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National Consultant to support the Implementation of Can’t Wait to learn scale-up project in Sudan 2018-2020 for 11.5 months

Khartoum

  • Organization: UNICEF - United Nations Children’s Fund
  • Location: Khartoum
  • Grade: Junior level - NO-A, National Professional Officer - Locally recruited position
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Education, Learning and Training
    • Project and Programme Management
  • Closing Date: Closed

Looking for national consultant to provide technical assistance in the fields of innovation, IT and communication to UNICEF Education Section - with special focus on “Can’t wait to learn” project.

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, www.unicef.org

 

Sudan, surrounded by the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Libya and South Sudan, positioned next to East, West, South and North Africa, is surrounded by complex conflicts in an unpredictable, volatile and rapidly evolving region. Sudan is by size the third biggest country in Africa, with a diverse population of around 42 million people. Sudan’s children make up half of the total population, and the past two decades have seen their lives significantly improve: fewer girls and boys are dying before their fifth birthday, primary school attendance is increasing, immunization coverage is high and the country remains polio free. Still, millions of children continue to suffer from protracted conflict in Darfur, the Kordofans, and Blue Nile, from seasonal natural disasters, malnutrition and disease outbreaks, and from under-investment in basic social services. More than three million of Sudan’s school aged children are not in the classroom. UNICEF has been in Sudan since 1952 and continues with a presence in 12 of Sudan’s 18 states.

How can you make a difference?

Looking for national consultant to provide technical assistance in the fields of innovation, IT and communication to UNICEF Education Section - with special focus on “Can’t wait to learn” project.

Background

Sudan is the third largest country in Africa with an area of approximately 1.9 million square kilometres (almost half the size of the EU), an estimated population of 40 million inhabitants of whom an estimated 40 per cent are below 14 years old.

Sudan has struggled to stabilize after two prolonged civil wars and the economic shock of South Sudan's secession in 2011. Sudan is classified as a fragile state by the OECD and the World Bank. Ongoing armed conflict and large displacement of populations in the southern regions continue to hold back the country’s development and narrows the chances of bringing positive change to 18 million people living below the poverty line. As well as claiming millions of lives, war has displaced large numbers of the population.

Education context

Educational provision in Sudan is guided by global instruments including the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC national laws, policies and plans. The interim Poverty Reduction Strategy prioritises education as a key factor in addressing the root causes of poverty and tribal conflict. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) is 83.9 per cent[1]. There are, however, significant disparities in GER for basic education between different states in Sudan, ranging from 85 per cent in Al Gezira to only 37 per cent in East Darfur.  Basic education, which includes Grades 1-9, is compulsory and free but the free education policy declared by the 2001 Education Act is not being implemented and parents are still paying not only indirect costs, but also fees putting even more pressure on already meagre household economic resources. Less than 40 per cent of children who are at a primary school entry age in Sudan are attending the first-grade primary school. Significant differentials are present by state and urban-rural areas. There are also considerable variations in the net primary school attendance ratios among states.Table 1  Gross enrolment per state in primary school, aged 6-13[2]

Overall enrolment rates for this population varies a great deal by state: the lowest are East Darfur (29.4%), Kassala (37.3%), and South Darfur (37. 5%).Despite an increase in enrolment since 2004–2005, there are over three million out-of-school children (OOSC), aged 5-13 years in Sudan (52 per cent girls) – the highest out-of-school rate in northern Africa (OOSC 2014). Complex and mutually reinforcing patterns of disadvantage – poverty, gender inequity, disability, conflict and displacement – raise barriers to schooling and erode educational opportunities for children.

Formal education opportunities are widely unavailable and where they exist, they often exclude the most vulnerable children, particularly girls and those in rural areas. Children in rural areas, in disadvantaged states/regions and nomadic communities are least likely to attend school. Nearly 80 per cent of urban children of basic school age are in school, whereas in rural areas attendance drops to less than 50 per cent. Three quarters of all nomadic children (6-13 years) are out-of-school and, in some states, this rises to 100 per cent.[3]

The probability of children being out-of-school is higher in conflict or emergency affected states than in other states across Sudan, according to the 2017 Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) About 1.7 million conflict affected children (948,141 IDP, 229,129 refugees and 85,785 returnees) are in need of Education in Emergencies (EiE) in the seven conflicted effected states. Furthermore, it is noted that the total numbers of conflict-affected children in need of EiE Sudan has been increasing due to not only internal conflicts in the seven states but also the unstable political situation and recent famine in South Sudan. According to the 15 August 2017 UNHCRSudan South Sudanese Refugee (SSR) emergency population update, there are 424,182 in Sudan since December 2013, additionally, Socio-cultural beliefs, negative attitudes towards educating girls, the cost of schooling (both direct and opportunity costs such as the loss of child labour) , distance between school and home, safety concerns and child marriage disadvantage girls especially in rural areas in state such as Blue Nile, White Nile, Kasala and Gadareef significantly  contributed to the increase of the number of out of school children. 

