Consultancy: Support for Decentralized Education

br 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 br 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 br For every child Education br The purpose of this assignment is to provide support to the decentralized education sector coordination and implementation of plans br Background br Iraq is recovering from a prolonged period of conflict and sluggish economic growth which have impacted the country s development trajectory With one of the fastest growing populations in the region projected to reach 45M by 2050 Iraq s children represent around 48 of the population and youth 15-24 years a further 20 The changing demographic makes investment in the development and participation of children and young people even more imperative br In 2020 Iraq s transition to a… post-conflict era continued to be uncertain As of Dec 2020 at least 1 2M people around 528 000 children under 18 remained displaced in formal and non-formal camps or in host communities Currently 4 8M people 44 children have returned to places of origin In 2020 again as in 2019 there was an abrupt decision by authorities to close IDP camps resulting in forced returns and secondary displacements from the disorganized movement of 7 238 households Overall the number of people requiring humanitarian assistance dropped to 4 1M however post COVID19 pandemic international support is still required to deliver or re-start basic services The bottlenecks hampering the availability and accessibility of quality services at the community level including systemic issues of planning budgeting resource allocation governance and inefficiencies will be addressed National level budget allocations for social sectors are low and widen gaps of access and provision for the most vulnerable children and young people br nbsp br Justification br Education Sector Planning at national and decentralised levels is a new area for the Ministry of Education Education sector plans have a medium to long-term perspective 3 to 8 years and these are supported by annual work plans for implementation and monitoring of progress towards planned results The first- generation education sector plans from the 11 Governorates and the General Directorates of Education GDoE will require d support to plan implement and coordination for an entire annual planning and monitoring cycle in line with the national plans In addition a robust monitoring and review mechanisms also will be required to support the implementation including joint sector reviews in collaboration with education partners and donors at national and decentralised levels This consultancy will provide the necessary support to UNICEF Education Programme and Ministry of Education br Scope of Work br The consultant will be responsible for operationalising the education sector coordination at national and decentralised levels in the context of the national education sector coordination br The scope of work consists of the following br National Level br Support and guide the secretariat function of the National Education Sector Coordination Group NESCG and its working groups including setting agendas scheduling meeting at least twice per year and recording and document of meetings and key decisions br Facilitate the Planning monitoring and performance of the technical working groups of the NESCG br Facilitate the alignment of the policy dialogue planning monitoring at national and decentralised levels including UNIC F s programmes and plans br Setting up of the joint sector review process including the tools and reporting formats at both national and decentralised levels br Support the process of transition from emergency- oriented cluster coordination to that of Sector br Decentralized level br Support the establishment of governorate education sector coordination mechanism group GESCGs in 11 governorates with operational GESPs in collaboration with the UNICEF Felid Offices br Develop Terms of References for the Sub-national coordination mechanisms and working groups including membership key portfolios and required working groups br Facilitate and support the secretariat functions including setting agendas scheduling meeting at least twice per year and recording of action points and minutes br Facilitate the setting up of the monitoring of the implementation of GESP and review of sector performance review through the governorate sector coordination mechanism ensuring relevant discussion setting key performance indicators securing the monitoring data its analysis and reporting br Deliverables br Annual Sector Coordination Workplan February 2022 br 10 Monthly Education Sector coordination status reports February 2022 to November 2022 br 1 Final Education Sector Coordination Status and Analysis Report November 2022 br Monitoring Data reports twice annually for each GESCG and the NESGC June 2022 November 2022 br GESCG and NESCG meetings including working groups documentation including minutes br Tasks Milestone br Deliverables Outputs br Timeline br Facilitate the organization of the monthly activities of the sector coordination and working groups at national and sub-national level br Development of the annual sector coordination plan in consultation with the MoE and the secretariat for NESCG and GESCG br Monthly travel to one or more DoE s br Annual Sector Coordination Workplan finalized and available br Monthly Education Sector coordination status reports br Feb-2022 br Facilitate and support the establishment of the working of the GESCG and NESCG and working groups and provide tools for documentation and reports from the meetings br Facilitate the organization of the monthly activities of the sector coordination and working groups at national and sub-national level br nbsp br nbsp nbsp br To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have br The consultant is expected to meet the following requirements in terms of qualifications and experience br A university degree in one of the following fields is required education psychology sociology or another relevant technical field An advanced degree in education or related fields br A minimum of two years of professional experience in programme planning management and or research in education is required br Skills knowledge and experience of sector coordination br Data analysis br Facilitation skills br Education stakeholders br Established relationships with partners and government br Fluency in English and Arabic with Kurdish desirable br nbsp