Consultant Roster- Digital Learning (Education), UNICEF Regional Office For South Asia

Consultant Teaching & Training Programme & Policy

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

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

In the last two years, South Asian countries have faced prolonged school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic and numerous natural disasters. Learning loss is significant, and evidence suggests it is also highly unequal. UNICEF recommends that countries follow the “RAPID” framework of action for learning recovery (UNESCO, UNICEF, and World Bank 2022). The RAPID framework includes five recommended actions: Reaching every child and retaining them in school; Assessing current learning levels; Prioritizing fundamentals; Increasing catch-up learning; and Developing psychosocial health and well-being.

Within the context of learning recovery, digital learning plays a key role. Most countries in South Asia are implementing or exploring digital solutions to address learning loss and provide new learning opportunities for all children. In addition, many South Asian countries are developing/revising their ICT in education policies and masterplans and introducing innovative strategies to modernize and transform their education systems.

Technical guidance will be necessary to support South Asian countries in introducing, strengthening, and assessing digital learning modalities that support all children, especially the most vulnerable.

How can you make a difference?

The purpose of this call is to build a roster to identify consultants in various areas of digital learning from which to draw candidates for work planned in 2023 and beyond. The candidates that would be listed on the roster will be informed whenever a new project would be required to confirm their interest. Assignments will focus on the streams listed below:

Stream A: Digital learning/E-Learning content with a focus on foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN), covering needs such as:

• Instructional design work based on specific country needs
• Developing digital/e-learning content and assessing content quality
• Digital/E-learning content curation, localization and contextualization
• Quality standards and content creation guidelines
• Formative and summative assessments
• Assessing learning outcomes/programme effectiveness

Stream B: Digital learning/E-learning content with a focus on adolescents, girls and out-of-school children, covering needs such as:

• Instructional design work based on specific country needs
• Developing digital/e-learning content and assessing content quality
• Digital/E-learning content curation, localization and contextualization
• Quality standards and content creation guidelines
• Formative and summative assessments
• Assessing learning outcomes/programme effectiveness

Stream C: Digital literacy (focus on teachers and students), covering needs such as:

• Curriculum development/assessment for pre-service and in-service teacher training
• Designing trainings/workshops for capacity building
• Teacher training activities and assessment (online and offline)
• Developing digital literacy standards based on country needs
• Conducting research on digital literacy

Stream D: Accessibility in digital learning/Universal design for learning (UDL), covering needs such as:

• Assessing/developing guidelines to make digital learning programs/content accessible for children with disabilities and learning difficulties
• Creating/helping develop accessible digital/e-learning content
• Conducting research on accessibility

Stream E: ICT in education policies and masterplans, covering needs such as:

• Assessing existing masterplans and policies related to ICT in education and providing recommendations
• Supporting the development of masterplans and policies related to ICT in education

Stream F: Artificial Intelligence, covering needs such as:

• Advising and designing education solutions that focus on Artificial Intelligence components, including analytics, personalized learning, data science, machine learning
• Assessing and evaluating AI platforms for specific use cases (with special focus on open-source solutions)
• Collaborate with technology/machine learning teams to communicate scope of work and build platforms

The consultants will work under the technical guidance and supervision of UNICEF staff at UNICEF’s Regional Office for South Asia and in different countries in the South Asia region: India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan, and Nepal. Where necessary, consultants may be required to travel within or between SAR countries.

The purpose of this call is to solicit applications from individuals who have experience in the mentioned streams and are interested in working with UNICEF in a consulting capacity. Consultancy arrangements may range from 1 week to 6 months depending on need, project specifications, and funding availability.

Consultants who will be listed in the roster will be notified and retained for a period of 2 years and would be considered from time to time should there be a need. Being retained in a roster does not guarantee a contract with UNICEF.

Work arrangements

Consultants who are selected from the roster will work under the supervision of designated staff in the SAR country where the consultancy is required. Consultants may be required to work remotely unless specified otherwise in the TOR. The work may include incidental travel to participate in fieldwork, conferences, or workshops; such travel will be governed by UNICEF travel policies for consultants.

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

Education:

Advanced degree in education, EdTech, public policy, social sciences, or related fields.

Work experience:

• At least 5 years of experience in education
• At least 2 years of experience in EdTech
• Substantive knowledge of the challenges affecting children’s education in South Asia, particularly in a post-COVID-19 context
• Previous work experience in South Asia or with South Asian countries is an advantage
• Ability to self-manage and take initiative, including completing own work with limited supervision according to deadlines
• Experience working in low-income and low-middle-income countries with a range of partners from the local to national level.

Language proficiency:

Excellent oral/writing skills in English. Working knowledge of South Asian languages is an asset.

Application procedures

Interested applicants are requested to submit their applications through the UNICEF jobs portal. Please attach:

1. Updated CV
2. Cover letter followed by the table below (completed)

Full Name

Primary and secondary email

Phone number

Preference of contract duration

Short-term □

Long-term □

Any □

Proposed daily fee (in USD) (excluding any potential travel)

Availability for remote/onsite work

Remote, no travel □

Remote, occasional travel □

Onsite □

Links to 2-3 publications or initiatives supported

Years of experience in Education

Years of experience in EdTech

Main area(s) of expertise related to Digital Learning (Streams A-F)

Stream A □

Stream B □

Stream C □

Stream D □

Stream E □

Stream F □

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

Competencies:

• Strong research and analytical skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strategic thinking and managing multiple complexities
• Ability to collaborate and engage with diverse viewpoints

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. Consultants and Individual contractors are responsible for paying any taxes derived from the earnings received from UNICEF.

Payment of professional fees will be based on the 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.

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 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org