Education Consultancy – Review of learning, skills development and career pathways for girls and boys in secondary education in selected Pacific countries (RMI, Kiribati, Tuvalu), 10 Months (105 days)

UNICEF Pacific is in search of a dedicated and proactive international Consultant. The consultant will be supervised on a day-to-day basis including contract management by the Education Officer (Learning and Teaching) with country-specific work being guided by colleagues in those countries, and additional technical guidance and oversight provided by the UNICEF Pacific Education Chief of Education as required. Final approval of deliverables for payment will be done by the UNICEF Pacific Chief of Education based on advice from the Education Officer.

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. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, education.  

At the Conference of Pacific Education Ministers’ (CPEM) meeting in March 2023, Ministers agreed to the “importance of developing skills and student pathways to create opportunities that meet learners’ aspirations and abilities”. This prioritization by Ministers reflects 3 of the 4 policy areas of the Pacific Regional Education Framework (PacREF) including Quality and Relevance, Learning Pathways and Student Outcomes and Wellbeing. These policy areas particularly refer to:

• Learners accessing multiple and seamless pathways of learning allowing them to reach their full potential.
• Learning that is inclusive of cognitive and non-cognitive skills
• Linked pathways between levels of schooling and beyond.
• Developing models for TVET learning and emphasising its relevance to industry and the labour market
• Improving participation and success rates, especially at secondary and TVET levels
• Provide learning support and counselling services.
• Provide careers education and linkages to industry/workforce readiness.

Secondary school age adolescent girls and boys aged 10–19 across the Pacific are growing up in a transforming world. Areas such as technology, migration and climate change are reshaping society, forcing people across the region to adapt to unexpected changes in their lives and work. Adolescent boys and girls risk not acquiring the necessary education and skills to become lifelong learners, to make informed decisions, to transition from school to work and leadership in their communities, and to positively engage in their families and communities. Oftentimes, gender stereotypes affect their selection of subjects in schools and their future careers.

The aim of this review is to assess the learning, skills development and career pathways available in secondary schools for adolescent girls and boys in three Pacific Island states: Tuvalu, Kiribati and Republic of the Marshall Islands(RMI). This review will also provide insights into the actual and perceived options and pathways for adolescents and the lenses that impact these including a particular consideration to gender and disability and propose recommendations for changes that cut across the three countries as well as at the national level.

How can you make a difference? 

The overall objective of this consultancy is to conduct a comprehensive situational analysis on learning, skills development and career pathways available to secondary school age adolescent girls and boys participating in junior and senior secondary school. This will include:

• Current pathways available to adolescent boys and girls with reference to subject selection, year on year progression and any programme/transition selection process (e.g. examinations at the end of junior secondary cycle)
• Explicit and implicit opportunities for skills development including both technical and life skills. This should include the skills identified by the pacific countries during the development of the Pacific Employability, Transferable, and All-Life Skills (PETALS) Framework, and/or any similar country-specific framework.
• Social norms and issues of equity and inclusion that prevent both adolescent girls and boys, including those with disabilities, from accessing and completing secondary education, as well as differences in gender and disability in access to learning, skills acquisition, career pathways and empowerment/leadership within and beyond schooling.
• Perceptions of learners, families and employers on the learning outcomes, skill development, and career pathways in secondary education, transitioning to the workplace or further study.

Both desk reviews of relevant documentation and stakeholder engagement (through a range of modalities) are expected to contribute to both an overall report and individual country briefing papers with national level findings and recommendations.

The approach to stakeholder engagement should be carefully considered and discussed with each country in order to use the most relevant approaches. The Pacific Guidelines for Consultation should also be reviewed to support this. PacREF Implementing Agencies Fono members should also be engaged where appropriate. Where relevant other Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET)/Skills studies and initiatives from the region will also be considered in the framing and recommendations of this study.

The consultant will deliver the following specific deliverables through this contract:

1. Desk Review and Inception Report

An initial inception report that identifies methodology and approaches to the work, co-constructed with each national agency to ensure their leadership and ownership, and the use of strategies and consultative processes fit for context. This report will also include desk reviews on global, regional and country level existing data, documents, studies and research related to this theme.

2. Stakeholder consultations and field observations

A brief thematic synthesis of documentation and findings from stakeholder consultations which includes youth representatives and field-based observations of current career programmes, as contribution to possible future regional research.

3. Draft Report and individual country briefs (findings and recommendations)

The full draft report as well as individual country briefs for the four countries to be disseminated for feedback. Consideration of remote joint meeting or at least national level presentations to encourage feedback.

4. Final Report and Country briefings validated and submitted

Feedback to draft report and country briefs completed and shared back for validation (online/remote) by relevant stakeholders. Finalisation and submission of final report and country briefs.

5. Cross country learning and sharing

Hosted virtual meetings of all countries engaged in the research to share findings and recommendations and discuss possible next steps.

Please refer to the ToR (ToR_MCO_TVET skills and pathways+ao_MPR.pdf) for further information on the deliverables and the timelines. 

GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS:  

This vacancy is for an individual consultant only. Candidates are requested to submit their CV and a brief technical proposal. Candidates are asked to submit a separate financial offer along with your application. The financial proposal should be a lump sum amount for all the deliverables and should show a break down for the following:

• Monthly / Daily fees: based on the deliverables in the Terms of Reference above
• Travel: economy air ticket where applicable to take up assignment and field mission travel
• Living allowance: where travel is required
• Miscellaneous: to cover visa, health insurance (including medical evacuation for international

consultants), travel insurance, communications, and other costs

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

Education:

• A Master’s degree in Education or other relevant discipline would be indicative of the level of qualification required for this work. A first degree with a combination of relevant other post graduate certificates/diplomas may also be considered. Specialization in one of the areas identified and/or policy and planning would be ideal.

Experience & Skills:

• Minimum of 10 years’ experience in educational planning, curriculum, implementation, research, monitoring and/or evaluation, with preference for experience related to research in access, learning and skills development for adolescents.
• Proven experience in research and analysis
• Proven ability to be innovative, think differently and engage others in transformation.
• Demonstrated experience working with Ministries of Education in participatory responsive ways that result in high-quality research that is owned by them and meets their knowledge and planning needs.
• Demonstrated experience leading and coordinating research with other government and development partner data and initiatives to maximize value and synergies in the work completed.
• Proven ability to produce high quality and accessible documentation for a variety of audiences.
• Knowledge and experience in the Pacific context and with Pacific Education systems
• Familiarity with the PacREF research framework is an added advantage.
• High level interpersonal and relationship-building skills
• Ability to communicate effectively with persons of various cultures and disciplines
• Ability to determine and review priorities and meet deadlines
• Diplomatic skills to liaise with counterparts and different stakeholders
• Good analytical, negotiating, and advocacy skills

Language:

• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is 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. 

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.