Education International Consultant (Curriculum Development), Damascus, Syria, 11.5 months

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

BACKGROUND (RATIONALE AND CONTEXT):

Over a decade of war and crisis in Syria has had severe negative consequences on children’s education and the capacity of the education system to cater for the most vulnerable children. Over 2 million children remain out of school, around 40% of the country’s schools are out of service and an estimated 150,000 teachers and education personnel have left the system due to migration, death, or injury. Children and youth, teachers and other education personnel exhibit psychological distress inflicted by the conflict and are within displacement flows. The conflict has exacerbated existing barriers for children and youth with disabilities to access quality education, while also increasing the rates of some disabilities due to conflict-related injuries and exposure to violence, family separation and displacement.

Against this backdrop, UNICEF has been supporting the continuation of the provision of education services in formal and non-formal education settings as well as initiatives to build back better. Moving from immediate emergency response to early recovery interventions mandate that education actors invest more in programs and initiatives that support the resilience of the education system, affected populations and local communities and anchor programs in existing capacities for sustainability. To this end, UNICEF has been supporting the establishment of alternative pathways to formal education that are of adequate quality and that lead to certification and accreditation. As of date, UNICEF has worked with partners to improve the content of an accelerated learning program, referred to as Curriculum B, and creating linkages between a more independent ‘Empowered Learning Program’ and the national curriculum to ensure quality and accreditation. The Curriculum B content has been fully revised in alignment with the national curriculum and mapped to the global proficiency framework, a pilot phase for the updated content and modalities has been completed and a full-fledged evaluation conducted. Going forward, the evaluation will be reflected on to improve the overall Curriculum B pathway. Similarly, the curriculum standards and performance indicators for the content of the Empowered Learning Program have been developed and a roadmap for the updating of the materials agreed. Work on updating the materials and integrating formative and summative assessments is ongoing. Going forward, UNICEF will support the finalization of the materials and refinement of the assessment tools for full integration into this modality. The end result will be a robust and evidence-based content aligned with national standards and global frameworks. The work was done with technical support from UNICEF’s education team and an international curriculum expert who engaged with multiple national teams on curriculum development and education measurement.

An international curriculum expert is thus required to provide high level and strategic support to the national curriculum and measurement experts to reflect the findings of Curriculum B evaluation in updating the materials and the modality. The Consultant will also provide on the job coaching to the team developing the Empowered Learning Materials (ELM), review drafts and revise content according to the already established standards and indicators. Besides, the Consultant will provide strategic advisory inputs to the various curriculum-related interventions such as the integration of Psychosocial Support (PSS) into the content of the Socio-Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum and other initiatives as per the detailed scope of work below.

Scope of Work:

Working under the supervision of the Education Specialist and the overall guidance of the Chief of Education in Damascus, Syria, the Consultant is expected to provide technical support to UNICEF and counterparts (government and non-governmental) in the reviewing and improving the quality of curriculum and assessment materials in the following areas:

1. Empowered Learning Programme (ELP):

Curriculum standards and performance indicators as well as description of the core content of curriculum materials for 9 grades of ELM have been developed and agreed with the Ministry of Education (MoE). These are in full alignment with the national curriculum standards, global proficiency framework and the UN guiding principles. The Consultant will provide technical expertise in reviewing all drafts of each book and finalize the content and assessment indicators in close coordination with the MoE’s team. Pending availability of funds – lead in the process of developing ELM for the remaining 10th, 11th and 12th grades The Consultant will also ensure the content is fit for digitization and will work on ensuring the digitization is properly done, including trying out early versions of digitized content.

2. The Accelerated Learning Program (ALP – Curriculum B):

The Curriculum B books have been revised and updated. An assessment framework, comprising of placement tests, formative and summative assessment tools for successive age groups has been fully developed and integrated into this modality. The updated content and assessment tools have been piloted and an evaluation conducted. The contractor will work with the MoE to reflect the outcomes of the evaluation into the program’s content and modality.

3. Remedial Education:

UNICEF is working on developing a guidance note on the provision of remedial education and is reviewing various relevant models. The contractor will provide support to the education team in UNICEF on making use of existing models and contextualizing relevant materials and tools for use in Syria. This includes highlighting the nexus of using ELM worksheets in the context of remedial education for low achievers of public schools.

