Blended Learning Expert

Contract

This is a International Consultant contract. More about International Consultant contracts.

Background

The UNDP Strategic Plan 2018-2021 embraces the complexity of development and commits the organization to helping countries find faster, more durable solutions to achieve Agenda 2030. Important development trends like urbanization, climate change, and rising inequalities pose significant challenges on our path to achieve the 2030 agenda of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

UNDP has begun incubating a number of strategic initiatives aimed at ensuring UNDP is ‘fit for purpose’ to deliver a new generation of solutions in line with the challenges the world faces. One such key strategic initiative is the Country Accelerator Lab Network. The initiative is a recognition that increasingly interrelated development challenges require going beyond business as usual and single point, linear and silver bullet responses in development. Instead, they call for interdisciplinary approaches and non-linear solutions that crowd in the collective efforts of a variety of partners and tap into local insights and the knowledge of people closest to the problem and the solutions. The initiative is also a recognition and an investment in the emerging momentum among a growing number of UNDP Country Offices around joining together disruptive, cutting edge methodologies with contextual, country-based insights and expertise to accelerate impact and progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.

We are building the largest and fastest learning global network of Accelerator Labs (initially setting up 60 labs in 60 countries) embedded within UNDP’s global architecture and country platforms. The new offering builds on the latest thinking from the fields of complexity science, leads user innovation and collective intelligence to accelerate development impact.

Our network will surface and reinforce locally sourced solutions at scale while mobilizing a wide and dynamic partnership of actors contributing knowledge, resources and experience. The idea is to transform our collective approach by introducing new protocols, backed by evidence and practice, which accelerate the testing and dissemination of solutions within and across countries. This will enable the global community to collectively learn from local knowledge and ingenuity at a speed and at a scale that our societies and planet require. This will be achieved by:

- Building on locally sourced solutions, finding things that work and expanding on them;

- Rapid testing and iteration to implement what works and go beyond the obvious solutions;

- Combining the best understanding, ideas and expertise to generate collective knowledge;

- Accelerating progress by bringing expertise, creativity and collective intelligence to bear.

The Accelerator Lab will undertake i) external facing interventions addressing priority development challenges, and ii) internally facing experiments to embed new ways of doing development within the existing UNDP portfolio.

Duties and Responsibilities

The mission will develop a roadmap that focuses primarily on studying the current curriculum for teaching methods in the Iraqi universities and the applied approaches of the current curriculum. Also, the mission focuses on Identifying the gaps within the current curriculum while applying it amid crises such as “COVID-19”. Analyse the situation and inject the blended learning techniques within the curriculum of teaching methods. Building the capabilities of a team of specialists in general and specialized teaching methods from Iraqi university professors in mastering blended learning.

More specifically, the Consultant will perform the following tasks:

1. Introduce a blended learning to the Accelerator Lab team in Iraq and align it with the Accelerator Lab’s work plan for 2020 and 2021.
2. Review and assess the current curriculum of teaching methods in the Iraqi Universities and validate the applicability of introducing blended learning to the current curriculum.
3. Review and validate the current curriculum of teaching methods in Iraqi Universities tools, examples, and how it is being implemented.
4. Conduct interviews, along with Accelerator Lab team in Iraq, with relevant stakeholders from the government officials, deans, professors, public and private universities, UN agencies, capacity building institutions and continuous education centers.
5. Develop a roadmap and create a new curriculum for teaching methods that include the techniques of the blended learning with a committee of specialists in general and specialized teaching methods from Iraqi university professors.
6. Design blended learning courses, using creative, innovative and evidence-based approaches and work with subject-matter experts to develop dynamic learning sessions and programs for in-person and virtual courses and sessions.
7. Build the capabilities of a team of specialists in general and specialized teaching methods from the Iraqi university professors to master work on tools and programs for virtual teaching methods and delivering information to the student with high quality and technology.
8. Support in the implementation and follow-up of the developed road-map in order to ensure the quality and sustainability of the work to develop the skills and competence of teachers in the methods of virtual education.
9. Expand the scope of work in providing training using integrated education, not only with university professors, but also within rehabilitation and employment centers within universities to adopt the same proposed model in order to contribute to increasing capacity building for graduates from our universities.
10. Support the Accelerator Lab in the experimentation and hypothesis of the developed roadmap.
11. support the Accelerator Lab and UNDP partners in speaking out-loud about the work being done, this can be in the form of written communication and also in verbal communication.
12. After the end of the roadmap and the capacity building phases, follow up with the Accelerator Lab team and relevant stakeholders in implementing the proposed activities by the expert.
13. Deliver a final report about the consultant achievements with the recommendation and lessons learned about the possibilities of expanding the blended learning in Iraq.

