Consultancy: Consultant, Gender-Responsive Digital Pedagogy - Gender Equality Section, PD, NYHQ - Req

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UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, hope.

Consultancy Title: Consultant, Gender-Responsive Digital Pedagogy

Section/Division/Duty Station: Gender/Programme Division/NYHQ

Duration: 3 months (01 Feb 2021 to 01 May 2021, approximately 55 days)

BACKGROUND

Quality education for girls and boys is not an inevitable result—before, during or after a child migrates or is displaced from their home. Only 66% of countries have achieved gender parity in primary education. At the secondary level, the gap widens: 45 per cent of countries have achieved gender parity in lower secondary education. Globally, 132 million girls are out of school. Additionally, humanitarian disasters and pandemics fracture education systems. UNCHR reports that only half of refugee children attend primary school, and less than a quarter are in secondary school. In countries affected by conflict, girls are 2.5 times more likely be out of school than girls living in non-affected countries.

COVID-19 is placing an additional toll on education systems. UNESCO reports COVID-19 closures are impacting over 60% of the world’s student population. And in July 2020, UNICEF and Save the Children estimate that approximately 10 million children may never return to school as a result of school closures, with girls at elevated risks of dropout because of norms and harmful practices. School closures during COVID-19 hence risk further exacerbating learning crisis. In the 191 countries that have closed their schools (partially or fully), intermittent school closings may continue until 2022-2023. These school closures could lead to millions more girls dropping out before they complete their education, specially girls living in poverty, with a disability or living in rural isolated places; these girls already struggle to access a nearby school and to learn the basics.

In alignment with UNICEF’s Gender Action Plan, UNICEF continues to convene partners and advance innovative learning solutions to advance flexible learning for girls trapped by crises, to keep them learning. Access to learning and education opportunities for all children, adolescent girls and boys, should be prioritized during emergencies, including remote learning strategies accessible to girls and adolescent girls with disabilities or others who may be at risk of exclusion. To ensure continuity of learning, countries have deployed remote learning programmes to reach children, using a mix of technologies. Expanding remote learning opportunities is not the same as learning, defined as the development of relevant knowledge, skills and values. Technology does not guarantee that boys and girls benefit equally from digital learning spaces. Gender-responsive digital pedagogy merits attention; no relevant guidance has yet been developed.

Purpose

The purpose of this consultancy is to address a gap in available guidance on gender-responsive digital pedagogy. The primary output is a global good – a guide to gender-responsive digital pedagogy that focuses on how to advance gender-responsive digital learning.

The guide could be used by governments to design upskilling strategies and programmes delivered by a range of influencers—teachers, facilitators, local organizations. The guidelines could also be used by private sector to improve the gender responsiveness of the learning platforms and digital content they design. The goal is to ensure that the full range of educators in girls’ lives have the guidance and tools to support girls in navigating their digital learning journeys.

The guide will be designed in close collaboration with Prospect partners and the Connecting Every Child to Learning. Everywhere team. The primary focus for the development and rollout of the guide are Prospects Countries. The guide will outline the core knowledge and practices that teachers should have to become gender-responsive digital educators. The activity will engage at least one Prospect country from ESAR and one from MENA in the conceptualization and design. Within Prospects, several countries are already working in the digital learning space and the governments are investing in this area. This strategic investment elevates gender equity within these efforts, making digital pedagogy a core component.

Globally, UNICEF is committed to a vision where digital learning for every child and young person means reaching 3.5 billion children and young people by 2030 - and with partners from private, public and civil society sectors, we aim to reach 500 million children and young people by 2021. We will bring internet connectivity to 13,000 schools in 2020, to 150,000 schools in 2021, with the aim to connect 5 million schools by 2030. To connect every child and young person to the internet, scale-up world-class digital solutions which meet unique learning needs and context, and reach populations furthest behind, including those in humanitarian contexts. It is strategic to use this momentum and commitment to provide clear guidance to governments, partners, and to our COs about how to maximize the potential of digital learning for girls, through gender-responsive digital pedagogies that make the best use of available world-class digital learning solutions.

Scope of Work

• Conducing a literature scan on gender-responsive pedagogy and gender-responsive pedagogy for virtual learning/digital platforms. (Purpose: to identify evidence, relevant guidance, good practice, evidence gaps in research and programming; foundations of a conceptual framework);
• Conducting key-informant interviews with relevant practitioners and scholars
• Drafting a conceptual framework, theory of change and learning agenda for gender-responsive digital learning.
• Drafting guidelines on gender-responsive digital pedagogy that advance gender-responsive digital learning.
• Consulting with key stakeholders in at least two Prospect countries to refine, identify context-specific considerations, validate & finalize the guidelines, theory of change, and learning agenda.

Duty Station

Remote-based work

Terms of Reference / Deliverables

Start date: 1-February-2021 End date: 1-May-2021 Total: 55 working days

Deliverables/Outputs:

• Workplan + Brief Inception Report

Required working days: 5 Due date: 5 Feb 2021

• Narrative and summary PPT of literature scan findings and of KIIs (including the evidence, good practice, relevant guidance, evidence gaps in research and programming

Draft conceptual framework, theory of change and learning agenda for gender-responsive digital learning; accompanying summary PPT

Required working days: 10 Due date: 19 Feb 2021

• Draft conceptual framework, theory of change, guide/guidelines, and learning agenda on gender-responsive digital pedagogy that advance gender-responsive digital learning; Accompanying summary PPT

Required working days: 30 Due date: 31 March 2021

• Final conceptual framework, theory of change and learning agenda for gender-responsive digital learning; Accompanying final summary PPT;

Final guide/guidelines on gender-responsive digital pedagogy that advance gender-responsive digital learning; Accompanying final summary PPT

Required working days: 10 Due date: 15 April 2021

Qualifications

Education

Advanced university degree in one of the disciplines relevant to the following areas: Education; Digital Learning; Gender; Gender in Education, behavioral and other Social sciences; Gender Studies, or another field relevant to international development and humanitarian assistance.

Skills and Experience

• At least 7 years of relevant technical and/or research experience related to gender-responsive education programming, adolescent-girl programming, adolescent engagement and participation.
• Demonstrated experience in the design and evaluation gender-responsive education programming for girls in low- and middle-income countries
• Demonstrated experience designing practical guidance and resources on gender-responsive pedagogy to advance equal learning outcomes for girls and boys is required
• Demonstrated experience in the design, implementation or evaluation of digital learning pedagogy for children is an advantage.
• Experience advising the multinational, bilateral or international organizations on gender and social inclusion in education and/or digital learning.
• Experience working with research universities and training institutes considered an advantage.

Other Competencies

• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of an additional UN language will be considered an asset.

Requirements

• Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and provide Personal History Form (P11) Upload copy of academic credentials
• Financial proposal that will include:
• your daily/monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference (can be downloaded here: https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_consultancy_assignments.html
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability
• Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.
• At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.
• Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: Here

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, race, sexual orientation, nationality, culture, appearance, socio-economic status, ability, age, religious and ethnic backgrounds to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.