National Consultant for Developing the Teacher Capacity Building Programme on 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.

Significant progress has been made in the implementation of inclusive education (IE) in Serbia since the introduction of legal reforms in 2009. However, 12 years after, many children with disabilities, Roma children and those from poor households and living in rural areas are still less likely to benefit from inclusion in mainstream education. The National Report on Inclusive Education in Serbia (Ministry of Education with the support of UNICEF, 2020) has taken stock of progress achieved, as well as challenges in making the national education system fully inclusive. One of the key challenges identified is the need to further enhance education quality, enabling learning environment and support to children from vulnerable groups by investing in teacher education for inclusive education.

Teachers still lack continuous and systematic support to develop capacities for inclusive pedagogy, and looking ahead, this poses a significant challenge in further development and implementation of IE at the national level. The purpose of this assignment is to contribute to UNICEF’s efforts to continue increasing the capacities of education professionals from both primary and secondary schools (teachers, expert advisers, pedagogical assistants, special pedagogues) on aspects of individualization, diversification of learning and classroom management, to include children from vulnerable groups and provide them with quality learning opportunities and by that ensuring that all children can enjoy their right to quality education. Starting from the existing modules on inclusive education and based on the identified gaps and teachers’ needs, this assignment will provide a new capacity building programme which will include training, mentoring, community of practice, updated to the latest international standards and knowledge and methodology.

Work Assignment Overview:

Under the strategic guidance of the UNICEF Education Specialist and general supervision of the UNICEF Inclusive Education Officer, the consultant will develop a capacity building program for education professionals on inclusive education and inclusive pedagogy, based on the modules developed by the Regional UNICEF Office and adapted to the national context, comprising aspects such as: individualization, diversification of learning and classroom management, and will develop and deliver the training of trainers (ToT).The consultant will work in close cooperation with the international consultant engaged by UNICEF for the development of an in-service capacity building program for education professionals.

Duration of the assignment: November 2021 – May 2023 (part-time, up to 58 workdays)

Detailed task description:

Task 1: Work with the international consultant to develop a capacity building programme for teachers (hybrid teacher training, mentoring/supervision, communities of practice):

• Work with the international consultant to adapt the capacity building programme (trainings) and scenarios for the purpose of online self-paced learning, mentoring and communities of practice, based on existing national modules;
• Prepare teacher training materials, scenarios, training presentation, relevant handout reference materials (printed or digital), pre-tests and post-tests to evaluate knowledge of participants, manuals, etc.;
• Organize consultation with the main partners and teachers, UNICEF, and trainers of the training Teachers as Agents of Quality Education for all Children;
• Develop a draft of the training delivery strategy (ToT training, training implementation that will include online self-paced, hands-on learning through coaching and mentoring);
• Pilot the capacity building programme with a selected group of teachers;
• Prepare final training curriculum, scenario and materials;
• Develop the mentoring concept.

Task 2: Deliver two-day training of trainers (together with the international consultant):

• Prepare and implement two-day training of trainers, for up to 30 participants per training (up to 2 trainings each for up to 30 trainers);
• Conduct pre- and post-tests to evaluate the knowledge of the participants;
• Develop training reports.

Task 3: Provide supervisory support to trainers in cooperation with the international consultant:

• Conduct 4 online supervisory sessions with trainers (120 minutes per session);
• Prepare recommendations for trainers, according to their needs detected through supervisory sessions.

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

• Advanced university degree in Education, Psychology, Pedagogy or other fields of Social Studied and Humanities
• Expertise in inclusive education
• Demonstrated experience in developing and delivering teacher trainings
• Excellent knowledge of Serbian education system and education reform processes, especially related to inclusive education
• Excellent knowledge of child rights
• Experience in writing and reporting
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills
• Excellent knowledge of Serbian and English
• 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. Daily rate (all costs included, e.g. usage of mobile phone),
2. Daily travel allowance for an overnight stay in Serbia (including accommodation),
3. Transportation costs per km (for travel within Serbia).

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.