National Consultancy: School Clustering Policy Specialist, Karachi, Pakistan, 220 days (For Pakistani Nationals only)

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

This is a NO-3 contract. This kind of contract is known as National Professional Officers. It is normally only for nationals. It's a staff contract. More about NO-3 contracts.

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 safe home!

Pakistan was the sixth country in the world to sign and ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child, less than one year after it was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989. However, children and adolescents living in Pakistan still face acute challenges.

UNICEF supports the Government of Pakistan to accelerate progress for children, work to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and help children realize their rights under the Convention on the Rights of Children. This will be made through, among others things, strong partnerships with provincial authorities, teachers and health professionals, frontline workers and social mobilisers, communities and families, and of course the children and adolescents themselves.

In particular, UNICEF will work so that:

• Every child survives and thrives -- being in good health, immunized, protected from polio and accessing nutritious food.
• Every child learns.
• Every child is protected from violence and exploitation and registered at birth.
• Every child lives in a safe and clean environment, with access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.

To learn more about UNICEF’s work in Pakistan, please visit the country website www.unicef.org/pakistan and videos on YouTube and Vimeo

How can you make a difference?

The European Union’s Sindh Technical Assistance, Development through Enhanced Education Programme (STA-DEEP), managed by UNICEF, seeks to hire a School clustering policy specialist to support the decentralisation of School Clustering in Sindh Province. The specialist will support the School Education and Literacy Department (SE&LD) to implement and iteratively review the school clustering policy, prepare an orientation training manual for administration and management of Clustering (including modules and guidelines) for the provincial, district and taluka level education officers on the school clustering policy implementation.

UNICEF provides technical assistance to the School Education and Literacy Department (SE&LD) of Government of Sindh as part of the European Union (EU) Sector Budget support Development through the Enhanced Education programme (DEEP). The purpose of Sindh Technical Assistance for DEEP (STA-DEEP) is to provide technical assistance to SE&LD for education reforms prioritized in the Sindh Education Sector Plan & Roadmap (SESP&R) 2019-2023. There are three main components in STA-DEEP:

1: Component 1: Planning, Coordination, Monitoring and Review

2: Component 2: Strengthening Data Management & Usage

3: Component 3: School Clustering Policy Implementation

Under the school clustering component, STA-DEEP supports SE&LD in three main areas:

Firstly,

• Implementation and iterative review of the school clustering policy based on the analyzed GIS data, analyzed lessons learned and recommendations made by field staff (DOs and SOs) and SE&LD staff.
• Policy and planning recommendations for smooth functioning of school clusters.
• Preparation and facilitation of orientation training session on school clustering for education management and administration officials for Clustering phase 1 roll-out in 11 clusters.

Secondly, management and administration through the development of a financial management system and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with consistently applied accounting standards acceptable to the government systems, including budgetary allocation (through PC-1s) for school clusters, both in an acceptable manner to represent the practices, services and expenses associated with the STA-DEEP school clustering project in the province of Sindh in order to achieve efficient and effective decentralization.

Thirdly, STA-DEEP provides support for the implementation of the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) policy and will initiate phase 1 of implementation in 2021 in 12 clusters across Sindh province. STA-DEEP aims to provide support to the Sindh Teacher Education Development Authority (STEDA) and Provincial Institute of Teacher Education (PITE) to devise a detailed operational plan for phase 1 implementation of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) model and Monitoring and Evaluation framework to roll-out CPD effectively in Sindh province. STA-DEEP will support STEDA and PITE to develop an initial teacher needs assessment based on the National Professional Standards for Teachers in Pakistan (NPSTP) and link this to the career progression of teachers. Furthermore STA-DEEP will support STEDA and PITE to develop a robust monitoring and evaluation framework, including data collection templates and tools, analysis of data and preparing an evaluation report on the pilot school clustering implementation. In addition to that STA-DEEP will provide support in preparation of training manuals, modules, guidelines, criteria and plans for training key teacher CPD staff (master trainers from PITE and TTIs, field coaches, guide teachers and subject coordinators)

To make a difference, you will be accountable for the following tasks and deliverables:

Tasks:

• Review school clustering policy/model in preparation for phase 1 roll-out based on the following evidence:

• Analyse GIS data under process by SE&LD for clustering

• Analyse lessons learned, and recommendations made by all relevant SE&LD staff at provincial and decentralized levels

• Prepare and recommend models based on alternative scenarios (for example, rural/urban divide, multigrade schools, etc.)

