Details
Mission and objectives
UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF’s mandate, mission and unique attributes provide a strategic advantage in promoting and supporting transformational change to achieve sustainable coverage at scale. After more than 45 years in Lao PDR, UNICEF Lao PDR UNICEF is one of the longest-serving international organizations in the country plays an important role in supporting the government, advocating for reform and leading coordination to scale-up results.
Context
Lao PDR has been selected by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) to participate in the GPE Technology for Education (Tech4Ed) technical assistance initiative. UNICEF, as the selected grant agent for GPE Tech4Ed, will support the co-design and implementation of the initiative with GPE and technical partner EdTech Hub, in close coordination with the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) and other key stakeholders in Lao PDR. Drawing on the technical expertise, tools and resources of UNICEF and EdTech Hub, the initiative aims to strengthen partner countries’ capacity to use technology to improve education access and learning outcomes for children. Specifically, Tech4Ed will provide technical, policy and cross-sectoral assistance to countries integrating or scaling technology within their education systems.
Under the leadership of the MoES Digital Transformation Steering Committee, and with support from UNICEF, the GPE Tech4Ed work plan for Lao PDR has been developed and approved by the GPE Secretariat. The work plan is fully aligned with the MoES Digital Education Action Plan and is designed to help implement the same. The work plan was formulated through extensive consultations within education sector working groups at national and sub-national levels, ensuring the engagement of key multi-sectoral stakeholders, including government, non-government and private sector entities. It is informed by a comprehensive situation analysis of Tech4Ed in Lao PDR, which confirmed that, despite steady progress in expanding access to education, persistent challenges continue to hinder improvements in education quality, inclusion and efficiency. Available data indicate low student learning outcomes, increasing dropout and out-of-school rates, persistent inequities in access, and insufficient education financing. In response, the digital transformation of education has been identified as a priority within national and sector strategies to address these systemic challenges.
In alignment with national strategic documents, sector working group agreements, and MoES approval, the proposed Tech4Ed work plan focuses on leveraging digital technology to enhance digital readiness and enabling environment to help improve primary-level foundational learning outcomes for the most disadvantaged children. To strengthen school digital readiness and enable teachers to enhance learning outcomes, the project will deliver three key strategic outputs:
1. A minimum digital access standard for schools.
2. A comprehensive costing model.
3. An investment brief to guide strategic coordination and scale digital access across Lao PDR.
Under the leadership of the MoES Digital Transformation Steering Committee, and with support from UNICEF, the GPE Tech4Ed work plan for Lao PDR has been developed and approved by the GPE Secretariat. The work plan is fully aligned with the MoES Digital Education Action Plan and is designed to help implement the same. The work plan was formulated through extensive consultations within education sector working groups at national and sub-national levels, ensuring the engagement of key multi-sectoral stakeholders, including government, non-government and private sector entities. It is informed by a comprehensive situation analysis of Tech4Ed in Lao PDR, which confirmed that, despite steady progress in expanding access to education, persistent challenges continue to hinder improvements in education quality, inclusion and efficiency. Available data indicate low student learning outcomes, increasing dropout and out-of-school rates, persistent inequities in access, and insufficient education financing. In response, the digital transformation of education has been identified as a priority within national and sector strategies to address these systemic challenges.
In alignment with national strategic documents, sector working group agreements, and MoES approval, the proposed Tech4Ed work plan focuses on leveraging digital technology to enhance digital readiness and enabling environment to help improve primary-level foundational learning outcomes for the most disadvantaged children. To strengthen school digital readiness and enable teachers to enhance learning outcomes, the project will deliver three key strategic outputs:
1. A minimum digital access standard for schools.
2. A comprehensive costing model.
3. An investment brief to guide strategic coordination and scale digital access across Lao PDR.
Task description
Under the direct supervision of the Education Specialist at UNICEF Lao PDR, and in close coordination with the UNICEF International Consultant, the UN Volunteer will coordinate with central and local education authorities during data collection and verification workshops. Key duties include coordination with the MoES and other stakeholders, and coordinate implementation activities throughout the project and interpretation during workshop sessions and translating core documents. In doing so, the UNV will serve as part of the UNICEF Education team, while liaising with government partners and key stakeholders in close coordination with other sections within UNICEF Lao PDR.
More specifically, the UNV will undertake the following key tasks (not limited to):
Stage 1: Programme Inception and Setup - the UNV coordination with MoES and other key stakeholders for the Inception Phase. The task also includes comprehensive operational and coordinate technical and operational inputs to ensure smooth technical alignment among UNICEF, MoES, and the EdTech Hub. Key responsibilities include preparing and translating Terms of Reference (TOR), translating core deliverables—such as the integrated Inception Report and workshop presentation materials—into Lao for official endorsement, and delivering real-time interpretation during kick-off meetings and the main Inception Workshop with MoES
Stage 2: National School Digital Access Mapping - the UNV will deliver critical translation, interpretation, and coordinate field-level data collection and stakeholder engagement to enable robust qualitative and quantitative data collection. Responsibilities include translating survey instruments, Key Informant Interview (KII) protocols, and pilot findings into Lao, as well as organizing and labeling Lao qualitative data for handover to EdTech Hub. Additionally, the UN Volunteer will provide on-the-ground interpretation and coordination during pilot and national field visits alongside the UNICEF International Consultant, requiring field support across provinces to engage effectively with school administrators, teachers, and provincial officials.
