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For every child, education,
Tajikistan falls behind other Central Asian countries, as well as lower-middle income countries, in the enrolment of pre-primary education (PPE). Despite PPE enrolment improving from 12.3% in 2015 to 15.6% in 2023, the rates have stagnated at 15%, without significant change over the past 8 years (2018-2023), with only 45% of enrolled children being girls. The existing PPE system provided by the state, offers limited services and continues to rely critically on non-state funding including contributions from parents and caregivers. Public allocations for PPE stand at only 6.6% out of the total education budget.
Globally, Tajikistan is among the top 25 % of the fastest growing populations. Children under 6 years of age comprise 17 % of the population, and today 1 out of 3 Tajiks are under 15 years of age. The Government of Tajikistan is aware of the benefits of investing in PPE and has expressed a strong commitment to the roll-out of a universal one-year PPE service for 6-year-old children starting from 2025.
UNICEF in Tajikistan has received funding from USAID Tajikistan to support a 5-year project called “Inclusive Pre-Primary Education Activity” in 20 selected districts of Tajikistan aiming at strengthening national systems at central and local level to deliver quality, inclusive and affordable PPE services for all children. The project will demonstrate an evidence-based approach to develop inclusive, quality PPE programming in Tajikistan, using evidence, research, and real time learning in the inception phase to inform program design and implementation. This evidence, research and real-time learning are essential to designing services that are responsive to the many different needs of young children and their families.
How can you make a difference?
The purpose of this consultancy is to engage a national skilled and experienced National consultant, who will play a pivotal role in the successful implementation of the evidence generation for the project, mainly during the Year I (inception phase). The National consultant will contribute to the refinement of the initiative’s design, ensuring it aligns with the overarching goal of enhancing pre-primary education in Tajikistan and conduct quality assurance for all evidence generation activities. The National consultant will focus on overseeing and coordinating a comprehensive analysis of the pre-primary education landscape and assessing school readiness/pre-primary learning outcomes which is aimed for Year 1 of the project.
Objective 1: Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Analysis (GESI) and Action Plan
1.1. Conduct through desktop review the Activity goals focused Gender Equality and Social Inclusion analysis (GESI)
1.2. Develop Action Plan with specific interventions, along with gender-sensitive indicators to track changes in the gender inequalities identified as a result of the GESI analysis.
1.3. Ensure implemented interventions are responsive to gender considerations and seek to ensure that assistance provided, and the results achieved are beneficial to all the genders. 1.4. Address the current lack of preparedness of teachers and the education system in dealing with topics such as gender equality and challenging conversations related to the needs of adolescent girls.
Objective 2: Pre-Primary Context (Landscape) & School Readiness Analysis, including KAPB survey.
2.1 Support the project team with the advertisement and selection of research companies to implement evidence generation activities and analysis.
2.2 Coordinate the collection, aggregation and analysis of data related to ECE centers, including the number of children attending (with gender and disability disaggregated data), staff demographics, physical capacities, and funding sources.
2.3 Facilitate and provide technical expertise during thorough review of existing pre-primary education quality assurance mechanism, identifying gaps and areas for improvement jointly with the research company.
2.4 Ensure the inclusion of diverse demographics, such as children with disabilities, girls and ethnic minorities.
2.5 Oversee the training of data collectors and ensure the effective implementation of the chosen tool.
2.6 Plan for the measurement of learning outcomes in years 2, 3, 4, and 5, providing a longitudinal perspective on the impact of the initiative.
2.7 Facilitate KAPB study information and data collection in targeted districts, analyzing the existing local systems involved in addressing the needs of young children with disabilities and their families across social, health and education sectors will be initiated including analysis of the mechanisms for referral of children with disabilities to ECE centers and support for inclusive learning.
2.8 Summarize and share with relevant stakeholders and partners, beneficiaries the salient emerging findings from the knowledge, attitude, practices and behaviors around children with disabilities.
Objective 3: Overall Project Support
3.1 Collaborate with relevant stakeholders, including government bodies, NGOs, and educational institutions, to ensure seamless coordination and information sharing.
3.2 Contribute to the development of reports and presentations based on research findings, providing valuable insights for evidence-based decision-making.
3.3 Participate in policy dialogue sessions, leveraging research findings to advocate for advancements and reforms in the primary education curriculum.