4. Pre-Service Teacher Preparation Curriculum:

The Ministry of Education has recently launched a teacher-preparation program through establishing a two-year teacher preparation institute to address the acute shortage of qualified teachers in the country, especially for primary schools. The content of the program has been developed, including curriculum materials to serve the purpose. Initial discussion with the National Center for Curriculum Development has indicated a need for technical support in material review in light of the updated national curriculum standards to make sure the graduates of the two-year institute are able to deliver the updated curriculum while taking account of the complex situation in Syria and integrating cross-cutting themes such as gender, disability inclusion, socio-emotional learning and climate change.

5. Integration of Psychosocial Support into the national Curriculum:

A partnership between UNICEF and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has been developed to introduce and implement an evidence-based and globally recognized Psychosocial Support (PSS) in schools program in coordination with the MoE at a small scale in preparation for full integration into the national Socio-Emotional Learning (SEL) program. While implementing the small-scale program, MoE with technical support from the Consultant will collect information and lessons learned to further contextualize the PSS program and integrate it into the SEL curriculum. The contractor’s curriculum expertise will be essential in advising on the overall framework, alignment and properly embedding content within the overall curriculum.

6. Advisory role to UNICEF:

UNICEF is working closely with the MoE and other partners, including donor groups, other UN agencies and local and international organizations on matters related to the curriculum, assessments, program implementations and transforming education. Due to the fluid nature of the situation in Syria and the multiple emerging issues and opportunities, UNICEF is asked to provide technical and strategic assistance to education programs and initiatives. The contractor will be tasked to analyze situations, synthesize reports and inputs and provide high-level and strategic advisory on curriculum and education policies based on needs and emerging situations. Such advisory support will be initiated by the supervisor in writing and agreed with the Consultant case by case.

Besides the above, the curriculum expert will be expected to provide a monthly knowledge sharing session for UNICEF Education team on curriculum-related matters based on the work of the month.

How can you make a difference?

OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT (PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT):

The main purpose of this assignment is to provide high level expertise to the development of curriculum materials to be used in Non-Formal Education settings in alignment with the national curriculum standards for certification and accreditation.

LOCATION (GEOGRAPHIC AREA/ DUTY STATION): Damascus, Syria

On-site working days: An estimated 63 working days on-site with physical presence in Syria

Off-site working days: The remainder of working days will be performed off-site / remotely

Field Missions/Travel: Around 20 days from the on-site working days would be in field locations to support the piloting of developed curriculum and assessment tools and learn from implementation

DURATION:

The Consultant will be supervised and report to the UNICEF Education Specialist with regular de-briefing with the UNICEF Chief of Education and Deputy Representative Programmes about the progress of the assignment and the overall orientation of UNICEF’s engagement in Curriculum Development.

SUPERVISOR:

The Consultant will be supervised and report to the UNICEF Education Specialist with regular de-briefing with the UNICEF Chief of Education and Deputy Representative Programmes about the progress of the assignment and the overall orientation of UNICEF’s engagement in Curriculum Development.

DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT (TASKS, SMART DELIVERABLES, DEADLINES):

PROPOSED PAYMENT SCHEDULE

The payment schedule is by deliverables, as per the following installments.

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.

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

I) Education:

Advanced degreed in education. Doctorate degree in Curriculum will be an asset.

II) Work Experience:

Minimum 8 years experience in curriculum development. Prior experience in mapping curriculum content to global proficiencies and alignment with global standards of learning will be an advantage. Experience working in Syria and in cooperation with Syrian education organizations is considered an asset.

III) Competencies:

- Excellent skills in coordination, training and presentation in Arabic and English.

- Capacity to establish and maintain productive relations with a range of actors from national and cultural backgrounds.

- Strong communication skills including record of successful working relationship with government counterparts.

- Excellent skills in written English and Arabic, ability to write clear and concise reports and communicate effectively.

- Excellent organizational skills.

IV) Language Requirements:

Strong written and oral proficiency in Arabic and English is required.

EVALUATION PROCESS (OF APPLICATIONS):

Qualified candidates are requested to submit:

1. Cover letter/application.

2. Financial quote as lump sum for professional fees

3. CV.

4. Examples of previous, relevant work as applicable

5. Proposed methodology/approach to managing the project.

6. At least 3 Referees.

7. Applications should be submitted through UNICEF’s Talent Management System (TMS).

Shortlisted applicants may be invited for further technical assessment. Final recommendation will be made based on “best value for money”, i.e. the hiring section/office shall normally select the individual who quoted the lowest fee from among the candidates who are assessed as suitable for achieving all tasks on time, as per the criteria stipulated in this ToR, and based on the outcome of the evaluation/assessment conducted.

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.

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