UNICEF SURINAME

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Consultant Education Programme

Region: TACRO

Country Office:Guyana-Suriname

Duty station:Paramaribo

Section Department:Programme Section

Post title:Consultant. Education Programme

Supervisor:Programme Manager

Duration of Contract:11 months(1 May 2014 – 31March 2015)

  1. Background & Justification

While Suriname is making some progress nationally towards MDG 2 (full primary education), there are significant geographical, gender and socio-economic disparities, with particular concern for children (boys and girls) in the interior, where progress is well below target. Nationally, the primary school completion rate for boys is 39.1% and for girls 53%, while the secondary net enrolment rate is 44% for boys and 54% for girls. However, this trend is not observed in the interior. For example, as little as 3% of all secondary school aged children in the interior district Sipaliwini are enrolled in secondary school. The assessment of these disparities indicates issues related to access to and availability of quality education (at all levels), children repeating years, children who leave school before their education is complete (drop-outs), and retention rates.

The Government has a duty to ensure and provide compulsory, free basic education of quality to all children in Suriname. It has the duty to ensure that teachers are trained and equipped with the capacity to deliver child-friendlyeducation. In order to do so, it must ensure that there are appropriate policies in place, that there is an adequate budget to deliver on its obligations and that monitoring is carried out. The Government acknowledges many of the existing problems, inequities and disparities, and has expressed a commitment to quality education for all.

The UN is helping to address these problemsthrough promoting child friendly schools, strengthening the capacity of teachers and education support staff (School Guidance), supporting the Education Management Information System Suriname (EMISS), introducing Computer Aided Learning (CAL), and the development of an integrated strategy for adolescent development in Suriname.

The UN, under the leadership of UNICEF in cooperation with the Belgian Flemish Development Cooperation and the Inter American Development Bank (IDB)is supporting the Ministry of Education in strengthening the capacities of the Ministry of Education and Community Development of Suriname (MOECD) in improving education in Suriname through:

  1. Training of Teachers in the interior of Suriname in Child Friendly Education
  2. Training of School Guidance staff at the Guidance Department in Paramaribo and the Nucleus Centres in Albina and Brokopondo to increase skills in providing guidance and professional support to teachers in the interior.
  3. Implementation of the Computer Aided Learning Pilot Programme in five schools in the interior districts of Marowijne, Para, and Brokopondo
  4. Support to the MOECD Department of Research, Planning and Monitoring through the implementation of the School Mapping programme.
  5. Support to the implementation of activities related to the Integrated Adolescent Framework (support to the Parent Participation Unit and a Skills Development initiative at MOECD

The current Education Programme is managed by an International Education Specialist with the support of a CAL consultant. The position will become vacant from early May 2014 due to the completion of the assignment of the current staff. There will be a human resource gap in managing the Education Programme in Suriname.

  1. Purpose of position

The overall aim of the position is twofold. Besides thesupport to the implementation and monitoring of the on-going joint UNICEF – MOECD education programme, as outlined in the 2014 Annual Work Plan (AWP), the consultant will have specific responsibility for the management and implementation of the continuation of the Computer Aided Learning (CAL) programme.

More specifically the consultant is expected to:

  1. Manage the education programme portfolio of UNICEF Suriname, provide technical assistance to the various relevant MOECD departments, actively contribute to relevant working groups from the MOECD and international education partners, and advocate for the reduction of disparities in the delivery of quality education.
  2. Manage the Computer Aided Learning (CAL) programme, continue the on-site support to teachers in the interior implementing computer classes, facilitate relevant work-group sessions with all relevant stakeholders, liaise with MINOV and external stakeholders advocating for up-scaling of the CAL Pilot.
  1. Duties and responsibilities

The specific duties and responsibilities of the Education Consultant are:

  1. To make a substantial contribution to the on-going educational policy dialogue, with the overall aim of supportingthe educational reform process in Suriname and with the specific aim to help reduce disparities in the access to and delivery of quality education between the interior and the rest of the country.
  2. Keep updates of the situation of child education in Suriname with particular attention to new policy initiatives, education financing, education management and situation of child education in interior Suriname. Facilitate to fill in the knowledge gaps and ensure continuous relevance of the UNICEF’s assistance in the Education Programme.
  3. Maintain and develop good partnership with the MOECD and other education programme partners.
  4. Provide technical assistance to the MOECD in policy and standards development, in particular related to the ICT 4 Development.
  5. To coordinate the implementation, monitoringand reporting ofthe specific activities in the 2014 Annual Work Plan (AWP)aimed to enhance the quality of teaching in the interior, provide on-site and evidence based programme and policy support to the implementation of the CAL activities and the larger ICT 4 Education agenda, complete the mapping of capacity strengthening needs for the MINOV Research and Planning department, and support the MOECD Unit for Child and Youth Policy (including the Parent Participation Unit – OSU) in preparing and implementing activities relevant to the Integrated Adolescent Framework.
  6. Support the MOECD to develop activity plans based on the AWP. Review the activity plans and financial budgets to ensure effective use of the UNICEF resources.
  7. Provide technical assistance to the activity implementation, in particular for the CAL project (On-site support to all teachers of five CAL pilot schools; support to the MOECD in implementing / prioritizing best practices while up-scaling ICT 4 Education initiatives; Implementation and supervision of the school action plan for maintenance of the ICT hardware and software including management of the contract with the external ICT Maintenance company).
  8. Closely monitor the progress of programme implementation and ensure timely delivery of the programme results.
  9. Ensure timely and analytical reporting on the programme results and contribute to the Mid-Term Review, the Country Programme Annual Report and donor reports.
  10. To help plan, prioritize, and design the 2015 Annual Work Plan aimed to reduce the disparities in the quality of primary (and secondary) education between the interior and the rest of Suriname.
  11. Initiate discussions with the counterparts in developing the 2015 AWP for the Education Programme.
  12. Support the fundraising initiative for the Education Programme.
  13. To support education coordination and inter-agency collaboration
  14. Co-chair the joint MOECD – UN Programme Coordination Group (PCG) to provide technical assistance to the overall reporting of the Education Targets as identified in the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF).
  15. Actively lead and support various technical (inter-agency / ministry) working groups related to education innovation processes (e.g. Computer Aided Learning working group / MOECD – Teacher Training work group / International Education Stakeholder Group / Integrated Adolescent Working Group etc.)
  1. Deliverables

