Senior Education Adviser on Partnership Governance Contractor, Beirut, Lebanon, 5 months

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.

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For every child, Education

How can you make a difference?

The hiring of a contractor is to contribute to the implementation of the Transition and Resilience Education Fund (TREF), with a particular focus on the coordination of the Implementation Support Team to collaborate with the TREF Third-Party to prioritize the urgent tasks including post- and pre-payment verifications and capacity building to MEHE on school financing, and provide technical inputs to develop the Second Window of TREF covering governance, procedures, support structures, and assurance mechanisms. The contractor will be supervised by the Chief of Education.

Background:

According to the World bank, the economic and financial crisis in Lebanon is among the worst the world has seen. The forthcoming parliamentary elections on 15 May 2022 is highly anticipated in light of the systemic failures in governance. Moreover, the economic impact from Ukrainian conflict is exacerbating Lebanon’s situation, particularly its imports of oil, and wheat which is reliant on Russia and Ukraine. “The share of the Lebanese population under the national poverty line is estimated to have risen by 9.1 percentage points by the end of 2021…The real GDP is estimated to have declined by 10.5% in 2021, on the back of a 21.4% contraction in 2020 as policymakers have still not agreed on a plan to address the collapse of the country’s development model” (World Bank, 2022).

Monetary and financial turmoil continue to drive crisis conditions, under a multiple exchange rate systems. The sharp deterioration in the Lebanese lira continues to persist depreciating by 90 percent against the US$. This has resulted in the sharp decline of household purchasing power and increasing poverty rates across population groups. The 2021 Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees (VASyR) found that 90 per cent of the Syrian households are living in extreme poverty. In addition, around 36 per cent of Lebanese households are estimated to have fallen below the extreme poverty line in 2021.

In addition, the economic crisis contributed to a gradual breakdown of public services such as health care, water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH), and education, further worsened by the fuel crisis, which began during the summer of 2021, and has largely impacted the country’s electricity supply since, with critical consequences for the health, water, transport, and telecommunication sectors. While the fuel crisis eased toward the end of 2021, this situation has stretched public finances and service delivery and exacerbated existing vulnerabilities, which will likely become protracted as households struggle to satisfy basic needs as subsidies of staple foods, commodities, and medical items are progressively removed.

Over 1.2 million school-aged children (enrolled in public, private, semi-private, and UNRWA schools) were affected by COVID-19 related school closures mandated by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) and the Ministry of Public Health for the 2020/21 school year. An additional 50,000 children attending non-formal education suffered disruptions. The 2021 Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon found that only 11% of Syrian children aged 3 to 5 years and 53% of Syrian children aged 6 to 14 years were attending school. In the case primary education, this represents a drop of 14% compared to the previous year. The most common reason reported for not attending school is cost and it is notable that as age increases the rate in the frequency of children mission school for work also increases.

The Beirut explosion of August 2020 had an impact on the infrastructure of schools and learning centers. Results of the rapid needs assessment conducted with the technical support of UNICEF and released by the MEHE indicate that 94 public, 132 private and 22 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) schools sustained minor to significant damage, affecting more than 100,000 children, of which around 40,000 children are in public schools.

The impact of the pandemic and economic crisis in Lebanon are likely to have long-lasting impacts on household coping mechanisms, that in turn have an impact on the family support provided to children. A survey released in 2021 by UNICEF, entitled “Lebanon: Children’s future on the line” indicates a worsening of the situation. Nine per cent of families residing in Lebanon sent their children to work, 15% stopped their children’s education and 60% had to buy food on credit or borrow money. The situation is worse for Syrian households as 22% sent their child to work, 35% stopped their education and 100% had to buy food on credit or borrow money. Lebanon is grappling with economic and financial meltdown, COVID-19, the disastrous impact of the Beirut Port explosions and continued impact of the Syrian crisis. In addition, political deadlock fuels popular protests and hampers meaningful reform and recovery efforts. In this context, the situation of ordinary people in Lebanon is worsening day by day.

Children across Lebanon are the worst hit. With no end in sight to the devastating crisis, their health and safety are at risk and their very future is at stake. Across Lebanon’s population, every group is affected, Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians. The compounding crises affect just about every aspect of children’s lives, including education, nutrition and mental health. Eighty per cent of children in Lebanon are worse off than they were at the beginning of 2020, according to the Child-Focused Rapid Assessment (CFRA) conducted by UNICEF in April 2021.

Against this background, UNICEF is seeking to contract a Senior Education Adviser on Governance to accelerate the establishment of the Transition and Resilience Education Fund (TREF). The TREF aims to optimize the harmonization the Ministry of Education and Higher Education strategy and priorities for the sector and to align with the four Decision Papers (stipulating how Government decisions are made in practice). It is also envisioned to reinforce the education system capacities, to achieve greater results through a strengthened partnership between the Government and national and international stakeholders.

The TREF will address challenges in the sector such as governance, accountability, data, and reporting.

The TREF consists of three dimensions, 1) Funding and Disbursement Modality; 2) Partnership Governance; and 3) Education Service Delivery and Results.