3.4 During this policy dialogue (Steering Committee meetings) presented and validated the findings and trends from the PPE landscape analysis, KAPB and other studies with the national and local authorities.
3.5 Ensure validation of the whole Activity intervention is aligned with the MoES and USAID, UNICEF defined priorities and to facilitate common understanding around inclusive PPE and quality of existing PPE services.
DESCRIPTION/SCOPE of the ASSIGNMENT:
Objective 1: Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Analysis (GESI) and Action Plan
a. Conduct through desktop review the Activity goals focused Gender Equality and Social Inclusion analysis (GESI)
b. Develop Action Plan with specific interventions, along with gender-sensitive indicators to track changes in the gender inequalities identified as a result of the GESI analysis.
c. Ensure implemented interventions are responsive to gender considerations and seek to ensure that assistance provided, and the results achieved are beneficial to all the genders. d. Address the current lack of preparedness of teachers and the education system in dealing with topics such as gender equality and challenging conversations related to the needs of adolescent girls.
Objective 2: Data collection and analysis
a. Coordinate the comprehensive collection, aggregation and analysis of data related to ECE centers
b. Include disaggregated data on the number of children attending, with a focus on gender and disability.
c. Assess staff demographics, physical capacities, and funding sources of ECE centers
d. Identify gaps and areas for improvement in collaboration with the research company.
e. Ensure the inclusion of diverse demographics, such as children with disabilities, girls, and ethnic minorities
f. Oversee the training of data collectors.
g. Ensure effective implementation of the chosen data collection tools.
Objective 3: Overall Project Support Stakeholder Collaboration
a. Collaborate with relevant stakeholders, including government bodies, NGOs, and educational institutions.
b. Ensure seamless coordination and information sharing among stakeholders.
c. Support MoES in finalizing the National Concept on Inclusive Education (NCIE) and its endorsement by the Government of Tajikistan
d. Ensure Inclusive Education as well as ECE, ECD aspects are well reflected in government policy documents, like Code of Education, Action Plan to operationalize the NCIE, etc.
Reporting and Presentation
a. Contribute to the development of reports and presentations based on research findings.
b. Provide valuable insights for evidence-based decision-making.
Technical support in PPE Advocacy Sessions
a. Participate jointly with UNICEF representative and contribute in PPE advocacy sessions with state and development agencies.
b. Summarize and share with relevant stakeholders and partners, beneficiaries the salient emerging findings from the knowledge,
To be qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
- Education: Advanced university degree in the fields of Early Childhood Development (ECD), Early Childhood Education (ECE), Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) and/or inclusive education
- Expertise/Skills:
- At least 5 years of professional experience in ECD, ECE, ECI, and Inclusive education program in development context.
- Understanding the complex socio-economic factors affecting child well-being, including the needs of children with disabilities and developmental delays.
- Explicit experience in working with Ministry of Education and Sciences, Ministry of Health and Social Protection, including with national and local authorities, including ECE Centers, schools, and health facilities.
- Good understanding of research and data collection methods, including mixed methods/research in gender, ECE area with a focus on inclusive education and children with disabilities and developmental delays.
- Solid knowledge of projects/programmes management and coordination.
Language: Knowledge of Tajik/Russian at professional level is required. Fluency in English is an asset.
Travel involved:
| Travel Local (please include travel plan with approximate no of trips) | ’18 trips for 9 months from April to December 2024 (approximately 2 trips per month, each 5 days). Total 90 days. |
| ‘Per Diem/DSA (if applicable – approximate days) | |
*Travel, accommodation, other expenses will be reimbursed on the basis of the actual costs and upon receipt of the original invoice and relevant supporting documents. Please note that UNICEF will only reimburse the travel expenses of economy class tickets and accommodation expenses as long as they do not surpass the UN Daily Subsistence Allowance rate effective for that specific month.
REQUIREMENTS:
Qualified candidates are requested to submit:
1. CV/Cover letter
2. Completed financial proposal in Tajik Somoni ( Annex 3 Financial proposal.docx), including travel cost as per Travel info provided.
3. Contacts (email & Tel. #) of three recent direct supervisors as referees
Applications must be received in the system by 4 April 2024 on the UNICEF website.
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.