National Consultancy for designing school support mechanism and promoting equitable access to inclusive learning opportunities, MoES, Tajikistan (for Tajik nationals only)

Consultant Teaching & Training Programme & Policy

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, education

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy, and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias, or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic, and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education, and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. Therefore, the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

The Ministry of Education and Science (MoES) of Tajikistan has adopted a number of key documents which reconfirm the country’s commitment to establishing a more inclusive education system, creating adequate conditions for every child’s equitable access to mainstream education. National Education Development Strategy until 2030 prioritizes a number of key indicators to sustain and improve equitable access for all children. The NSED indicators include but are not limited to a) ensuring physical accessibility through construction and rehabilitation of child-friendly schools b) revisiting the curriculum of teacher preparation, professional development and teacher support systems to ensure it trains inclusive teachers c) revising curriculum (standards and teaching and learning materials) to ensure they allow all students to achieve the learning outcomes of the programme. To further define these indicators and develop a pathway towards a more inclusive education system, the MoES together with development partners has drafted a Concept on Inclusive Education and 5 year Action Plan for its operationalization. MoES is need of further support to finalize, adopt and operationalize the Concept and Action Plan.

With support from UNICEF, Tajikistan and other development partners, the MoES has already started some initiative which will contribute to establishing a more inclusive education system, which include, but are not limited to: a) mainstreaming inclusion in teacher preparation, professional development and support systems, revising curriculum (Math and Tajik Language) to ensure it is inclusive, designing inclusive formative, summative and end of grade assessment. In addition to this, UNICEF, Tajikistan has supported the MoES in developing and modelling mechanisms for identifying and supporting students in need of assistance. They include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Early Warning System targeted to identify and prevent drop out of children was modelled at 65 schools through training of teachers and school administration. Over 2500 children at risk of dropping out were identified during the pilot
2. Violence against children programme was implemented in 31 schools to establish complaint mechanisms for girls and boys to raise issues of violence, with school teachers- mentors. UNICEF has trained 51 mentors specially on how to handle complaints by children with application of confidentiality, do not harm principium and the best interest of the child, especially on sensitive issues like SGBV, and incorporated a module on Positive Parenting into the curriculum of the Republican Institute for Inservice Teacher Training. In addition, UNICEF is supporting the Government and selected ministries and agencies in creation of enabling environment for children to report on cases of VAC/SGBV with no age limitations.
3. Providing psycho-social support to children facing mental health challenges.

These models generated evidence on the importance of establishing an effective and comprehensive school support mechanism and referral pathways which will embed the good practices of above models and allow for every student regardless of his/her needs receive adequate support in school settings and outside. At this stage, these need to be consolidated in a solid and sustainable mechanism for providing support to children in need.

Therefore, UNICEF is seeking a national consultant to further support the MoES in a) finalization, approval and dissemination of the National Concept on Inclusive Education and b) development and implementation of school support mechanism based on the evidence generated through UNICEF, Tajikistan’s various initiatives on addressing children’s needs.

How can you make a difference?

Despite universal access to primary and secondary education, the NSED until 2030 accepts that there are children in Tajikistan which might not have access to quality education due to various marginalization. Therefore, NSED until 2030 prioritizes creating “adequate conditions” to enable all children to receive equal access to education opportunities. The purpose of this assignment is to support the MoES in operationalization of the NSED until 2030 in relation to a) defining the vision of the country towards a more inclusive education system through finalization and approval of the National Concept on Inclusive Education and b) developing and implementing practical mechanism at school level in line with inclusive education principles.

Duration: 61 working days

Location: Dushanbe, Tajikistan with multiple travels to target districts. The consultant might have in-country travels (maximum of 30 days) to provide capacity building to relevant staff.

Period: 1 August, 2022– 28 May, 2023

On-site: 30 days

Off-site: 31 Days

Reporting to: Education Officer

Supervisor: Chief Education

The objectives of this assignment include the following:

• Provide technical support to the inter-sectoral working group under the Ministry of Education and Science in finalization and approval of the National Concept of Inclusive Education through consultative meetings, incorporation of received feedback and responding to comments and questions from key stakeholders.
• To provide assistance to the international consultant on development of School Support Mechanism through liaison and follow up with assigned task force, organization of meetings and events, translation of key documents and provision of technical support.

The assignment assumes that the consultant will actively engage the MoES and other relevant agencies/task forces in the process of co-review of the existing drafts and documents, and co-development of the final Concept, as well as of School Support Mechanism, tools and capacity building materials for training of education stakeholders in identifying and providing support to children in need of assistance. It is expected that the co-development process will include a process of training, testing, finalization, adoption and concrete recommendations for implementation. The assignment is expected to build on best practices/models of UNICEF country and regional office.

The key tasks of this assignment will include:

• Review the draft of the National Concept on Inclusive Education and 5 year Action Plan and develop a clear plan for finalization of the documents
• Organize and facilitate Working Group Meetings, consultation discussions with CSOs and other key stakeholders
• Facilitate the presentation of the final Concept to Local Education Group and incorporate received feedback
• Support the MoES in submission of the Concept to other government agencies and incorporating feedback, responding to questions received.

