International Consultancy: Early Childhood Education Costing and Financing Scenarios Study (Open to Non-Malawian Nationals Only)

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...

Compelling evidence demonstrates the critical nature of the early years in achieving the full development potential of individuals and societies. Research consistently shows that children who do not receive adequate health, nutrition, early stimulation, learning opportunities, care, and protection, all identified as elements of ‘nurturing care’, tend to have lowered cognitive, language, and psychosocial outcomes as well as executive functioning. Consequently, significant costs accrue to society when it fails to invest in Early Childhood Development (ECD). Poor foundations in the early years result in long-term, often irreversible, effects on individuals’ educational attainment, health, fertility, and productive earnings, and in turn, incur significant costs for governments (Heckman & Masterov, 2007).

High-quality programmes in Early Childhood Development (ECD) help children succeed in school and beyond. Children who participate in ECD programmes are better equipped to transition from home or institutional programmes to primary school, improving their academic performance and future employment prospects. Children who attend some form of Early Childhood Education (ECE) enter school on time, stay in school longer, have better chances to complete primary education, and have better learning outcomes (Ansari et al, 2019; Arnold et al, 2012, Kagan & Rigby, 2003). They are also more likely to be on track for the achievement of foundational literacy, numeracy, and important social-emotional skills that better prepare them to transition to and succeed in primary education (UNESCO, 2021) - thereby contributing to human capital development that is the bedrock of sustainable national development.

In Malawi, despite recent gains, young children are still constrained from accessing the full suite of support to develop to their full potential. Available data from Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) (2021) reveals that only 59% of children aged 3 to 4 years are developmentally on track in physical, social-emotional development, and learning, and only 17% are developmentally on track in literacy-numeracy. Only 48.7% of eligible children in Malawi have access to ECD services. Community-Based Child Care Centres (CBCC) need to be integrated into the public education system and may be run by unqualified personnel, often resulting in poor service quality that contributes to poor learning outcomes among children in primary education.

How can you make a difference?

The objective of the ECE consultancy is to develop at least four costing and financing scenarios for the government of Malawi to achieve universal ECE for five-year-olds in Malawi. The scenarios must be linked to the first Malawi Implementation Plan (MIP 1 - 2021-2030) and the National ECD Policy, which are aligned to the SDGs including SDG 4.2. The costing and financing scenarios will have a specific focus on three ECE modalities namely the CBCC, Accelerated School Readiness, and Kuyamba Sukulu (Orientation to school life). The costing and financing scenarios should focus on the delivery of inclusive ECE, including for children with disabilities. The consultancy should also investigate the provision of grants to CBCC centres and ECE services in primary schools serving 5-year-old children to reduce cost burden on families, determining what percentage of the MoE budget can go in funding this option. It is expected that at least one of the options of costing scenarios will use the SDG 4.2 target as a benchmark for analysis.

The study will determine, among others:

• How can ECE services be expanded to include all children especially the most marginalized, including those with disabilities, and across 3 ECE modalities (CBCC, Accelerated School Readiness for 5-year-olds, Kuyamba Sukulu (Orientation to school life))
• How much will the total ECE service for all package cost in Malawi, with detailed cost breakdown per modality and per individual child?
• How could the ECE service for all packages be financed in the context of the three interventions/models, including consideration on provision of grants to CBCCs and ECE services in Primary Schools?

The Consultant is expected to generate a set of clear, forward-looking, and actionable scenarios logically linked to the findings and conclusions. Among the key tasks are:

1. Draft an inception report demonstrating an in-depth understanding of the assignment, and with a clear methodology, timeline/workplan with key milestones and deliverables. This should include the overall approach to the study - outlining the study design, sampling strategy, data sources and data collection (including selected sites for field visits), data analysis methods, study limitations, instruments, etc. The comprehensive costing and financing model considering all expenditure items listed in (c) including infrastructure, learning, teaching materials, inclusive equipment, and human resource needs. The inception report should also include key ethics considerations. It should be informed by consultations and meetings with relevant stakeholders to identify the key objectives and most suitable methodology for achieving the objectives of the analysis.
2. Complete a concise situation analysis of ECD/ECE, describing the status of ECD and ECE in Malawi (including service delivery modalities), the relevant policies, studies and data that impact ECE expansion in the country, and a review of global and regional practices that can inform the modelling of ECE expansion in Malawi. Map out the existing provision and coverage of ECE services and inclusive services in Malawi in relation to the three chosen model interventions and current cost of ECE community-based programme services.
3. Develop a draft report of at least three to four ECE costing and financing scenarios in close consultation with the government of Malawi and UNICEF. The report should include the average cost per child per model/intervention. This will be informed by relevant field visits to understand first-hand the different modalities of service delivery for ECE.
4. Present, disseminate and validate the findings to relevant stakeholders, including via PowerPoint presentations, written briefs and workshop/s.
5. Based on feedback from above, develop and submit the final report, presentation, and a 2-page overview summarizing the findings.

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

Academic qualification:

• Advanced university degree or equivalent experience in Education, Economics, Development Studies, Social Sciences, Statistics, or another relevant field is a requirement.

  Work experience:

• A minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience, including public expenditures analysis or education sector/social sector costing and financing analysis, is a requirement,

• Similar experience with government agencies in Africa and/or UN agencies is considered an advantage
• Sufficient consultancy experience in undertaking ECD/ECE related studies, preferably in developing countries is an advantage
• Experience in using the UNICEF ECE Accelerator Simulation Model is an advantage.

Technical skills, knowledge, and strength areas:

• Public finance management and economic analysis of social sector issues, including education, is a requirement.
• Strong Knowledge of early childhood education systems is an advantage.
• Knowledge of the Malawi or similar education system is an advantage.
• Excellent data analytical abilities, with excellent skills in communicating (written and oral) technical findings to a broad range of audiences, is a requirement.
• Good analytic and report-writing skills.
• Interpersonal skills, specifically working with a broad range of stakeholders in government and other sectors, is a requirement.
• Ability to work under pressure and commitment to work within a tight timeframe.

Languages:

• Fluency in spoken and written English is a requirement.

Please refer to the attached full Terms of Reference ToR_Early Childhood Education Costing and Financing Study.pdf for more details on the consultancy and requirements.

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.

HOW TO APPLY...

Interested Individual Consultant should provide the following:

1. Curriculum Vitae
2. Academic certificates
3. Brief technical proposal (no longer than five pages) demonstrating the Individual Consultant's understanding of the assignment and approach/methodology to the assignment
4. Financial proposal including a breakdown of their all-inclusive fees (including professional fees, stationery, communication, and other miscellaneous costs). Financial Proposal for Consultancy.xlsx Complete the attached form.
5. References details from three most recent supervisors.

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.

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.