Education Consultant Beirut Lebanon 3 Months

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!

Many children in Lebanon have experienced a significant disruption to their education for almost two years due to multiple shocks including the COVID 19 pandemic, the Beirut blast and the ongoing economic crisis. The devaluation of the Lebanese currency and growing poverty are affecting both the Lebanese and non-Lebanese communities. During the prolonged periods of lockdown, distance learning has posed many challenges, especially for vulnerable children attending public schools as only a minority of learners have access to devices and stable internet connection. At the child and family level, the digital divide has negatively impacted the ability of the most vulnerable children to continue learning while the cost education has been increasing. According to a recent UNICEF report , 15% of Lebanese families and 22% of Syrian households have disenrolled their children from education, while 9% of Lebanese families and 35% of Syrian families sent their child to work or to marrying to reduce the perceived economic burden on families. For the new school year 2021/2022, UNICEF is supporting the Government to ensure that all children, especially the most vulnerable, have access to quality and inclusive learning opportunities. After 18 months of school closures, it is essential to prioritize the re-opening of schools. In-person school learning is the preferred option with benefits to children, families and the country’s future. However, given ongoing economic and health challenges in Lebanon (new waves of COVID-19, severe shortage of fuel supplies, growing inflation), contingencies need to be considered. Against this background, UNICEF is looking for an Education Consultant on a full-time basis to respond to the needs. Under the supervision of the Chief of Education, the contractor will provide technical assistance in three areas: expansion of digital education, launch of the cash programme to support education access, and distribution of national textbooks.

How can you make a difference?

The consultant is requested to perform the following deliverables:

Tasks/Milestone: Deliverables/Outputs: Timeline Estimate Budget

1. Expand digital education to targeted children to ensure continued learning.

• Support on finalizing the EU proposal, specifically on digital education/connectivity to secure funding. The current proposal draft needs finetuning, based on donor comments.

• Finalize the operational approach for digital education, in coordination with MEHE. The consultant is expected to work closely the Supply Section to develop a procurement plan.

• Support on the implementation of digital education/connectivity.

2. Launch the Cash Transfer Programmes to Support Access to Education to the most vulnerable children, including children with disabilities.

• Support on finalizing the EU proposal, specifically on the unconditional cash transfer programme for education to improve access. The current proposal draft needs finetuning, based on donor comments.

• Work closely with the International Expert on Cash Transfers for Education to provide inputs to the design and support on the

3. Distribute national textbooks to the most vulnerable children to ensure learning outcomes.

• Finalize the distribution plan on national textbooks, in collaboration with MEHE and the Supply Section. If needed, the consultant is expected to adjust the concept note on the distribution of national textbooks, based on feedback from MEHE and partners.

• Develop a solid M&E framework to monitor distributions and user-experience. The consultant is expected to work with MEHE and NGO partners on this.

• Support on the M&E of the national textbooks distribution.

4. Provide regular updates and progress on the outputs to the Chief of Education for timely decision-making and corrective actions.

• Participate in and contribute to various weekly Education meetings (Section, Team Leads, and Balcony). Attend other office meetings related to the Consultant’s outputs, as requested by the supervisor.

• Submit a weekly, monthly and as need be, report on progress and challenges against the planned deliverables.

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

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: Education, Economics, Psychology, Sociology, or another relevant technical field.
• A minimum of five years of professional experience in programme planning, management, and/or research in education is required. Experience working in a developing country is considered as an asset. Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Fluency in English and Arabic is required. Knowledge of another official UN language is considered as an asset. Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate Integrity:

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are: Accountability

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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:

Applicants must include their financial proposal while applying to this consultancy indicating the daily and all-inclusive fees.

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.