Impact of Results

• Empower the Academic Institutions in Iraq with a blended learning field.
• Have a team from professionals capacitated with knowledge in a blended learning field.
• Adapt the latest teaching methods inside the Iraqi universities.
• Adopt new technological skills to be added to the knowledge of the students and hence will support in decreasing the gap between the job market and the students’ knowledge and skills.

Ensure sustainable and resilient education systems in Iraqi universities that are adaptable to crises.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards

• Advocates and promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism

Functional Competencies:

• Remain open to change and ability to manage complexity.
• Ability to work and act under pressure and with discretion in a politically sensitive environment.
• Demonstrate capacity to plan, prioritize and deliver tasks on time to meet goals in a high-pressure environment and multitasker person.
• Maturity and confidence in dealing with high ranking officials of government institutions, international institutions and non- government institutions.
• Respect and sensitivity towards cultural, gender, ethnicity and religious diversity
• Excellent organizational, verbal, written and interpersonal skills.

Knowledge Management and Learning

• Demonstrates good knowledge of the Iraq Current cultural context regarding the higher educational system in Iraq.
• Shares knowledge and experience and contributes to overall reform programmes in Iraq
• Develops deep knowledge in Practice Areas
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced University degree in teaching methods, Instructional Design, Education, Organizational Development, Communication, International Development, college of art, humanitarian and social science, engineering, Business administration, innovation, computer science or related discipline.

Work Experience

• At least 7 years of experience required in the design and delivery of learning programs and developing the curriculum of teaching methods with the universities, capabilities centers, continuous education centers and career development centers.
• Experience in instructional design with a focus on blended learning, virtual school and virtual curriculum.
• Experience in e-learning design and development, webinar production, and/or in-person facilitation.
• Knowledgeable in application of adult learning theories and leading-edge instructional design methods.
• Experience in cross-cultural environments required.
• Excellent organizational, verbal, written and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrate fluency with the latest virtual teaching platforms.
• Strong research and data analysis skills with demonstrated record of development of research methodologies.
• Priority will be given to candidates who demonstrate a high level of motivation and good communication, social, and interpersonal skills.

Language:

• Fluency in English.
• Preferable to candidates who can speak and read in Arabic.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

The application should contain the following:

1. A technical proposal with a brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment.
2. The technical proposal should also contain personal CV , indicating education background/professional qualifications, all experience, furthermore, providing duly filled the form of Letter of Confirming Interest and Availability whereby includes financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per deliverables mentioned in this TOR, in addition to the contact details (email and telephone number) of the candidate and at least three (3) professional references.

The detailed terms of reference and the Letter of Confirming Interest and Availability form are uploaded in documents section, furthermore is available in the following link :

https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fprocurement-notices.undp.org%2F&data=02%7C01%7Caryan.saber%40undp.org%7Cd8332a72249148676ee008d710d7c311%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C636996391179703145&sdata=zHY2xlc%2B4K8bW8sUuZaC9mgZkYZwb5OfygwfzZyFHAI%3D&reserved=0

Please note you can upload only one document in the online application, therefore combine the CV, and the Letter of Confirmation and Availability as one pdf and upload it accordingly.moreover, please note that failure to submit required documents by UNDP will lead to rejection of your offer.