Develop and support the implementation of the communication strategy for education on the importance of enrolling the child in Basic Education at the right age and the dissemination of the Education Sector Plan (National Consultancy)

Develop and support the implementation of the communication strategy for education on the importance of enrolling the child in Basic Education at the right age and the dissemination of the Education Sector Plan

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For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

Purpose of the Assignment

Background

An analysis of Education in Guinea-Bissau show that the goal of Education for All - EFA is still far from being achieved.  While 77% of children are entering school in the first grade, there are still many more efforts required to bring children in school. At the end of the primary (ie the 6th year), 63% of the children of the cohort reach this level.  There is also a steep fall in the rate of access between grades 4 and 5.  

In the academic year 2012-2013, it was observed that the access to the school measured by the gross rate of admission of children in the first year of primary was 158%. The fact that this number is greater than 100% shows the existence of over/under-age children in relation to the right age of entry of 6 years in grade 1.  

The completion rate of primary education, is 59% which means four out of 10 children are not completing this level. This shows that Guinea-Bissau is still far from meeting the universalization of primary education goal. Guinea-Bissau has to make make a great effort to ensure that all children benefit from a full primary cycle, but also continue their studies until the end of Basic Education (9th grade). This challenge is especially great because there has been practically no improvement in the transversal schooling profile in the primary between 2009 and 2012. There is a challenge of retaining children in school and this resflected in 44% estimated to be out of school.

According to the result of a working session with the regional directors of education, the main causes of late entry, abandonment, repetition and all other factors that contribute to the ineffectiveness of the system are issues related to parents' lack of knowledge of the age of entry into the system. school; Myth, many fathers / mothers think that 'the child does not learn at the age of 6 years'; Access issues, lack of access to school for geographic and financial reasons (25% of EB1 and EB2 schools do not offer the six levels of study); Fear, the issue of child safety is not guaranteed in your daily journey from home to school and home schooling; Cultural issues also play a predominant role, since the tendency of families and give priority to cultural rituals such as fanado, early marriage, cashew picking, gender issues, etc., the issue of the teacher's weak training in pedagogy and why Last but not least, and the issue of the absence of children with birth registration

The Ministry of Education has developed a 10-year Education Sector Plan that focuses on improving: equitable access, b) quality, and c) governance. The development of the Education Sector Plan was co-ordinated by education partners and UNICEF as a grant agent and Coordination Agency for the Global Partnership for Education funds. Given the challenges of late school entry and early school leaving, it is important that the sectoral plan be widely disseminated and disseminated to all stakeholders. Dissemination will inform parents, caregivers, and education agents at the central and regional levels about the main focus areas of the Strategic Education Plan, its strategies and the different arrangements for improving the quality of education.

This consultancy will support the Education section in the development of the 6/6 campaign, a communication strategy to mobilize key stakeholders on the importance of enrolling their children in Basic Education at the right age (6 years) and facilitating their completion Basic of 6 years. The consultant will develop materials to support the dissemination of the Education Sector Plan that will inform the community and key stakeholders about the key strategies for improving the quality of education and the roles and responsibilities in support of the implementation of the plan.

Objective

The objective of the consultancy is to support development and implementation of the communication strategy for 6/6 campaign and the dissemination of the Education Sector Plan.

Activities, Tasks, Deliverables and Timelines

The work will entail the following:

Inception report: The consultant will have to get familiarised with the education challenges in the country, and the key developments such as the Education Sector Plan, recent studies and reports. Based on this the consultant has to prepare an inception report on how the campaign   strategy for 6/6 and dissemination of Education Sector Plan will be developed. During the preparation of the inception report the consultant is also expected to engage with pro-actively with the education ministry officials and other key stakeholders gather relevant information to develop the strategy

Communication Plan and strategy: The consultant will develop a communication plan and strategy for mobilization of community and key stakeholders   in a consultative process with the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Social Communication.

6/6 campaign:

• Develop the 6/6 campaign and mobilization strategy with clear matrix of activities at central, regional and school/community level and identifying the roles and responsibilities and materials required. The consultant is expected to look at all possible medium of communication and mobilization.
• Orientation of the key education partners and ministry official in implementing the plan.
• Prepare the distribution plan and facilitate the availability of the key communication materials to be used in the mobilization process at all levels.
• Support the implementation of the 6/6 campaign at the school/community/regional and national levels.
• Monitor the implementation of the campaign.

 Education Sector Plan Dissemination

• Develop the ESP dissemination plan in collaboration with Ministry of Education and the education partners.
• Facilitate the development of dissemination materials (brochures/ radio spots/posters etc) for facilitating the dissemination of the sector plan.
• Facilitate the organization of the regional level workshops for dissemination of the education sector plan. 
• Monitor the dissemination of the dissemination.

Coordination

• Facilitate coordination between different partners and Ministry to implement the 6/6 campaign and the dissemination of ESP

Activity and timelines ( Table 1 is also included)

1.  Activity: Develop the activity plan for the achieving the objectives of the consultancy

Tasks / Methodology: Literature review/interviews/consultations

Deliverables: Inception Report

Timeline: one week from the signing of contract

2. Activity: Develop the 6/6 campaign strategy and ESP dissemination strategy

Tasks/methodology: Consultation and others means

Deliverables: 6/6 campaign plan and ESP dissemination strategy including a matrix of the key activities, roles and responsibilities of different entities at national/regional and school level and materials required.

