This week, we were asked to look at international organizations that foster the well-being of children and families. As I have mentioned before, my two passions are child development and international studies so international organizations that are working to promote positive development of young children and their families are particularly interesting to me. For this assignment, the three international organizations I chose to look into were the International Step by Step Association, UNICEF, and Save the Children.
1. International Step by Step Association (ISSA): Honestly, I chose to look at this organization because I am a big fan of it! A few courses ago, we were tasked to connect with an early childhood professional from the international community and the one that I came into contact with worked for ISSA. I learned a lot about ISSA and the work they do, it is an amazing organization! ISSA works primarily in Central/Eastern Europe and Central Asia to increase equity in early childhood education.
After searching the ISSA website, I could not find any job postings, but I did find that ISSA works with a variety of individuals and organizations who are members. Members of ISSA are given a forum for advocacy (policy papers, participating in groups or “task forces,” etc.), professional information sharing, and access to ISSA events, including conferences and workshops (ISSA, n.d., para.1). To become a member of ISSA, you need to “share their vision;” ISSA membership is open to individuals (teachers, early childhood experts, university faculty members, etc.) and organizations such as (schools, educational organizations, NGOs, parent associations, etc.); to join you fill out an application and pay the membership fee (ISSA, n.d., para. 4).
2. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF): I chose to look into this organization more because not only do I admire the work that they do, but I have used this organization frequently as a resource throughout my undergraduate and graduate work. Not only does UNICEF provide data and statistics, they share what they are doing to make a difference around the world, the issues that children face globally, and how others can help make an impact. After searching the UNICEF website, I found that they have job opportunities for a wide range of fields, including administration, education, communication, health, planning, policies, and statistics. Since this is an international organization, there are a number of places that these positions are located-UNICEF currently works in 191 countries (UNICEF, n.d.)! To narrow my search, I looked for open positions here in the US and found that they have a few, ranging from human resources to health specialist, to administrative management. Unfortunately, I was not able to find what criteria was needed for these positions, but I did learn that they offer a wide range of levels; some positions may require years of experience but you can also start as an intern or volunteer.
3. Save the Children: I chose to look at this organization because I do not know much about it; I was really interested in learning more about them and the work that they do. The website was very informative; I plan on using them as a future resource. Save the Children works in 120 countries and offers both career positions and internships (Save the Children, 2012, para. 1). I searched through the open career positions and the one that I found most interesting was a Program Specialist, Early Childhood; this position actually has a few US openings in Kansas, Kentucky, and Arizona.
-Program Specialist, Early Childhood: Job duties include working to “ensure the effective coordination, implementation and monitoring of early childhood education programming” by helping provide training and monitoring quality by visiting sites, and helping coordinate planning and budgeting (Save the Children, 2012). To qualify for this position, you must have a bachelor degree in Early Childhood, 3 years working experience in the field, and experience working and collaborating with other professionals.
Although I was not able to find job postings for all of these international organizations, I did learn ways that I can become involved. International organizations are a great resource and network to have as an early childhood professional, becoming more involved in them is definitely something I am going to look into!
References:
International Step by Step Association. (n.d.). Join Us. Retrieved from ISSA website: http://www.issa.nl/join.html
Save the Children. (2012). Careers. Retrieved from Save the Children website: http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6226565/k.BA72/Careers.htm
UNICEF. (n.d.). Employment at UNICEF. Retrieved from UNICEF website: http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index.php
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