International Consultant (Myanmar Curriculum: Teacher Professional Development and Assessment); Cox's Bazar; Bangladesh

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.

Background:

As of March 2023, there are over 960,539 Rohingya refugees/ Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMNs) in Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh. According to the UNHCR operation update of February 2023, this figure includes over 50 percent of children under the age of 18 years. The Rohingya living in these camps are completely dependent on humanitarian aid for assistance and remain vulnerable to natural disasters, such as cyclones, fires, and landslides. As of March 2023, there are also a total of 29,810 Rohingya refugees (56% of who are children) relocated to Bhasan Char.

During the initial years, UNICEF and the Education Sector used the Learning Competency Framework and Approach (LCFA) which was a condensed and accelerated curriculum designed to directly reflect Rohingya children’s most urgent needs to support the education of Rohingya children. This followed the Government of Bangladesh’s (GoB) Guideline for the Information Education Program (GIEP) which was approved in 2019. However, following feedback from the Rohingya community and successful advocacy efforts with the Government of Bangladesh, formal education following the Myanmar Curriculum was agreed upon in 2020. However, the introduction of this was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic which led to the closure of all Learning Centres in the camps for 18 months. In December 2021, UNICEF began Myanmar Curriculum classes for Grades 6 to 9 for secondary education. This was introduced as a pilot and exceeded the initial target of 10,000 children. Following the success of the Pilot, in July 2022 Myanmar Curriculum classes for Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2 were introduced.

In July 2023, Myanmar Curriculum classes will begin for Grades 3, 4, 5, and 10, at which point the Myanmar Curriculum will have fully replaced LCFA with grades from kindergarten to Grade 10. In subsequent years classes will open for Grades 11 and Grade 12 as children reach these levels. By the end of March 2023, across the Education Sector there were 209,166 learners (100,862 girls, and 108,304 boys) in formal education following the Myanmar Curriculum. UNICEF’s direct programming contributes to more than 75% of the overall Education Sector achievement for the Myanmar Curricula reaching 162,937 learners (77,855 girls (48%), and 85,082 boys (52%)).

How can you make a difference?

Purpose of Assignment:

The UNICEF office in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh is seeking one consultant with technical knowledge in operationalizing and applying the Myanmar curriculum according to Government of Myanmar policies and procedures. The individual should have a teaching background and know how to apply the Myanmar Curriculum in classroom settings as well as have detailed knowledge of the Myanmar Education Ministry and Departments. The consultant is required to have detailed knowledge of the Myanmar curriculum, in order to support the identification and development of Rohingya teachers’ capacities as well as supporting the assessment of Rohingya children’s learning progress. The consultant will also provide Burmese language support in relation to teaching, learning, and other curricular materials as needed. The consultant will work closely with UNICEF and partners to provide ongoing guidance related to the Myanmar Curriculum, as well as produce four (4) key deliverables throughout the assignment.

1. Deliverable 1: Actively search for, identity, and share materials from the public domain and professional networks on the national Myanmar curriculum. This includes statutory documents relating to administration, assessment, curriculum, early years foundations, governance, pastoral care, governance, safeguarding, special educational/health needs, teacher recruitment and teacher competency frameworks, and the participation of young people. Examples of such statutory documents include the: details of assessment tools and practices at the school level, under the National Assessment Guidelines (NAG) for Basic Education in Myanmar and with the National Assessment Policy (NAP); textbooks, teacher guides; school/academic calendar; syllabus; alternative education program guidelines and curricula (e.g., remedial education or ALP); additional teaching resources; teacher training resources as well as policies and strategic frameworks on how to operationalize the Myanmar curriculum. The consultant should update UNICEF on the ongoing curriculum revisions including sharing newly updated learner textbooks and teacher guides when released by the Government of Myanmar.
2. Deliverable 2: Support UNICEF and our technical partner to revise the assessment framework in line with Myanmar Curriculum (MC) and to develop documents and tools to implement formative and summative assessment for the Rohingya response.

• Work with UNICEF’s technical partner to review and finalize the assessment framework for the Myanmar Curriculum.
• Collaborate with UNICEF’s technical partner to develop and finalize the record of learning and examination scripts based on the Myanmar system.
• Provide technical expertise on the development of formative and summative assessment tools for everyday classroom use.
• Share technical knowledge and resources on the formation, design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of nationwide assessments in Myanmar conducted by the government including National Assessments of learning outcomes.
• Support UNICEF to develop end-of-year assessments for children studying in the Myanmar Curriculum. This includes the development of Burmese language assessments and the translation of other exam papers and necessary materials into Burmese.

3. Deliverable 3: Provide quality assurance in terms of alignment with standards and processes used in Myanmar for teacher professional development, including the required teaching competencies needed for effective teaching and learning using the Myanmar Curricula.

• Contextualize existing Burmese language modules for use with KG, Grade 1, and Grade 2 MC teachers.
• Work closely with TPD partner to develop Burmese subject training (knowledge of the subject and suitable pedagogical activities to teach Burmese) for KG, Grade 1, and Grade 2.
• Provide technical inputs into the formation of the whole TPD package for KG, Grade 1, and Grade 2 teachers. Technically, review drafts of TPD modules providing feedback and critical analysis, and ensure accurate use and translation in Burmese.
• Consistently review the package developed by the TPD partner for technical coherence, practical pedagogical, and subject matter examples and ensure the package is culturally and contextually relevant.
• Support the revision of the teacher assessment tool in-line with the expected competencies required of teachers in Myanmar.

4. Deliverable 4: Ongoing technical and Burmese language support throughout the duration of consultancy:

• Supporting the development of multimedia teaching and learning materials as needed.
• Continuous support to the UNICEF CXB office in reviewing, translating, and compiling information and materials in Burmese
• Provide other specific expertise and technical advice regarding the content of the Myanmar curriculum.

Specific items will be developed in Burmese and strong communication skills in English will be required to coordinate with UNICEF and partners and to review technical documents written in English.

The UNICEF Education Section in Cox’s Bazar will provide technical assistance as needed and facilitate the initial coordination between the Myanmar curriculum consultant and the implementing partners. The consultancy will be for 6 months (132 working days) and is home based in Myanmar. The consultants will be paid monthly upon submission and acceptance of monthly progress reports and an invoice.

Please see the TOR for details of tasks and deliverables

Brief TOR_MCConsultant.pdf

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

• Basic degree in Teaching or Education, from a recognized university
• At least three years of experience working in education in Myanmar focusing on curriculum development, material development, teacher professional development, and assessment.
• Demonstrated experience and/or experience in Myanmar curriculum implementation in Myanmar.
• Experience with teacher training and teacher professional development on the Myanmar Curriculum to support understanding of the Myanmar Curriculum content and effective teaching.
• Experience in designing and using assessments in everyday classroom practice and in engaging in national assessments of student learning outcomes in Myanmar.
• Experience working in primary and/or secondary education (knowledge of adolescent development is also desirable).
• Proficient in Myanmar and English languages
• Experience working in the Rakhine State of Myanmar or familiarity with the Rohingya language is considered an asset.

"The consultants indicate all-inclusive (lump sum) fees for the services to be provided, including all associated administrative and travel costs. The office/division selects the individual with the lowest best and final offer, based on the best value for money."

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 a reasonable accommodation during the selection process and during 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.

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, program 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.