International Consultant :National Strategy for Out-of-School Children, Bissau

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Application deadline 1 year ago: Sunday 2 Oct 2022 at 23:55 UTC

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Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

Click here for the Full TOR: TOR_Vacancy EN_International_Consultancy_OSC-Strategy.pdf

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.

Objectives:

The main objective of the consultancy is to develop a national strategy and a three-year budgeted action plan to address the challenges of out-of-school children. This strategy should be the result of an inclusive and participatory process of reflection, with different stakeholders, under the leadership of the Ministry of Education, notably the National Institute for Educational Development.

Scope of Work:

More specifically, it will involve:

  • Drafting a literature review of relevant research evidence on out-of-school children, with a focus on Guinea-Bissau or similar contexts. This should include a review of out-of-school strategies and policies in similar contexts;
  • Undertaking an analysis of the current policy environment and context with regards to out-of-school children in Guinea-Bissau, identifying strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats;
  • Guiding a national technical working group (TWG) in the reflection and design of a draft National Strategy for Out-of-School Children in Guinea Bissau and a budgeted action plan, which considers (i) system strengthening to leave no one behind, (ii) partnerships and engagement with the public and all civil society stakeholders, (iii) community engagement and social and behavioural change interventions, (iv) advocacy and communication, (v) multi-sectoral interventions;
  • Facilitating the technical validation of the strategy through presentations to key stakeholders;
  • Incorporating feedback to finalize the National Strategy for Out-of-School Children in Guinea Bissau, including a budgeted action plan

Approach:

The consultant should use a participatory approach that involves all key players in the sector and develop a National Strategy that is appropriate and reflects the country's overall situation. For the purpose, the work will include consultations, interviews, and workshops with key stakeholders.

The consultant will start by inventorying local and regional practices that can serve as models and be replicated, adapted, or encouraged, by making sure that local practices do not contradict to those promoted by UNICEF at the global level and are aligned with the Education Sector Plan.

Expected results and methodology:

For the development of the strategy and its three-year budgeted action plan, we are looking for the services of an international consultant, specialized in the education sector, recruited for 45 days and present in Guinea-Bissau for a minimum number of 30 days.

Leading a national multi-institutional technical working group from the Ministry of Education and other partners (approximately 10-15 people), the consultant will:

First stage (November-December 2022):

  • Carry out a diagnosis of the current context and present a first consultation report that includes a consolidation of the working methodology. To do this, and with the help of UNICEF and the Ministry of Education, it is suggested that the consultant (i) carry out a review of the literature and available secondary data, (ii) carry out a survey of key informants, direct and indirect actors in the education sector, (iii) carry out visits to some school communities.
  • Develop the draft strategy and the budgeted action plan. To do this, and with the help of UNICEF and the Ministry of Education, it is suggested that the consultant engage in the following activities:
  1. organise workshops with the national technical team to develop the strategy document and the three-year budgeted action plan (most of the work will take place at the National Institute for the Development of Education (INDE), where a room will be made available to the team);
  2. consolidate and submit a draft that can be shared with the sector partners for review before the technical validation session.

Second stage (January 2023):

  • Facilitate the presentation of the strategy at a technical validation workshop. For this purpose, and with the assistance of UNICEF and the Ministry of Education, it is suggested that the consultant (i) prepare a Power Point presentation, which describes the development process and the main elements that make up the strategy, (ii) record the most relevant inputs and take them into consideration for the finalisation of the strategy document.
  • Finalise and submit a clean version of the strategy document together with the final report of the consultancy.

Geographic Scope

The consultancy will be mostly based in Bissau, with some field missions.

The Work Plan (Key deliverables, Tasks, Timeframe and Payment Schedule)

Key deliverables 1 : Inception report submitted in Portuguese*

*Each deliverable will be the object of up to 5 back-and-forth between UNICEF and the consultant to ensure compliance with UNICEF quality standards.

Tasks: Remotely and In Bissau

  • Inception meeting with UNICEF staff
  • Review of relevant out-of-school literature and policies in Guinea-Bissau, from the regional, and globally
  • Inception meeting with the Technical Working Group, including a proposed ToR to guide the work of the group
  • Initial meetings with key stakeholders, partners, and communities to inform the inception report
  • Finalization of inception report and work plan, with contextual analysis, detailed methodology, and proposed work plan.

Timeframe : 2 weeks (10 working days), and by the 2nd week of November 2022

Key deliverables 2: Draft of the Strategy and the budgeted action plan submitted

Tasks: In Bissau

  • Primary data collection with stakeholders, key informants
  • Continued review of relevant documents (national, regional, and global level)
  • In partnership with the TWG, draft the first version of the National Strategy
  • In partnership with the TWG, draft the first version of the budgeted action plan
  • Review of the draft documents by the TWG and UNICEF

Timeframe: 4 weeks (20 working days) and by December 9, 2022

Key deliverables 3: Presentation and technical validation workshop conducted of the proposed strategy and three-year action plan organized

Tasks: In Bissau

  • Power Point presentation summarizing key elements of the strategy and the main components of the costed action plan submitted and approved
  • Organisation of a validation workshop of key partners including the members of the Local Education Group. This should include participatory activities to foster feedback from participants
  • Draft a report of the validation workshop that highlights the main comments and recommendations coming from the workshop

Timeframe: 3 working days, including one day for the workshop

Key deliverables 4: Final version of the National Strategy and budgeted action plan and accompanying documents submitted, and final consultancy report validated. *

*Each deliverable will be the object of up to 5 back-and-forth between UNICEF and the consultant to ensure compliance with UNICEF quality standards.

