Local Consultancy - Sociologist for the Collection and Analysis of Primary Qualitative Data on the Education Sector Review and Targeted Analysis, Yerevan, 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

RE-ADVERTISING

The applicants who had submitted their applications within the period of initial advertising of this vacancy do not need to re-apply. All candidates will be retained.

Individual Consultant is expected to perform this assignment remotely (home based) with possible field missions as required.

Duty Station: Yerevan, Armenia

Supervisor: Education Specialist, Education Officer (GPE)

Time-frame: from early September to end of November (approx. 3 months)

How can you make a difference?

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

The aim of the assignment is to support the data collection and analysis under an initiative of the Government of the Republic of Armenia coordinated by UNICEF as Global Partnership Education (GPE) Grant Agent on three different studies (hereinafter, the Studies): 1) Equity and Fairness-Oriented Analysis of School Classroom Assessment Practices to Identify Policy Recommendations for Improvement of Student Learning Outcomes (hereinafter, Study 1), 2) Analysis of School Teacher Management System in Armenia (hereinafter, Study 2), and 3) Comprehensive Sectoral Analysis of Pre-Primary Education (hereinafter, Study 3). The Analysis and major Study activities are conducted by each of the three Study Teams, which were hired by UNICEF through a competitive selection process. Under this assignment, the Sociologist (a total of three experts could be hired for this role), will be responsible for supporting the Study Teams, composed of one or two Senior and two Junior Experts and led by Team Leaders, with primary data collection, processing and analytical activities.

The specific objectives under this assignment are:

• to support the pre-test of instruments and sampling approaches for the Studies,
• to provide recommendations to the Study Teams on methodology and tools improvement;
• to conduct a specified number of Key Expert Interviews (KEI), Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), and to moderate/assist a specified number of focus group discussions (FGDs),
• to prepare full transcripts of the collected primary data as per Study Teams’ guidance,
• to assist the Study Team in data thematic coding and data analytics.

The Studies and analyses shall seek to explore:

For Study 1:

• What would be the optimal theory and practice of classroom assessment as proposed by advanced international scholarly work and practice?
• To what extent is the current classroom assessment practice fair to and promotes equitable learning for all students?
• What are the key stakeholder views and understandings of classroom assessment, both in practice and in theory, and how they compare to the advanced international literature and practice reviewed?
• What are the key constraints and resources (current or required) to increase the quality of classroom assessment that is fair and promotes equitable learning for all students?
• To what extent are the contexts and assessment programmes consistent with other elements of the wider education system, for example with learning standards and curriculum, the structure of the education system, national education priorities?

For Study 2:

• To what extent are Armenia’s strategies (policies) for recruiting and inducting appropriate teaching staff comprehensive and well-justified including in reference to advanced international theory and practice?
• To what extent do Armenia’s existing policies for teacher retention ensure effective, favourable and supportive working conditions including in reference to advanced international theory and practice?
• To what extent do Armenia’s teacher continuous professional development (CPD) policies meet core principles of effective CPD in reference to advanced international theory and practice?

For Study 3:

• The analysis shall target the following components of pre-primary education system: curriculum implementation, workforce development, family and community engagement, and enabling environment.

Work Assignment Overview

Tasks/Milestone:

Deliverables/Outputs:

Timeline

Inception Phase

-getting familiar with the Study Protocols and the Study tools;

-passing an orientation or training sessions with the Team Leaders about the Study Methodology, data collection/analytics and ethical aspects.

Minutes from the meeting/s with the study teams

QA about the Study Protocols and data collection tools

End of September, 2021

Fieldwork Phase

- Collecting qualitative data through in-depth interviews;

- Collecting qualitative data through remote KEI/KIIs, FGs and elaboration of transcripts;

- Data cleaning and quality control;

- Submitting of transcripts and short summaries.

Documentation of fieldwork implementation, including the full transcripts/audio-files of in-depth interviews, KEI/KII and FGDs

End of October, 2021

Analysis and Reporting

- assistance in the design of the analytical scheme and data thematic coding, selection of testimonies/verbatim quotations for the Final Reports;

- participation in de-briefing sessions with the Study Teams on Team Leaders’ request.

Coded transcripts

Selected testimonies/verbatim quotations for the Final Reports

End of November, 2021

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

• Advanced university degree in Sociology, Social Policy or Social Work. A PhD degree would be a strong asset.
• At least 4 years of documented experience in the field of Sociology.
• No less than 5 years’ experience in qualitative interviewing or FG moderation/assistance, including in the field of Education.
• Experience with elaboration of transcripts and data thematic coding.
• Recorded experience of participation in designing research projects, studies, evaluations and household surveys, direct involvement in qualitative data collection and data analysis (links to published research and certificates from trainings relevant to the TOR to be provided).
• Proven ability of working in teams and expert groups as well as of working in international and multicultural environments.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Data management skills through application of NVIVO or other relevant packages will be an asset.
• Previous experience in working with UN agencies will be an asset.

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For more details please refer to the attached ToR Terms of Reference (Sociologist)-VA-re-advertising.pdf

Terms of the application:

The deadline for the submission of applications is September 5. Applications should include:

• Cover letter;
• CV;
• Financial Proposal;
• Published research and analytical documents relevant to the TOR;
• Examples of published work (paper, abstract, proceedings) in top international conferences and SCOPUS-indexed high-quality journals will be an asset.

All qualified applicants should apply online, using the UNICEF E-Recruitment system and following the online application link.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

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.