National Consultant on Development and Piloting of ECD Parenting Support Training Package for Primary Health Care Services and Pre-Primary Education Facilities

Organizational Context

UNICEF works in over 190 countries to save children’s lives and help them fulfill their potential. In Turkmenistan, UNICEF supports the Government in strengthening integrated Early Childhood Development (ECD) services. This initiative focuses on providing evidence-based parenting guidance through primary health care and preschool education facilities, aiming to expand the reach of crucial ECD messages to families.

Job Purpose

The primary purpose of this consultancy is to lead the development and piloting of a comprehensive Early Childhood Development (ECD) parenting support training package. This initiative aims to equip parents and caregivers with practical, evidence-based guidance, delivered through routine maternal and child health services in primary health care facilities and selected preschool education settings. The consultant will be instrumental in creating culturally relevant materials in both Turkmen and Russian, designed to address influential social norms, counter misinformation, and promote responsive caregiving, early stimulation, nutrition, child development monitoring, positive parenting practices, and overall family wellbeing. By strengthening coordination between health and education sectors, this role ensures a consistent and reinforcing pathway for families to receive vital ECD support, ultimately empowering caregivers to make informed decisions for their children's development.

Responsibilities

The National Consultant will be responsible for the end-to-end process of developing and piloting an Early Childhood Development (ECD) parenting support training package. This includes designing a comprehensive, evidence-based curriculum that integrates key aspects such as responsive caregiving, early stimulation, nutrition, child development monitoring, and positive parenting practices. A crucial responsibility will be to ensure the cultural relevance and linguistic appropriateness of all materials, specifically for delivery in both Turkmen and Russian languages, to effectively address local social norms and counter misinformation. The consultant will then lead the piloting phase of this training package within primary health care services, specifically "Houses of Health," and selected preschool education facilities. This involves facilitating the implementation, gathering feedback, and refining the package based on practical application. Furthermore, the role requires strengthening coordination and establishing clear referral pathways between these health and education platforms to ensure consistent and reinforcing delivery of parenting guidance. The consultant will also ensure that the developed package aligns with UNICEF's global ECD Programme Guidance, the UNICEF Parenting Framework, and the Child Development Guide for Turkmenistan, thereby contributing significantly to the expansion of integrated ECD services and empowering caregivers across the country.

Work Experience

The provided content does not specify explicit work experience requirements for this consultancy role.

Skills

Early Childhood Development (ECD) expertise, Curriculum development, Training package design, Piloting and evaluation of educational programs, Social and Behavior Change communication, Culturally relevant content creation, Coordination and stakeholder engagement, Knowledge of primary health care systems, Knowledge of pre-primary education systems, Project management

Explore related opportunities