Burmese-speaking Consultant – Literacy for Livelihood Skills Development
JOB DETAIL
OVERVIEW
Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED)
Duty Station: Dhaka
Classification of duty station: [[filter12]]
Standard Duration of Assignement : [[filter13]]
Job Family: Education
Type of contract : Non Staff
Duration of contract : From 1 to 6 months
Recruitment open to : External candidates
Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 20/08/2023
UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism
OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST
1. Background
Adult learning and education have become even more tangible in a humanitarian context where education and skills development can provide a protective role and hope for the future. One of the most reported needs through discussions and consultations with Rohingya refugees is access to education and self-reliance activities. Sector-specific assessments produced by the Inter-Sector Coordination Group (ISCG) show that the number of livelihood and learning activities remains limited despite a strong desire for Rohingya refugees to resume education. Many adults, youth and adolescents in the camps lack basic literacy and numeracy skills due to the absence of formal education and lack of a mechanism to recognise and certify skills acquired by refugees, a significant impediment to livelihood training activities.
Almost three-quarters of the refugee population reported never having had access to formalised education institutions as they are reported either to have only received informal education or have no education at all. Of those who received education in Myanmar prior to displacement, only 4% were enrolled in secondary education and just 1% in tertiary education. Predictably Rohingya women are even less likely to have received formal education gained in Myanmar. Pursuant to UNHCR registration figures as of February 2023, the group of refugees aged 18-59 represents 44% (425,917 refugees) of the overall refugee population in 33 camps in Cox’s Bazar, as well as on Bhasan Char. Among this age group, the majority (65%) have only pre-primary education (up to grade 4), 22% have no education at all, 3.25% have primary and 8.57% have secondary education.
Literacy is a key component of adult learning and education, which allows a person to engage in lifelong learning and participate fully in the community, workplace and broader society. Literacy includes the ability to read and write, identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, and compute, using printed and written materials, as well as the ability to solve problems.
The National Skills Development Framework for Rohingya Refugees and Host Communities opened space for building the capacity of refugees by developing skills which are portable, commensurate with livelihood opportunities in Rakhine State and in support of their voluntary return and sustainable reintegration in Myanmar. Volunteering services allow refugees to utilise skills gained within the camps by engaging with implementing partners’ activities or through the relevant sectors such as the education sector and livelihoods and skills development sector within the camps. To enable refugees’ better access to vocational skills training and utilisation of skills, (to those individuals who have no, or limited literacy and numeracy skills), UNHCR approached UNESCO for support in developing and implementing accelerated adult literacy learning programmes equivalent to the Myanmar Curriculum for the age group of 18-24 years which are linked to specific vocations in which refugees will be trained.
Goals of the assignment
2. Purposes of the assignment
Under the overall authority and direction of the Officer-in-Charge and Education Programme Specialist, and the leadership and guidance of the lead international consultant at the UNESCO Dhaka Office, the Burmese-speaking consultant will contribute to:
- the development of contextualised accelerated literacy materials for the integrated Adult Literacy Programme (ALP)to equip refugees to participate in livelihood skills training.
- the preparation of teachers’ guidebooks for conducting literacy classes and facilitating Training of Master Trainers.
- the preparation of tools and guidelines for the placement test, the piloting of literacy materials, and learning assessment, and co-facilitating the placement test, baseline and endline assessment.
Tasks
3. Tasks
The Burmese-speaking consultant will carry out the following tasks on a remote work basis with three missions to Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh:
3.i Translate approximately 65 pages and provide input for contextualising accelerated adult literacy learning programme and materials. The literacy learning materials will cover basic literacy, functional literacy for English, Burmese and Math with an introduction to vocational and livelihood skills and the integration of soft and life skills. The contact hours for the course are 360 hours (Basic literacy 200 hours and functional literacy 160 hours).
3.ii Translate approximately 15 pages and provide input to prepare the training module for Master Trainers and Teachers/Trainers. Multilingual andragogy/pedagogy will be included in response to the multilingual environment in the Rohingya Refugee camps.
3.iii Co-facilitate the training of 15 Master Trainers for five days particularly for Burmese language issues.
3.iv Co-facilitate the piloting of learning materials in Rohingya Refugee Camps to check their appropriateness with the targeted population (18 – 24 years old) particularly for Burmese language issues.
3.v Co-facilitate the workshop for sharing the final draft of materials with multi-sector stakeholders in Cox’s Bazar for further improvement and finalization particularly for Burmese languages issues.
3.vi Cross-check the consistency and alignment of illustration and context with the content of the print-ready literacy learning materials particularly for Burmese language part.
3.vii Draft tools and guidelines for placement tests with appropriate incorporation of Burmese language part.
3.viii Keep a record of the placement tests for entry at an appropriate level with Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) particularly for Burmese language part.
3.ix Draft tools and guidelines for a literacy learning assessment system including facilitating the baseline and end-line assessment particularly for Burmese language part.
3.x Support the lead international consultant in conducting a case study on the effectiveness of the course by co-drafting data collection tools and facilitating data collection, analysis and report writing.
3.xi Undertake three missions to Cox’s Bazar during the assignment with a total budget of US$ 6,000 – 7,000.
Deliverables and Timelines
4. Deliverables and Timelines
The consultant will submit the following deliverables by the set deadlines:
4.1 Translated existing literacy learning materials and input for adult literacy learning programme including curriculum and teaching and learning materials (Ref: task 3.i., by 25 September 2023)
4.2 Draft training module (Ref: task 3.ii., by 25 September 2023)
4.3 Draft brief report with key findings on the training of the Master Trainers (Ref: 3.iii, by 25 September2023)
4.4 Draft brief report with key findings on piloting literacy materials (Ref: 3. iv., by 25 September 2023)
4.5 Draft brief report with key findings of the workshop for sharing and validation of literacy materials (Ref: 3. v., by 25 September 2023)
4.6 Draft print-ready version of literacy materials (Ref. 3.vi., by 25 November 2023)
4.7 Draft tools and guidelines for the placement test (Ref. 3.vii. by 25 November 2023)
4.8 Draft Brief report with key findings on the placement test and placement test record (Ref. 3. viii., by 25 November 2023)
4.9 Draft tools and guidelines for a literacy learning assessment system (Ref. 3.ix., by 25 December 2023)
4.10 Draft project-end case study report (Ref. 3.x., by 25 December 2023)
COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)
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REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Minimum eight years of work experience in education and literacy
- Excellent knowledge of English and Burmese
- Advanced degree in education, literacy or a related field
- Excellent subject matter knowledge in adult literacy
- Excellent research and analytical skills
- Ability to design engaging, interactive and learner-centred instructional materials
- Firm commitments to gender equality and inclusion, ensuring that learning materials suit learners of varying abilities and backgrounds
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience in working with Rohingya refugees
- A PhD degree in education or literacy
- Good knowledge of the Rohingya dialect
APPLICATION PROCESS
In place of the Employment History Form, please upload the following documents as a single PDF document:
- A technical proposal consisting of the methodology and implementation approaches of the assignment and a detailed workplan.
- A financial proposal indicating the amount in USD to be charged for the assignment following the template below:
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Number of person-days Daily rate for the consultancy (US$) Total amount (US$) Remarks 40 (estimated)
Kindly note that the cost for three missions with an estimated amount of 6,000 – 7,000 USD should be separated from the person-days cost above.
Please submit your documents in English.
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. 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.
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