Taking into account the highly changing context in which the UNICEF Education Programme including the CAL project are being implemented, the implementation of the programme activities demands a high level of flexibility allowing adaptation of its activities to ensurethat possible changing project context and beneficiaries’ demands are accommodated.Whereas it is the task of the Consultant to secure achievement of all the anticipated project outputs as outlined in the Annual Work Plans and the CAL Project document, a set of final deliverables are to be defined on basis of quarterly work plans.

The consultant will develop quarterly work-plans, in line with both the Education Annual Work-Plan and the CAL Project document. In addition, the consultant will prepare a monthly report showing progress against planned activities towards the achievement of the planned programme targets in the 2014 Annual Work Plans. Upon approval of the monthly report by the supervisor, the payment of the monthly fee will be initiated.

The following process deliverables should be submitted on a monthly or quarterly basis:

Process deliverables (monthly and quarterly)

•Quarterly work plans of activities, aligned to the Education Annual Work Plan and the CAL project document. This work plan could be refined month to month as relevant – At the start of the contract and by the end of each quarter.

•Facilitation and minutes of various periodicallytechnical work-group meetings with all relevant education stakeholders (including the chairing and reporting of the monthly Computer Aided Learning Work Group meetings) – ongoing.

•Monthly progress report, clearly stating the achievements against the general work-plan, the quarterly work-plan, and the agreed programme deliverables, including the tasks performed under the contract – by end of each month.

•Participation and contribution to the weekly team meetings, andthe monthly Programme Meetings with the UNICEF Suriname / Guyana team, clearly stating progress of the education programme implementation and financial performance – ongoing.

•Periodically reports on the Education Programme Coordination Meetings (PCG) with MOECD and representation within the UNCT – PCG meetings with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (jointly developed with the consultant’s support) – as per scheduled.

•Facilitation of the reporting (mid-year/MTR and annual) for the Country Programme and UNDAF – mid and end year.

In addition to the process deliverables, the consultant will have delivered:

Project Deliverables

  • Programme coordination and strengthened partnership with the MOECD and other partners in implementation of the AWP – ongoing.
  • Timely completion and high quality of the results achieved based on the AWPs – ongoing.
  • Draftcontribution to the Annual Report (UNICEF), donor reportsand other reporting requirement, including evaluation of the achievement of the anticipate project outcomes , outputs, good practices and lessons learned, human interest stories, and visual documentation – as per scheduled.
  • Technical contribution to the education related activities in the 2014 AWP including development of concept notes, technical guidelines/tools, and programme documents as needed – ongoing.
  • Progress reports against set UNDAF targets for periodic2014/ 2015UNDAF reviews – as per scheduled.

The project deliverables related to the Computer Aided Learning Project specifically include:

  • Final CAL Project report (evaluating the achievement of the anticipate project outcomes and outputs) – end March 2015.
  • Final project impact assessment of the CAL Project, using the existing base-line data, the data collected during the mid-term assessment, and final project data collected in January/February 2015. Presentation of the findings to all relevant stakeholders - end March 2015
  • Five case studies (field stories) on the implementation of all CAL Project activities at the five selected pilot schools are extended, building forth on the case studies - completed in May 2014 (o.a. including: training of teachers, functioning of the ICT hardware and software, school capacity building work plan and progress against target, peer consultation meetings, best practices and hurdles during the implementation, assessing the impact of the pilot project).
  • On the job / in the field training of MOECD Educational Support Staff (Guidance Department, Curriculum Department, School Inspectorate, Nucleus Centre Project Coordinators etc.) to assure continued support to the school teams, implementing computer aided learning - ongoing.
  • Workshop with all relevant stakeholders to translate findings of the pilot project and recommendations into a future action plans related to the recently completed strategic document on ICT 4 Education (2nd BEIP) - August 2014.
  1. Skills and previous experience
  • University degree in Education, International Development or any other relevant Social Science
  • A minimum of 4 years working experience in management and administration of educational projects in a developing context
  • Experience developing Monitoring Evaluation tools, log-frames, surveys,programme planning documents, and qualitative documentation
  • Experience in development and/or implementation of(multi-stakeholder) education projects
  • Proven ability to coordinate and effectively communicate with multiple organizations (both governmental and non-governmental)
  • Experience in development and/or implementation of ICT for Education projects
  • Proven knowledge of the Surinamese context and understanding of the Surinamese education system, with a particular knowledge of the situation in the interior.
  • Willingness to travel and work in the interior districts for a substantial part of the contract period (on weekly basis for majority of the contract period)
  • Excellent communication skills in Dutch and English are essential; other Surinamese local language an asset
  • Willingness to travel and work in the interior districts of Suriname
  1. Duration of Assignment

This fulltime consultancy contract is proposed for a period of 11 months (1 May 2014 –31 March 2015).

  1. Supervision

The consultant will be supervised by the Programme Manager in Paramaribo, Suriname.

  1. Proposed payment schedule

Payment of the consultancy fee will be processed on the last working day of each month, on submission and approval of a monthly progress report and relevant deliverables.

All payments will be made in Surinamese Dollars (SRD)

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