Consultant in Preparation of Technical Background Paper and Policy Brief for APREMC-II

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**OVERVIEW** ------------ Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED) Duty Station: Bangkok Job Family: Education Type of contract : Non Staff Duration of contract : From 1 to 6 months Recruitment open to : External candidates Application Deadline (Midnight Bangkok Time) : 04-MAR-2022 (EXTENDED) UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism OBJECTIVE --------- To prepare a technical background paper and a policy brief in English that describes and critically examines the impact of COVID 19 in terms of learning loss in Asia and the Pacific, and provides recommendations on priority areas for action and strategies to address the situation, with specific focus on interventions by governments and key education stakeholders for learning recovery, which is an immediate priority after school reopening, alongside the broader and more long-term need for developing long-term strategies to address the learning crisis, both of which require deep education system transformation. The paper is intended to inform the thematic panel discussion on Learning Recovery and Addressing the Learning Crisis at the 2nd Asia-Pacific Regional Education Ministerial Conference (APREMC-ll) in June 2022 and provide Ministers with data-driven and evidence-based analysis, relevant information and recommendations for their consideration towards enhancing efforts to enable learning recovery and addressing the learning crisis in Asia and Pacific region in response to COVID-19 and beyond. The paper will provide an analysis of existing data and evidence pertaining to learning loss and recovery in the Asia-Pacific region; and governments’ efforts to address the learning crisis, and describe, analyze and recommend initiatives and priority actions within the nexus of learning loss and learning recovery with specific attention to (a) curricular adaptions and prioritization; (b) innovative pedagogical approaches including flexible learning strategies; and (c) assessments including formative assessment. The discussion will also provide insights on the efficacy and limitations of various approaches to improving learning outcomes in the longer term. The analysis will highlight challenges and opportunities related to learning recovery, with specific attention to the attainment of minimum proficiency levels (Indicator 4.1.1) by education level and sex in Asia and the Pacific. In summary therefore, the paper will provide: **I. Situation Overview** \- An evidence-based and data-driven overview on the learning crisis in the region drawing from existing analytical reports and data; \- Present analysis of existing data and estimations pertaining to learning loss in Asia-Pacific with reference to indicator 4.1.1 **II. Strategies for learning recovery** \- Provide an overview and undertaken an analysis of strategies undertaken for learning recovery in the Asia-Pacific region: \- Provide an overview and analyze different approaches and examples at national, sub-national and school-level to assess and mitigate learning loss and ensure learning recovery through (a.) assessments including formative assessment (b.) curricular adaptions and prioritization; (c.) innovative pedagogical approaches including flexible learning strategies; \- Based on the analysis, identify gaps, challenges, risks, opportunities and promising approaches. \- Present examples of policies and strategies at national and sub-regional levels on education sector efforts to support learning recovery and addressing the learning crisis, including through education system transformation and discuss what works or does not work; **III. Policy recommendations** \- Drawing on the findings from the above discussion and existing guidance and research, develop recommendations on priority action areas and strategies in terms of policies and school-level practices for a.) learning recovery, and b.) in the longer term, addressing the learning crisis through education system transformation in Asia and the Pacific. **OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST** ----------------------------------------- **BACKGROUND** The 5-Year Progress Review of SDG 4 – Education 2030 in Asia-Pacific released in September 2021 by UNESCO and UNICEF, shows that despite overall progress, most countries surveyed were not on track to achieving SDG 4 and that the Asia-Pacific region was facing a learning crisis well before the COVID-19 pandemic, one that has since been alarmingly exacerbated by the broader impact of COVID on societies and economies. The shocking headlines are that: 27 million children and adolescents in the region remain illiterate, 95% of whom are in South Asia. As the joint UNESCO-UNICEF education situation analysis of the Asia-Pacific region informs, education systems in Asia were amongst the first to be affected by COVID-19, disrupting education of about 760 million children across the region. Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic the region was facing a learning crisis with millions of children completing primary education without mastering the foundational skills of basic numeracy and literacy. Children’s learning was in crisis with half of 10-year-olds in middle- and low-income countries unable to understand a simple written sentence and more than 120 million children in the region out of school. To mitigate the effects of the pandemic, countries in Asia have implemented diverse remote and on-line education modalities to ensure the continuity of learning, however policies and practice varies between countries. Not all children and youth were equally reached by these measures, and the most vulnerable groups were the most affected due to a deep digital divide. Consequently, it is expected that the learning loss will be extensive, putting millions of children and adolescents at risk of not returning to school and thus compromising their future. MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES --------------------------------- Overall, while the situation varies between and within countries of the region, the pandemic not only exacerbated pre-existing deep inequities in access to education and learning achievements, it has also exposed important weaknesses in terms of the quality and relevance of education and the overall fragility of current education systems. The pre-existing