Timeline: Campaign 6/6 (up to two weeks after finalization of preliminary report including activity matrix; PSE Dissemination (up to four weeks after finalization of preliminary report including activity matrix)

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3. Activity: Orientation of the education partners and the key people responsible for the conducting the campaign.

Tasks/methodology: Workshops at regional/sector levels (sub-national levels).

Deliverable: Workshop reports

Timeline: Three weeks from the finalization of the campaign plan 

4. Activity: Facilitate the implementation of the campaign.(6/6)

Tasks/methodology: Different events at the sub-national level as per the matrix

Deliverable: Implementation reports

Time line: within one week after end of campaign ( by 15 October)

5. Activity: Monitoring of the campaign

Tasks/methodology: Monitoring of the campaign/ programme monitoring visits

Deliverables: Monitoring reports

Time Line: End of campaign

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6. Activity: Finalization of the materials for the dissemination of the Education Sector Plan

Task/methodology: Consultation, development of key messages, brochures, radio sports and other relevant materials

Deliverables: Dissemination materials: Brochures,Radio spots in all languages,Posters

Timeline: End of August

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7. Activity: Workshops at regional level with key stakeholders

Tasks/methodology: 5 workshops for sharing the key aspects of the ESP

Deliverables: Workshop reports

Timeline: by end of October

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8. Activity: Report/documentation on the assignment

Tasks/methodology: Compile information, photos, data on the campaign

Deliverables: End of the assignment report

Timeline: before one week of ending of contract

 

Activity

Tasks/Methodology

Deliverables

Suggested delivery dates

1

Develop the activity plan for the achieving the objectives of the consultancy

Literature review/interviews/consultations

 

Inception report

15 days of signing the contract

2

Develop the 6/6 campaign strategy and ESP dissemination strategy

 

Consultations

 

 

 

6/6 campaign plan and ESP dissemination strategy including a matrix of the key activities, roles and responsibilities and materials required.

Two weeks from the finalization of the inception report

3

Orientation of the education partners and the key people responsible for the conducting the campaign.

Workshops at regional/sector levels (sub-national levels).

 

 

Workshop reports on the orientation sessions.

Three weeks from the finalization of the campaign plan.

4

Facilitate the implementation of the campaign.

Different events at the sub-national level as per the matrix

 

Implementation report

Four weeks

5.

Monitoring of the campaign

Field monitoring/programme monitoring visits

Monitoring reports

At the end of the campaign

6

Finalization of the materials for ESP dissemination.

 

 

Consultations and development of key messages and the brochures/radio spots/ posters and any other relevant materials.

 

Dissemination materials:

Brochures

Radio spots in all languages

Posters

End August

7

Regional workshops with key stakeholders

5 workshops to share the key aspects of the ESP.

Workshop reports

 

8

Report/documentation on the assignment

 

Compile information, photos, data on the campaign

Final comprehensive report on the assignment

One week prior to the end of contract

Deliverables, Timeframe and Payment

Key deliverables are:

• Inception report for the 6/6 campaign and the ESP dissemination.
• 6/6 campaign strategy and its implementation report
• ESP dissemination strategy and its implementation report.
• ESP dissemination materials: brochure/Radio spots in all the languages/ Posters
• End of assignment report

 Methodology and Organization of work:

Duration: The contract will be for a total of 4 months. The table above is an indicative time table for the contract.  The institution is free to propose a different time table, as long as the proposal clearly explains the sequence of activities, the resources deployed at each stage and the feasibility of the duration of each stage. Earlier delivery while maintaining quality standards will be favorably considered in the technical assessment. However the contract will not be extended beyond said period

Management and implementation arrangement:

The overall management of this management will be done by UNICEF and MoE. Within UNICEF, Education and Communication Section will jointly supervise the contract.

Budget and Remuneration:

The budget for this consultancy will be covered from Grant SC 1409905 and SC170098.  The contract fee rate will be based on the current market value.

 Payment:

• Inception report for the 6/6 campaign and the ESP dissemination. 10%
• 6/6 campaign strategy finalized and approved. 20%
• 6/6 campaign  implementation report 15%
• ESP dissemination strategy finalized and approved. 20%
• ESP dissemination materials: brochure/Radio spots in all the languages/ Posters 10%
• ESP dissemination implementation report. 15%
• End of assignment report. 10%

The applicants have to send a financial proposal along with the application. Financial proposal should include the travel and transportation and accommodation (in case required) costs as these will be responsibility of the consultant.

Qualifications of Successful Candidate

Education & Years of relevant experience

• A Degree in Education, Communication, Social Sciences, with over 5 years of demonstrated experience in designing and implementing campaigns, communication strategies and dissemination.
• Excellent writing, analytical and synthesis skills.
• Very good command of written and spoken Portuguese.

Conditions of work

The assignment will be carried out in consultation with UNICEF and Ministry of Education. The consultant will work from the office and a computer/internet connectivity will be provided. All the products developed will be the property of UNICEF. The consultant is expected to make his/her own travel, transportation, and accommodation arrangements when required. The financial proposal should be comprehensive including the costs of travel/transportation/accommodation.

Competencies of Successful Candidate

To view our competency framework, please click here. 

Please indicate your ability, availability and daily/monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above (including travel and daily subsistence allowance, if applicable).  Applications submitted without a daily/monthly rate will not be considered.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.