Consultancy for a Team Leader to support teacher development and improved learning outcomes: Evaluation Office, New York, USA, 9 months

Consultant Programme & Policy Monitoring & Evaluation

Contract

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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, evaluate

As part of the Plan for Global Evaluations, the Evaluation Office has committed to conducting the "Evaluation of UNICEF contributions to teacher development and improved learning outcomes." The overall goal of this evaluation is to assess UNICEF work aimed at supporting the achievement of SDG 4. The evaluation is scheduled to be conducted between July 2024 and March 2025. This evaluation recognizes the importance of supporting teachers and teaching, indicating that "the number and functions, deployment, capability and working conditions of teachers are key determinants of learning; as are time-on-task, pedagogical practice and accountability for learning outcomes", as described in the 2019–2030 UNICEF Education Strategy

The specific purpose of this evaluation is to better position UNICEF to support teacher development and accountability for learning outcomes to improve the results of all children. Its ultimate purpose is to improve all children's and adolescents' chances of achieving their full learning potential, contributing to the achievement of SDG 4. Towards this end, the evidence generated by the evaluation will enable UNICEF:

• To improve the efficiency, effectiveness, coherence, relevance, and sustainability of the organization's efforts around teacher development and accountability for learning outcomes for all children, focusing on the three priority clusters: (i) teacher supply (adequate workforce supply, quality composition of teachers, and teacher deployment capacity); (ii) teacher capabilities and qualifications (teacher pre- and in-service training, safe attendance, reduction of absenteeism, teaching in diverse learning contexts, and teaching for different learning needs); and (iii) teacher accountability for learning outcomes (foundational skills, transferable skills, and skills for employment or livelihood).
• To enhance UNICEF work with external partners, identifying, assessing, and disseminating good practices and policy lessons around specific thematic components of teacher development and accountabilities for learning outcomes.

Evaluation Objectives

To achieve the end uses described above, the evaluation will assess UNICEF work in support of teacher skills development and improved learning outcomes. The overall objective of this exercise is to evaluate the extent to which UNICEF is enhancing teacher development and accountability for learning outcomes to improve results for children. More specifically, guided by the education strategy and teacher priorities, two specific objectives are identified:

Objective 1: To evaluate the efficiency, effectiveness, coherence, relevance, and sustainability of UNICEF efforts around teacher development and accountability for learning outcomes for all children, focusing on the three priority clusters of teacher supply, teacher capabilities and qualifications, and teacher accountability for learning outcomes, focusing on:

• Efficiency: The organization efficiently utilizes programmatic approaches and enabling inputs to achieve results around the teacher development and accountability for learning outcomes' priorities, as well as to improve results for all children.
• Effectiveness: UNICEF achieving its targeted results around teacher development and accountability for learning outcomes priorities and to improve results for all children.
• Internal Coherence: The organization's efforts around teacher development and accountability for learning outcomes are coherent with UNICEF education strategies and its teachers and teaching priorities, and to improve results for all children.
• Intra-Country Coherence: The organization's efforts around teacher development and accountability for learning outcomes are coherently aligned with other UN agencies' and development partners' teachers and teaching interventions, and to accelerate and scale up results for all children.
• Relevance: The organization's efforts around teacher development and accountability for learning outcomes align with national priorities, national policies, and meet the specific needs of all children.
• Sustainability: The organization's efforts around teacher development and accountability for learning outcomes lead to sustainable policies and national resource allocations to improve results for all children.

Objective 2: To identify, assess, and disseminate good practices and policy lessons around specific thematic components of teacher development and learning outcomes.

See TOR attached : 1ToR Evaluation of UNICEF Work on Teacher Development and Learning Outcomes.pdf

Workplan, tasks, deliverables, timeline

Evaluation Phase and Activities

Key Deliverables

Inception Phase: July-September 2024 (12 weeks)

1. Regular debriefing and planning meetings with Evaluation Office evaluation manager.
2. Gather, compile, and analyse the first set of relevant internal and external documents, quantitative databases.
3. Refine evaluation approach, evaluation questions, and list of key stakeholders, focusing on evaluation use.
4. Initial engagement with selected key informants for consultations, to refine evaluation questions and evaluation use.
5. Develop data collection instruments for the evaluation, and pilot test data collection instrument.
6. Submit Ethics Review.
7. Develop evidence matrix structure. Confirmation of plan for secure repository to store matrix, to ensure confidentiality.
8. Draft inception report sent to Evaluation Office for comments.
9. Review draft inception report, addressing Evaluation Office comments with responses.
10. Evaluation Office to quality assure draft inception report.
11. Draft inception report sent to reference group for comments.
12. Review draft inception report, addressing reference group comments with responses.
13. Meeting with reference group to present evaluation approach, validate evaluation questions, areas of focus for the complementary in-depth products (including selection of country office and regional office for missions), and revised evaluation timeline.
14. Final inception report, Evaluation Office evaluation manager to quality assure and process for clearance.

