Senior Technical Consultant: Syria Youth Literacy Assessment & SDG4

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

**OVERVIEW** ------------ Parent Sector : Field Office Duty Station: Beirut Job Family: Education Type of contract : Non Staff Duration of contract : From 7 to 11 months Recruitment open to : External candidates Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 28-JAN-2021 (Deadline extended due to IT maintenance) UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism **OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST** ----------------------------------------- Within the framework of SDG4-Education 2030 Agenda and commitments at the national and regional level, Arab Member States have shared national monitoring and reporting on their progress made since the launch of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development in September 2015. The SDG4 national journey is a national initiative to capture good practices and innovations made and introduced since 2015 and at the same time to recommend way forward for the remaining 10-year period of the Agenda on the basis of progress made and emerging issues and challenges encountered. Building on the achievements and lessons learned during 2018-2019, UNESCO Beirut Office will consolidate its office-wide efforts with HQ and FOs in the region to strengthen the leadership role in support of Member States' continued progress towards the 2030 progress. For 2020-2021 will be a milestone after completing the first full five-year circle and be of significant point where the Member States and partners will take stock of progress made and accelerate efforts for the 10-year period. Thus, UNESCO Beirut will center on supporting this effort through continued capacity development and policy and technical dialogue. In this regard, the Fourth Meeting on Education 2030 (AR-MED IV) early 2021, whereby recommendations out of national reports and a regional synthesis report will be discussed, and agreements reached for accelerated efforts for the remainder of the period. To make this happen, Arab Regional Support Group will meet once before and will continue coordination efforts virtually. This will focus on the consolidation of country-based support based on the outcomes of national reports. As before, Beirut Office will support the Arab region's participation in the global coordination mechanism by ensuring technical support and joint participation in global meetings. Furthermore, The Arab region requires strengthening the national capacities to generate evidence-based data and information, to enable UNESCO to make informed decisions and programmatic choices, to inform and undertake advocacy at policy and technical levels, and public outreach. That calls for support Member States to mainstream/integrate the Agenda and strengthen capacities to monitor national commitments. In this regard, the UNESCO Beirut Office is implementing programmes such as Literacy, EMIS and Assessment to support the Member states in addressing education provision. In addition, globally governments are progressively reforming their education system towards adopting curricular that promotes 21st century competencies and skills. In response, in 2019, UNESCO delivered a Literacy Assessment for the Syrian Youth refugees in Lebanon. Following the successful delivery of this Assessment, the office is now planning to deliver the Youth Literacy Assessment in Syria in partnership with the Syrian Ministry of Education (MOE). OBJECTIVES ---------- **Objective 1: Conduct Youth Literacy & Life skills Assessment in Syria** **Objective 2: Assist in developing the Concept Note for strengthening SDG 4 ownership and accountability in the Arab States (including assistance toward ARMED IV, finalization and digitization of the SDG 4 Regional Synthesis report, and Regional SDG 4 benchmarking exercise)** Duties and requirements Under the overall authority of the Director, UNESCO Beirut Office and the direct supervision of Chief of Education Section/Senior Programme Specialist, as well as in close collaboration with ED programme staff, Senior Technical Specialist will provide high-level technical assistance by undertaking the following tasks: **Under Objective 1:** 1. 1. Provide technical support in the conceptualisation and implementation of the Literacy & Life Skills Assessment for the Syrian Youth in Syria; 2. Support the quality assurance of assessment for learning documentation in support of the Ministry of Education in Syria *Deliverables* Output 1: Inception Report by February 2021 Output 2: Brief progress report inclusive of evidence of work undertaken by March 2021 Output 3: Draft literacy assessment report and recommendations by May 2021 Output 4: Alternative Leaning Programme Concept Note based on the findings of the Literacy Assessment by June 2021 Output 5: Final report inclusive of literacy assessment report, recommendations, and the launch event by August 2021 Long Description ---------------- **Under Objective 2:** 1. 1. Review, provide comments, inputs and strengthen the regional synthesis report; 2. Provide technical assistance for digitizing the synthesis report; 3. Support UNESCO and partners to prepare for, and facilitate the AR-MED IV; 4. Provide support to regional benchmarking process for the Arab States; 5. Provide technical expertise on SDG4 capacity strengthening as requested by Chief of Education *Deliverables* Output 1: Synthesis report with track-changes and written text on SDG 4 additional information by February 2021; Output 2: Concept on digitizing the synthesis report by February 2021; Output 3: Support brief/snapshots of digitized synthesis report by March 2021; Output 4: Support brief on AR-MED IV agenda, proposal on session facilitation between February – March 2021; Output 5: Facilitation of AR-MED IV sessions by March 2021; Output 6: Technical documents on SDG 4 regional capacity building and benchmarking for Arab States entailing regional indicators, including sub-regional meetings on SDG 4 benchmarking and support to GCC cluster between February – September 2021; **COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)** ------------------------------------ Accountability (C) Communication (C) Innovation (C) Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement (C) Planning and organizing (C) Results focus (C) Teamwork (C) **-** ----- For detailed information, please consult the [UNESCO Competency Framework](https://en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/competency_framework_e.pdf). **REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS** --------------------------- - Advanced qualifications in education and related social sciences; - At least 10 years of professional experiences in education monitoring and evaluation, assessment and administration; - Proven knowledge on designing literacy assessments, preferably in the Arab region; - Proven knowledge and experiences on regional capacity building related to SDG 4 – Education 2030; - Proven knowledge on education challenges and issues as relevant to SDG4-Education, preferably in the Arab states; - Directly relevant professional experience in the Arab region; - Familiarity of work with UNESCO and UN agencies in the Arab region; - Excellent command of written and oral English language **SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS** ------------------------------------- Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the [UNESCO careers website.](https://careers.unesco.org/careersection/2/joblist.ftl) No modifications can be made to the application submitted. The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as a competency-based interview. UNESCO uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates. Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided. **Footer** ---------- UNESCO applies a zero tolerance policy against all forms of harassment. UNESCO is committed to achieve and sustain gender parity among its staff members in all categories and at all grades. Furthermore, UNESCO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities, as well as nationals from non-and under-represented Member States [(last update here)](https://en.unesco.org/careers/geographicaldistribution) are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the highest level of confidentiality. Worldwide mobility is required for staff members appointed to international posts. UNESCO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.