International Consultancy: Teaching and Learning Consultant (100% in duty station)

Support early grade teaching and learning capacity development in Sierra Leone education sector.

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UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund

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Application deadline 1 year ago: Thursday 8 May 2025 at 23:55 UTC

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Overview

Support early grade teaching and learning capacity development in Sierra Leone education sector.

You have:

  • An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Education, Social Science, Public policy, International Development and related fields.
  • A minimum of 8 years of relevant professional experience in developing and implementing teacher capacity development and /or community of practice programmes, preferably in West Africa or sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Leading technical work related to teacher professional development.
  • Effectively engaging with diverse stakeholders, including government officials, education partners, and teachers.
  • Commitment to UNICEF’s core values of care, respect, integrity, transparency, and accountability.
  • Ability to work effectively in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment; experience with the UN or other international development organizations is an asset.
  • Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

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

Please access UNICEF Sierra Leone information here and here

How can you make a difference?

Purpose and Objectives:

The overall objective of this assignment is to support early grade teaching and learning capacity development within the Sierra Leone education sector.

The key objectives of the consultancy include:

  1. Support the validation of the P0 and P2 teaching and learning materials, and the beginning of the P3 teaching and learning materials development process.
  2. Support the nationwide P0 and P2 teacher capacity development process, including training of master trainers, training of trainers and teacher training, with extensive in-field presence required.
  3. In conjunction with a team of government partners, UNICEF and a technical lead, backstop the design, piloting and roll out of a teacher community of practice model that can deliver continuous, cluster-based support to teachers at the foundational level through mentorship, coaching and peer learning.
  4. Provide support as needed to the strengthening of the cadre of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy School Quality Assurance Officers (FLN SQAOs) in their role to support teachers and collect FLN data at district level.
  5. Support pre-primary education awareness campaigning and radio programme.

Scope of work

This assignment is expected to cover the following key deliverables:

  1. P2 validation workshop report
  2. P0 piloting and validation workshop report
  3. P2 training of master trainers report
  4. P2 training of trainers report
  5. P0 training of trainers report
  6. P2 teacher training report
  7. P0 teacher training report
  8. Support to pre-primary awareness campaigning and radio program report
  9. Report on community of practice implementation
  10. Writers’ workshops for P3 instructional core report

The consultant will work under the overall guidance and supervision of the UNICEF Education Specialist/GPE Coordinator responsible for quality learning, and through a close working relationship with the MBSSE GPE Coordinator and PIU.

Please see attached ToR for detailed information. ToR Teaching and Learning Consultancy.pdf

Please use the attached form for your financial proposal. Consultancy - All-Inclusive Financial Proposal Form.docx

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

  • An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Education, Social Science, Public policy, International Development andrelated fields (not specified but inferred to be fields related to those listed).

A minimum of 8 years of relevant professional experience in:

  • Developing and implementing teacher capacity development and/or community of practice programmes, preferably in West Africa or sub-Saharan Africa
  • Leading technical work related to teacher professional development.
  • Effectively engaging with diverse stakeholders, including government officials, education partners, district representatives, teachers and school quality assurance officers, to gather insights and qualitative data to develop and implement education professional development models.
  • Commitment to UNICEF’s core values of care, respect, integrity, transparency, and accountability.
  • Ability to work effectively in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment; experience with the UN or other international development organizations is an asset.

Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

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 committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

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.

Potential interview questions

Can you provide an example of how you have developed teacher training programs? The interviewer wants to assess your experience in designing educational programs. Discuss a specific training program you developed or contributed to, highlighting your role.
Describe a time you engaged effectively with stakeholders to promote an educational initiative. The interviewer seeks to understand your engagement strategies and stakeholder management skills. Pro members can see the explanation.
How do you approach capacity development in multicultural settings? Pro members can see the explanation. Pro members can see the explanation.
What measures do you take to ensure the quality of training you deliver? Pro members can see the explanation. Pro members can see the explanation.
Can you share an experience where you supported teachers in a community of practice? Pro members can see the explanation. Pro members can see the explanation.
What challenges have you faced in implementing educational programs, and how did you overcome them? Pro members can see the explanation. Pro members can see the explanation.
Why are UNICEF’s values important in your work with education? Pro members can see the explanation. Pro members can see the explanation.
How do you measure the success of educational initiatives you implement? Pro members can see the explanation. Pro members can see the explanation.
Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org