Consultant (Early Childhood Care and Education- Inclusion), Education Outcomes Fund (EOF), Hosted Fund, 12 Months, REMOTE, Req: 566551

Consultant Teaching & Training Programme & Policy

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, EDUCATION

There are few greater challenges faced by the global community than the twin crises of learning poverty and youth unemployment. In response, the Education Commission and the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment came together to create the Education Outcomes Fund in 2018.

At the Education Outcomes Fund, we aim to improve the education and employment outcomes of children and youth by supporting governments to utilize a range of outcomes-based finance (OBF) instruments at scale, including outcomes funds. We support improvements in the quality of education and skills programmes, with a special focus on underserved populations.

Paying primarily on the basis of the results achieved ensures that taxpayer-funded domestic resources and international aid, and philanthropic funds are only used to pay for what works. We believe this is a game-changing way to finance education that enables the emergence of powerful partnerships for public purpose. Our approach is at the cutting edge of development finance with significant potential to achieve better outcomes for children and youth around the world. Together with our partners, we believe this is the early stages of a much larger movement.

BACKGROUND ON EOF’S ENGAGEMENT IN RWANDA

The Government of Rwanda's commitment to early childhood development has led to significant progress in recent years. The Government has recognized the importance of holistic development in the early years and established various ECD services across the country, including home-based, community-based, centre-based, and model-based ECD centres. These commitments have led to a 34% increase in enrolments in centre-based programs, facilitated by the construction of 3071 pre-primary centres between 2017 and 2021. The goal is to further increase access to centre-based pre-primary education to 45% by 2024, from 30% in 2019. Moreover, strides have been made to improve the quality of learning through the establishment of standards for pre-primary education and the implementation of a comprehensive ECD curriculum, ensuring consistency in learning plans used by caregivers. However, access to ECD services, while improving, is still marked by disparities – only 26% of children in organised early learning programs are in formal, higher-quality, centre-based ECD settings. In the absence of these formal ECD centres, home, and community based ECD services have become key to providing access to organized early learning. The majority of children who attend organized early learning programmes are in informal home (61%) or community-based (13%) settings.

For this reason, the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) and the National Child Development Agency (NCDA) in collaboration with the Education Outcomes Fund are planning to establish an outcomes fund to address quality disparities. The outcomes fund will focus particularly on community based ECD centres in rural areas, where access to existing pre-primary classrooms is most challenging.

How can you make a difference?

RATIONALE FOR THE CONSULTANCY

The rationale for the consultancy is to support EOF in effectively incorporating an inclusion lens for children with developmental delays and disabilities. Disability-inclusive ECE is an essential component of equitable and quality ECE services.

The consultant will play a vital role in providing expertise and recommendations to guide the incorporation of disability-inclusion into the design of the outcomes fund. The consultant will ensure that the program aligns with international best practices, considers the unique context of Rwanda, and fosters equal access to quality education for all children.

PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The Consultant (Early Childhood Care and Education - Inclusion) will support EOF in assessing the feasibility of, and recommending how, the program could include a focus on inclusive ECE services for children with developmental delays and disabilities. The consultant will work closely with the EOF team and Government of Rwanda (GoR) counterparts in the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) and the National Child Development Agency (NCDA) across two phases to support the program through to the start of implementation. The output of the below points will involve meeting with and explaining recommendations to counterparts in GoR:

Phase 1: Desk review to identify existing strategies and resources and tools for Inclusive Early Childhood Education relevant for the outcomes fund (43 days from October 2023 to February 2024)

