Re-advertisement: Individual International Consultancy Development of an ICT in Education Strategy, Lao PDR

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ToR ICT in Education Strategy Consultancy_TMS.pdf

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UNICEF in Vientiane, Lao PDR is looking for an Individual International Consultancy: Development of an ICT in Education Strategy for Lao PDR. The duration of this assignment is 65 working days, from February to June 2023., starting from February to June 2023 and the consultant will be based in ICT Center Ministry of Education, Lao PDR. The consultant may be required to join meetings with key Ministries including the Ministry of Education and Sports, UNICEF and with development partners. Some remote working during the consultancy period may possible based on discussion with UNICEF.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

The consultant is expected to provide the following services as part of their work assignment:

Stage 1: Kick-off meeting and inception report

• The consultant will hold a kick-off meeting with MoES and UNICEF to align expectations and discuss the overall approach. The consultant can then use the discussion from the kick-off meeting to inform the inception report.
• To further inform the inception report, they should review the National Digital Economy Masterplan, the 2016 ICT in Education Strategy (draft) and other relevant legislative and policy documents.
• The inception report should describe the consultant’s overall approach to the development of an ICT in Education strategy in Laos. The report will describe the methodology for each task, the data that will be used, a list of suggested stakeholders to be consulted and documents to be reviewed, and a detailed work plan guided by a clearly defined timeline.
• The report should be no more than 10 pages, excluding any annexes. The report will be shared with and reviewed by the MoES supervisory committee and UNICEF.

Stage 2: Situational analysis on ICT in Education in Laos

• The consultant will interview and collect data from stakeholders in the MoES, Ministry of Technology and Communications, development partners and other relevant organizations to understand the current state of ICT in Education in Laos. They should also take stock of the UNDP Digital Maturity Assessment, a UNICEF-supported ICT Infrastructure and HR Assessment of the education sector and other relevant reports / research to inform the situation analysis and ensure this analysis is not duplicative of existing efforts.
• The consultant will additionally conduct interviews with teachers, parents / caregivers and students.
• A situation analysis report summarizing key findings across existing ICT in Education initiatives (platforms, resources, policies) and highlighting opportunities, challenges and recommendations should be prepared and presented to UNICEF and the MoES supervisory committee. The report should be no more than 20 pages, excluding annexes.

Stage 3: Organize workshop

• The consultant will work closely with MoES and UNICEF to organize a workshop with the MoES supervisory committee and other key actors at the national and sub-national levels (e.g., teacher training institutes, Ministry of Technology and Communications, private sector representatives). The workshop will serve as a forum to gather inputs on various sections of the ICT in Education strategy (e.g., vision, priority areas).
• Prior to the workshop, the consultant should prepare a set of slides covering the workshop agenda and a high-level outline for the ICT in Education strategy. These slides will guide the workshop discussion and should be shared with and reviewed by UNICEF. Incorporating interactive elements (e.g. discussion prompts, polls, or real time surveys) in the slides is strongly recommended.

Stage 4: Prepare first draft of the strategy

• Using inputs from the situational analysis and workshop, the consultant will prepare a revised version of the 2016 ICT in Education Strategy. The revised draft may include the following components: vision, skills and competencies, ICT infrastructure, learning resources, teachers, EMIS and data, community engagement and partnerships, costs and financing and an implementation plan.
• The strategy should be presented to the MoES supervisory committee and UNICEF. The feedback collected during this presentation should be incorporated into the penultimate version of the strategy.

Stage 5: Prepare final version of the strategy

• A further round of review should be conducted for the penultimate draft which may include both central and sub-national level involvement
• Additional feedback should be used to produce the final ICT in Education strategy for MoES official endorsement

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

Qualifications or Specialized Knowledge/Experience Required:

Qualifications and Experience

• Advanced university degree in education, public policy or other ICT in Education related areas
• At least 10 years of professional experience working with government institutions in Laos or the East Asia region in advisory, policy or research type roles. In particular, experience with the development of ICT strategies and / or education sector plans is preferred
• Experience with data collection and analysis (such as conducting key informant interviews), workshop facilitation and stakeholder consultation

Knowledge and Skills

• Demonstrated knowledge of ICT in Education, digital literacy, digital learning platforms, etc.
• Excellent management and interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate effectively and diplomatically with government officials
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced and multicultural environment

Languages

• Spoken, written, and reading fluency in English. Lao language skills would be an asset.

  Submission of applications:

Interested candidates are kindly requested to apply and upload the following documents to: http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/

• Letter of Interest (cover letter)
• CV or Resume
• Performance evaluation reports or references of similar consultancy assignments (if available)
• Financial proposal: All-inclusive lump-sum cost including breakdown by consultancy fee, international travel costs (if travelling to Lao PDR) and medical insurance covering medical evacuation for the whole duration of the assignment. Proposal should not include any in-country travel which will be paid by UNICEF in line UNICEF guidelines and calculated based on the UN rate at the time of travel.

The deadline for applications is 12 February 2023

Assessment Criteria:

As part of the evaluation and selection, a Cumulative Analysis Method (weight combined score method) shall be used for this recruitment. This involves a technical evaluation and an assessment of the financial proposal:

a) Technical evaluation of the candidates’ qualifications, experience and expertise (max. 100 points) weight 70%:

Qualifications (20 points)

• Advanced university degree in education, public policy or other ICT in Education related areas (20 points)

Experience and expertise (80 points)

• At least 10 years of professional work experience with government institutions in Laos or the East Asia region in advisory, policy or research type roles. In particular,

experience with the development of ICT strategies and/or education sector plans is preferred. (30 points)

• Experience with data collection and analysis (such as conducting key informant interviews), workshop facilitation and stakeholder consultation (20 points)
• Previous working experience in ASEAN countries is desirable. Experience on ICT in education projects in Lao PDR is a clear advantage (20 points).
• Excellent inter-personal and communication skills in English language (10 points).

b) Financial Proposal (max. 100 points) weight 30%

The maximum number of points shall be allotted to the lowest Financial Proposal that is opened /evaluated and compared among those technical qualified candidates who have attained a minimum 60 points score in the technical evaluation. Other Financial Proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price. The Contract shall be awarded to candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores, subject to the satisfactory result of the verification interview.

For the technical assessment, candidates will have to be awarded at least 60 points out 100 to be considered for the assignment.

The Contract shall be awarded to candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores, subject to the satisfactory result of the verification interview.

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.

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 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.