Consultant (International) – Support the strengthening of counselling within the UNRWA Education Programme

Result of Service

CONDITIONS OF SERVICE
The following conditions are to be observed:

•The consultant will be remunerated at P4 daily rate with a total of 40,548 USD for the whole contract, paid gradually following the satisfactory completion of agreed deliverables.

Deliverable 1-Development of modules and accompanying handbooks for the professional development programme for school counsellors
Duration :120 days included the following :

Deliverable1.1:Development of the Blueprint and module 1
Duration:30 days
Payment (USD): $8,689
Expected date of completion :15th October 2022

Deliverable1.2 :Development of modules 2 and 3
Duration :30 days
Payment (USD):$8,689
Expected date of completion:31st December 2022

Deliverable1.3:Development of modules 4 and 5
Duration:30 days
payment (USD):$8,689
Expected date of completion:15th February 2023

Deliverable1.4: Development of module 6 and the Handbook for support staff
Duration:30 days
Payment (USD):$8,689
Expected date of completion:30th March 2023

Deliverable 2:Development of monitoring and evaluation tools for HQ and the School Counsellor supervisor
Duration:12 days
Payment (USD):$3,475
Expected date of completion:30th April 2023

Deliverable 3:One Agencywide ToT workshop in HQ(A)
Duration: 5 days
Payment (USD):$1,448
Expected date of completion:30th June 2023

Deliverable 4:One Agencywide induction workshop
Duration:3 days
Payment (USD):$869
Expected date of completion:31st July 2023

Work Location

•The consultant will be home-based for most of the consultancy period and will come to Jordan (if they are living outside Jordan), for the Induction and ToT workshops towards the end of the project.

Expected duration

•The expected start date of the consultancy is 7th September 2022. The duration of the consultancy is until 31st July 2023.

Duties and Responsibilities

A.BACKGROUND

UNRWA provides free quality, inclusive and equitable basic education to over 540,000 Palestine refugee children in 702 schools across Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. The Agency also operates eight vocational training centres and two educational science faculties for nearly 10,000 young people. In its Medium-Term Strategy (MTS) 2016-2022, UNRWA articulates its commitment to ensuring that Palestine Refugee School-Aged Children “complete quality, equitable and inclusive basic education”.
Inclusive education is at the heart of the endeavour for quality education, where equal access for all children to quality education regardless of their capabilities, ethnicity, religion, gender, socio-economic status, health and psychosocial needs is emphasized. A key strand of inclusive education is the psychosocial wellbeing of the children, and within the interrelated, systemic approach of the whole UNRWA Education Programme, with the support of GIZ, UNRWA developed the Psychosocial Support Framework for UNRWA Schools: A Conceptual Framework (2016). The Psychosocial Framework for UNRWA Schools is crucially aligned with the Agency-Wide Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Framework, to which the Education Programme contributed. Furthermore, UNRWA recognizes the importance of addressing gender gaps in education and ensuring that Palestine refugee boys and girls have equal and equitable access to quality education and has therefore worked to ensure that all educators including teachers, School Counsellors and other education cadre adopt a gender lens in the support they provide to students. Emphasis on gender is evident in all UNRWA Education policies, strategies, frameworks and programmes and a Gender Guide, 'Towards gender-sensitive classrooms: guide for teachers" was developed to further strengthen educators' understanding of gender issues.
In 2019, UNRWA partnered with GIZ to strengthen psychosocial support to Palestine refugees to foster their resilience and social inclusion through enhancing the Education Programme approach towards counselling. The previous phase of the partnership concluded in December 2021 having run for more than two years. Through this partnership, the UNRWA School Counsellors: Conceptual Background and Guidance was developed to articulate the ideal model for school counselling services in UNRWA schools which takes into account the specific social, cultural and economic context of Palestinian refugees in the UNRWA Fields. Additionally, capacity building of School Counsellors was conducted in the Fields to raise the required minimum competencies articulated in the Guidance and harmonize School Counselling knowledge and competencies Agencywide. For the next phase of the partnership with GIZ, the Education Programme plans to continue building on what has been achieved so far.
To support the psychosocial wellbeing of UNRWA students, School Counsellors play a key role, working alongside teachers as appropriate and part of the wider School-Based Student Support Team. The UNRWA Strategic Blueprint 2023 – 2028 recognizes the key role that School Counsellors play considering the increasing needs that children are faced with within the five Fields of operation. The Agency has therefore committed to strengthening the role of School Counsellors and their provision of counselling and PSS services, even during remote working.
The overall project objective is to strengthen the capacity of School Counsellors, teachers, School Principals and other education staff to better enable them to respond to evolving and increasing needs for counselling amongst students at UNRWA schools. It is within this context that the Department of Education is seeking an external consultant to support the development of a professional development programme for School Counsellors.