The education status among nomadic communities is very weak, with very high illiteracy. Children are difficult to reach due their way of life. Nomadic communities are very conservative and traditionally reluctant to accept the notion of sending children, especially girls, to school. The education of the nomads remains a great challenge to the education authorities in its efforts to provide quality basic education for all. Of the estimated 540,000 school going age nomadic children, 362,000 are out of school and, only 38 per cent of those going to school are girls.

Include a brief paragraph about the education status in the targeted states to demonstrate why these states were targeted

Can’t Wait to Learn

Can’t wait to learn aims to explore alternative innovative ways of reaching marginalized hard to reach children to traditional education methods. The project uses education technology as part of a model of education which is offering certified curriculum level content through applied gaming and personalised pupil engagement. The programme uses a range of innovative, results focused approaches: combining context specific applied gaming and community-based facilitation instead of waiting for formal schools to be built; a strong innovation management staged approach to growth with rigorous appropriate research; and focusing on getting the right partnerships in place.

The Can’t Wait to Learn programme uses education technology as part of a model of education which is offering certified curriculum level content through applied gaming and personalised pupil engagement. The programme uses a range of innovative, results focused approaches: combining context specific applied gaming and community-based facilitation instead of waiting for formal schools to be built; a strong innovation management staged approach to growth with rigorous appropriate research; and focusing on getting the right partnerships in place. Initial results from the numeracy trial suggest that the model may prove to be empowering, flexible, innovative and cost-effective at scale. The model provides education to children in remote areas and from marginalised communities: even in places where there are no school buildings or teachers.  

The overall goal of the ‘Can’t Wait to Learn- Mobile education for out-of-school children in Sudan’ initiative is to develop a viable, scalable education alternative that is suitable for conflict-affected children, girls and children with disabilities currently excluded from the traditional education model. This requires that the model a) uses an effective distribution approach which facilitates access for minority groups including girls; b) has strong learning outcomes which allow for the eventual transition of children to the formal education sector; c) is cost-effective at scale; d) has a robust partnership model which includes the involvement of all relevant state and non-state education sector actors.  

Can’t Wait started in Sudan in partnership Between UNICEF, War Child Holland, Ahfad University and the MOE, on its first phase in 2014 focusing on a numeracy trial with a project called e-Learning Sudan (eLS). The eLS uses an applied mathematics game using a tablet, solar power and community facilitators to bring education to children directly in the villages where they live. Local facilitators are trained in child-friendly approaches and technical aspects of the game and the tablet.  The trial has been accompanied by rigorous research and monitoring. Results show that children who have previously been excluded from education can learn mathematics faster and achieve better results using tablet-based technology than through the traditional non-formal education model. Throughout their engagement in the project, individual child progress is tracked and recorded on the tablets and through periodic testing. 

A previous trial in the out of school mathematics has proven to be highly effective in generating learning outcomes among 300 children from 19 rural, semi-nomadic or IDP communities across three states of Sudan. The programme now aims to develop and add a literacy component to the existing numeracy-focused model, with the aim of enabling children to learn how to read and write. With an adult literacy rate of a mere 27per cent in Sudan acquiring literacy and basic numeracy will bring positive change to the individual children as well as their communities.  

Additionally, the Initial results from the numeracy trial suggest that the model may prove to be empowering, flexible, innovative and cost-effective at scale. The model provides education to children in remote areas and from marginalised communities: even in places where there are no school buildings or teachers. Through the use of open source technologies for software development and a strong multi-sector engagement and advocacy approach, coupled with the formal inclusion of this e-learning approach in Ministry of Education plans, this programme is designed to ensure long-term sustainability and to facilitate a project exit strategy. 

The second phase of the project started in 2016 and aims at adding a literacy component, to be developed by War Child Holland, to the existing numeracy-focused model, with the aim of enabling children to learn how to read and write. In the second Phase, the project focused on the development of the Arabic content for the tablet as well as on conducting an extensive ground trial for a sample group of 160 children in selected villages in Kassala and Sinnar states, The literacy trial follows the same approach to the programme roll-out and evaluation as chosen in the numeracy trial. A successful Arabic literacy trial is a key pre-requisite for scale-up in Sudan. The Arabic curriculum which is being developed in collaboration between War Child Holland and the Ministry of Education is based on the Alternative Learning Program (ALP) Curriculum developed from the Ministry of Education - approved education matrix.

