Individual Consultant – Curriculum Coordinator

Parent Sector : Education Sector (ED)

Duty Station: Yangon

Classification of duty station: [[filter12]]

Standard Duration of Assignement : [[filter13]]

Job Family: Education

Type of contract : Non Staff

Duration of contract : From 7 to 11 months

Recruitment open to : External candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 21-JUL-2024

UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism

BACKGROUND

UNESCO is working to strengthen Pre-Service Teacher Education in Myanmar (STEM). The project addresses four fundamentally important aspects of pre-service teacher education: 
•    to formulate a policy framework of pre-service teacher education and identify standards for quality assurance; 
•    to improve a system of pre-service teacher training institutions by redesigning courses of teacher education and creating good networks to accumulate and share knowledge and experiences of all teacher education institutions; 
•    to develop institutional/management and human resource capacities; and 
•    to mainstream inclusion and equity issues in teacher education. 

Under the project, UNESCO is supporting the development and finalization of pre-service teacher education curriculum. This curriculum for the four-year Pre-service Teacher Education Programme was designed and structured to align with the Basic Education Curriculum and to equip student teachers with the competencies needed to teach effectively in Myanmar’s primary and middle school classrooms. It is based on a Teacher Competency Standards Framework (TCSF) which articulates the expectations for what a teacher should know and be able to do in the classroom. 

PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The Individual Specialist is sought to support the development and finalization of pre-service teacher education curriculum which consists of several components: the curriculum framework, syllabi, Student Teacher Textbooks, and Teacher Educator Guides in both English and Myanmar language. In addition, the specialist is also sought to support creating e-learning courses and short courses for mobile teachers, teacher educators in collaboration with partners under Education Sector Program Implementation Grant (ESPIG) project.

Long Description

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the overall authority of the Director of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Regional Office in Bangkok, the direct supervision of Head of UNESCO Antenna Office in Yangon, the day-to-day guidance of the Curriculum Specialist and in close collaboration with the Strengthening Pre-service Teacher Education in Myanmar (STEM) and the Education Sector Program Implementation Grant (ESPIG) teams, the Individual Specialist is sought to support teaching and learning materials development and finalization to ensure quality assurance these documents in both English and Myanmar languages as well as the digitization of the curriculum and its implementation through performing the following tasks.

Terms of Reference: 

•    Assist the preparation of contracting procedures of translation, copyediting and layout design as well as the training development; 
•    Assist the preparation and follow up of the webinars and online course development for the newly launched Myanmar Teacher Platform (MTP); 
•    Assist the development and revision of online course materials in English and Myanmar languages (both online and paper- based);
•    Assist the quality assurance process of the translated online course materials in ethnic languages;
•    Upload the course materials onto MTP and provide assistance with launching online courses on MTP; 
•    Develop and implement course promotion strategies and communicate with learners and teachers to increase course reach and completion;
•    Assist the preparation of a series of workshops/small group meetings, support the facilitation of relevant subject group discussions during the workshops/small group meetings, and compile the written feedbacks with clarity;
•    Communicate directly with authors, reviewers, copyeditors, translators and layout designer of the assigned subjects and ensure that they are submitting the work according to the agreed timeline and of good quality;
•    Support quality assurance of translation, copy‐editing, proofreading and layout designing of textbooks and educator guides;
•    Review draft textbooks and educator guides to ensure that styles are adhered to across subjects by meeting the requirements of UNESCO style guides and inclusion framework;
•    Review if the relevant documents submitted on artworks, such as illustrations, infographics and photographs, and teaching and learning resources follow the UNESCO style guides and requirements, and provide clear instructions to curriculum authors for revision, if needed;
•    Ensure the quality assurance of English version textbooks and educator guides received from the authors, by reviewing the documents and cross checking them with the UNESCO style guides and making sure that feedback received from various stakeholders is incorporated by the authors;

•    Compile and provide essential documents (UNESCO style guides, the subject‐specific and across‐ subject terminology translation guidelines, teaching and learning materials, etc.) to the translators and copy‐editors to ensure the coherence in the final products;
•    Keep track of the number of pages of work completed by authors, reviewers, copyeditors, translators, proofreaders and layout designers and report this information to UNESCO on a regular basis;
•    Review the translated and copy‐edited Myanmar version textbooks and educator guides for quality assurance and make sure that they meet the requirements of UNESCO style guides, are up to standard and are of good quality;
•    Proofread the close‐to‐finalized draft English and Myanmar version textbooks and educator guides with layout design applied, and apply final check of the finalized English and Myanmar version textbooks and educator guides so that they are ready for bulk printing;
•    Digitize existing pre-service teacher education curriculum and develop online courses that align with the curriculum content for Year 1, 2 and 3;
•    Collaborate with relevant stakeholders to create rapid context relevant courses which cover essential topics for teacher education curriculum, targeting both pre-service teachers, community teachers and newly recruited teachers;
•    Support ESPIG team in designing and developing additional thematic modules and courses;
•    Establish partnerships with local community organizations, including monastic and ethnic education service providers, and coordinate the implementation of teacher training courses in collaboration with these partners; 
•    Identify facilities and technology equipment needs of local partners and assist in creating procurement plans to disseminate resources to local partners;
•    Keep an up‐to‐date, daily record of the work online and make it available for UNESCO to oversee the progress; and
•    Organize all documents, including but not limited to the deliverables by the authors, reviewers, copyeditors, translators, proofreaders and layout designers and the deliverables checked by the individual specialist to ensure quality, in a systematic way and make them available for the UNESCO team’s use.

