The Ministry of Education with UNICEF support is looking for an International Consultant to support the process of revision of ICT policy in Education. Government of Timor-Leste has a Digital 2032 policy with Education as key pillar. Timor-Leste's existing ICT in Education Policy was developed in a context marked by limited infrastructure, connectivity, and digital capacity. Since its adoption, significant changes have occurred during the decade. The purpose of this assignment is to revise and update the ICT in Education Policy for Timor-Leste, providing a clear, coherent, and costed policy framework that guides the effective, equitable, safe, and sustainable use of ICT across the education sector. The revised policy will serve as a strategic reference for government institutions, development partners, education providers, and other stakeholders involved in planning, financing, and implementing ICT-enabled education initiatives.

Contract Duration - 3 months

Working arrangement: office based

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                                                         TERMS OF REFERENCE

This work is being funded through two grants and includes the desk review of the existing policy and any other documents from similar country contexts that can serve as best practices to inform the policy and strategy. It will also involve a desk review of any recent evidence related to Timor-Leste or outside that could be useful for policy and strategy.

Desk Review and Policy Analysis

  • Review existing ICT and education sector policies and plans.
  • Review national digital governance, data protection, and relevant cross-sectoral strategies.
  • Review relevant international and regional (ASEAN/SEAMEO) guidance and good practice, with particular
  • attention to child-centered and responsible digital transformation approaches.
  • Situation Analysis (only if required)
  • Assess ICT infrastructure, connectivity, devices, and systems at national, municipal, and school levels.
  • Review current digital practices for teaching, learning, teacher development, administration, and data systems.
  • Analyze capacity constraints and institutional readiness.
  • Identify equity, inclusion, and safeguarding considerations.
  • Identify policy directions for the cautious, ethical, and context-appropriate exploration of emerging technologies,
  • including artificial intelligence (AI), ensuring any potential use supports learning and system improvement while
  • prioritizing child rights, safety, and national readiness.
  • Reflects a phased and realistic approach to implementation.

The policy will adopt provide a forward-looking stance on Al, emphasizing preparedness, governance, and evidence-based decision-making rather than rapid technology adoption.

Implementation Framework

  • Develop an implementation roadmap with phased actions.
  • Define institutional roles and coordination mechanisms.
  • Outline indicative costing and financing considerations.
  • Develop a monitoring, evaluation, and learning framework.
  • Identify key risks and mitigation strategies.

Policy Pillars

The revised policy is expected to be structured around a set of strategic pillars, including but not limited to:

  1. 1 ICT infrastructure and connectivity
  2. Digital learning resources and content
  3. Teacher professional development and digital capacity
  4. Education management information systems and data use
  5. Partnerships and sustainability
  6. Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies in Education

The revised policy and strategy must ensure

Enabling Conditions and Safeguards

  • Uphold child rights, equity, and inclusion as non-negotiable principles.
  • Strengthen data governance, including ownership, consent, security, and ethical use.
  • Maintain human oversight and accountability at all stages.
  • Support capacity development in digital and Al literacy for educators, policymakers, and administrators.
  • Encourage strategic partnerships that align with national priorities and avoid dependency or unmanaged data extraction.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here: Download File ICT Policy Consultant.pdf

Minimum requirements:

Education: Master’s in education, ICT, public policy, or related fields

Work Experience:

  • Demonstrated advanced experience of over 8 years in ICT-in-education.
  • Experience in technical guidance and policy and costed strategy development and implementation.
  • Experience working in government or UN/partners supported contexts.
  • Understanding of responsible digital transformation in education

Skills, Knowledge, Experience:

  • Technical knowledge about policy development and demonstrated knowledge of working on ICT in education and policy/strategy development.
  • Ability to work in multi-cultural contexts
  • Be able to work independently
  • Analytical skills
  • Ability to communicate sensitively with different audiences

Language Requirements: Strong facilitation and writing skills and in English

Desirables: Knowledge of official languages Tetum and Portuguese desirable

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

Remarks:  

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

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