Consultant for developing the concept of the state online schools

Contract

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UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion and gender parity within its workforce, and encourages all qualified candidates, irrespective of nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, gender identity and sexual orientation, as well as persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. UNICEF’s office is accessible to a certain extent, and employees are entitled to reasonable accommodations that are needed for ensuring equitable working conditions.

UNICEF in Serbia and the Ministry of Education (MoE) with the support from the European Union are implementing the project “Bridging Digital Divide in Serbia for Most Vulnerable Children” with the overall objective to strengthen the resilience of the education system to the effects of emergency situations. The intervention builds on previous achievements in the development of quality inclusive education and digitalization in education and encompasses activities for further system strengthening at the national and school level. One of the specific objectives is to support further development of digital education and strengthen capacity of institutions for its delivery, management and monitoring.

The New Strategy for the Development of Education and the Action Plan until 2023 was adopted in 2021. One of its goals pertain to establishing foundations for the development of digital education at the pre-university level. Among other policy measures within this goal, two are dealing with the planned establishment of the state online primary school and the state online gymnasium that would fully teach and operate online. The COVID-19 pandemic situation in which formal education was being implemented for some time has shed more light on the need for the establishment of educational institutions of this type. The existence of one state primary school and one state online gymnasium would enable the formal educational process to continue unhindered in future emergency situations. The education system would have ready digital materials and designed active learning activities that will be easily distributed to all schools in the system and ensure the appropriate level of distance learning quality. Moreover, such schools would be beneficial for student who face temporary barriers during regular schooling, like shorter or longer illness.

Work Assignment Overview:

Given that the state online school is a conceptual novelty that requires additional clarifications and description so that various stakeholders in education have a clearer idea about it and can make better informed opinions and decisions, the purpose of this assignment is to prepare a concept note on the state online schools and prepare a draft technical specification for the feasibility study planned by the Ministry of Education for 2024.

Duration of the assignment: June – September 2023 (part-time, remote)

Task description:

Task 1: Develop a concept paper on the state online schools

• Develop an outline for a concept paper on the state online schools;
• Present and discuss the main idea, needs and rationale of the state online schools and the key assumptions and requirements of different policy options for introducing the state online schools;
• Develop recommendations in terms of different scenarios of introducing the state online schools to be taken into consideration in the envisaged feasibility study.

Task 2: Prepare a draft of the technical specification for the feasibility study on the state online schools

This task will entail preparing a draft of the technical specification defining the procurement elements for the Feasibility study planned for 2024 (the elements will be including legal aspects, financial aspects, staffing policy, licensing, accreditation, certificates, number of pupils, etc.).

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

• University degree in Science (including Social sciences), Humanities, Technology/ Engineering, or Mathematics. Advanced degree would be an asset.Excellent knowledge of the national education legal framework
• Expertise in digital education and the use of information and communication technologies in education
• At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in performing policy/academic reviews and analyses in education, particularly digital education
• Fluency in Serbian and English language
• Excellent analytical and communication skills
• Ability to meet tight deadlines through excellent time management and organization skills

How to apply:

The application must include a financial proposal in RSD as a separate document, providing the service price for the whole assignment.

Important notes:

• Please do not forget to specify your name in the financial proposal file while saving (to be uploaded online under the “Financial Proposal” tab).
• Please do not indicate financials anywhere else in the online application form, please mark "n/a” or “00" under the fee-related questions in the online application form.
• Incomplete applications will not be taken into consideration.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be notified and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

For every child, you must demonstrate UNICEF's core values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability.

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.