Individual Contractor Consultancy - Education Management Information System (EMIS) and M&E

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, a good education!

BACKGROUND

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy, and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias, or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic, and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education, and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

Strategic office context: The overall goal of the UNICEF Malawi Country Programme of Cooperation, 2019-2023, is to contribute to the Government of Malawi’s efforts to implement and decentralize policies related to children, focusing on the most disadvantaged and deprived, to have their rights progressively respected and fulfilled so they can survive, grow and develop to their full potential in an inclusive and protective society. The country program is aligned with country and UNICEF regional and global priorities and expected to contribute to the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS) III, 2018-2022, and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), 2019-2023, while concurrently working toward the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Three pillars have been envisioned to comprise the new country program that is supportive of a rights-based, equity-focused, and life-cycle approach, including (1) Early childhood (ECD), aged 0-5, with a focus on the first 1,000 days; (2) School-aged children, aged 6 up to 18, with a focus on young adolescents, aged 10-14; and (3) Child-friendly, resilient communities that support an enabling environment for the realization of the goals of the other two pillars encompassing the full life cycle of childhood. While some strategic interventions will be at scale, the country program will predominantly concentrate on the convergence and integration of strategic interventions around the interrelated pillars in a core set of districts and traditional authorities, selected using various criteria, including multi-dimensional child poverty.

JUSTIFICATION

UNICEF, since 2018, has been supporting the Ministry of Education (MOE) in developing a Web-based Education Management Information System (EMIS) for Malawi. The education data provides information for a wide range of planning and programming purposes. Accurate and reliable data is needed to facilitate the planning and management of a fast-growing and emerging education system. A responsive Education Management Information System (EMIS) is therefore pivotal. Currently, the web-based EMIS system has been upgraded with an offline mobile feature to address the connectivity challenges in the country, and UNICEF is supporting MOE to partially roll out the system this year and fully roll out in the next round of EMIS data collection, in collaboration with the USAID funded Yesani Ophunzira (YESA) Project.[1] The sustainable development of EMIS is a key UNICEF contribution to the systems strengthening in MOE. The institutionalization of EMIS requires a high degree of liaison with, and capacity building of MOE staff, including at the time of emergencies. Follow-up on the deliverables of the UNICEF-funded institutional contract to strengthen EMIS is also needed.

Malawi is prone to national disasters like cyclone, floods, and droughts, and since last year COVID-19 pandemic has hit Malawi, as the co-cluster lead, is responsible for emergency information management and this is a key role for this assignment to ensure effective integration of emergency preparedness into the program, monitoring as well as reporting.

[1] YESA aims to further strengthen the Malawian education system by building its capacity to measure students’ reading acquisition and to create citizen demand for improved reading instruction.

How can you make a difference?

The scope of work is based on key parameters which are as follows:

Scope: The development and rolling out of the web-based Education Management Information System will be for all the sub-sectors of education (pre-primary, Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and Higher Education).

Geography: The consultations will be undertaken at national and sub-national levels.

Stakeholders: These include Ministry of Education Directorates, District Education offices, Development Partners, and NGOs working in the education sector.

The work will be undertaken in two phases;

1. Phase one: Rolling out of the web-based Management Information System in the country and review of its outcome.
2. Phase two: Capacity building of MOE staff managing EMIS and field level officials.

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

• An advanced university degree, in Education, Statistics, Population Studies, Monitoring and Evaluation, Social Sciences, or a related technical field.
• A minimum of five years of professional experience in designing, managing, implementing, and monitoring education programs working with systems design and research.
• Familiarity with UN systems preferred.
• Excellent knowledge of computer applications including programming, Microsoft Excel, and Access. Familiarity with digital data gathering platforms and software; understanding geospatial data desirable
• Some knowledge of global developments in education and international engagement strategies, including the application of the equity lens and human rights perspectives to programming.
• Good ability to support policy dialogue: translation of analytical findings and evidence into development program and policy discussions around equity and learning with partners, including government, development partners, CSOs, and academia in relevant areas.
• Some education sector planning knowledge/ability, including the range of modalities for delivering education, linkages between different sub-sectors (e.g. ECD, Primary, Secondary, Inclusive Education), cost-effectiveness and efficiency issues, key institutional structures, components, and processes, as well as governance issues.
• Some education and policy sector analysis capacity, including an understanding of the core education data sets, indicators, tools for analysis of equity, determinants of student access and learning, budget, cost and financing, education system management, political economy, and application to education policy and strategic planning.
• Some program management in education, including program design, costing, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting.
• Good understanding of gender, inclusion, and equity issues in relation to education and application of gender/equity analysis to policy and planning in education.
• Solid communication skills, including strong written and spoken English language appropriate for diverse audiences and purposes.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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...

• Builds and maintains partnerships
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
• Drive to achieve results for impact
• Innovates and embraces change
• Manages ambiguity and complexity
• Thinks and acts strategically
• Works collaboratively with others

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

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

To view further details about this consultancy, refer to the attached Terms of Reference (ToR)

TOR for EMIS-ME Contractor.pdf

Use the attached template to submit your financial proposal

Financial Proposal template.xlsx

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:

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.