Non-Staff Consultant
JOB DETAIL
OVERVIEW
Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED)
Duty Station: Addis Ababa
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) : 28-oct-2023
UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism
OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST
Overview of the functions of the posts
Under the overall authority of the Senior Program Specialist and Focal Person for the KIX Africa 19 Hub consortium, with guidance from the Director of the Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), and under the direct supervision of the IICBA Monitoring and Evaluation Officer; the incumbent will be responsible for providing support to KIX Africa 19 Hub’s work on formative evaluation of the ongoing KIX Africa 19 hub project. The incumbent is also expected to work with in the framing of the ‘’Terms of Reference’’ to ensure effective planning, implementation, and monitoring of the evaluation tasks. S/he/the firm will specifically rely on the following guiding areas:
- OVERVIEW OF KIX AFRICA 19 HUB
The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) have collaborated to establish a knowledge exchange mechanism, the purpose of which is to create space for GPE partner countries to share information, innovation, and best practices among themselves and to mobilize existing evidence to contribute to the improvement of national education systems in the countries. The knowledge exchange mechanism is facilitated by four regional learning partners operating regional hubs across Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, and Europe, Asia, and the Pacific.
The Africa 19 hub, which is the subject of this evaluation, facilitates knowledge exchange among 18 countries in East, South, and West Africa with an overall aim to contribute to strengthening national education systems by mobilizing evidence for policy and practice in these countries. Since the start of its activities in 2020, the specific objectives of the Africa 19 hub have been:
Long Description
Since its establishment, the Hub has created a network of national partners committed to locating and harnessing robust, dynamic, and emerging evidence and solutions to the most pressing issues in realizing SDG 4 in the region. It has been working towards meeting the expectations of addressing at least 80 percent of the 18 member countries engaged with the Hub. These countries include Eritrea, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia (Somaliland and Puntland), South Sudan, Tanzania mainland, and Zanzibar, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
The exchange is organized around key six thematic areas in response to the needs of the partner countries. These areas include: (i) improving teaching and learning, (ii) strengthening early childhood care and education, (iii) improving learning assessment systems, (iv) achieving gender equality in and through education, (v) leaving no one behind, and (vi) addressing the data challenge in education. The Hub focuses both on capacity strengthening (building capacities of countries in the areas relevant to their education priorities) and knowledge mobilization (sharing knowledge and evidence among countries in response to their education priorities) activities.
Activities of the KIX Africa 19 hub have been extended until March 2027 as part of the overall KIX extension. Originally, the activities of the Hub were supposed to end in December 2023. Given the extension, the Hub would like to commission an evaluation to reflect on its progress and results and use the lessons learned to inform the implementation of its activities during the next phase.
Long Description
- BACKGROUND OF THE KIX AFRICA 19 REGION
Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are confronted with the formidable challenge of realizing quality, inclusive, and equitable education for social transformation and development. This vision is anchored in several frameworks and vision statements, including SDG 4 – Education 2030.
Framework for Action1 and the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA) 2016–2025, as well as other global, regional, and national frameworks.
Although access to education has improved in SSA from 59 percent to 78 percent over the past decades, learning achievement and quality of education remain alarmingly low. Many countries face enormous challenges around teacher recruitment, management, and professional development, enrolment at pre-primary and secondary levels, gender equity, and quality of learning processes and outcomes.
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Long Description
Africa’s education ambitions cannot be realized without building effective partnerships and fostering harmonized approaches to integrating SDG 4 – ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all – into national education policies and strategies.
Crucially, this ambition requires innovation due to the scale, diversity and rapid changes in education needs amidst high rates of population growth and unemployment in most SSA countries. In addition, there is little available context-specific evidence about what makes or does not make education interventions work – whether innovative or not – or about the costs of implementing them, particularly in SSA. When evidence is available, dissemination and the capacity to use that evidence are often weak, especially among key education stakeholders in the region.
Evidence about how to scale up innovations that improve learning outcomes is key to unlocking rapid and sustainable change toward meeting SDG 4. The KIX 19 Hub– managed by a consortium of partners – surfacing and facilitating the sharing of that evidence and insight to 19 countries, through a KIX national delegation committed to evidence-based, innovation-driven, and context-relevant policymaking and practice, to close the educational and learning gaps between rich and poor children, and boys and girls on the continent.
COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)
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REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Education
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- Advanced university degree (Masters, PhD preferred) in education, in research methods and/or evaluations, development, educational research, M&E, or any related social sciences.
Work Experience
At least 5 years of relevant professional experience, acquired at national and international level in formative evaluation, midterm evaluation, endline evaluation, baseline studies, or related areas.
Languages
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- Fluency (oral and written) in English. Knowledge of French is a plus.
SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES
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- Strong experience and understanding of the African Union region, the CESA 2016-25 and the education sector in African countries.
- Experience in conducting end-term external evaluations, project reviews, and evaluations on problems related to education projects.
- Extensive expertise, knowledge, and experience in the field of project management and global and national educational commitments.
- Excellent analytical, research, and report-writing skills in English
- Research skills as demonstrated by a record of publications and contributions to policy recommendations.
- Excellent organizational, networking and partnership building skills.
- Good computing skills with excellent writing skills;
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, tact and diplomacy; and
- Ability to multi-task, prioritize and deliver to deadline, as well as work under pressure.
- Experience in the evaluation of UN projects is an asset.
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS
Education
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- Additional academic or professional qualifications in the areas of educational measurement and evaluation, curriculum development and evaluation, knowledge management and policy analysis or related areas would be an added advantage.
Years of relevant work experience
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- A minimum of 5 years of relevant post qualification experience, which preferably includes three years’ experience in formative evaluation or midterm evaluation. Experience with online training and distance learning highly desirable.
Work Experience
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- Experience in evaluation education projects being implemented in sub–Saharan Africa especially Anglophone countries.
- Experience of working with donors and development partners on multidisciplinary education projects
- Experience working in a developing country setting.
Languages
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- Fluency (oral and written) in English. Knowledge of French is a plus.
APPLICATION PROCESS
To apply, please send your:
- Detailed technical proposal along with proposed budget/financial proposal to undertake the evaluation with timeline.
- CV with a cover letter indicating the lead consultant and the evaluation team.
- Evidence of previous evaluations, research, and interviews undertaken (recommendations, reports, etc.
- email to [email protected]
Please use the reference UNESCO-IICBA External Evaluator (Knowledge and Innovation Exchange Hub for Education in Anglophone Africa) in the subject line of the email.
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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