Senior Consultant ( Technical Cooperation)

OVERVIEW

Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED)

Duty Station: Paris

 

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) : 29-March 2024

 

UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism

The consultancy will run for a period of 4 months, starting on the 3rd of April until the 31st of July 2024, and will consist of 65 working days.

 

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

IIEP is seeking the support of an international senior consultant to support the development of the following 3 projects:

Project 1 (April- July 2024 – 25 days): Support the development of the financial simulation model of the Yemen ESP 2025-2030. 

 

Project Context : The Ministry of Education (MoE) of Yemen has embarked on the development of a full-fledged education sector plan (ESP) for 2025-2030, following the end the previous Transitional Education Plan (TEP). UNESCO’s International Institute for Education Planning of UNESCO (IIEP-UNESCO) has been asked to technically guide the ESP development process.

Tasks

The work on the ESP is well advanced. IIEP is seeking the support from a senior-level consultant, whose responsibilities will be to:

• Help develop the ESP financial simulation model template (on excel) based on ESP priority programs developed by the MoE team.
• Cofacilitate a 6-day workshop (in Cairo in May 2024) to fine-tune the simulation model and foster dialogue with the MoE team on possible target setting and policy trade-offs, based on various education policy and macroeconomic scenarios.
• Provide necessary support in the finalisation of the financial simulation model and target setting based on 2 or 3 agreed scenarios.

Deliverables

1.1 Draft template of the financial the simulation model, based on the ESP priority programmes by end of April 2024

1.2 Final template of the financial simulation model, displaying final target setting for various education policy and macroeconomic scenarios by end of July 2024.

Long Description

Project 2 (June-July 2024 – 10 days): Preparation of the Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX)- Europe, Middle East, North Africa and Pacific (EMAP) Learning Cycle on Secondary Teacher Management.

Project Context : This Learning Cycle focuses on equipping participants with the necessary theory and practical techniques to plan and analyse data on their secondary teacher workforce, in relation to teacher requirements, deployment, and utilization and to identify potential policy options. Participants will be able to:  (1) Understand the major challenges of teacher management at the secondary level; (2) Apply methods to project teacher recruitment needs; (3) Diagnose issues relating to the supply, allocation, and utilisation of secondary teachers; Develop evidence-based policies, strategies, and practices for the management of secondary teachers; (4) Combine different sources of information, analyse the results, and identify key policy options for national dialogue.

Tasks

• Support the preparation of materials (such as PowerPoint, video recordings, audio files, images) and resources (mandatory and optional resources) in English for the course.
• Weigh in the insight of the pedagogical team and include in the materials interactive components for the participants.
• Deliver live sessions (max. twice a week), according to the calendar prepared by the team.
• Provide feedback to KIX on their monitoring platform at the end of the course.

Deliverables:

2.1 Full slide deck and resources for the course (by end of July 2024)

Long Description Project 3: (May - July 2024 – 30 days):  Education public expenditure review in Guinea.

Project Context

This education public expenditure review (PER) for Guinea will conduct a systematic and in-depth assessment of government spending’s effectiveness, efficiency and impact and ultimately propose recommendations to improve expenditure management and to ensure optimal use of public funds. The PER exercise will involve reviewing policies, programs, and budget processes to determine whether they are aligned with government objectives, provide good value for money, and meet the real needs of the population. Furthermore, the PER will use quantitative budget analysis to assess performances and potential bottlenecks in budget execution.

More specifically the PER will aim to respond to the following questions.

• Who funds education and how are the funds channelled?
• How much does the government spend and on what?
• Is the public financial management system in place to strengthen financial accountability?
• In relation to government policies and standards, what are the current needs (adequacy) and what are the medium- and long-term means available (sustainability)?
• Are public resources used efficiently and effectively?
• Does public spending promote equity?

Long Description Tasks

The consultant will support the following tasks:

• Collect detailed data on public spending in the education sector in Guinea for the period 2014-2023, including budgets allocated to different institutions, programmes, and initiatives.
• Analyse data to identify spending trends, gaps between budget allocations and results achieved, as well as areas where resources could be used more effectively.
• Conduct an analysis of the distribution of resources between different levels of education (primary, secondary, tertiary), geographical regions and categories of expenditure (salaries, infrastructure, educational programmes, etc.).
• Assess the efficiency in the use of financial resources, by examining costs per student, per institution, or per program.
• Assess the equity in the allocation of resources between different regions, socio-economic groups, and types of educational institutions
• Formulate specific recommendations based on the results of the analysis, aimed at improving public expenditure management, strengthening education policies, and promoting equity and efficiency in the education sector

Deliverables

3.1 A database of executed expenditure with an analysis by functional, administrative, economic classification and, where appropriate, by programme and level of education by end of July 2024

3.2 An analytical report highlighting the trends in education spending, the performance of budget execution, the equity and efficiency of public spending by end of July 2024

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial) Accountability (C) Communication (C) Innovation (C) Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement (C) Planning and organizing (C) Results focus (C) Teamwork (C) Professionalism (C) - For detailed information, please consult the UNESCO Competency Framework. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

The consultant should have the expertise in the following criteria:

• An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Education, International Development, statistics, Social Sciences, or a related field.
• At least 10 years of experience in education analysis and policy review.
• Excellent skills in analysis and synthesis.
• Experience in supporting the development of ESPs, in particular financial simulation model
• Good knowledge of the education system in LMIC.
• Mastery of English and French, both oral and writing.
• Strong knowledge in Excel.

 

Application Modality

 

Qualified and interested candidates are  also requested to send to:  consultancytc@iiep.unesco.org

• Cover letter demonstrating adequate understanding of tasks and qualification for the work.
• An updated detailed curriculum vitae.
• Evidence of recent analytical work in themes related to this consultancy.
• The proposed remuneration daily fee in US dollars. 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Over consultancy time frame: The consultancy will run for a period of 4 months, starting on the 3rd of April until the 31st of July 2024, and will consist of 65 working days.
• Location: The consultancy will be home-based with frequent international travels.
• IIEP will cover all cost related to travel according to UNESCO travel procedures, as and when travel needs will be defined.
• Level: Senior level expertise required
• Application deadline is Thursday 28th March 2024 midnight Paris time (UTC+2).

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