weaknesses of current education systems, exposed by the pandemic, have also revealed the need to reimagine the future of education. Addressing the learning crisis and ensuring the right of learning for all must be at the heart of education recovery and transformation in the Asia-Pacific region. After schools reopened, ensuring readiness to learn and strategies for learning recovery has been an immediate priority, alongside reimagining quality inclusive education and developing long-term strategies to address the learning crisis. System transformation which addresses both learning recovery and the learning crisis will include elements like flexible learning approaches including hybrid learning, curriculum review and adaptation, teacher training in new competencies and in innovative pedagogical approaches, strengthening formative assessment for learning; and real time monitoring, etc. Assessing learning levels is a first step towards learning recovery, which then needs to be linked to catch-up measures and teaching at the right level to mitigate learning loss. Learning recovery, however, will not be effective nor have a long-term effect if policy action is not taken at the same time to address the root causes of the learning crisis. Addressing the learning crisis in the region will require profound changes in the education system. It is deeply linked with addressing inequality in education, and specific policy actions for vulnerable and marginalized students will be required. Completion rates and learning outcomes are decreasing at the secondary level in many countries in the region, which, in addition to factors of inequality, is often linked to the low relevance and quality of educational content. Therefore, specific attention to this level, in terms of both formal schooling and through alternative forms of secondary education, will be required to ensure both inclusion and relevance and the provision of adequate skills for the world of work. Ensuring learning recovery and, in the longer term, addressing the learning crisis, is urgent and an absolute necessity if we do not want to lose an entire generation of learners. **2nd Asia-Pacific Regional Education Ministers’ Conference (APREMC-II) 2022** ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education (UNESCO Bangkok), in partnership with UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia (ROSA), UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO), the Thai Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Education, Cultures, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan, will organize the 2nd Asia-Pacific Regional Education Ministers’ Conference (APREMC-II) in June 2022. The focus of the conference is on “Education Recovery and Transformation towards more Responsive, Relevant and Resilient Education Systems: Accelerating progress towards SDG 4-Education 2030”. Specifically, the conference aims to: • Take stock and reflect on the first 7 years of progress towards SDG4-Education 2030 in Asia and the Pacific; • Identify challenges in progressing towards SDG4 in the region, with a focus on the impact of COVID-19 and COVID-19 responses; • Share and learn from effective policies, practices and innovations for education recovery and system transformation; • Identify, and agree on priority areas of action and strategies, and key steps going forward for education/learning recovery and system transformation beyond COVID-19 to accelerate SDG4 implementation in the region, and generate recommendations for action. To inform the discussions of Member States during the Conference on priority actions and strategies for effective education/learning recovery and system transformation to accelerate SDG4 implementation in the region and generate recommendations for action, UNESCO Bangkok Office is looking for an individual consultant to prepare a technical background paper and policy brief on Learning Recovery and Addressing the Learning Crisis as described above. **WORK ASSIGNMENT** ------------------- Under the overall authority of the Director of UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, Bangkok, and the direct supervision and overall guidance of the Chief of Section for Inclusive Quality Education (IQE), and Programme Specialist of Education for Quality Education (QE), the individual consultant is expected to perform the following tasks: (i) Prepare an annotated outline of the thematic background paper to address the learning crisis and learning recovery with focus on innovative practices in curriculum, pedagogy, and assessments in Asia and the Pacific; (ii) Compile and collate the relevant information, documents, and data sources to be used for the preparation of the thematic background paper. In this regard, UNESCO and partners will further supplement items identified by the individual consultant for desk review with key reference documents; (iii) Review available data and studies to conduct a literature review related to the relevant topic areas, with cross-cutting inclusion of gender and equity considerations, to be reflected and referred to in the paper; (iv) Based on the agreed outline, prepare a draft technical background paper (between 15 - 20 pages, exclusive of a list of relevant references, further readings and annexes) with the following elements; - - • analysis of existing data pertaining to current situation of the learning crisis with reference to progress on SDG 4 Target 4.1.1 in Asia and the Pacific region drawing on existing studies and analytical reports; • Overview impacts on learning (learning loss) of children and adolescents due to COVID-19-related school closures in the Asia-Pacific region, drawing on existing studies • Identification and analysis of different approaches and examples at national, sub-national and school-level to assess and mitigate learning loss and ensure learning recovery through (a.) assessments including formative assessment (b.) curricular adaptions and prioritization; (c.) innovative pedagogical approaches including flexible learning strategies; and identification of gaps, challenges, risks, opportunities and promising approaches among the experiences and initiatives documented; and, • Present examples of policies and strategies at national and sub-regional levels on education sector efforts to support learning recovery and addressing the learning crisis, including through education system transformation and discuss what works or does not