Call for Consultancy_International Consultant

Organizational unit: UNESCO Project Office in Yangon

Title: International Consultant – Development of Teacher Competency Framework (TCSF) and Implementation Plan for Volunteer/Community school teachers

Duty Station: Yangon, Myanmar

Duration of the contract: 22 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 (contract start date is tentative and subject to change without prior notice.)

Application deadline: 3 January 2024 17:00 Hours (Yangon time)

Background:

UNESCO works to Strengthen Pre-Service Teacher Education in Myanmar (STEM). The project addresses four fundamentally important aspects of pre-service teacher education. These include:

• formulating a policy framework of pre-service teacher education and identifying standards for quality assurance,
• improving the curriculum and creating good networks to accumulate and share knowledge and experiences,
• developing institutional/management and human resource capacities, and
• mainstreaming inclusion and equity issues in teacher education.

Under the STEM project, UNESCO is supporting partner organizations in the development of Teacher Competency Standard Framework (TCSF) for volunteer/ community school teachers which provides clear and concise profiles of what teachers are expected to know and be able to do for their professional growth. Given the current context in Myanmar, teacher professional standards and competencies are necessary to integrate Conflict Sensitive Education (CSE) approach which allows teachers to strengthen their teaching knowledge and deliver the education service effectively in remote, conflict-affected, and fragile settings. To achieve this, needs assessment is essential to determine the context specific competencies and skills that are required to fulfill their professional growth and to design Capacity Development Programme (CDP) for teachers.

Based on the findings from the assessment, TCSF will be developed to provide guideline and direction for the successful and effective operationalization of organizational goals and capacity development for teachers. To roll out TCSF successfully in their respective areas and communities, an implementation plan is essential to take further steps and systematic approaches to long-term and sustainable implementation. It also aims to facilitate better coordination among partner organizations and outlines the steps that needs to be taken by the partners to accomplish a shared goal. Therefore, UNESCO is seeking an international consultant who will be leading needs assessment, the development of TCSF and implementation plan for volunteer/ community school teachers in conflict affected areas.

II Objectives:

The objective of this consultancy is to conduct a needs assessment, develop Teacher Competency Standards Framework and TCSF implementation plan for volunteer/community school teachers.

III. Work Assignment:

Under the overall authority of the Director of UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok, the direct supervision of the Head of UNESCO Project Office in Yangon and in close collaboration with the Responsible Officer who is responsible for the development of TCSF and implementation plan, the Individual Specialist shall specifically perform the following:

• Design a work plan for the delivery of needs assessment which includes the objectives, the data collection process and the approaches to analysis;
• Conduct a desk review of the relevant documents and data to produce draft needs assessment report;
• Develop a specific plan for needs assessment, by identifying factors that will be assessed, and creating a list of questions for each factor, together with the approaches/methods for this needs assessment;
• Create research tools including a set of questionnaires, interview questions, etc. that will be used for this needs assessment;
• With the support from UNESCO, conduct needs assessment such as survey, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to inform the current situation and determine the needs/gaps;
• Conduct consultation meetings with relevant stakeholders to prepare the report based on analysis;
• Prepare draft needs assessment of no more than 50 pages, excluding annexes;
• Produce final version of needs assessment, incorporating comments received from UNESCO and various stakeholders;
• All deliverables will be developed by the Individual Consultant in collaboration with UNESCO and ethnic education providers. All comments received from UNESCO and its partners on the needs assessment report and TCSF, must be thoroughly reviewed and addressed in the revision and finalization process;
• Prior to submission, the individual consultant ensures that proper copyediting and proofreading should have been carried out for all deliverables and the relevant templates and formats should have been closely followed. The individual consultant may be requested by UNESCO to revise the deliverables if they are determined by UNESCO to be unsatisfactory and/or incomplete against the required standard of quality. No additional payment will be made for any correction of the deliverables;
• Develop a draft core principle and structure of the Framework, taking into consideration the partner organization’s goals and CSE competencies;
• Produce a first draft of TCSF which entails teacher competency standards;
• Produce a final version of TCSF, incorporating comments received from UNESCO and various stakeholders;
• Produce a first draft of the TCSF Implementation Plan consisting of no more than 50 pages outlining (excluding annex) detailed implementation strategies, draft mapping of education partners & stakeholders coordination and support to TSCF implementation, and draft awareness raising plan;
• Produce a final version of TCSF Implementation Plan, incorporating comments received from UNESCO and various stakeholders;
• Prepare handouts and presentation slides for interviews and consultation meetings;
• Facilitate/join consultation meetings with UNESCO and relevant stakeholders, when necessary; and
• Communicate with UNESCO on a regular basis to update on the progress of the assignments.

IV. Deliverables and Timeline:

The individual consultant shall submit to UNESCO the following deliverables in English and in editable format such as MS Words and/or MS Excel:

1. Work plan by 16 February 2024;
2. Questionnaires and interview questions for needs assessment by 29 February 2024;
3. Draft needs assessment with presentation file by 19 April 2024;
4. Final version of needs assessment with presentation file by 17 May 2024;
5. First draft of TCSF with presentation file by 16 August 2024;
6. Final draft of TCSF with presentation file by 25 October 2024;
7. First draft of TCSF Implementation Plan with presentation file by 1 November 2024; and
8. Final version of TCSF Implementation Plan with presentation file by 20 December 2024.

V. Location and travel:

The work of the Individual Consultant is home-based.

VI. Fees

The lump sum is established on the basis of a daily or monthly rate based on UNESCO rules and regulations and depending on qualifications.

VII. Required Qualifications for Specialized Knowledge/Experience:

Education and experience:

• Advanced University Degree in Education, Social Science or a related field;
• A minimum of ten years of experience in education, capacity building and planning preferable at both national level and departmental level;
• A minimum three years of experience in Monitoring and Evaluation; and
• Strong analytical skills and excellent written and oral communication and report writing skills in English.

Desirable qualifications:

• Experience in developing capacity development plan for teachers;
• Good understanding and knowledge on the use of technical terms related to teacher competency framework;
• Proficiency in using common office ICT productivity tools;
• Previous experience working with UN or international organizations;
• Ability to work independently on delegated tasks and collaboratively in a multi-cultural environment; and
• Good knowledge of the Myanmar country context or context similar to Myanmar.