Liaise with the MoES, affiliated agencies and other relevant government agencies to support the international consultant in the following tasks:

• Review the existing mechanisms for identification of need, identification of incidents off VAC and provision of support for children who are in need of assistance that are being implemented by government entities (with specific focus on education system and/or schools) and the ones modeled with UNICEF support.
• In close coordination with the MoES and Academy of Education, design a school support mechanism (including mechanism for identification and reporting of VAC in schools) and referral pathway.
• Review and revise current normative framework to enable practical implementation of the designed school support mechanism and referral pathways.
• Revise existing and/or design new tools for identification of children in need of assistance (including identification and reporting on VAC), provision of support/services to them within schools and referral pathways beyond school in line with proposed school support mechanism approach.
• Design/develop indicators and tools to monitor implementation of the mechanism.
• Design training materials for key education, social service, law enforcement and other relevant community stakeholders to be embedded within current training courses for school administration and other key stakeholders for establishing and maintaining the school support mechanism
• Develop materials for UNICEF and partners to conduct advocacy events (workshops/round tables) to introduce the new mechanism and tools to a wide range of stakeholders. Participate in those events as needed.

KEY DELIVERABLES/TIMEFRAME/PAYMENT SCHEDULE:

#

Deliverable

Number of days

Timeline

Payment schedule

1.

1. Desktop Analysis and Reports

1.1. Approved inception report (shall include review of UNICEF piloted initiatives and proposed methodology) (together with international consultant)

1.2. Detailed report on review of existing mechanisms/services (normative framework, tools, approaches to identifying and supporting children in need of assistance (shall include detailed workplan) (together with international consultant)

18

August – September 2022

40%

2.

2. School support mechanism and referral pathway beyond school

2.1. Initial draft of a school support mechanism and referral pathway beyond school (a policy document and tools) (includes a process of capacity-building and co-development with assigned task force) (together with international consultant)

2.2. At least 2 consultation meetings with wider range of stakeholders (together with international consultant)

20

October – November 2022

3. Training material for introducing developed School support mechanism and pathway

3.1. Approved by UNICEF and MoES table of content of the training materials for the school administration course (together with international consultant)

3.2. Methodology and tools for testing of the mechanism/tools in targeted schools (no less than 5 schools) (together with international consultant)

3.3. Revised format of Individual Education Plan for individualized support to a child in need of assistance (together with international consultant)

26

December 2022 – January 2023

40%

4. Final set of documents (at policy and practice level)

4.1. Final set of documents (at policy and practice level) on School Support Mechanism (ToRs, a set of tools for identifying children in need of assistance and providing support) (together with international consultant)

4.2. At least 2 advocacy events on presentation of the final Mechanism and Tools (together with international consultant)

23

February – March 2023

5. Institutionalization of the final set

5.1. Approved by UNICEF, MoES and GoT materials for the training for the school administration course and other relevant stakeholders (might be blended) and master trainer trained (at least 20), including on reporting with monitoring and evaluation and data collection/generation and processing mechanism (together with international consultant)

5.2. Final report with recommendations on scaling up the school support mechanism and referral pathway (together with international consultant)

20

April – May 2023

20%

Total

107

100%

Due to COIVD19, the work and deliverables are subject to change. Consultancy need to be flexible to adjust to any unforeseen adjustments that might occur during the implementation.

Upon completion of the deliverables, the following documents shall be developed and submitted to the UNICEF Learning Section in soft copy:

• Detailed workplan
• Workshop agendas and materials
• Frameworks (described in the tasks and deliverables section)
• Tools and detailed description of proposed approaches
• Periodic reports on implementation of deliverables

Performance indicators for the evaluation of results

The evaluation of the results will be based on:

1. Technical and professional competence (quality of the products delivered to UNICEF);
2. Scope of work (e.g. No. of meetings with the stakeholders);
3. Quality of work (quality of methodology, draft, and final report);
4. Quantity of work (completing the tasks indicated in the table above within the set timeframe)

In addition, such indicators as work relations, responsibility, drive for results, and communication will be taken into account during the evaluation of the Consultant’s work.

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

Education: Advanced university degree in the field of education, with focus on policy, inclusive education, special education, social policy, social sciences, teaching and curriculum design, assessment.

Work Experience: At least 8 years of work experience in a relevant field, with focus on above mentioned areas and education policy development, inclusive education and special education services.

Technical Knowledge: Strong knowledge of inclusive education policies and practices, inclusive school structures and services, psychological and social services for children. Expertise in development of policy documents, training materials and conducting training/workshops is required. VAC reporting and referral experience is an asses.

Competencies: Strong coordination skills, analytical and conceptual thinking. Ability to work with large teams and guide policy discussions. Excellent writing, communication, and presentation skills with stakeholders. Ability to work under pressure and commitment to work to tight timeframe

Language: Fluency in Russian and Tajik, knowledge of English is an asset

Qualified candidates are requested to submit:

1. Cover letter/application/CV.
2. A technical proposal with proposed approach to managing the consultancy deliverables, showing understanding of tasks.
3. Financial quote for the consultancy in TJS per deliverable, stating also the timeframe for completion of deliverable and/or daily rate in TJS.
4. Examples of previous, relevant work related to the deliverables.
5. Applications without a financial quote will not be considered.

Queries can be sent to dushanbe@unicef.org with the subject line “N****ational consultancy to support the Ministry of Education and Science and relevant in designing school support mechanism”. Applications must be submitted electronically in our system by 29th July 2022.

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.

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