Monday 8 June 2015

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

This week I had the opportunity to explore the international community of early childhood to inspire my thinking about places I might like to work and about roles I would like to take on anywhere in the world.  I explored Free the Children, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI).


I chose Free the Children as this organization is an international charity and educational partner working both domestically and internationally to empower and enable youth to be agents of change. This organization educates, engages, and empowers youth in North America, the UK and around the world with the tools, knowledge, confidence, and support network to be ambassadors for change and lead meaningful action (Free the Children, 2015). This organization also works to remove barriers to education and to empower communities to break the cycle of poverty.

I have actually had the opportunity to hear Craig Kielburger who is the co-founder of Free the Children speak and he is so inspiring! I love everything that this organization does on an international level. Both of my children were actually involved in “We Day” which is part of Free the Children.


They have many career opportunities within this organization and they have listed 10 reasons to join their team! Here is a quote from their career homepage:

“At Free the Children, we’re a family of shameless idealists and social entrepreneurs committed to shifting global thinking from “me” to “we” – and shaping a world where everything is possible. We work hard. We play hard. And we make a difference. Every. Single. Day.”(Free the Children, 2015).

Who would NOT want to work for an organization like that?? Right now they have 25 career opportunities ranging from Coordinator of volunteers to Manager of Public relations. The skills needed to work in an organization such as this would be to be passionate, committed to making a difference.

The second international organization that I chose is the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
 as this organization believes that all children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfill their potential – to the benefit of a better world (UNICEF, n.d.). They focus on child protection and social inclusion, education, child survival, and emergencies and humanitarian action.



On the UNICEF employment site it states:

“We’re passionate about our cause and committed to our mission: to promote the equal rights of children, and to support their full participation in the political, social and economic development of their communities. That’s our vision. And it’s the world we’d like to build with you.” (UNICEF, n.d.).

There are career opportunities within UNICEF and it states on their website that if you are committed, creative, passionate about making a lasting difference for children, and are comfortable working in a challenging environment, the world’s leading children’s rights organization would like to hear from you (UNICEF, n.d.). Right now UNICEF is hiring educational professionals. If you are an experienced international educational development professional and have a passion for making a lasting difference for women, children, and adolescents than you have the skills needed (UNICEF, n.d.). Working as an educational professional would be very rewarding as you know that you are making a difference in the lives of others.

The third international organization that I chose is the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) as their mission is to promote and support the optimal education, development, and well-being of children worldwide (ACEI, 2011). Their vision is that every child in every nation will have access to quality education. This education will prepare children to become responsible and engaged citizens, ready for life in a changing world (ACEI, 2011).



This organization has a board of directors, headquarters staff, and an international advisory group. The headquarters staff includes positions such as; Administration, Editorial, Membership and Marketing, advocacy, public Affairs and Outreach, Communications, and Development.

ACEI also has internships that are available in the summer months where interns are given the opportunity to gain work experience consisting primarily of online research that will contribute to the development of briefing papers and other resources (ACEI, 2011). They are looking for interns who are enrolled in a graduate degree program that focuses on global education, such as basic education or early childhood development (ACEI, 2011). They also prefer if interns have some international experience working or living outside the U.S.

Here are the links to each organization I chose in case you would like to visit them yourself to gain more information.

Free the Children

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI)

2 comments:

  1. Stephanie UNICEF is another favorite organization of mine. If you read the reports you will see the effort they put in to support children with disabilities. Children with disabilities are one of the most marginalized and excluded groups in society. Facing daily discrimination in the form of negative attitudes, lack of adequate policies and legislation, they are effectively barred from realizing their rights to healthcare, education, and even survival. This explains UNICEF vision and that is to build a world where every child can grow up healthy, protected from harm and educated, so they can reach their full potential”. They are working very hard each and every day to make this vision a reality. No matter who they are or where they are born, they are reaching out to the most vulnerable children wherever and whenever they need them. This I find to be very important since I am focused on Inclusion and the rights of all children. I would very much like to take part in their work in the Caribbean.

    United Nations Children’s Fund, (n.d.). Retrieved on June 8, 2015 from: http://www.unicef.org/

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  2. Stephanie,

    Great post ! Prior to this assignment I would have not considered searching for a job with an international early childhood organization. It has been very interesting reading about the many different early childhood organizations that are helping children and families around the world.
    Deon

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