The National Consultant will ensure the prioritization of reform interventions, the development of a national Compact, with GPE support, will provide an opportunity to sustain the national coordination efforts with the expectation that the Compact will be endorsed as the national Roadmap under the auspices of an established working group within the Local Education Group.
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Background:
In the last five years the Government of Uzbekistan has been implementing pathbreaking reforms in various sub-sectors of education, which resulted in adopting the new Rights-based laws on Education (2020) and Preschool Education (2019), introducing new decrees for implementing inclusive and quality education, along with an Education Sector Plan (ESP), which has been developed for the period 2019-2023. Ongoing reform agenda focuses on improving education quality as evident from several targeted legislative documents and programmes adopted to support and regulate various aspects of education quality.
In 2021, with GPE funding, the Ministry of Public Education and UNICEF conducted a mid-term review of the implementation of the Education Sector Plan for 2019-2023. Continuous investment in education resulted in the expansion of preschool education from 29% in 2017 to over 69% in 2022, now catering to two-thirds of the 3-6 years old children; tertiary education has also increased from less than 10% enrollment rates in 2018 to around 20%, while curricular and assessment reforms have been initiated, introducing teacher professional development strategies and quality assurance mechanisms – these years marked a transformation in education system in the country.
Ensuring the prioritization of reform interventions, the development of a national Compact, with GPE support, will provide an opportunity to sustain the national coordination efforts with the expectation that the Compact will be endorsed as the national Roadmap under the auspices of an established working group within the Local Education Group.
The Compact document will further strengthen coordination and ensure prioritization of education financing to be mobilized in the short-medium-term in light of upcoming programmes to be funded by GPE along with Development Partners.
Objectives of the assignment:
1. Provide technical support in the completion of the Initial Requirement Screening Template against GPE required questions including in the consolidation of the domestic financing requirement matrix to be developed by MoPE. This will include technical advice and leadership through remote participation in meetings and technical discussion along with desk-review analysis of available documents to be collected by national consultants to be hired by UNICEF and counterparts within Ministry of Public Education (MoPE).
2. Provide technical leadership and coordination in development of Compact Document guiding the team of national experts to be hired by UNICEF and identified members of the working group to be established by MoPE. This includes the drafting of the Compact document with inputs provided by relevant counterparts along with preparation of necessary support documents, power point presentations and analysis of education data including on financing.
Timeline & Deliverables:
1. Provide technical support in completion of the Initial Requirement Screening Template
Tasks and Estimated Timeframe:
1. Desk review of available documentation in line with GPE Template focusing on: data and evidence; gender responsive sector planning, policy and monitoring; sector coordination; and domestic public expenditure on education - by January 16, 2023 (5 working days)
2. Draft Initial Requirement Screening Template following facilitation of meetings and technical calls as required - by January 30, 2023 (7 working days)
3. Finalize the completion of the Initial Requirement Screening Template incorporating GPE and LEG review - by February 16, 2023 (3 working days)
Deliverables:
1. Inception report and list of supporting documentation and evidence to be collected in partnership with MoPE
3. Meetings and calls conducted in agreement with UNICEF and MoPE
4. Final Template incorporating comments and requests to be shared by GPE ITAP review
2. Provide technical leadership and coordination in development of Compact Document
Tasks and Estimated Timeframe:
1. Guide the work of working groups and national experts to be hired by UNICEF providing guiding questions for the identification of national priorities and drafting of Compact Development - by January 30, 2023 (6 working days)
2. Conduct technical meetings and national consultative mission including presentation on policy priorities for Compact Development, including financing education chapter - by Mid February (date to be agreed with Consultant) (7 working days)
3. Finalize the draft Compact Document including inputs from Development Partners and GPE - by February 28, 2023 (5 working days)
4. Provide a final Compact along with power point presentation on finalized priorities and sector analysis - by March 13, 2023 (2 working days)
Deliverables:
1. Draft outline and content of Compact Document
2. Mission and presentations including LEG presentation of defined priorities and Compact outline
3. Draft Compact Document to be presented and shared with Development Partners
4. Finalized Compact Document and power point presentation
Total: 85 working days
Management:
The International Consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Chief of Education Section and in consultation with Education Officer, as well as with identified national partners and government officials.
Resource requirements and payments:
According to UNICEF policy, the final fees will be set up based on the “best value for money” principle. Total of 35 working days are allocated for accomplishment of all tasks and deliverables within the period of December 2022 – March 2023.
Payment will be paid by deliverable upon successful completion of assignment and acceptance of deliverables by the supervisor. Payments might be partially or fully withheld in case of unsatisfactory performance of duties or failure to provide the deliverables by the agreed deadlines.
Travel costs (including airfare, terminal expenses, and daily subsistence allowance) will be calculated and paid according to UNICEF rules and regulations, as applicable.
All direct payments will be made by bank transfer to the indicated bank account by Consultant.
Procedures and Working Conditions:
UNICEF will reserve copy right of all developed materials and own primary data collected through this assignment. The materials cannot be published or disseminated without prior written permission of UNICEF. UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify materials produced at any time.
The consultant must clearly identify any potential ethical issues arising from the fulfilment of her/his tasks and duties in the framework of this assignment and ensure that s/he performs the assignment in a manner that does not expose UNICEF to any such risks.
Consultant is expected to work independently and respond to feedback from supervisor in a timely and professional manner, to be result driven, and to have the ability to work under pressure and meet required deadlines.
UNICEF undertakes no liability for taxes, duty or other contribution payable by the consultant on payments made under this contract.
Reservations:
UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if deliverable(s) incomplete, not finalized or for failure to meet deadlines. UNICEF will reserve copyright of all developed materials and own primary data collected through this assignment. The materials cannot be published or disseminated without prior written permission of UNICEF. UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future. The contractor must respect the confidentiality of the information handled during the assignment. Documents and information provided must be used only for the tasks related to these terms of reference.
UNICEF undertakes no liability for taxes, duty or other contribution payable by the consultant on payments made under this contract.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
- Advanced university degree (Masters or PhD) in social sciences, public policy, education policy and/or international development policy or any other related field
- Experience in research, analysis or development of policy, including in the area of education financing. Understanding of, and extensive experience in education sector planning in partnership with GPE will be considered an asset
- Experience in organizing and conducting national consultation and policy dialogue
- Good understanding of the national education context
For every Child, you demonstrate…
UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).
To view our competency framework, please visit here.
UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.
UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.
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:
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.
The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.