Tasks: Remotely

  • Final version of the National Strategy and budgeted action plan is submitted and accepted by UNICEF.
  • Power Point Presentation which summarizes the National Strategy, including slides on the budgeted action plan

Timeframe: 7 working days

The consultant must ensure that there is an efficient transfer of skills to the national technical team involved in the different stages of the consultancy.

Key Deliverables:

The consultant will provide the following products in Portuguese electronically (further details and deadlines will be specified during the inception meeting). (Note: The contents of these deliverables may be altered if agreed upon between UNICEF and the consultant):

  1. Inception Report, including a detailed description of the methodology and suggested work plan. The report will be structured as follows:
  • Introduction presenting the purpose, scope, and objectives of the strategy
  • Preliminary analysis on the current situation/context of out-of-school children in Guinea-Bissau
  • Preliminary results of literature review (global, regional, local)
  • Detailed description of the methodology, including relevant data collection methods
  • Work Plan
  • Preliminary results from initial pilot consultations/data collection and analysis, if relevant, including any proposed changes to the structure and aims of strategy
  • Annex: List of the main documents reviewed; Proposed data collection tools; Initial list of key informants
  1. First Draft of the National Strategy for Out-of-School Children in Guinea Bissau and the accompanying budgeted action plan. These will be the subject of several iterations (series of exchanges) between the consultant and the technical working group.
  2. Power Point presentation summarizing key elements of the strategy and the main components of the costed action plan, to be presented at a validation workshop
  3. Report outlining the main findings from the validation workshop, including key recommendations.
  4. Final version of the National Strategy for Out-of-School Children in Guinea Bissau and the accompanying budgeted action plan. The full final report shall be structured as follows, unless otherwise discussed:
  • Table of Contents including List of Tables and List of Figures
  • Executive Summary (covering all main sections of the report)
  • Acknowledgements (all who supported the development of the strategy and provided strong cooperation and collaboration during the process)
  • List of abbreviations and acronyms
  • Introduction (objective, scope, indented use)
  • Contextual Analysis and Literature Review
  • Theoretical Model/Conceptual Framework (if applicable)
  • Strategy Design
  • Annex 1: Comprehensive Budgeted Action Plan
  • Annex 2: Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
  • Annex 2: Methodology
  1. Power Point Presentation which summarizes the National Strategy, including slides on the budgeted action plan

Reporting Requirements and Key Responsibilities:

The consultant will work in close collaboration with the education section, mainly with the Education Specialist and Programme Specialist, and will report to the Education Chief (direct supervisor).

UNICEF's intervention are aligned with national plans for the development of education sector and therefore, all activities related to the development of a national strategy for out-of-school children will have to be implemented with the close collaboration of the authorities of the Ministry of Education, in particular the National Institute for the Development of Education (INDE), the Directorate General of Literacy and Non-Formal Education (DGAeENF) and the Directorate General of Basic and Secondary Education (DGEBS).

The work will be carried out in close collaboration with a national technical working group composed Ministry of Education staff and key partners, under the supervision of the General Directorate of the National Institute for the Development of Education (INDE) and UNICEF.

In Bissau, the work will take place mainly at the premises of the INDE, during the institution's normal opening hours. The Ministry of Education will ensure that its technical staff is present at all stages of the process, collaborating in defining the Strategy.

The consultant must report on all stages of the process through:

  • Technical coordination meetings with UNICEF and the Ministry of Education;
  • Reports:
  • the inception report (which describes the context and programming of the work)
  • the final report that provides a summary description of the results achieved, with recommendations and actions to be considered in the short, medium, and long term;
  • Minutes of coordination meetings or any meeting where key recommendation/decision were addressed throughout the consultancy period.

Profile Requirements:

Minimum Qualifications required:

Bachelor’s degree in one of the following areas: Education, Adolescent development and participation, sociology, economy or another related field in the Social Sciences or Sciences.

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

  • Minimum of five years of experience in the areas of education, particularly in the research for the definition of educational strategies and policies.
  • Experience facilitating co-creation workshops with different stakeholder, including government staff.
  • Experience of the education sector of Guinea-Bissau or countries with similar contexts is desirable.
  • Proficient in using MS EXCEL, WORD and PowerPoint.
  • Highly developed communication skills and proven ability to work with stakeholders with different technical backgrounds.
  • Professional proficiency in Portuguese and English is required.
  • Experience working with the UN (United Nations) or similar development agencies is desirable.

Criteria for Selection Process:

Interested individuals must submit an expression of interest (5-10 pages) that includes:

  1. A 1–2-page summary of how your experience and qualifications meet the requirements outlined in this Terms of Reference.
  2. A brief technical proposal (2-6 pages) describing how the work will be carried out.
  3. A financial proposal that includes all associated costs and expenses to carry out the consultancy.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

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 and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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.

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.

Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org