The TREF is designed as a Fund to support MEHE’s 5-year Education Sector Plan 2021-2025 with features to address and overcome the main challenges and concerns of the previous RACE (Reaching all Children with Education) mechanism and performance. The RACE initiative ended in December 2021. In collaboration with a Third Party/Parties (for disbursement platform and programmatic due diligence), UNICEF will oversee the implementation of the Fund and engage in a joint management set-up with MEHE and the key Contributing Partners (CPs).

Some of the key features include, but not limited to:

1. Investing in building a unified management arrangement and integrating any external structure

2. Moving from a top-down unit-cost model to a holistic & fact-based bottom-up costing methodology

3. Transforming a nationality-based approach that distinguished between Lebanese and non-Lebanese children to a vulnerability-driven equity and inclusion policy for all children.

4. Moving from an input-driven system to a results-based management system.

5. Shifting from limited data quality and availability to a data-driven decision-making system.

6. Reducing the high number of transaction costs and risks by building a more efficient system with clear risk mitigation strategies.

7. Moving from an external plan to a unifying framework of an Education Sector Plan.

8. Adopting a whole-of-system approach instead of maintaining a divided education sector.

Specifically, this consultancy will support on the implementation of the Transition and Resilience Education Fund (TREF), with a particular focus on the coordination of the Implementation Support Team to collaborate with the TREF Third-Party to prioritize the urgent tasks including post- and pre-payment verifications and capacity building to MEHE on school financing, and provide technical inputs to develop the Second Window of TREF covering governance, procedures, support structures, and assurance mechanisms. The contractor will be supervised by the Chief of Education. The contractor will be supervised by the Chief of Education, and work in close collaboration with the Education Manager and the Education Specialist (System Strengthening).

Tasks/Milestone 1:

Develop a workplan with timelines in coordination with IST/MEHE and UNICEF.

Deliverables/Outputs 1:

Submit a workplan with timelines. Agreement and clearance needed by the Chief of Education.

Timeline 1:By the first week of consultancy.

Tasks/Milestone 2:

Support on meeting the TREF requirements and principles through liaising with MEHE based on their practices, tools, and procedures in central, regional and school levels. Facilitate discussions with TREF Third-Party as needed to support MEHE. Key Focus is Data Supply Chain and School-Level Financial Management

Deliverables/Outputs 2:

Provide weekly updates to the Chief on progress and challenges for timely actions via meetings or emails.

Submit 2 reports on milestones.

Timeline 2: By April 2023 (first report) and by end of June 2023 (second report as part of final report).

Tasks/Milestone 3:

Closely coordinate with TREF Implementation Support Team (IST) to ensure deliverables and TREF implementation including preparation of technical and high-level Strategic Management Board (SMB) meetings. Liaise with the MEHE and UNICEF as required. The consultant will lead on the required decision papers for SMBs.

Deliverables/Outputs 3:

Provide weekly updates to the Chief on progress and challenges for timely actions via meetings or emails.

Submit 2 reports on key deliverables by IST through the consultant’s coordination and facilitation.

Timeline 3: By April 2023 (first report) and by end of June 2023 (second report as part of final report).

Tasks/Milestone 4:

In collaboration with MEHE/IST and UNICEF, provide technical support on developing the second window of TREF, including governance, procedures, support structures, and assurance mechanisms aligned with the first window. The consultant will also provide inputs to the work on student transition from non-formal education/Multiple Flexible Pathways to formal education.

Deliverables/Outputs 4:

Provide weekly updates to the Chief on progress and challenges for timely actions via meetings or emails.

Submit 2 reports on milestones.

Timeline 4: By April 2023 (first report) and by end of June 2023 (second report as part of final report).

Tasks/Milestone 5:

Provide technical inputs to donor proposals related to TREF including new TREF donors. The consultant will also participate in TREF related donor meetings pitching TREF.

Deliverables/Outputs 5:

Provide technical inputs to forthcoming donor proposals (no less than 2) related to TREF as requested by the Chief.

The consultant will participate in TREF related donor meetings to support the Chief in pitching TREF including preparation (no less than 2 meetings).

Timeline 5: During the consultancy.

Travel International:

The consultant will be home-based but is expected to travel to Beirut during the consultancy.

Lumpsum of international 3 return tickets from home country to Lebanon, including 30 days in Beirut across the duration of contract.

Payment upon completion of all missions to Beirut.

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

An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: education, economics, psychology, sociology, or another relevant technical field.

- At least 10 years of experience in education strategies and policies in both development and humanitarian contexts.

- Proven experience in supporting education strategies with Governments, UN agencies, Education Stakeholders and Donors. Experience in setting up temporary financial platforms for Governments in transition is an advantage.

- Experience working in Lebanon and/or the region is a requirement.

- Relevant experience with UNICEF or a UN system agency is considered as an asset.

- Excellent knowledge and skills in education, including formal and non-formal education focusing on access, quality, and systems.

- Expertise in education systems and modalities for effective implementation in complex contexts and education programmes.

- English is a requirement with very good writing and presentation skills. Knowledge in Arabic and/or French is considered an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Candidates are requested to submit an all inclusive financial proposal indicating clearly the daily fees.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

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