• Provide policy and planning recommendations for smooth functioning of school clusters including: - Staff recruitment procedures for effective CPD policy implementation (e.g. Additional, upgraded posts for staff, transfer postings for cluster head teachers, guide teachers, subject coordinators, etc.)

- Develop and submit an orientation package including manual, training module and toolkit for district and taluka level officials; seek and incorporate feedback from relevant SE&LD officials on a timely basis; Supervise translation of the training package.

- Conduct orientation training for district education officials in twelve clusters across six districts.

- Support district education officials in twelve clusters through coaching and on-the-job training for four months to provide:

• On-the-job training and coaching of the decentralised systems;

• Trouble-shooting and implementing solutions;

• Feedback on systems and processes for lessons learned report;

• Recommendations for improvements of the decentralised system for further roll-out across districts.

• Identify the needs for capacity building of respective departments of SE&LD to support effective decentralisation of school clustering and provide ‘on-the-job’ capacity development needs of officials through-out the term of the consultancy

• Update the training manual, module, all materials, handouts and toolkit based on feedback from SE&LD;

• Produce an evaluation report at the end of the orientation and coaching including best practices, lessons learned, recommendations for revisions to the school clustering policy, updates to manual, module and toolkit.

Deliverables:

• Analysis report on review of school clustering policy/model including recommendations for models relating alternative scenarios in preparation for phase 1 roll-out

This report will be further updated by the consultant at the end of phase 1 roll-out:

• Presentation/s for SE&LD

• Monthly update reports on the consultative process, learning and plans to move forward (including minutes of meeting with SE&LD officials)

• Report on guidelines (including recommendations, SoPs and functions, etc.) to improve management and administration of decentralized school clustering

• Presentation/s for SE&LD

• Monthly update reports on the consultative process, learning and plans to move forward (including minutes of meeting with SE&LD officials)

• SE&LD-approved orientation package (English and Sindhi) for the training of relevant SE&LD officials on ‘School Clustering Administration and Management’ (including all training materials, handouts, tools, presentations, etc.)

• Presentation/s for SE&LD

• Monthly update reports on the consultative process, learning and plans to move forward (including minutes of meeting with SE&LD officials)

• Orientation training conducted in 12 clusters

• Customized coaching plan for each district (including on-the-job training plans, materials, tools, reports, etc.) feedback report on systems and lessons learned • Comprehensive report, including recommendations for improvements of the decentralised clustering system in the selected districts, and broadening the roll-out.

• Presentation/s for SE&LD

• Monthly reports on the consultative process, learning and plans to move forward (including minutes of meeting with SE&LD officials)

• Needs-assessment report • Presentation/s for SE&LD

• Updated training manual, module/s and a comprehensive toolkit

• Evaluation report including recommendations for revisions to the school clustering policy • Presentation/s for SE&LD

• Monthly reports on the consultative process, learning and plans to move forward (including minutes of meeting with SE&LD officials)

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Education or other relevant Social Sciences *A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.
• Minimum six (6) years of relevant working experience in the fields of public School Clustering Management and Administration in Pakistan, planning and management of education systems in Pakistan.
• Extensive knowledge and experience in the public education sector in Pakistan (issues, management, structures and processes) regarding fiscal flows, budgets, disbursement authorities, processes for creation and/or upgrading posts, transfers and posting, etc.
• Proven experience in extensive consultations, on-job coaching and capacity development of education officials at all levels.
• Demonstrated experience in developing training /orientation packages for education management and administration; knowledge and expertise in ‘School Clustering’ administration training skills
• Experience in documentation/report writing, training manual preparation with a focus on structure, purpose and audience
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience for providing strong consideration for gender parity and equity related to all elements of the ToRs.
• Ability to undertake regular field missions, especially in diverse and challenging contexts.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
• Willingness to accept the assignment at short notice.
• Proven experience for effectively and efficiently working with public officials at all levels.
• Professional-level fluency in English and Urdu; working knowledge of Sindhi language will be considered an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

• UNICEF’s core values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and core competencies in: Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness; Works Collaboratively with others; Builds and Maintains Partnerships; Innovates and Embraces Change; Thinks and Acts Strategically; Drives to achieve impactful results and Manages ambiguity and complexity. View our competency framework at: 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 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.

NOTE:

• Estimated Duration: 220 days, estimate starting date: 1st June 2021
• The consultant will be based in Karachi
• The level of consultancy is equivalent to NOC.
• Applicants are requested to submit a financial quotation indicating monthly fee as part of the application against each deliverable.
• HEC Attested and verified degrees are a pre-requisite for employment at UNICEF. Candidates will be required to present attested and verified degrees.
• At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.

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.