Monitoring & Evaluation Consultant for Inclusive Education

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all qualified candidates, irrespective of nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, gender identity and sexual orientation, as well as persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. UNICEF’s office is accessible to a certain extent, and employees are entitled to reasonable accommodations that are needed for ensuring equitable working conditions.

Evident progress has been made in the implementation of inclusive education (IE) in Serbia since the introduction of major legal reforms in 2009. Under the leadership of the Ministry for Education, Science and Technological Development (MoESTD), and with continuous UNICEF support over the past years, reform measures have been taken with the focus on developing a comprehensive institutional and policy framework for inclusive education. However, despite the progress, data show that not all children benefit from inclusion in mainstream quality education in Serbia.

The “Enhanced Equal Access to and Completion of Pre-University Education for Children in Need of Additional Support in Education” action aims at: (a) strengthening the capacities of professionals to implement inclusive practices and provide well-designed and appropriate additional support, (b) the improvement of national policies and institutional capacities to implement, coordinate and monitor inclusive education, (c) the development of resource centres for providing support to the education of children in need and increase the availability of assistive technology.

The project will also promote inclusive education as a generally accepted standard in the Serbian education system. It will directly impact further development and strengthening of the institutional, legal and policy framework for the implementation, monitoring and coordination of inclusive education in Serbia, which will bring benefits to all education institutions and children in pre-university education.

Work Assignment Overview:

Under the guidance and direction of the UNICEF Inclusive Education Officer, the consultant will develop an M&E system for the inclusive education programme, including the methodology and tools, conduct monitoring visits and data collection and support the UNICEF team in providing input to delivering the progress and final reports.

Duration of the assignment: November 2021 – May 2024 (part-time, up to 146 workdays)

Tasks:

1. Develop an M&E system with methodology and the tools to be applied within the project implementation period, aimed to monitor and evaluate project progress and the outcomes (based on the project documents);
2. Support UNICEF staff in implementing the M&E plan;
3. Collect field data from target beneficiaries;
4. Prepare overall monitoring reports.

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

• Master’s degree in Education, Psychology, Pedagogy, Law, Political Sciences, or other fields of Social Studied and Humanities.
• Proven experience in monitoring and evaluation of EU funded projects.
• Professional experience in areas related to education, including statistical analysis and education policy-related work.
• Proven experience in monitoring and evaluation in education; experience in monitoring and evaluation of digital learning would be an asset.
• Excellent knowledge of the Serbian education system.
• Experience in education research (design of protocols, design of tools, quantitative or qualitative methods, design and facilitation of focus group discussions - FGDs, research ethics).
• Strong analytical and writing skills.
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills.
• Ability to meet tight deadlines through excellent time management and organization.
• Excellent knowledge of Serbian and English languages.
• Work experience with UNICEF and/or other international organizations would be considered as an advantage

How to apply:

The application must include a financial proposal in RSD as a separate document, providing the following information:

1. All-inclusive daily fee (e.g. usage of mobile phone, travel & accommodation costs).

Important notes:

Incomplete applications will not be taken into consideration.

Only shortlisted candidates will be notified and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

For every child, you must demonstrate UNICEF's core values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability.

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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.