International Consultancy for Independent Appraisal of the Education Sector Plan, Republic of Armenia

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 champion

The purpose of the consultancy is to work with and provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Education, Science, Cultures and Sports (MoESCS) by carrying out an external independent appraisal and critical analysis of the draft State Program for Education Development in the Republic of Armenia until 2030 (hereafter referred to as Education Sector Plan).

This assignment is guided by the vision of the 2021-2026 Republic of Armenia Government Activities Program (more specifically, the section on General Education) and the 2022-2030 Education Sector Plan based on it. The assignment is within Activity 1.2 (Contribute to the development/establishment of sectoral programme goals, objectives, strategies, and results-based planning through equity focused research, collection, analysis and reporting of education and other related information for development planning and priority and goal setting ) under Output 3.1 (National systems and capacities of officials and other stakeholders are strengthened to develop evidence-based policies, plans and budgets, ensuring inclusive and equitable education outcomes for all children) of the Armenia-UNICEF Multi-Year Work Plan 2022-2023 and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Education Sector Plan Development Grant, where UNICEF acts as Grant Agent, supporting the Government and national stakeholders.

As part of the development process, the Education Sector Plan must be independently appraised prior to its finalization and endorsement. The independent appraisal of an Education Sector Plan is a GPE requirement, for the Government and international development partners to ensure the robustness and credibility of the Education Sector Plan and its M&E framework. An individual consultant is required to carry out the independent appraisal of the Education Sector Plan based on the characteristics defined in the GPE/IIEP Guidelines for Education Sector Plan Appraisal[1], which are designed to assess both the process of developing the Education Sector Plan and its contents in respect to the five criteria: 1) leadership and participation; 2) soundness and relevance, 3) equity, efficiency and learning in basic education; 4) coherence; and 5) feasibility, implementability and monitorability.

This activity will contribute to the SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) Target 4.1. which requires states to realize “that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.” At the global level, the agenda around the SDG 4 (Quality Education) to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’ by 2030, has reinforced a focus on learning assessment to gain data on learning that allow to establish and monitor education quality and learning progress.

[1] https://www.globalpartnership.org/content/guidelines-education-sector-plan-appraisal

How can you make a difference?

The specific objectives under this assignment include:

1. Assess the quality of the Education Sector Plan preparation process and content, including:
   1. Leadership and participation: Assess the role of the Government, and the extent to which international development partners and other stakeholders’ participated in the Education Sector Plan preparation.
   2. Soundness and relevance: Assess the extent to which the key challenges identified in the education sector analysis have been sufficiently considered in the Education Sector Plan and identify gaps if any.
   3. Equity, efficiency and learning: Assess if the Education Sector Plan is designed to address equity, efficiency and learning with solid change strategies and results framework.
   4. Coherence: Assess the extent to which strategies, programmes, interventions, budget, and monitoring/evaluation indicators are mutually coherent.
   5. Feasibility, implementability and monitorability: Assess whether financing, implementation mechanisms and monitoring arrangements are sufficiently solid to reasonably ensure expected results are achieved.
2. Provide actionable recommendations regarding suggested improvements of the Education Sector Plan for:
   1. the immediate term (areas that can be addressed prior to its finalization and endorsement); and
   2. the medium term (areas that can be addressed during plan implementation or subsequent reviews).

Key stakeholders of the assignment are the government line ministries, namely the MoESCS, the Ministries of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure (MoTAI), sub-national and local authorities, the GPE Secretariat, UNICEF, the Asian Development Bank, EU, the World Bank, other international development partners, and dedicated CSOs.

The knowledge generated by the appraisal exercise should be used by the MoESCS to inform and amplify its actions for 2022-2030 period, reflected in the approved Education Sector Plan. It will be also used by UNICEF and other national stakeholders to further refine the quality, targeting, groundedness and timeliness of policies in the field of general education.

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

• Advanced university degree and/or academic background in Education, Sociology, Economics, Public Policy, Social Policy or a related field.

• At least 8 years of documented experience in education planning, management, monitoring and/or evaluation with solid knowledge of Armenia’s national education system.

• Experience of carrying out past independent appraisals or evaluations/assessments of education sector programs considered an advantage.
• Having passed training in the GPE-IIEP Guidelines on Education Sector Plan Appraisal[1][2] will be an advantage.

• Very good communication and presentation skills with government and international organizations.

• Fluency in written and spoken English, including report writing skills.

• Previous experience in working with UN agencies will be an asset.

[1] http://www.iiep.unesco.org/en/gpeiiep-training-fundamentals-independent-appraisal-education-sector-plans-13281

[2] Consultant(s) selected who have not undertaken the GPE/IIEP training on the Fundamentals of Independent Appraisal of Education Sector Plans will need to complete the training successfully prior to undertaking the appraisal. The training takes approximately 15 hours to complete.

• For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Terms of the application:

The deadline for the submission of applications is June 20. Applications should include:

• Cover letter;
• CV;
• Financial Proposal;
• Published research and analytical documents relevant to the TOR.

For more details please refer to the attached ToR Terms of Reference (Independent Appraisal).pdf

All qualified applicants should apply online, using the UNICEF E-Recruitment system and following the online application link. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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. The candidate may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid).