Readvertisement-International Consultancy (Development of an inter-sectoral Early Childhood Development (ECD) Action Plan)

Consultant Teaching & Training Programme & Policy

Contract

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1. Background

Country Context

The Gambia is located on the West African coast and extends about 500 km inland, with a population density of 174 persons per square km, against a backdrop of a rapidly increasing population with over a third of the population below seventeen years of age. The Gambia is the smallest country in continental Africa, and is bordered on the North, South and East by the Republic of Senegal and on the West by the Atlantic Ocean.

At the household level, the Integrated Household Survey of The Gambia (IHS 2015/16) shows that poverty has remained flat in the last decade with the 3 per cent GDP growth barely keeping up with a population growth of 3.1 per cent. Poverty has also been a push factor that triggers young Gambians to leave the country by irregular means to Europe and other destinations.

The recently concluded MICS 2018 has shown that, while The Gambia has achieved a considerable progress in securing children’s rights and development in a number of areas, progress has been slow in other areas, and many children continue to be exposed to the risk of significant rights’ violations and an inability to thrive and achieve. Despite a strong commitment to improve development outcomes for children’s through enacting of comprehensive laws and policies, these have not adequately translated into desired results for children. Realization of children’s rights to basic services such as health, education, adequate food and protection from abuse are still challenging.

Another important national challenge is disparities among regions, sexes and ages, uneven performance of The Gambia in meeting children’s rights and key development targets as results remain starkly uneven by geographic area and in terms of particular groups of children. The children from poor families, children living in rural locations and informal urban settlements, children with disabilities were found to have considerable gaps in their access to services and achievement of outcomes in health, nutrition, education, WASH and social welfare.

Background to the Consultancy Assignment

The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE), in the 2016 – 2030 Education Policy, considers Early Childhood Development (ECD) as “the growth and development of children between the ages of three and six through an integrated approach”. This shows the approach of the education sector in ECD is beyond early learning or pre-primary education. The policy further stated that “The ECD learning standards will be reviewed, the school readiness strategy will be strengthened, preparatory classes for over aged children will be established and partnership in ECD services delivery will be strengthened.” Although the core mandate of MoBSE in delivering early learning is emphasized, collaboration and partnership with other to deliver a comprehensive ECD programme is catered for.

UNICEF’s partnership with and support to the MoBSE include developing an ECD Policy and strengthening of the ECD Multi-Sectoral Working Group (MSWG). The ECD Policy was developed under the leadership of the MoBSE with technical inputs from many stakeholders including government departments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and ECD private practitioners and service providers.

With the updated ECD policy in place there is need to develop an inter-sectoral action plan for the implementation of the policy. The action plan should identify all players and specify their specific responsibilities and contributions to the policy deliverables and results. The Action Plan will also map out linkages and areas of collaboration between action partners.

Purpose of the Consultancy Assignment

Considering that Early Childhood Development is a multi-sectoral interest, hence delivering services in solo will not produce maximum desired results, this consultancy assignment is therefore intended to produce an Action Plan that will build synergies, promote working and reporting together and delivering one results for all children. The Action Plan should keep a balance between recognition of the institutional mandate of all partners at the same respecting that a child or childhood is indivisible. The principle of a child or childhood is holistic should be observed and the results of the Action Plan should reflect that ideal.

The overall objective of the assignment:

1. To conduct an extensive review of best practices of integrated programme delivery approaches, recommend options for the implementation of the ECD Policy and programme and justifications for the options.

2. To develop an Action Plan framework in consultation with partners that should propose key results, broad/main activities, responsible partners and an indicative budget.

3. Prepare a narrative report of not more than 30 pages which will detail the work process, reasons for selecting key activities, institutional arrangements and guidance on how the action plan will be implemented, monitored and reviewed.

Methodology

The strength of any application will partly depend on the soundness of the methodology proposed. To this end, no methodology will be proposed. However, whatever methodology is proposed in any application must have wider stakeholder consultation as a key strategy.

2. Schedule of Tasks, Deliverables, Duty-Station & Timeline

The following are the key tasks, deliverables for the consultant. The applicant can propose the modification in his/her technical proposal to be in line with the methodology. However, the deliverables will remain unchanged. Bearing that process will have a timeline to obtain the feedback from stakeholders, the duration is within 2 months period whereas assignment engagement will remain 30 working days.