In line with UNESCO’s overall gender mainstreaming strategy, the individual specialist is expected to integrate a gender perspective in all activities and apply gender analysis and mainstreaming concepts whenever feasible.

Travel: 

•    The Individual Specialist will be based in UNESCO Antenna  Office in Yangon during the contract period. No travel outside Yangon is anticipated.

Long Description

Deliverables:

The individual specialist will submit the following pre-service teacher education curriculum materials within the designated timeline.

1.    Set 3 and 4 online courses; Ethnic education curriculum materials; and online  courses for Year 1 pre-service teacher education curriculum (Social Studies)
2.    Set 5 online courses; Ethnic education curriculum materials; and online courses for Year 1 pre-service teacher education curriculum (Local Curriculum)
3.    Set 6 and 7  online courses; Ethnic education curriculum  materials; and online courses for Year 1 pre-service teacher education curriculum (Local Curriculum and Myanmarsar)
4.    Set 8 online courses; Ethnic education curriculum materials; and online courses for Year 1 pre-service teacher education curriculum (Myanmarsar)
5.    Final set online courses; Ethnic education curriculum materials; and online courses for Year 1 pre-service teacher education curriculum (Mathematics)
6.    Online courses for Year 1 pre-service teacher education curriculum (Mathematics)
7.    Online courses for Year 2 pre-service teacher education curriculum (Science)
8.    Online courses for Year 2 pre-service teacher education curriculum (Social Studies)
9.    Online courses for Year 2 pre-service teacher education curriculum (Local Curriculum)
10.    Online courses for Year 2 pre-service teacher education curriculum (Myanmarsar)
11.    Final report and online courses for Year 2 pre-service teacher education curriculum (Mathematics)

DELIVERABLES AND TIMELINE
COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)
Accountability (C)
Communication (C)
Innovation (C)
Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement (C)
Planning and organizing (C)
Results focus (C)
Teamwork (C)
Professionalism (C)
–
For detailed information, please consult the UNESCO Competency Framework.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education: 
University degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent) in education, linguistics, or related fields.  

Work Experience: 
Minimum 2 years of progressively responsible relevant professional experience in the field of education material development, particularly with a focus on quality assurance processes such as translation, copy-editing, proofreading, and layout design.

Skills/Competencies:
•    Background in education in the context of international development.
•    Proficiency in typing both English and Myanmar language on computers.
•    Proficiency in Microsoft Office including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
•    Ability to systematically organize documents ensuring quality and availability for the team.
•    Skills in communicating effectively across different cultures, given the diverse team and educational contexts within Myanmar.
•    Ability to work individually and collaboratively in a team.

Languages: 
Excellent knowledge of spoken and written English and Myanmar.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Work Experience: 
•    Familiarity with website programming languages and content management systems such as Drupal would be an advantage.

Skills/Competencies:
•    Good practical knowledge and skills in image editing and video editing would be an advantage.
•    Experience working with the United Nations agencies or other international organizations in related education projects is highly valued. 

APPLICATION PROCESS

Interested candidates should click on “Apply Now” and complete the Employment History form (Word document) in “Employment History Form / My Documents.” Before uploading the document, at the end of the Word document, please insert the extra pages with the following required information. Upload all documents as a single PDF document in place of the Employment History Form.

a)    An updated Curriculum Vitae (CV) and a cover letter indicating how your qualifications and experience make you suitable for the assignment.
b)    Written technical and financial proposals (in English):

o    Approach and methodology for carrying out the assignment (maximum 2, A4 pages), a workplan and comments on the Terms of Reference, in brief, if any, and 

o    The proposed daily or monthly rates or the amount/budget to be charged for the assignment, which should be quoted in USD. Please show any travel costs separately.

UNESCO places great emphasis on ensuring that the objectives of the work assignment, as described in the Terms of Reference, are met. Accordingly, in evaluating the proposals for the assignment, attention will focus first and foremost on the technical elements. From those proposals deemed suitable in terms of the criteria in the Terms of Reference, UNESCO shall select the proposal that offers the Organization the best value for money.

Assessment:
•    Only applications providing the information requested in the application procedure will be considered.
•    Evaluation of qualified applicants may include an assessment exercise and a competency-based interview.

Note:   
•    Due to the large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidate(s) about the outcome or status of the selection process. 
•    Please submit your application through SuccessFactors. 

SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the UNESCO careers website. No modifications can be made to the application submitted.

The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as a competency-based interview. 

UNESCO uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates.

Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided.

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