children and be certain children are nourished.  They educate communities on diseases such as HIV/AIDS and how to maintain a safe environment.

Job Opportunities:

There is a job opportunity as a Representative in Mongolia.  In this position you would provide policy support and guidance in emergency situations, provide policy support in creating a common connection with the county programs, participate in organizational and institutional imitative to strengthen UN coherence to be sure these common services are achieved to the best extent possible.  The requirements for this job are way beyond my current experiences and my achievements.

You would need advanced degrees in Social Sciences, International Relations, Government, Public Administration, Public Policy, Social Policy, Social Development, Community Development or a related discipline.  10+ years related experience, fluency in English, broad understanding of social policy and equity issues are just a few.

They also offer a Junior Professional Officer position, none are available at the moment but it is focused on men or women interested in acquiring experience in international development cooperation activities and would be closely supervised by senior UNICEF officials.

They also offer opportunities for volunteering, and more information can be found by mailing United States Fund for UNICEF

International Step by Step:  http://www.issa.nl/index.html

The International Step by Step organization promotes equal access to quality educational around the globe.  This organization feels that all children are deserving of quality education and quality care no matter where they are located.    The core members are located in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, although there are many other general members located in other areas such as the Americas and other parts of Asia.  They have a special focus on the years of birth through primary school.

Job Opportunities:  I could not find any Job Opportunity listings for this organization.  They are based out of the Netherlands.  I feel that if I were to create my own job, i would want to do one that was like an Ambassador.   Perhaps the delegate from the Eastern portion of the United States.  My responsibilities would be to visit programs that were involved with ISSA, and help them establish quality care and education for the children.  I would network with ISSA, and advocate for these children involved in the programs in Easter United States.  My job would require extensive travel, excellent communication skills, organizational skills, and I would also believe that being bilingual would help as well.   Since this job is not a real one, and I have made it up from my interests with the organization I would also believe that you would need at least 5+ years experience in a leadership position.  I would need to gain more leadership experience and learn new languages to help work with the other programs.

Academy of Educational Development: http://www.fhi360.org/en/AboutFHI/index.htm

This organization is dedicated to improving lives by finding solutions to human development.  They employ staff that are experts in many areas such as education, health, nutrition, and civil society.  They feel that every individual should have the opportunity to reach their highest potential.   They work with the focus of Innovation, mutual respect, passion, accountability, commitment to excellence, and team work.


Job Opportunities:  The job search for this organization was rather interesting.  Since the organization works in many different countries and locations you had to choose which areas you were interested in.  There were 118 current positions to be applied for, but I was not sure where exactly they were located so I chose a few different areas.  I of course started with US, NY, NY as it is the closest to where I am currently located.


With that search 9 positions had appeared.  Some in the IT area which I am not at all qualified for, or communications for Public Relations.


One job was for a Research Assistant which caught my interest because it managed and supported activities within the contracts of the organization, participated in site training, and worked closely with senior members to conduct research and put together research studies.   The requirements were that of a MD/Ph.D in Public Health with 0 years experience.


Another job was in the Education sector, Administration Associate the ideal candidate would facilitate communication between clients, partners and collaborators.  Prepare correspondence, memos and reports.  Coordinate travel schedule, prepare rooms for meetings.


The requirements for this job include: Bachelors degree plus 2 years related experience, experience working with executive staff, advanced knowledge of Microsoft word and power point, experience writing, drafting and editing proposals.
   The job is also located in Washington, D.C.


A final job that caught my attention is located in Liberia.  It is the position of Technical Officer II.  This position would oversee the implementation of ongoing and newly started ICT-and Education activities withing LTTP and a new imitative to deliver pre- and in service curriculum material electronically.  This candidate would develop, deliver, and manage ICT in education activities.  This would be for teacher trainings, promoting collection of educational material for the classrooms.  The candidate would also task plan and work with external partners to develop programs.


Job requirements are the practical knowledge, skills, and abilities that would come from studying in an education, social science, information technology or a related field at a university level as well as 5 years experience or a combination of both.  They would also demonstrate experience in teacher training programs in Liberia.  Knowledge of the use of technological equipment and proven management and organizational skills.


This last job has interested me very much, and I would feel qualified for a position if I knew anything about Liberia.  I must admit that I had to use a map to locate the area.

References:

Academy for Educational Development. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.aed.org/en/index.htm


International Step By Step Association. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.issa.nl/index.html 


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