Job Description

Terms of Reference: Technical Guidance note on ECD, climate change and environmental degradation Background
' Our climate is our children's future. Their future is shaped by our actions now.'
The climate and environmental crises are major threats to young children and their families that can affect a child's rights to thrive, survive and learn. When we look at the global distribution of economic development, it is easy to see how climate change and environmental risk vulnerability tends to be in developing countries, and this vulnerability is highlighted in Asia and the Pacific.Young children are the most vulnerable of vulnerable groups because climate change and environmental degradation has the greatest impact on children's growth and development as well as the wellbeing of pregnant women and foetuses (World Health Organisation, 2019). Brain development is most rapid in the early years, and the quality of brain development is moderated by dynamic interactions with the environment (Yousafzai, 2019). The impacts and disruptions experienced by young children will have negative impacts through the life span of individuals and will limit the capacity to reach their full potential, which can be mapped across the Nurturing Care Framework. ARNEC has commissioned a recent desk review has mapped these impacts already. These impacts will increase as millions of children born in this year will face, on average, 2-7 times more extreme weather events than their grandparents, including more heatwaves, floods, droughts, crop failures, typhoons/hurricanes, and wildfires (Save the Children, 2021), affecting their nurturing care. This vulnerability has been further exacerbated by overlapping crises of conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic, and other environmental risks.The stress and impacts are especially acute and damaging to young children with disabilities and children with cognitive and learning impairments, and young children in marginalized communities. From an SDG perspective, these individual vulnerabilities add up to increased vulnerability at the community and national level, and in doing so, have set back key areas of human and sustainable development. For example, it makes it harder to reduce poverty and the related concerns of adequate nutrition and health, and young children will be less ready to learn and make the most of early stimulation and formal education.
These vulnerabilities exacerbate inequalities (as well as gender equity). Overall, these impacts make it much harder to promote sustainable economic growth that provides decent employment in sustainable communities designed for responsible production and consumption. Failing to address the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation to young children undermines the long-term project of climate adaptation and the larger agenda of sustainable development.

ECD is inextricably linked to environmental degradation and sustainable development policy in two ways: young children urgently need support to be able to absorb the risks and damages caused by environmental challenges; and young children contain a key to building a truly sustainable future.Specifically for a very diverse region such as the Asia-Pacific, we need to have a better understanding of how climate change and environmental degradation are affecting young children in different areas, and how actions need to take place at all levels: home; community; schools; programs and services; and policies to address these issues.ARNEC's focus
ARNEC puts high priority on the issue of how climate change and environmental degradation are affecting young children. As such, ARNEC has adopted this as one of its advocacy initiatives over the next three years (2021-2023/24). ARNEC in partnership with UNICEF EAPRO and Save the Children amongst others are working to strengthen knowledge, evidence, policies, and strategies to support clean, safe, andRegistration No. 201001067Msustainable environments for young children1. We are targeting policy makers, practitioners, communities, parents and caregivers to make this happen.The focus of the initiative is to put young children/ECD at the center of environmental and climate change actions and put the environment at the center of ECD. There are two mutually reinforcing priority areas in this initiative:1. ECD and climate change: Focus on how climate change directly and indirectly affects young children and the need to see ECD as an opportunity to achieve sustainable development
2. ECD and environmental degradation: Focus on the impact of critical environmental issues (i.e., air pollution, exposure to environmental toxins, and lack of clean and protective play and recreational spaces) on young children and how these can be addressed.One of the first steps is to support ECD and climate change actors to understand the issue of climate change and environmental degradation on young children. Alongside this we want to work with and support the
ECD sector to incorporate actions that promote robust ECCD programs to strengthen adaptive capacities, build resilience and buffer impacts of climate change and environmental degradation.Purpose of Consultancy
The purpose of this consultancy is to develop a technical guidance note that will help ECD practitioners (i) increase their understanding of how climate change and other environmental issues affect young children; and (ii) build their capacity to integrate climate actions into ECD programs. Current Early
Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) service delivery systems and social structures are not equipped to ensure that young children can withstand climate hazards and variability. Our premise is that optimizing the design of ECCD programs can build resilience and adaptation and buffer the impact of climate change.ARNEC has commissioned a desk review that looks into how climate and environmental crises affect young children across the nurturing care components, and identify opportunities and gaps in terms of policies and programs with sub-regional analysis and case studies (to be shared with consultant later).
The technical guidance note will build on the results of this desk review due for completion mid-August.
The main audience of the guidance note will be technical ECD staff in countries across the Asia-pacific region to support them in making ECD programs be more climate sensitive.Purpose of technical guidance note on ECD, climate change and degradation.