Inception Report

Data Collection and Data Analysis Phase: October 2024 -January 2025 (12 weeks)

15. Regular debriefings and planning meetings with Evaluation Office evaluation manager.
16. Compilation and review of additional documents and data, including those for in-depth analyses.
17. Data collection tools finalized (for individual interviews and focus group discussions).
18. Plan and conduct key informant interviews (remote) with UNICEF staff (HQ, regional office, country office levels), government partners, implementing partners, UN agency partners.
19. Plan and schedule country office in-person missions for in-depth analyses. Conduct in-person primary data collection (interviews, focus groups, observation) and debriefing presentations with country office teams. Interviews will include, but not limited to, UNICEF staff (HQ, regional office, country office levels), government partners, implementing partners, UN agency partners, and other relevant stakeholders. Teacher focus group discussions should be considered as part of the data collection design.
20. Populate and code evidence matrix with relevant data, sources of relevant data, evaluation evidence, and evidence quality rating. Findings and conclusion must logically derive from evidence analyses.
21. Meeting with reference group to present the emerging findings and lessons learned for discussion and further factual validation.

Final evidence matrix

Presentation of emerging findings and lessons learned to reference group

Reporting Phase: January 2025 – March 2025 (10 weeks)

22. Regular debriefings and planning meetings with Evaluation Office evaluation manager
23. Finalize draft global evaluation report and complementary in-depth products (policy brief and good practice note).
24. Draft of global evaluation report sent to Evaluation Office for comments.
25. Revise draft global evaluation report, addressing Evaluation Office comments with responses. Evaluation Office to quality assure final draft report.
26. Final draft of global evaluation report sent to reference group for comments.
27. Revise global evaluation report, addressing reference group comments with responses.
28. Meeting with reference group for validation workshop to present findings, conclusions, and to co-edit evaluation recommendations.
29. Draft policy brief and good practice note sent to Evaluation Office.
30. Revise draft policy brief and good practice note, addressing Evaluation Office comments. Evaluation Office to quality assure products.
31. Final global evaluation report, policy brief, and good practice note. Evaluation Office to quality assure all deliverables.

Dissemination Phase

32. Participation of the evaluation team in activities during the dissemination phase, after the evaluation has been completed, is highly encouraged.

Draft global evaluation report

Draft policy brief and good practice note.

Presentation of findings, conclusions, and recommendations

Global evaluation report

Policy brief and good practice note.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• • Minimum of ten years of professional experience in evaluation exercises, with evidence of thematic expertise in the areas of teacher development and learning outcomes.
  • Expert knowledge of good practices and innovative initiatives, programme, and national policies supporting system strengthening around teacher development and learning outcomes.
  • Advanced degree (Ph.D. preferably) in a relevant field of social sciences, with an advantage for degrees or major emphases in education public policy, economics, evaluation, or related evidence fields.
  • Expertise with mixed-method data collection and analyses, with proven experience in quantitative survey design, advanced statistical analyses, and cost-benefit/value-for-money analyses. Expertise in qualitative approaches including semi-structured interviews; focus group discussions; and observational methods.
  • Proven experience utilizing gender responsive, disability inclusive, and contextualization approaches for evaluation. Experience working in humanitarian, peacebuilding, and emergency contexts is a clear advantage.
  • Proven experience leading corporate evaluations of UNICEF education programmes and strategies.
  • Demonstrated ability to supervise an evaluation team at the talent and experience level required.
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills in English. Fluency in other UN official languages represents a strong advantage.
  • Ability to travel for data collection missions is required.

How to apply:

Consultants who wish to submit applications as individual contributors for a specific role must clearly indicate in their application the position they wish to apply for. Interested parties are encouraged to submit applications as teams.

All interested parties, whether applying as a part of a team or as individual contributors, should submit a letter of interest and resume(s), as well as examples of relevant evaluation reports or study reports, clarifying their role and contribution to the evaluation. For those applying as teams, ALL TEAM MEMBERS MUST APPLY SEPARATELY for the specific advertisement that relate to their role. In addition, all team members must indicate in their cover letters if they are part of a specific team, including the names of other team members.

Applicants seeking to be considered for the team leader role are encouraged to provide a small description of demonstrated experience in the following areas:

• Project management plans and division of labour among team members (must list names of other team members, if applying as team).
• Clear understanding of the expected activities described in the ToR, particularly within UNICEF context.
• Propose and justify the most appropriate evaluation approach and method to answer the evaluation questions described in the ToR.
• Risk management, describing issues and how to mitigate them

All applicants must submit a work plan proposal, as per the table below:

Deliverables

Number of days

Daily fee

Total fees

Deliverable 1: Inception report

Deliverable 2: Data collection, final evidence matrix

Deliverable 4: Final draft of global evaluation report

Deliverable 5: Final global evaluation report, policy brief, good practice note.

Travel missions and in-person meetings, accommodation, and incidental expenses will be planned with, discussed, agreed, and approved by the Evaluation Office evaluation manager, and covered directly by the UNICEF Evaluation Office.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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 be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

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

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

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Added 3 hours ago - Updated 3 hours ago - Source: unicef.org