National consultant on development of Strategy on Inclusive Education (IE), Kyiv, Ukraine

The purpose of the consultancy is to provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MoES) to develop the National Strategy for development of Inclusive Education: The Consultant will summarise the inputs from the MoES and working groups on Inclusive Education, draft the strategic framework and analytical overview, facilitate further discussions and consulting process with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working on issues of children with disabilities and other relevant stakeholders in inclusive education, and develop a set of recommendations to the Strategy document, taking into account inputs from all stakeholders and international best practices and provide own inputs to the document. Additionally, an International Consultant in Inclusive Education will be recruited to share the scope of assignment. The national consultant will work under the direct supervision of UNICEF Ukraine, and in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MoES), CSOs, and the international consultant.

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,

Recognition of inclusion is the key to achieving the right to education and is enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) that contains a reference to the concept of quality Inclusive Education. According to article 24 of the CRPD the realization of the right of persons with disabilities to education should be ensured through an Inclusive Education system at all levels. Ukraine ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its optional protocol in 2010, declaring the right of every child to access education. The recent Law of Ukraine on Education (2020) formally secures the right of children with disabilities and special educational needs (SEN) to receive education in mainstream settings, improves equity in access to quality secondary education in Ukraine and guarantees the enrolment of children in the most territorially accessible primary schools without any contests; opportunities for children with special educational needs to study in mainstream schools, according to their own learning trajectories; envisages greater financial autonomy of schools, extra payments to teachers; more rights for the student self-governance. Amplified

How can you make a difference?

The purpose of the consultancy is to provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MoES) to develop the National Strategy for development of Inclusive Education:

The Consultant will summarise the inputs from the MoES and working groups on Inclusive Education, draft the strategic framework and analytical overview, facilitate further discussions and consulting process with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working on issues of children with disabilities and other relevant stakeholders in inclusive education, and develop a set of recommendations to the Strategy document, taking into account inputs from all stakeholders and international best practices and provide own inputs to the document.

Additionally, an International Consultant in Inclusive Education will be recruited to share the scope of assignment. The national consultant will work under the direct supervision of UNICEF Ukraine, and in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MoES), CSOs, and the international consultant.

The specific objectives of the assignment are:

• Desk review and research on issues, needs, trends concerning inclusive education in Ukraine
• Review and analysis of legal and regulatory instruments, national laws, strategies, and policies related to education and inclusive education and identification of main entry points for the revision
• Development of practical recommendations to the draft National Strategy on Inclusive Education and Action Plan
• Analytical evidence for strategy development
• Consultations with Ministry of Education and Science, key stakeholders, parents and children with disabilities
• Consultations with expert working groups on national strategy on Inclusive Education
• Briefing note on Inclusive Education and situation analysis for a wide range of stakeholders across Ukraine. The note should include recommendations on mainstreaming Inclusive Education (IE) in Ukraine
• Development of set of recommendation for improvement of legislation.
• Final report and contribution of inputs to final draft of the National Strategy on Inclusive Education

To reach specific objectives, the Consultant will have to complete the following tasks:

• Conduct desk review of prevailing national policies, strategies, standards and investment levels pertaining inclusive education in Ukraine (i.e. National Strategy for creating a barrier-free environment in Ukraine until 2030 and the Action Plan, Deinstitutionalization Reform (DI), any other current national strategies that may affect the education of children with special educational needs; and integrate the obtained results from analysis in the set of recommendations to the draft National Strategy
• Review the availability and quality of existing data (statistics on children with special educational needs) and analytical work around the rights of children with disabilities through documentation of research and evidence regarding children and families with disabilities
• Compare and analyse conceptual approaches to the development of inclusive education in the education system among reform actors and relevant stakeholders
• Review and analyse the Procedures for the organization of inclusive education and levels of support provision at pre-school and general secondary educational institutions according to current challenges and provisions of the focused experts
• Analyse existing mechanism of financial support of the needs of a children with SEN (i.e. conditions for providing a subvention from the state budget to local budgets for state support to persons with special educational needs approved by the Order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 88, dated February 14, 2017)
• Analyse approaches used by teachers, headmasters, psychologists, and IRC specialist to the assessment of the children with special educational needs and their needs in the educational process.
• Analyse existing monitoring mechanism for the quality of services rendered by IRC specialists and supervision system for all specialists involved in inclusive education and provide recommendations on development of tools to monitor the progress of a child with special educational needs during inclusive education
• Review and analyse the strategy design to examine the extent to which the strategy can be evaluated in a reliable and credible fashion, and to ascertain whether its objectives are adequately defined and expected results of the Action Plan are verifiable.
• In cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science organize meetings of the working group on Inclusive Education; facilitate communication and exchange feedback with the working group on draft Strategy.
• Develop the final report and presentation of the findings and recommendations to the Ministry of Education and Science, working group on Inclusive Education and other relevant stakeholders.
• Contribute to the responsive draft National Strategy on Inclusive Education and present set of recommendations to the Ministry of Education and Sciencefor further endorsement of the Strategy
• Perform other tasks as may be requested by UNICEF or Ministry of Education and Science within the scope of this assignment.

Work Assignment Overview:     

Tasks/Deliverables: Conduct a desk review on issues, needs, trends concerning inclusive education; conduct secondary data review on roadmaps and national plans on implementation of Inclusive Education. Review and analyse prevailing national policies, strategies, standards and interventions pertaining Inclusive Education in Ukraine and integrate the obtained results from analysis in the set of recommendations to the draft National Strategy. Review the availability and quality of existing data through documentation of research and evidence regarding children and families with disabilities and special educational needs. Compare and analyse conceptual approaches to the development of Inclusive Education in the education system of Ukraine. Review and analyse the Procedure for the organization of Inclusive Education and levels of support provision at general secondary educational institutions according to current challenges and provisions of the focused experts. Deliverable: Analytical note as evidence for strategy development Deadline: 30 December 2021 (10 w/days)

Tasks/Deliverables: Analyse existing data and monitoring mechanism for the quality of services rendered by Inclusive Resource Centres (IRC) and provide recommendations on development of tools to monitor the progress of a child with special educational needs during Inclusive Education. Deliverable: Review of the monitoring and recommendations. Dedaline: 14 January 2022 (7 w/days)

Tasks/Deliverables: Organization and facilitation of work groups meetings (at least 3 meetings offline and/or online) with experts on Inclusive Education to discuss and provide inputs to the draft National Strategy. Preparing analytical evidence for the groups. Deliverable: Minutes of the meetings, summary of consultations and adapting the draft in accordance with inputs from consultations. Deadline: 10 February 2022 (10 w/days)

Tasks/Deliverables: Based on the findings and consultations, develop a final report and contribute to a responsive draft National Strategy and Action Plan; make a presentation of the proposed draft for communication to relevant stakeholders and parents with children with disabilities; collecting final comments from them for validation of the draft strategy. Deliverable: final report and set of inputs and recommendations to the draft National Strategy and Action Plan; final draft of the National Strategy on Inclusive Education is endorsed by MoES. Deadline: 24 February 2022 (10 w/days)

Terms of payment: Upon completion of each deliverable according to schedule.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Education: Master's degree in Social Sciences, Public Administration, Psychology, Sociology, Pedagogy, Medicine or other relevant discipline.

Professional experience: At least 3 years of experience in development of long-term strategies for government, analytical reports and policy/strategy documents. Extensive professional knowledge in Inclusive Education or related Social Sciences field. Proven experience in policy analysis and strong analytical skills. Demonstrated knowledge and experience on topics related to inclusive education and/or disability.

Language: English -  Upper-intermediate [B2]; Ukrainian- Proficient/Native [C2]

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

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 be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

Please fill in the form properly and indicate your daily fee, travel lump sum, and total fee to complete the assignment.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse, and on any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.