• Explain how young children are impacted by climate change and environmental degradation
• Articulate why we need to redesign our ECCD programs to be climate-sensitive to protect young children from the impact of climate change.
• Explain how investing in and scaling climate-sensitive ECCD programs can contribute to climate

"resilience" (but we want to be clear that resilience is combined with advocacy for climate justice)

• Advocate for prioritizing ECD in climate and environmental programmes to ensure that such efforts leverage the critical window of opportunity that is the early years (below 3 and 3-prior to primary school entry)
• Provide ECD technical staff with some entry points for designing effective programmes for young children and their families which address the climate/environment crisis (including country examples) and support advocacy for climate justice for young children

Suggested scope/outline of technical guidance note although inception report can suggest otherwise
1. Introduce the impact of climate change and env. degradation on young children, aligned with theNCF
2. Framing of how ECD contributes to sustainable development/climate resilienceRegistration No. 201001067M3. Principles to climate change sensitive programming in the early years: What are the programmatic entry points/approaches for the ECD sector to incorporate climate change actions for young children into their work. These entry points can be through ECD programs and services aligned with the NCF components. Some key considerations:

• Predictive analysis for forecast-based action to reduce climatic shock impacts on young children
• Shock-responsive and climate-sensitive social protection for young children
• Safe, resilient and sustainable spaces for play
• Child-centered and community-driven adaptation/DRR
• Health and nutrition entry point would be useful to explore for children under 3.
• Early learning in the form of pre-schools/ECE centers and home based programs learning would be a suitable entry point for preschoolers and children prior to primary school entry.

E.g. if CC&ED should be introduced as separate topic in the curriculum; part of pre-service or in-service training that should be mainstreamed etc.

• Child-centered climate/environmental advocacy action: (either part of non-formal learning within the early learning entry point or standalone)
• Beyond NCF specific sectors, other key entry points should be considered for responsive caregiving/early stimulation which are less sectoral e.g. parenting programs
• Consider cross-cutting areas (gender, poverty/inequity; children with disabilities; parenting/ child-led initiatives, air pollution).

4. Country examples of climate sensitive ECD programming (from desk review)
5. Appendix: Outcomes and indicative activities for ECD programmes to be more climate sensitiveSpecific outputs for consultancy:
The consultant is expected to accomplish the following tasks:
1. A short inception report which includes workplan and proposed methodology for producing the technical guidance note.
2. Draft Technical guidance note on ECD, climate change and environmental degradation
3. Final Technical guidance note on ECD, climate change and environmental degradation (upon review coordinated by ARNEC Secretariat with advisory group of technical staff)Budget available
For discussionDuration
30 August 2022 - 30 September 2022 (suggested 10 days of work in this time)Qualifications and competencies

• Advanced University degree and proven experience in designing and implementing Early

Childhood Development programs , ideally providing expertise in areas including but not limited to: climate change and sustainable development, environmental policy and diplomacy, environmental education

• Strong writing skills, and experience in preparing similar technical guidance notes
• Understanding and previous use of Nurturing Care Framework to support holistic and integrated

ECD

• Knowledge and experience of working in Asia-Pacific contexts considered an asset
• Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills (in English)
• Ability to work independently as well as with others collaboratively (e.g. with the ARNEC and country focal points) with quick turnaround for technical expertise.

Registration No. 201001067MLocation of Work
This engagement is a home-based work and no travel is expected. The consultant will be expected to have virtual meetings and calls with the ARNEC team and wider advisory group supporting this initiative.How to Apply
Interested candidates should refer to the application instructions on www.arnec.net.Relevant ARNEC resources (successful applicant will receive in depth desk review aforementioned which will be the foundation for this technical guidance note)
o Full Documentation Report-2022 Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Early ChildhoodDevelopment 5-8 Jul 2022 o Young children: from most vulnerable to most valuable in times of crisis - the transformational power of ECD o ARNEC regional conference closing video o Asia-Pacific regional call to action to address the climate crisis to protect the wellbeing and development of young children and Launch of the Global Call to Action o Resources: COP 26 results statement, IPCC reaction statements and way forward COP 26Social media push (daily or every other day) on ARNEC's Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Pages o 2x webinars completed (presentations most important): o 1. Putting Young Children at the Center of Environmental and Climate Change Actions
(Watch the recording, Highlights of ARNEC Webinar, Presentation slides deck) o 2. Demystifying Climate Change and its Relationship with Early Childhood Development
(here)Registration No. 201001067MJob Type: Contract
Contract length: 6 weeksSalary: From $2,500.00 per monthBenefits:

• Work from home

Schedule:

• Flexible hours

Application Deadline: 23/08/2022