Stage 3: Minimum Digital Access Standards - the UN Volunteer will provide end-to-end language and provide technical inputs to facilitate official MoES review and endorsement. Key duties include necessary coordination with MoES and stakeholders, and translating the final Minimum Digital Access Standards report and validation workshop presentation materials into Lao, as well as providing live interpretation support during validation workshops with key government stakeholders.
Stage 4: Costing Model and Institutional Capacity Assessment - the UNV will provide implementation support and language and technical preparation support to facilitate government review and project deliverables. Key duties include assisting coordination among stakeholders, and translating the Costing Model report, assessment instruments, and the final Institutional Capacity Assessment Report into Lao, alongside preparing draft presentation materials for internal review. Additionally, the UNV will deliver interpretation during validation workshops and translate meeting notes and Key Informant Interview (KII) summaries from Lao to English to inform the report drafting process.
Stage 5: Financing Landscape Analysis and Investment Brief - the UNV will provide implementation support and targeted translation and interpretation support to enable strategic financial mapping and stakeholder endorsement. Key responsibilities include coordination among key stakeholders, and translating relevant Lao-language budget documents, policy papers, and meeting notes to inform the financing landscape analysis, as well as delivering live interpretation during consultations with MoES and subnational stakeholders. Additionally, the UNV will translate presentation materials for validation workshops and translate the final Digital Access Investment Brief into Lao to facilitate MoES review and dissemination.
Other Tasks - provide substantive inputs to other UNICEF Programme related tasks as appropriate, including (not limited to) inputs to annual reviews, MoES-UNICEF Rolling Work Plans, development of funding proposals, donor visits, annual reports, etc.
More specifically, the UNV will undertake the following key tasks (not limited to):
Stage 1: Programme Inception and Setup - the UNV coordination with MoES and other key stakeholders for the Inception Phase. The task also includes comprehensive operational and coordinate technical and operational inputs to ensure smooth technical alignment among UNICEF, MoES, and the EdTech Hub. Key responsibilities include preparing and translating Terms of Reference (TOR), translating core deliverables—such as the integrated Inception Report and workshop presentation materials—into Lao for official endorsement, and delivering real-time interpretation during kick-off meetings and the main Inception Workshop with MoES
Stage 2: National School Digital Access Mapping - the UNV will deliver critical translation, interpretation, and coordinate field-level data collection and stakeholder engagement to enable robust qualitative and quantitative data collection. Responsibilities include translating survey instruments, Key Informant Interview (KII) protocols, and pilot findings into Lao, as well as organizing and labeling Lao qualitative data for handover to EdTech Hub. Additionally, the UN Volunteer will provide on-the-ground interpretation and coordination during pilot and national field visits alongside the UNICEF International Consultant, requiring field support across provinces to engage effectively with school administrators, teachers, and provincial officials.
Stage 3: Minimum Digital Access Standards - the UN Volunteer will provide end-to-end language and provide technical inputs to facilitate official MoES review and endorsement. Key duties include necessary coordination with MoES and stakeholders, and translating the final Minimum Digital Access Standards report and validation workshop presentation materials into Lao, as well as providing live interpretation support during validation workshops with key government stakeholders.
Stage 4: Costing Model and Institutional Capacity Assessment - the UNV will provide implementation support and language and technical preparation support to facilitate government review and project deliverables. Key duties include assisting coordination among stakeholders, and translating the Costing Model report, assessment instruments, and the final Institutional Capacity Assessment Report into Lao, alongside preparing draft presentation materials for internal review. Additionally, the UNV will deliver interpretation during validation workshops and translate meeting notes and Key Informant Interview (KII) summaries from Lao to English to inform the report drafting process.
Stage 5: Financing Landscape Analysis and Investment Brief - the UNV will provide implementation support and targeted translation and interpretation support to enable strategic financial mapping and stakeholder endorsement. Key responsibilities include coordination among key stakeholders, and translating relevant Lao-language budget documents, policy papers, and meeting notes to inform the financing landscape analysis, as well as delivering live interpretation during consultations with MoES and subnational stakeholders. Additionally, the UNV will translate presentation materials for validation workshops and translate the final Digital Access Investment Brief into Lao to facilitate MoES review and dissemination.
Other Tasks - provide substantive inputs to other UNICEF Programme related tasks as appropriate, including (not limited to) inputs to annual reviews, MoES-UNICEF Rolling Work Plans, development of funding proposals, donor visits, annual reports, etc.
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