National Consultant to support initiatives in Primary Education, Colombo, 5 months (Sri Lankan nationals only)

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, Results 

UNICEF works to protect the rights of every child in Sri Lanka. Our goal is to ensure that all of our children survive, thrive and fulfill their vast potential.

In a world that is rapidly changing, children are faced with complex challenges and unprecedented opportunities. UNICEF’s programs are designed to reach and benefit all children so that they can withstand these challenges, leverage these opportunities and be the drivers of their own destiny.

UNICEF is committed to creating a country in which every child is free to learn, play and grow. Our programs work towards providing all children in Sri Lanka with shelter, nutrition, protection and education, wherever they may be. We strive to create communities in which children can live with dignity and hope, free from discrimination, violence and fear.

We make every effort to create and maintain environments that will enable and empower children to be the very best that they can be.

In this way, all children will not only benefit from economic and social growth but will become the driving force behind sustainable national development.

For over 50 years, with the help of our vast network of partners, UNICEF has made significant strides in raising health, education and protection standards for children in Sri Lanka. From achieving Universal Child Immunization (1989) to establishing The National Child Protection Authority (1998) to providing decades of crucial relief in the wake of devastating conflict and natural disaster, UNICEF has played a pivotal role in creating an environment in which children have the best chance to survive and thrive.

Yet, many challenges still exist, especially for the most vulnerable. Some national and regional bodies require resources and reinvigoration. Individuals and institutions need to be strengthened, coordinated and aligned with global standards so that children enjoy support in their schools, communities and homes to help them overcome challenges and unleash their full potential into the world.

Due to our long-standing reputation as an experienced, neutral and collaborative partner, UNICEF is ideally suited to drive these efforts. Our history of success in Sri Lanka is built on our ability to tap into a wide network of national and international partners which, in turn, is bolstered by our own far-reaching presence in the field. In working closely with these government, non-government and private entities, UNICEF takes a leadership role, drawing on our technical expertise to accurately assess existing challenges and develop, execute and coordinate solutions that are relevant and scalable on the ground.  For more information about UNICEF Sri Lanka and its work visit: http://www.unicef.org/srilanka

How can you make a difference? 

Purpose:

Under the supervision of the Education Specialist of the UNICEF Sri Lanka Country Office, the consultant will provide technical assistance to the ongoing key initiatives in Primary Education, to UNICEF and the Primary Departments in the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the National Institute of Education (NIE).

Scope of Work:

The purpose of this assignment is to provide technical and administration support for the key initiatives outline below:

1. Foundational Learning

Building on Sri Lanka’s strong experience in LR and ML, given the curriculum reforms, the MoE is seeking new innovations to strengthen foundational learning in Sri Lanka and UNICEF is looking to support MoE to learn from the good practices in other countries through a series of learning opportunities and exposure visits. The consultant will contribute to preparing these opportunities and other related tasks.

2. Learning Recovery (LR)

With support from UNICEF, the MoE launched the Learning Recovery (LR) initiative in July 2023 to address the educational disruptions caused by COVID-19 and the subsequent economic crisis. The LR initiative aims to ensure

that all primary grade students attain the essential learning competencies before transitioning to secondary education. Spanning from 2023 to 2025, the initiative is guided by national-level directives. The first phase of the initiative concluded in June 2024, with all nine provinces successfully implementing the activities outlined in their respective plans. Significant progress has been made, and the provinces are now preparing for the second phase. To capture and document the achievements of phase one comprehensively, it is crucial to utilize both primary and secondary data collection methods. The consultant’s key responsibilities will include documenting the outcomes of phase one and supporting the implementation and documenting of outcomes of phase two, which will include technical guidance and administrative support.

3. Multi-level pedagogy (ML)

The ML approach has been recognized as a promising methodology in primary education, as it involves teaching students of varying abilities in a single setting. This has led to the addressing of the diverse needs of students and ensuring that no student is left behind. The MoE launched the initiative as a pilot in 2011 and although initial results showed promise for scalability, certain administrative challenges at the national level hindered sustained implementation. UNICEF having understood the benefits of the approach in 2016, recommenced the implementation in the UNICEF supported provinces of North, East, Uva, and Central. The learnings of these implementations proved very useful during the prolonged school closures as it focuses on identifying the learning levels of individual students and providing the required remedial/enrichment intervention. During this period the MoE and NIE interest in mainstreaming the approach was re-energised especially in light of the draft National Education Policy Framework (2023-2033), which proposes a comprehensive and visionary roadmap for transforming the education sector in the country. Plans are now ongoing at the national level on mainstreaming the ML approach across all 9 provinces and embedding it into the Grade 1 education reforms. The consultant’s key responsibilities will be to provide the technical guidance and administrative support associated with mainstreaming the ML approach across all provinces and the inclusion in the education reforms.escription of assignment:

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

Minimum Qualifications required:

Master’s degree in education, social sciences, related fields

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

Demonstrated expertise in the field of education in relation to policy, planning, programming etc.

At least more than two years of post-graduate professional experience in areas related to education.

Strong analytical, communication and writing skills.

Proven organizational and coordination skills.

Able to work effectively through email, phone, and other means of remote communications.

Languages required:

•  Excellent command of English. Fluency in Sinhala and/or Tamil is required/desirable.

How to apply:

Qualified candidates are requested to submit a resume and other relevant documents

Please complete your profile in UNICEF’s e-Recruitment system. https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_consultancy_assignments.html

Please indicate your ability, availability and fee/rate (in LKR) to undertake the terms of reference above. (Indicate an all-inclusive fee (including lump sum travel, IT accessories, Internet and subsistence costs, as applicable) to undertake the tasks in the Terms of reference. Office 365 license will be provided by UNICEF, as applicable) 

Applications submitted without a fee/rate will not be considered  

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 here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

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. 

If you think this position might be for you, please take the time to review our Country Office Mutual Agreements before you apply.

If you believe you can team member that can uphold these everyday, then we look forward to receiving and reviewing your application.