Consultancy: To support life skills curriculum and textbook development, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

UNICEF Cambodia Country Office is looking to hire a consultant to support life skills curriculum and textbook development under Education Programme. If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you.

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

To strengthen the quality of learning in Cambodia, curriculum development is one of the top five reform priorities of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS). In 2015, the MoEYS curriculum reform taskforce developed a Curriculum Framework for general and technical education to guide this process. Local life skills education is one of the subjects included in this Framework. In 2016, the Vocational Orientation Department and the Department of Curriculum Development within MoEYS developed content for the Life Skills Education Framework drawing from the local life skills education programme piloted in Takeo, Siem Reap and Stung Treng provinces, as well as from NGO partners. The Life Skills Education Framework aims to guide development of life skills syllabi, standards, and textbooks. Together with other subject areas, and as part of an overarching curriculum reform process, MoEYS’ intends for life skills to be fully implemented by 2023.

Given the scope of this work and the need to draw upon international best practice, a consultant is sought to support MoEYS’ curriculum reform taskforce in delivering on a new life skills education curriculum. This consultant is required to work with MoEYS Department of Curriculum Development (DCD), Vocational Orientation Department (VOD) and the curriculum reform taskforce, and support development of the life skills syllabi and standards. This work involves review and revision of the life skills syllabi and standards, ensuring that life skills syllabi and standards are broadly consistent and coherent with other subject areas across the school curricula. In 2019, the MoEYS expects to begin development of life skills textbooks and teacher guides for grades 4-6 and grades 7-9. It is proposed that the consultant be contracted to work in a phased approach until March 2019 for both life skills syllabi, standards as well as in development of a baseline student survey instrument.

How can you make a difference?

The purpose of the consultancy is to ensure continuous quality support to the development of life skills education syllabi and standards by drawing upon international best practices, including from the UNICEF life skills and citizenship education programme implemented in the Middle East and North Africa; and from experiences and lessons learnt from the existing life skills education programme in Cambodia. The consultant will also ensure that life skills syllabi and standards are consistent and coherent across other subject syllabi and standards. Subsequently, the consultant will support the DCD and VOD to design and conduct a life skills baseline survey in target schools to assess existing student understanding of key ‘life skills’ content.

To qualify as a/an [champion or advocate] for every child you will have…

Qualifications and Experience

• Advanced university degree in education, social sciences, international development or related technical field.
• At least eight years of professional work experience at national or sub-national level on education programming, coordination or policy support, particularly in life skills/technical vocational education and training and/or curriculum development.
• Experience working with Cambodian Government counterparts providing technical support or implementing programmes particularly in education and/or analytical research.
• Experience in organizing and facilitating multi-stakeholder meetings
• Experience working with the UN or other international or national development organizations an asset

Competencies, Knowledge and Skills

• Sound knowledge of the education sector in Cambodia and MoEYS policies and processes
• Strong technical expertise in curriculum development and/or 21^st century learning/interactive pedagogy  
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Excellent programme management, planning, design and coordination skills
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• Khmer language skills considered an assert

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

View our competency framework at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

Terms of Reference for this assignment is available here  ToR _Consultant to Support Life Skills Curriculum Development_2018_final version.pdf

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.