Inclusion Strategies Consultant in the Skills for Prosperity Mexico Programme (SFPMx)

Location: North America

‍Location: Mexico

‍City/Cities Location Details: Mexico City

‍Job Code: 7373

Start date: November 2022

Level of effort (LOE): 64 days maximum

Status: Consultant

Base of Operations: Mexico

Reports to : Relevance Lead.

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Skills for Prosperity

Funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Department Office (FCDO), the Skills for Prosperity programme aims to spur inclusive economic growth in Mexico via more productive and equitable skills sectors improving employability, employment opportunities and the earning potential of beneficiaries. It seeks to facilitate effective education-to-employment partnerships at the state level in 3 to 6 Mexican states, prioritising sectors key to national economic development, and developing an enabling environment for a strong skills ecosystem through technical assistance and capacity-building.

Overall, the Skills for Prosperity (SFPMx) programme will benefit poor women and men in Mexico so that they are better served by improved Higher Education (HE) and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and are better positioned to participate in employment and the economic growth of the country.

The programme will reduce poverty in Mexico through providing support to tackle skills deficits, which are holding back sustainable and inclusive growth.  It focuses on three key Pillars: 1) RELEVANCE: Improved relevance TVET and HE to the skills set needed by industry in areas key to Mexican national economic development; 2) QUALITY: Improved quality of learning outcomes from TVET and HE provision in the public and private sectors in Mexico; and 3) EQUITY: Improved equity in access to the provision of TVET and HE in the public and private sectors in Mexico, and improved progression to employment for marginalised groups. The DAI-led consortium will implement five core interventions with TVET and HE institutions across our three Pillars.

Objective:

SFPMx Intervention #3 focuses on building the capacity of TVET and Higher Education institutions to support them in achieving student retention through better teaching practice that directly impacts the development of life skills for students.

In a recent internal study, SFPMx identified two complex situations that Higher Education institutions face in their teaching practice: the care and understanding of disability, and the care and knowledge of issues derived by mental illness, both in young people who attend University.

Although, in Mexico, various initiatives have been developed to work with people with disabilities in Basic Education, and some content to deal with situations derived from mental health at these levels; for the level of Higher Education, there are few awareness actions and strategies that allow teachers to manage to learn and support young people with this type of problem.

For this reason, and to meet one of the goals established within the framework of SFPMx, a consultant or group of consultants specialising in issues of disability and mental health care for university students is required.

Scope of Work:

The consultant or group of consultants will have the following general functions during the term of the contract:

• Develop two general diagnoses on the knowledge and awareness teachers from two allied universities have in the care of disability and mental illness of college students, particularly those who are about to start work practices or finish their studies—a diagnosis by an educational institution.
• Design an ad hoc teacher training/sensitization strategy for the two participating universities, including training sessions for each topic, specific workshops for learning management and attention, and course materials.
• Provide the proposed training/sensitization.
• Develop a technical assistance process for between one and two areas of each participating institution (Probably Academic and Liaison, but it can be defined in the diagnosis) to set up a work plan that allows teachers and managers to include the toolkit that was developed in training.
• Report the lessons learned from the process and proposals for improvement.

Place and Date

The specialised consultancy will occur between November 1, 2022, and March 15, 2023. The working model will be hybrid (online, in-person, and travel within the country).

Supervision

The coordination and supervision of the activities entrusted to the consultant will oversee Ofelia Ortiz, the Relevance Lead of the SFPMx Programme.

SFPMX will provide the consultant with the relevant information and documentation.

Essential requirements :

The ideal candidate should have proven experience in social inclusion, non-discrimination and/or equity; as well as on issues related to disability and mental health in educational institutions of Higher and/or Higher Middle level.

• A Master's Degree in Education, Special Education, Psychology, Health or Mental Health is preferred.
• Minimum ten years of proven experience in these fields.
• Experience working with M&E systems.
• Experience working with youth people.
• Experience delivering training and providing advice or technical assistance in the education or private sectors.
• Proficient in English language and fluency in Spanish for professional communication and reporting (verbal and written).
• Excellent facilitation and organization skills.
• Availability to travel
• Availability to assume this assignment in the short term.
• High level of attention to detail.
• Excellent computer skills and advanced level in MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint).
• A team player with a positive “can do” attitude reflects DAI's core principles of integrity, responsibility, excellence, and global citizenship.

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