B. ORGANISATIONAL SETTING AND REPORTING

This position is situated within the UNRWA Department of Education at HQ-Amman. The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Chief, Teaching and Learning Division. Furthermore, the consultant will liaise with other Fields and Departments as needed.

C. DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

In accordance with Agency policies and procedures, the consultant will be responsible for the following:

1.The development of a blueprint outlining the purpose, target audience, structure, content and delivery of the professional development programme; modules and accompanying handbooks for the professional development programme for School Counsellors including training materials, tasks and assessments. The consultant will also be expected to provide additional verified external resources to be used to enrich the programme such as videos and links to additional resources. All material developed should be aligned with the inclusive education approach and all education frameworks and strategies particularly the Inclusive Education Policy and Strategy and the Psychosocial Support for UNRWA schools: A conceptual framework.

The consultant will be expected to review all UNRWA documents and recent capacity-building activities related to counselling to ensure that the professional development programme is aligned with the UNRWA Education vision and the needs in the Fields. The programme will use a blended learning approach, i.e. self-learning and practical modules with the School Counsellor supervisors. This will be done in coordination with the Education Department in HQ(A). All School Counsellors who are already in the system and all newly appointed School Counsellors will be expected to complete this programme.

2.A phased approach will be followed to ensure the effective roll-out of the professional developed programme in all Fields. This will entail organising ToT workshops with a small group of school counsellors and School Counsellor Supervisors from the five Fields. These will lead in the rollout of the programme with all the School Counsellors in each Field.

3.To conduct an Agencywide induction workshop to kick off the start of the professional development programme. This workshop will primarily target education senior management in HQ and the Fields. It will also include relevant staff from other programmes.

4.The development of monitoring and evaluation tools for HQ and the School Counsellor supervisor. At the Field level, the School Counsellor Supervisors will be responsible for the implementation and follow-up of the programme with the support of HQ Education. A Monitoring and Evaluation framework will be developed to address all course components and course impact. Additionally, the programme should be designed to allow the School Counsellors to self-evaluate their progress in each module area. This self-evaluation will be monitored by the Education Specialists who will be expected to check progress during visits.

Qualifications/special skills

Academic Qualifications:

•Advanced degree (Master's or equivalent) in psychological counselling or clinical psychology from a recognized institution

Experience:

•At least 8 years of professional experience working in the field of school counselling and psychosocial support in education including experience in the supervision of School Counsellors.
•Expertise in education sector policy, planning and management; Mental Health and psychosocial support and school counselling.
•At least two continuous years of relevant international experience outside the country of which the candidate is a national or holds citizenship, a passport or national identity card.
•Outstanding communication skills, with excellent command of spoken and written Arabic and English.
•Possess gender-sensitive and inclusive skills.
•Ability to travel to the Five Fields of Operation of UNRWA.
•Ability to develop training materials and Capacity building skills
•Understanding of the Palestine refugee's context at the global, regional and country levels.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

•PhD in psychology counselling or clinical psychology.
•Experience in the Middle East region.
•Previous work with UNRWA is an asset

COMPETENCIES:

UN Core Values of Professionalism, Integrity and Respect for Diversity and Core Competencies of Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results apply by default.
•Planning and Organizing
•Positive attitude and strong analytical, interpersonal and communication skills.
•Adapting and Responding to Change
•Ability to independently plan and prioritize own work, and work well under tight deadlines.
•Excellent knowledge of MS Office.
•Proven critical thinking, creativity, and analytical skills.
•Proven ability to operate in a challenging and dynamic environment.
•Ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with colleagues and others in a team environment.

Additional Information

•The consultant will work closely with the Chief, Teaching and Learning Division and the Inclusive Education Unit based at the Headquarters of the Department of Education UNRWA in Amman.

•The consultant is expected to have their own laptop and other facilities needed.
•UNRWA will cover travelling costs to Jordan for the Induction and ToT workshops.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.