Consultant for Assessment of readiness and opportunities to integrate nutrition interventions into the education sector in Lao PDR

UNICEF is a UN organization mandated by the UN General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. In Lao PDR, UNICEF is working with its partners to support the Government to realize children’s rights on survival, development, protection and participation.

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UNICEF in Vientiane, Lao PDR is looking for a Consultant to carry out an assessment of the readiness and opportunities to integrate nutrition interventions into the education sector in Lao PDR. The duration of this assignment is 3 months, starting as soon as possible and the Consultant shall be home based.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

The overall objective of this consultancy is to provide a good understanding of the current capacity of the education sector to integrate key nutrition interventions, benefiting adolescents (namely 15 to 19 years old) taking into consideration the current context and the limitations that schools can face. The assessment should identify opportunities within the school system to potentially integrate highly effective nutrition interventions and recommend practical ways to implement them, leveraging existing resources and platforms. It should also assist on identifying bottlenecks and challenges that could prevent the smooth running of these interventions and suggest possible ways to overcome them.

Specifically, the consultant will:

(i) Analyse the current capacity of the education sector to incorporate nutrition services (such as micronutrients supplementation, deworming, nutrition education, etc) in secondary schools, focusing both on strengths and weaknesses.

(ii) Highlight the main barriers to overcome as well as opportunities for integration and provide recommendations.

Submission of applications:

Interested candidates are kindly requested to apply and upload the following documents:

Letter of Interest (cover letter)

▪ CV or Resume

▪ Performance evaluation reports or references of similar consultancy assignments (if available)

▪ Financial proposal: All-inclusive lump-sum cost including medical insurance, travel and accommodation cost for this assignment as per work assignment

Assessment Criteria:

For evaluation and selection method, the Cumulative Analysis Method (weight combined score method) shall be used for this recruitment:

Evaluation Criteria (This will be used for the Selection Report (for clarification see Guidance)

A) Technical Evaluation (maximum 100 points), weight 75 %

Degree Education in ……… (15 points)

✓ Post- graduate degree in social sciences, education or related field.

Knowledge of ……….. (30 points)

✓ The Lao PDR Education system and policies

✓ Nutrition interventions that could be integrated into the education system Excellent communication skills

✓ Fluency in English is required- both in oral and written communication.

Experience in ……… (30 points)

✓ At least 8 years professional work experience in related areas

✓ Experience on education programming/research and or policy development.

✓ Demonstrated research skills and familiarity with capturing key themes from key informant interviews

✓ Experience analysing data and writing reports

Quality of past work (e.g. understanding, methodology) (25 points)

✓ Assessment of previous work including written and analytical skills

✓ Reference checks

B) Financial Proposal (100 points), weight 25%

The maximum number of points shall be allotted to the lowest Financial Proposal that is opened /evaluated and compared among those technical qualified candidates who have attained a minimum 70 points score in the technical evaluation. Other Financial Proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.

The Contract shall be awarded to the candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores, subject to the satisfactory result of the verification interview. 

Medical Insurance: the cost of medical insurance, including Medical Evacuation and mandatory COVID-19 insurance for working in Lao PDR should be included in the proposal.

Please find the ToR here:  TOR_Consultant Assessment of readiness and opportunities to integrate nutrition into the education sector in Lao PDR for VA.pdf

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

View our competency framework at 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 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.