RE-ADVERTISEMENT | Home based consultancy: TSI Roma Education/ Inclusive Education Expert-Consu

UNICEF works in some of the world's toughest places, to reach the world's most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. And we never give up.

For every child, education. The European Commission approved a Technical Support Instrument to support the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth (MoERDY) of Slovakia in the area of desegregation of Roma children in education. The Project is implemented by the UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, in cooperation with European Commission's Reform and Investment Taskforce (SG REFORM) and the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of Slovakia. The Project aims to strengthen the capacity of education authorities and stakeholders at all levels to effectively implement desegregation of Roma children in education, and to develop a sustainable system to monitor elimination and prevention of segregation in schools.

The expected impact is to provide Roma children with high quality education which will enable them to have better skills, knowledge and equal opportunities, as well as to promote inclusion and respect for diversity and multiculturalism, eliminate prejudices, stereotypes and discrimination of Roma children in the education system and beyond. UNICEF ECARO is launching a call for consultancy for a Roma Education/Inclusive Education Expert to support the development of resources (toolkit, methodology, action plans) and to assist review, analysis and capacity building activities envisaged with the project.

The Roma Education/Inclusive Education Expert-Consultant will be supervised by the Regional Education Specialist in UNICEF ECARO and will work with two other consultants. Regular progress reviews will be conducted by UNICEF ECARO and the TSI Project Coordinator-Consultant. All reports should be submitted electronically in English.

Modality: Home-based, part-time for 45 working days within a period from July 2025 to December 2026 (with 2 travels to Slovakia).

Deliverables/Outputs and working days are outlined below. Tasks include an EU/international review of good practices in addressing education segregation for Roma children, development of a capacity building toolkit, and support for the draft National Roma Education Desegregation Action Plan and related activities.

• Undertake an EU/international review of good practices in addressing education segregation specifically for Roma children and promoting inclusive education. Identify at least 3–5 good practices related to whole-school approaches, monitoring, policy development, and collaboration with the community and parents. Draft the review and present to EC/UNICEF and national stakeholders. Finalize a version incorporating comments. 18 days (July–November 2025).
• Develop toolkit for capacity building of regional and national stakeholders and deliver capacity building workshops. Prepare a draft toolkit, present to stakeholders and incorporate feedback. Deliver three trainer sessions (national and 24 regional representatives) and three online sessions for MoEDRY. 20 days (January–May 2026).
• Provide necessary technical expertise to project activities based on the findings of the EU/international review and toolkit. Revise the research plan for monitoring Roma education segregation. Review the final report with recommendations and the draft National Roma Education Desegregation Action Plan. 5 days (July 2025–December 2026).
• Support presentation of project deliverables for events, including preparation of presentations and participation in events. 2 days (December 2026).

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• Advanced degree in international development, human rights, education, or another relevant social science field.
• At least ten years of professional work experience in education, inclusive education, or inclusion of the most vulnerable groups in education.
• Knowledge and/or experience in conducting or managing research projects.
• Knowledge and/or experience in development of resources/materials for training and delivery of trainings.
• Good knowledge of the international/regional framework and trends in inclusive education, including Roma inclusion; this is an asset.
• Good networking and collaboration skills.
• Fluent written and spoken English with excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to be flexible and deliver results under tight deadlines.

For every Child, you demonstrate… UNICEF values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce and encourages all candidates to apply. UNICEF offers inclusive benefits and flexible working arrangements where possible.

Disability inclusion: UNICEF adheres to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and has policies to provide reasonable accommodation and accessibility support. If you need accessibility support to complete the online application, contact the accessibility team.

Remarks: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Consultants are not staff members under UN rules and follow the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Background checks may include verification of credentials and employment history. Selected candidates may need to provide supporting documentation for disability-related accommodations.

Expiry: There is no explicit indication that the role is closed in the text above; the description represents an active consultancy opportunity with a defined period.