International consultancy to support the MoE of Belarus

International consultancy to support the MoE of Belarus in strategies, policies and practices development of universal 21st century skills (focusing on social-emotional skills) integration in education system of Belarus

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Job no: 554886
Contract type: Consultant
Duty Station: Minsk
Level: Consultancy
Location: Belarus
Categories: Education

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.

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.

For every child, learning

The United Nations General Assembly mandates UNICEF to advocate for protecting children's rights, help meet their basic needs, and expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.

The Belarusian socio-economic situation is rapidly changing, influenced by fast digitalization, technological advances, self-employment and private sector increase. All these issues put unprecedented demand to the education system and its transformation to meet the labour market requirements.

To support the MoE in evidence-based decision making, UNICEF in Belarus conducted the assessment of universal 21^st century skills integration in the education system.  Based on the assessment, the development of a strategy and action plan, methodological guidelines for the formation of 21^st century skills in students, along with information banks of effective teaching and learning practices, were recommended.

UNICEF in Belarus has developed a project proposal aims to support the government to take advantage of the opportunity to strengthen adolescents’ 21st century competencies, focusing on social and emotional skills, in the system of general secondary and professional education.

How can you make a difference?

Taking into consideration the above mentioned the Country Office is hiring an international individual or institutional consultant to work closely with the group of the national experts and under the direct supervision of UNICEF in Belarus to support the development and implementation of this project.

TYPE OF CONTRACTS: International individual or institutional

DURATION: September 2022 – July 2023 (11 months with possibility of extension)

Deliverables:

• The developed Concept and Action plan that regulates the 21st century skills integration in education system of Belarus;
• The developed monitoring and assessment system of the level of students’ social and emotional skills development with the valid set of indicators and diagnostic tools;
• The developed outline and reviewed methodological recommendations on the formation of social and emotional skills of students for the administration of the educational establishment and teachers;
• The drafted curriculum of the optional course on the formation of social and emotional skills of 3(4) and 6 (7) grade school students and guidelines for the implementation;
• The drafted programme for advanced training of pedagogues on socio-emotional skills development in students of general secondary, technical vocational and secondary specialized education systems of Belarus;
• The drafted recommendations for amendments to the educational standard of retraining of administration and specialists in technical vocational and secondary specialized education systems in Belarus and curricula for advanced training of pedagogues of these education systems.

QUALITY REQUIREMENTS TO THE DEVELOPED POLICY FRAMEWORK and METHODOLOGICAL MATERIALS:

• The developed materials should be well-grounded, brief, concise and substantive and reflect the main tasks and ToR requirements.
• The developed materials should be localized and coincided with the Belarusian educational policies and practices.
• The language of the developed policy framework and methodological materials should be conducive to active engagement with the main stakeholders and targeted audience.

Once the documents are prepared and delivered, UNICEF shall hold sole ownership of the Intellectual property rights of the documents and the related materials.  

TRAVEL

The international consultancy will be provided remotely via e-mails and available conversation tool (zoom, teams). The on-site visits will be determined based on the consultancy needs and taking into account the epidemiological situation COVID-19 related. The duration of field mission to Belarus will be determined based on needs to perform assignments in time and in full.  The contract will be amended with the consultant’s travel cost that will be calculated in accordance with UNICEF rules and regulation once the decision is made.  

Payments

Payments to the international consultant will be conducted based on the submitted invoices with the number of consultancy days in line with actually reported deliverables.

Unsatisfactory performance

UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if work/outputs are uncompleted, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines.

All materials should be primarily developed in Russian.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• Advanced university degree in Education or social science;
• A minimum of 8-10 years’ work experience in the area of education strategies, policies and services development ;
• Proven expertise in adolescents soft/transferable skills development programmes within the formal and non-formal education systems;
• Knowledge of global policies and development frameworks on adolescents including the most marginalized and vulnerable groups are an asset;
• Good understanding of human rights based approach to programming and results based management principles;
• Familiarity with UNICEF's mission and mandate. Experiences of working with UNICEF/UN and working in the ECARO region are an asset;
• Fluency in English (written and spoken);
• Fluency in Russian (written and spoken) is an asset.

Detailed TOR is attached for the reference.

TOR for adv.pdf

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 committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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.

Advertised: 05 Sep 2022 Russian Standard Time
Deadline: 20 Sep 2022 Russian Standard Time

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