work; • Drawing on the findings from the above discussion and existing guidance and research, develop recommendations on priority action areas and strategies for a.) learning recovery and b.), in the longer term, addressing the learning crisis through education system transformation in Asia and the Pacific and the full realization of SDG4 target 4.1.1. (v) Revise the draft paper based on the feedback and inputs received; (vi) From the revised draft paper, prepare a draft policy brief on the same topic (no more than 4 pages); (vii) Finalize the paper and the policy brief by incorporating the feedback and inputs received from UNESCO Bangkok Office; and (viii) Based on the finalized paper, prepare a PowerPoint presentation (15-20 slides) synthesizing the key data analysis and highlights of the paper. In line with UNESCO’s overall gender mainstreaming strategy, the individual consultant is expected to integrate a gender perspective in all activities and apply gender analysis and mainstreaming concepts whenever feasible. Expected Deliverables/Outputs: ------------------------------ **Deliverables and Timeframe: (Start date 1 March 2022 tentatively for a 9 week assignment)** **Deliverable** **Tentative Submission Date** Annotated outline 8 March 2022 Draft background paper (no more than 20 pages not including annex) 7 April 2022 - Revised background paper - Draft policy brief (no more than 4 pages) 14 April 2022 - Final background paper - Final policy brief - PowerPoint presentation synthesizing the key highlights of the background paper 29 April 2022 29 April 2022 10 May 2022 The selected consultant will be required to work tentatively for a period of 9-10 weeks during March and mid-May 2022. **COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)** ------------------------------------ Accountability (C) Communication (C) Innovation (C) Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement (C) Planning and organizing (C) Results focus (C) Teamwork (C) **-** ----- For detailed information, please consult the [UNESCO Competency Framework](https://en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/competency_framework_e.pdf). **REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS** --------------------------- **Education** - University degree at master’s level or equivalent in relevant areas, such as education, public health, public policy, health promotion, political sciences, gender, or other related fields - Advanced degree at doctoral level is desirable **Work Experience** - At least 10 years of professional experience in conducting professional/academic research and developing policy papers and/or technical briefs related to education for health and wellbeing, school health, education policy and planning and related policy issues in the Asia-Pacific region **Skills/Competencies** - Understanding and knowledge of the UN mandates and its programming in relevant areas in the framework of the Sustainable Development Agenda, and in particular the SDG4 – Education 2030 Agenda with focus on 4.7 - Understanding and application of UN mandates in Human Rights, Gender Equality and Target 4.7 - Excellent understanding and knowledge of regional trends and overview of education with specific focus on ESD and GCED and relevance of advancing Target 4.7 in the midst of COVID-19, and related policy issues in education sector recovery and resilience in the Asia-Pacific region - Excellent communication and analytical skills as well as drafting skills for technical and policy documents **Languages** - Excellent knowledge of English (written and spoken) **DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS** - Previous experience working with United Nations, international organizations or government agencies is an advantage **APPLICATION PROCESS** ----------------------- Interested individuals are invited to submit to UNESCO Bangkok office the specific requirements as below through [careers.unesco.org](https://career2.successfactors.eu/sfcareer/jobreqcareer?jobId=10801&company=unesco). A consortium of individuals is also permitted to apply for the consultancy. Interested candidates should click on “**Apply Now**” and download and complete the Employment History form (Word document) in **‘Employment History Form / My Documents’**. Before uploading the document, at the end of the word document, please insert the extra pages with the following required information: - An up-to-date CV stating details of educational qualifications, work experience, including prior experience of similar work. In case of consortium of individuals, CVs of each member to be submitted with application. - A list of past work or reports/publications written with hyperlinks to access such paper if they are available online or samples of such papers if they are only available offline. - A brief proposal (1-2 pages) discussing the approach/methodology to undertake the assignment and the **proposed fee.** **The complete application shall be submitted on or before 24 February 2022; midnight, Bangkok time.** **NOTE** -------- - Due to the large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process. - Please submit your application through SuccessFactors. Only if you are unable to attach requirements in system, please inform us at [email protected] **SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS** ------------------------------------- Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the [UNESCO careers website.](https://careers.unesco.org/careersection/2/joblist.ftl) No modifications can be made to the application submitted. The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as a competency-based interview. UNESCO uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates. Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided. **Footer** ---------- UNESCO applies a zero tolerance policy against all forms of harassment. UNESCO is committed to achieve and sustain gender parity among its staff members in all categories and at all grades. Furthermore, UNESCO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities, as well as nationals from non-and under-represented Member States [(last update here)](https://en.unesco.org/careers/geographicaldistribution) are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the highest level of confidentiality. Worldwide mobility is required for staff members appointed to international posts. UNESCO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.