1. Detailed Workplan: The consultant will spend some time in consultation with the EOF team to familiarise themselves with this TOR, outcomes-based financing and Rwanda. They will then produce a comprehensive workplan on outlining the key activities, tasks, timelines, and milestones required to achieve the objectives of the consultancy. The EOF team will facilitate the consultant's onboarding process and provide necessary access to resources and information to support the consultant's work.
2. Group Disabilities into Defined Categories and Identify Prevalence: The consultant will review existing work from EOF and build on it to categorize disabilities into specific groups using local data systems and considering both the local context and factors such as disability types, severity, age groups, and geographic locations. The consultant will then use secondary data and expert consultations to suggest prevalence rates in our target population. By understanding the prevalence of different disability categories, the program can better target and impact a larger number of children with disabilities. This information will guide resource allocation and intervention strategies to ensure effective support for the identified disability categories.
3. Identify Screening Tools: This program will rely on accurate screening tools that can effectively identify and pay for service provision to and improved developmental outcomes of 3 to 5 year-old children with developmental delays and disabilities. This will be an outcomes-based program and as such there will be a risk that the program under or overpays on outcomes if the screening tools are not effective. The consultant will review screening tools (e.g., question sets of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics) for their efficacy within the program to identify children with developmental delays and disabilities efficiently and accurately. The consultant will conduct a thorough review and analysis of screening tools, considering their validity, reliability, ease of administration, cultural appropriateness, and specificity to different disability categories. The selected screening tools should provide straightforward processes for categorizing children into appropriate disability categories without ambiguity. The consultant will also identify what adaptations would be needed for international screening tools to be appropriate to the local context.
4. Assess the Feasibility of Existing Interventions: The consultant will assess the feasibility of existing early childhood interventions to determine their compatibility with the program's goals and scope, their potential impact on children with developmental delays, and the ability for Government to scale. This will be done through a comparative analysis of 6-8 context relevant interventions for inclusive-ECCE which will assess the effectiveness, cost, scalability, and feasibility of conducting them within the context and existing objectives set out in this outcomes fund). This will support the EOF team in identifying what types of interventions the program should support and incentivise within the program. The consultant will evaluate how these interventions can support the identified disability categories and identify any perverse incentives that may be created through the program design.

Phase 2: Provide technical advice for the finalisation of the program design, and procurement of service providers (estimated number of days from October 2023 to September 2024: 35 days)

1. Provide key inputs on inclusion into the final program design. The consultant will review the program design documents and provide feedback within a disability-inclusion lens. The consultant will also work with the EOF team and the evaluation consultant to provide key inputs to design that include selection of outcomes indicators and measurement tools for those outcomes indicators (including but not limited to holistic child development outcomes), payment premiums for CWDs, and evaluation of outcomes for CWDs.
2. This may also include technical inputs into issues/challenges identified by the consultant during Phase 1 that may include but are not restricted to: adaptation of screening tools, mitigation measures for select perverse incentives, drafting of service provider activity conditions, costing consultations.
3. Support on the procurement process for Service Providers (non-state actors contracted to support ECD centres) . The consultant will provide technical inputs into key components of the procurement process as they relate to disability-inclusion. These components will include but are not restricted to: preparation of procurement materials (EOI and RFP) and reviewing of bids.
4. Internal training sessions. The consultant will prepare and deliver two consecutive 90-minute internal technical discussion sessions to strengthen EOF’s ECCE program teams’ knowledge about the complexities and evidence related to inclusive-ECCE and early childhood interventions (ECI).

DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT (DELIVERABLES)

Deliverables

Description

Estimated number of working days

Deadline/timeline

1.1 Produce a detailed workplan to cover the activities required in the 12-month consultancy assignment

Produce a comprehensive workplan outlining the key activities, tasks, and milestones required to achieve the objectives of the consultancy. The workplan should include a clear timeline, dependencies, and any resources or information needed to carry out the tasks effectively.

The EOF team will facilitate the consultant's onboarding process and provide necessary access to resources and information to support the consultant's work.

5 working days

8th October, 2023

1.2 Recommendation Report for the Target Group of Children with Disabilities (CWDs) of approximately 30 pages

The consultant will conduct an in-depth analysis and assessment to provide a comprehensive recommendation for the target group of children with developmental delays and disabilities within the program, considering factors such as disability types, severity, age groups, and geographic locations:

• The recommendation report will build directly on the disability categorization and prevalence calculation exercise described in detail under Phase 1/1.2
• The recommendation report will include a clear and concise description of the recommended target group of children with developmental delays and disabilities, providing a rationale for their selection. The report will highlight the potential impact and benefits of focusing on this target group within the program, including improvements in access, learning outcomes, and overall inclusivity. The report will include as an annex detail from the disability categorization and prevalence calculation exercise.
• The consultant will also outline any specific considerations or adaptations that may be required to ensure the effective inclusion of the identified target group.

