International Consultancy for technical assistance to improve the quality of education services in Abkhazia

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Application deadline 2 years ago: Friday 20 Aug 2021 at 14:00 UTC

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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

The education system of Abkhazia is heavily underfunded due to the lack of financial resources, resulting in a persistent lack of teaching materials, teacher training, and dilapidated school infrastructure. Also, over the last 25 years there have been no systematic attempt to reform the education system. Consequently, the quality of education is low and international assistance to improve education services is urgently needed. At the same time, information on school attendance, drop-out rates and student learning outcomes are not publicly available, making evidence-based programming difficult.

The unresolved and protracted political conflict further complicates the situation. The existing education system in Abkhazia only partially reflects the existing linguistic division of Abkhazia's population; education in Abkhazia in various ways perpetuates mistrust and resentment between the region's various ethnic communities and does not contribute to peacebuilding. The resentment is felt particularly strongly in the sphere of mother tongue education and has the potential to cause new tensions between the divided communities. Children of different ethno-linguistic communities in Abkhazia today have very different chances to study in their mother tongue and children of each ethnic community face specific challenges.

To address the educational needs of all children in Abkhazia, UNICEF has been providing assistance in improving the quality of education services by promoting a systematic approach to mother tongue based multilingual education (MTB MLE) irrespective of their ethnic background and place of residence. Since 2015, UNICEF has carried out a series of targeted activities to improve the quality of general education and access to quality mother tongue education which included the development of an MTB MLE model. UNICEF, together with international education experts, also initiated a series of teacher trainings on Student-Centered Instruction and Life Skills for teachers and school administrators and has worked on the development of pre-service and in-service training programmes for teachers to support the introduction of these methodologies and practices.

8 teacher resource centers (TRCs) have also been developed at the district level in Abkhazia and these serve as local training centers for teachers, school administrators and other stakeholders. UNICEF has worked to develop a core group of teachers in each center who could provide the training to other teachers and act as local champions of new teaching methodologies as well as the MTB MLE model. After the last phase of activities and after positive feedback received from the stakeholders and beneficiaries it was decided to continue by supporting additional trainings and other capacity building activities for teachers and local education experts on CLIL and other language methodologies. Additional support will be provided to conduct trainings for language and subject teachers on Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). UNICEF plans to expose future teachers to contemporary teaching approaches, through trainings on SCI, CLIL and other relevant areas. UNICEF is also planning to develop and launch a pilot training programme for the teachers of elementary school and kindergartens based on the best international practices and support local experts in development of methodological materials for preschool and elementary school programmes.

UNICEF is therefore seeking to recruit an international consultant to provide technical assistance to Sukhumi Field Office in Abkhazia in the above-mentioned areas.

Scope of Work:

Based on international best practice, the consultant will develop and implement relevant training programmes for teachers and local education experts at various levels on CLIL and other languages teaching techniques. The consultant will conduct pre-service and in-service trainings for teachers on CLIL and language teaching techniques and will support the design of a training programme for pre-school teachers and institutions in line with SCI, CLIL and other student-centered methodologies. The consultant will also support the development of methodological materials for language teaching in schools and kindergartens.

The consultancy activities will be carried out between 1 September 2021 and 15 August 2022, with possible extensions as needed, and will be implemented from home. During the work from home, the consultant(s) will use email, skype and telephone for regular communication with UNICEF Sukhumi Field Office and supervisors.

Depending on further progress in UNICEF's consultations with relevant decision makers, as well as with interested donors, the consultancy might be extended and amended to include additional tasks and deliverables in line with those established in this TOR.

Duration: 1.09. 2021 - 15.08. 2022

Work Assignment Overview

Tasks/Milestone:

Deliverables/Outputs:

Timeline:

Preparation and training of local experts, teachers and University students on CLIL, SCI and other relevant language teaching components

Quality training programme and training sessions for education experts, teachers and students;

1.09.2021 - 1.12.2021

Develop and launch a programme to support the capacity building of teachers from the Teacher Resource Centers

Quality programme for online SCI course for teachers;

1.09.2021 -1.11.2021

Develop and implement a pilot training programme for the teachers of elementary school and kindergartens

Quality training programme and pilot trainings for teachers of elementary school and kindergartens;

1.11.2021 -1.02.2022

Consultations on methodological materials development on CLIL and language teaching in schools and kindergartens

Advice and support to local experts in developing of methodological materials.

1.02.2022 -1.08.2022

Location: Home based. Most of the tasks under the consultancy will be implemented remotely. Trips to Abkhazia might be considered depending on the situation with COVID-19 and entry procedures. In case of travel, details will be coordinated with the consultant and amendments to the TOR and contract will be made accordingly

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

  • Advanced university degree in Education or any relevant social field;
  • At least 7 years of work experience in areas of education, life skills, pedagogy, including work experience in the context with transitional education (experience working in the countries of the former Soviet Union is an asset);
  • Proven experience in teacher training on student-centered teaching methodologies, language teaching, CLIL, as well teacher training and parental work;
  • Excellent English language skills and ability to lead trainings in Russian language;
  • Very good analytical and organizational skills;
  • Familiarity with UNICEF's work in the area of education;
  • Excellent communication and teamwork skills; ability to work with minimum supervision in a multi-national environment with team members from different cultural backgrounds;
  • Good knowledge and use of Microsoft package and relevant software for remote work.

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.

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:

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.

Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: unicef.org