icddr,b is a Bangladesh-based international health research institute that strives to solve key public health problems through high-quality scientific research and innovation. icddr,b encourages women and people with disabilities.

icddr,b invites applications from suitable candidates for consultancy with the Child Development Unit under the Maternal and Child Health Division.

Despite global efforts to improve smooth transitions and school readiness through early childhood care and education programmes, children often enter primary school with varying levels of preparedness. This project builds on previous successful work in Bangladesh, Nepal and Tanzania, that focused on the readiness of both children and caregivers to enter the preschool education programme, through an initiative called Every Newborn-Reach Up Early Education Intervention for All Children (EN-REACH). This new project will support the adaptation of the EN-REACH programme to incorporate key components on teacher readiness to facilitate easy transition to pre-primary education (EN-REACH-ED)

Location: Mohakhali, Dhaka

Expected start date: Last week of November

Duration: Total 25 days

The main goal of this consultancy is to provide high-level guidance and inputs on development of two comprehensive manuals along with facilitating training for national-level master trainers on how to successfully include children with disabilities in government-run pre-primary educational settings. Specifically, the consultant will support in drafting and finalizing comprehensive guidelines and manuals that offer step-by-step guidance for encouraging the inclusion of children with disabilities in pre-primary education. Important topics may include identifying disabilities, creating an inclusive environment, modifying teaching strategies, and so on and strategies may include modifying the classroom, using assistive technology, and working with the parents etc. The training manuals will highlight the necessity of raising awareness and understanding of the issues that children with disabilities and their families experience. It will bring light on the barriers and discrimination that they face, with the goal of influencing teachers, parents, communities and other stakeholders to be compassionate, sensitive, and take a rights-based approach. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), as well as other national, and international laws and policies that promote disability inclusion in education, will be considered when creating the training manuals.

• Join in-person/virtual meetings as and when requested to establish consensus among team/s;
• Review and identify gaps in the existing/relevant manuals and suggest improvement areas;
• Lead the development of disability-inclusive comprehensive training manual/guideline;
• Integrate practical strategies and tools for teachers to apply in classrooms and parents at home;
• Check the alignment with laws, policies and practices for compliance and wider acceptance;
• Participate in stakeholder validation workshop to ensure buy-in by the government;
• Train the Master Trainers to cascade-down the ideas with teachers and others.

• Two draft manuals that covers all aspects of promoting the inclusion of children with disabilities;
• A range of practical strategies and tools that can be implemented by teachers and caregivers;
• Revised training materials based on the feedback and suggestions from stakeholder validation;
• Rolling out a comprehensive national/regional level Master Trainer’s Training;
• Providing a final report incorporating processes followed and recommendations.

• Master’s degree in Disability Studies, Special Education, Psychology, Social Science or any relevant subject; Candidates having PhD will be preferred;
• At least 15 years of experience in relevant field;
• The consultant should possess in-depth knowledge of inclusive education practices and methodologies. S/he must be well-versed in strategies and approaches that promote the inclusion of children with disabilities in educational settings;
• The consultant should have a comprehensive understanding of the relevant international and national laws, policies, and guidelines related to children with disabilities. This includes familiarity with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the local legislation or acts pertaining to disability rights and inclusive education;
• The consultant should possess excellent verbal and written communication skills to effectively convey information and engage with multi-country stakeholders; Additionally, s/he should be able to collaborate with government agencies, school teachers, caregivers, and organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs).

• Only short-listed candidates shall be invited for the selection process;
• icddr,b does not charge any fee at any stage of the selection process.

Interested candidates who fulfill the requirements should submit online applications using icddr,b website: career.icddrb.org by November 16, 2024.