12 working days

29th October, 2023

1.3 Assessment Report on Screening Tools for Targeted Disability Prevalence of no more than 20 pages

The consultant will conduct a comprehensive review and assessment of both national and international screening tools to accurately assess the prevalence of selected disabilities within the program. The assessment report will provide a detailed evaluation of screening tools, focusing on their validity, reliability, feasibility, and relevance to the target population of children with disabilities (CWDs) within the outcomes fund context.

• If the consultant's technical assessment determines that a screening tool requires adaptation for effective use within the outcomes fund, the recommendation report will provide detailed guidance on the necessary areas for adaptation. This may include modifications to the tool's content, language, scoring criteria, or administration procedures to align with the unique requirements and objectives of the outcomes fund.

9 working days

2nd November, 2023

1.4 Feasibility study (including cost estimates) on interventions that could be adopted within the Outcomes Fund framework of no more than 40 pages

The consultant will conduct a comprehensive feasibility study to assess the viability and potential impact of various interventions that can be adopted within the Outcomes Fund framework to support children with developmental delays and disabilities. The study will analyse the feasibility of implementing these interventions, considering factors such as cost effectiveness, scalability, sustainability, and alignment with the program's objectives

17 working days

31st December, 2023

2.1 Support the evaluation consultant/firm

The consultant will support the evaluation firm through providing technical guidance on the evaluation of outcomes related to inclusive-ECCE. This may be through extensive written comments on evaluation documents or through meetings with the firm[1]. This may also include, as defined during the consultancy, support during the baseline of the program.

13 working days

30th September, 2024

2.2 Overall design review, including supplementary analytical documents

The consultant will provide technical guidance in the overall design of the program as it relates to inclusive-ECCE. This may involve extensive written comments on the program document, relevant inputs to the document, and meetings with the programme team.

This will include a review of the program document (not more than 70 pages) as well as an estimated 5 supplementary analytical documents (each of 1-2 pages).

4 working days

1st January, 2024

2.3 Technical input in the procurement process

The consultant will provide technical input in both the preparation of materials, and the reviewing of bids during the EOI phase and RfP phase of procurement. This will include:

1. At least 1-page long assessment report per application during the EoI and RfP
2. Extensive written comments (3-5 pages) on the drafted EoI and RfP
3. 3-4 meetings to provide technical guidance on the review of applications during EoI and RfP

15 working days

20th April, 2024

2.4 Internal Training Sessions

Preparation and delivery of two consecutive 90-minute internal technical discussion sessions

3 working days

1st September, 2024

Total estimated working days = 78

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[1] For example, this may include: reviewing measurement tools for their suitability for children with developmental delays; providing a recommendation for any adaptations needed for the tools measuring child outcomes; or reviewing targets as they relate inclusive-ECCE.

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Psychology, Education, Early Childhood Development, Special Education, Inclusive Education, Social Work, Disability Studies or a related field.
• A Ph.D. in a relevant field is preferred, especially in areas related to inclusive early childhood education, disability studies, or clinical psychology.
• A minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience in international education program and policy design and/or research with a focus on inclusion and equity.
• At least 5 years of experience in inclusive early childhood education program and policy design and/or evaluation with a focus on children with disabilities, preferably in low- and middle-income countries.
• Strong understanding of indicators, data collection tools, screening tools for young children with disabilities.
• Results-Based Financing knowledge is desirable.
• Specific knowledge and experience working in Rwanda and other LMICs is desirable.
• Specific knowledge and experience working in Rwanda is desirable.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

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.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

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Added 9 months ago - Updated 8 months ago - Source: unicef.org