UNICEF Early
Childhood Development (ECD) programme offers various interventions ...
UNICEF Early
Childhood Development (ECD) programme offers various interventions across Jordan.
One of the major ECD programme activities is Parenting Support, which is
provided through a wide network of Makani centres and Government Ministries.
UNICEF Makani
centres offer a multi-sectoral approach to service provision to children and
young people, girls and boys, families and community members. It aims to promote
and contribute to children and young people’s full development and well-being –
physical, cognitive, social and emotional.
UNICEF implments
three ECD Parenting Support Programmes in Makani: The ZERO-to-THREE Programme
(for parents and children from birth-3 years old); The Parent and Child
Programme, including an Early Learning Readiness component (for parents and
children 4-5 years old); and the Better Parenting Programme (for parents of
children 0-8 years old). Each programme has its own standalone curriculum and
activities that are related to the developmental characteristics of the
children at each specific age group. The overall goal of the three programmes is
to empower parents and caregivers to adopt nurturing caregiving skills and
apply positive and non-violent discipline.
The Better
Parenting Programme (BPP) in particular have become integral to several
countrywide systems including the Ministries of Education, Social Development,
and Awqaf and Islamic Affairs. Currently, UNICEF in collaboration with the National
Council for Family Affairs are leading a consultative process to support
integrating and institutionalization of the BPP into structures and budgets of aforementioned
ministries in addition to the Ministry of Health, in order to ensure parenting-supported
interventions are well-resourced, integrated, and coordinated across multiple
sectors, in accordance with national and international standards.
Another
important ECD programme activity is early intervention (EI) for children with
disabilities and developmental delays. UNICEF supported MoSD to establish three
EI units in Irbid, Zarqa, and Russiefeh. Work is underway to establish
additional units across the country, with specific focus on the south region.
Under the direct supervision of the Child
Protection Section– the ECD Specialist, the post will play an oversight and
capacity building role in the ECD Programme activities in the Host Community
and Camps. The post holder will specifically be accountable for coordinating,
monitoring, coaching and ensuring smooth programme implementation of the ECD
activities by UNICEF Implmenting Partners (IPs) in designated locations. This
will include supporting the IPs managers and ECD focal points & facilitators
in overall programme planning, capacity building, execution, monitoring and
reporting of planned ECD activities as per set SOPs. He/she will also follow up
on emerging issues at IP levels and address the concerns.