Objective

Under the supervision of the Education Specialist, the Consultant will contribute/support to the project by providing technical support to the education section in the field of innovation, IT and communication to contribute to development, implementation and monitoring of the expansion of the e-learning scale-up project to achieve:

  • Expansion of access to education for 25,000 emergencies affected children in target state including IDPs, returnees, South Sudanese refugee and host community children.
  • Expansion of access to education for 25,000 poor children scattered in rural villages who lack access to education throughout Kassala, Blue Nile and other target state. 
  • Proof of concept and expansion of access to education for 10,000 nomadic children in target states.

     

    Proof of concept and expansion of access 5,000 out of school girls in Hamish Koreib locality, Kassala (Girls’ access to education remains a critical challenge in many rural communities. Hamish Koreb locality is one of the 11 localities in Kassala state. The state based EMIS data indicates that between 2007 and 2015, no girl in Hamish Koreb hasever enrolled in basic education. The deep rooted social cultural norms and religious beliefs against education of girls are among the top reasons for girls not attending school in Hamish Koreb. The cost of schooling (both direct and opportunity costs, i.e. lost ‘labour’); distance between school and home also contribute to the absence of girls in schools in Hamish Koreb and in Sudan in general)

Specific Tasks

The Consultant will be based in Khartoum under the supervision of the Education Specialist and the guidance of the Education Chief of Section, s/he will be responsible for the following specific tasks under innovation, IT and communication work:

 

Innovation:

  • Researching, scouting and standardizing market research methods, trends, market disruptions and insights for novel ideas and emerging market opportunities
  • Generating sustainability projects, trainings and activities around solar energy and development including children, youth and adults in the project’s locations
  • Conducting multidisciplinary innovation outreach with local, regional and international public and private institutions
  • Embedding strategic innovation in all project’s components
  • Promoting open innovation using tools and processes that encourage creative systems thinking
  • Developing and applying measures to track innovation improvements and the skills required for implementation of innovative approaches
  • Organizing ideation sessions such as jams and hackathons and lead in innovation incubation within project components where applicable

Technology:

  • Maintaining current knowledge of relevant technological landscape trends and developments
  • Tracking, analyzing and monitoring the project’s technology performance indicators
  • Spearhead efforts for rigorous user experience and user design interface testing and implementation with proven and data backed metrics
  • Consolidating all technological platforms and creating plans and metrics for each one
  • Creating flag-post technology testing schedules across users and professional education and technology specialists
  • Ensuring the technological systems design across all project components is functional and properly indexed, referenced and stored
  • Guiding the technological know-how of operating, maintaining and troubleshooting devices to be locally transferred with a direct line of technical support provision
  • Overseeing the fusion of digital technologies and physical infrastructure
  • Leading cyber security efforts to secure, store and backup all data
  • Conducting research on users and systems and leading beta testing of implemented needs
  • Conducting leading edge case studies, and determining the probability of implementing new digital enhancements
  • Overseeing regular and updated digital training and sensitivity programs

Communication:

  • Creating a 360-project communications strategy
  • Maintaining communication channels between all project stakeholders to facilitate optimal project engagement and execution
  • Strengthening project visibility with local, regional and international media interested in the project axis of reach, implementation and impact
  • create a steady flow of multimedia communications content for outreach and engagement across multiple channels of relevance and to a diverse audience of general public and education and technology specialists
  • create an up-to-date database of communication materials (audio-visual-editorial) from all project locations
  • Maintaining a documentation management system for output components.

 

 Expected Deliverables

  • Submit a details market Researching and plan to engage with the Private sector to support the suitability of the e-learning programme Aug 2018- Aug-2019 
  •  Develop details communication tools and promotion materials for the cant wait to learn Aug 2018- Aug-2019 
  • Lead and train all the IT level and the state team about the use of the e-learning tablet Aug 2018- Aug-2019 
  • create an up-to-date database of communication materials (audio-visual-editorial) from all project locations Aug 2018- Aug-2019 
  • Master degree in Social Science and relevant fields such as education, Information management/technology, communication (Advanced degree in the same field is an added advantage).
  • At least five years of professional experience in a similar role- with an emphasis on innovation and proven knowledge and skills in Innovation, technology & communication work.
  • Familiarity with Developing and applying measures to track innovation improvements and the skills required for implementation of innovative approaches in addition to project management concept.
  • He/she is expected to be familiar with the education system in Sudan.
  • The consultant is expected to have demonstrated capability on strategy development or similar work.
  • Demonstrated experience in developing resource mobilization.
  • Fluent (speaking and writing) in Arabic and English.
  • Working experience with UNICEF, UN sister agencies or international NGOs  is an added advantage.
  • Ability to work independently.
  • Ability and willingness to travel outside Khartoum

    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.

The competencies required for this post are….

View our competency framework at

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

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. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

Remarks:

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

This vacancy is now closed.
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