Task Deliverable Duty-Station Anticipated Timeline

& Number of days

1. Desk review, preparation submission and revision of inception report (Brief outline of the final report, subject to further development) Inception Report Home-based 5 days

2. Presentation of a brief version of the ECD Policy Brief ECD Policy Home based 4days

3. Field data collection including wider stakeholder consultations Report field data collection Home-based 10days

4. Preparation and submission of first draft report for comments with power point presentation (PPT) First draft report & PPT Home-based 5days

5. Submission of second draft report for further comments and validation Second draft report Home-based 3days

6. Finalization and submission of final report with final updated PPT Final Report Home-based 3days

Total number of working days for the Consultant (Days) 30

Duty station matters and official travels

• The Consultant will work from home, no office space will be provided.

• The Consultant will be contracted for 30 working days over a period of two months.

• The consultant will be responsible for his/her own internal travel arrangements or any other logistic requirements.

• UNICEF and key ECD stakeholders will be available for consultations, debriefing and validation of the preliminary findings.

3. Estimated duration of contract; Remuneration; Other Terms and Conditions

The consultant will be engaged under short-term individual contract on part-time basis, for an estimated period of 30 working days from September to November 2021. The Consultancy fees will be negotiated based on value for money and in line with UNICEF standards and terms of payment are stipulated below.

Payment Schedule Deliverable

1st payment: 30% Submission of inception report

2nd payment 30% Submission of First Draft Report

Power Point Presentation summarizing the draft report and preliminary findings

Final Payment: 40% Submission of final report accepted by UNICEF

Final Power Point Presentation

UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs is incomplete, does not meet the quality standards of both UNICEF and the Government of The Gambia, not delivered or has failed to meet deadlines.

UNICEF does not provide or arrange health insurance coverage for the consultant. The Consultant will make his own transport arrangements (including airfares, local transportation, etc.). Obtaining entry visa to The Gambia for the team members shall be the responsibility of the Consultant. UNICEF may support if necessary.

All travel costs including daily subsistence allowances of the team members or any such expenses are the responsibility of the Consultant. The Consultant will be responsible for arranging accommodation while in The Gambia, however, UNICEF shall extend administrative/logistical support to facilitate this.

4. Supervision and Reporting Arrangements

The contractor will be supervised and report to the UNICEF Education Specialist with briefing and de-briefing to the Programme Manager PIC and the UNICEF Deputy Representative about the progress of the consultancy. The consultant will work with UNICEF and relevant Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), participating UN agencies and Cooperating Partners, as well as other intervention stakeholders, including beneficiaries.

As part of quality assurance mechanism and ensure ownership, a reference group comprising of Government and UNICEF will be established to provide oversight to the study and provide comments to the deliverables.

5. Qualifications & Experience required

The Consultant must have the following qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Monitoring and Evaluation, Social Sciences, or related child rights/well-being graduate qualifications

• Demonstrated expertise and capability in conducting programme planning, development and implementation using approaches that are friendly to children

• Proven record of participation or conducting similar assignment in programme/projects relating to Early Childhood Development or in social sector

• Experience with UNICEF and other UN agencies will be an advantage

• Excellent communication and interview skills

• Excellent report writing and organization skills

• Proficiency in English Language

• Demonstrated ability to deliver quality results within strict deadlines, through a proven track record.

6. Intellectual property rights

UNICEF retain the right to patent and intellectual rights, as well as copyright and other similar intellectual property rights to the survey protocols and tools, discoveries, inventions, production or works arising from the consultancy. Neither the Consultant/consultancy firm nor its personnel shall communicate to any other person or entity any confidential information made known to it by UNICEF in the course of the performance of its obligations under the terms of this Agreement nor shall it use this information for private or company advantage. This provision shall survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement. The right to reproduce or use materials shall be transferred with a written approval of UNICEF based on the consideration of each separate case.

7. How to apply

UNICEF accepts applications from individual contractors. The Selection Committee will review applications and make a final decision of a successful application based on the quality of the Technical Proposal (70%), and the Financial Proposal (30%). An interview with potential candidates will be held as the final stage of the selection process.

All applications should contain the following documents:

I. Technical Project Proposal, which would include at least:

- Statement of how to address each the key issues/questions of the consultancy assignment;

- Conceptual framework of the methodologies to be used

- Consultant’s profile/portfolio

- Proposed timeframes (days/weeks)

- Names and contact details of reference persons.

- List of publications or analytical reports (if applicable)

- Any other additional information to support the application (optional).

II. Financial Proposal:

- Detailed budget breakdown (in US Dollars).

Please send your application through the online platform accessible through this link: http://jobs.unicef.org/

Deadline for applications: 5th September 2021

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.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

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.

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.

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Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: unicef.org